A possible Google - Microsoft/Yahoo face off?

Now that everyone is talking about Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Yahoo!, I thought of going back in time and taking a peek at the rivalry between Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft. Surprisingly, they go neck to neck in all areas and while Google is the dominant one as of now, you just cannot say who will win the war. Assuming the Microsoft –Yahoo! deal does go out well and give a huge competition to Google, let me point out the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.

Microsoft bought MessageCast Inc, which is an automated alerting and messaging services firm, while Google was talking about its much-hyped Android platform.

Google bought Marratech, a video conferencing software firm, to compete with Microsoft’s Unified Communications.

Microsoft bought ScreenTonic, a mobile advertising solutions firm, to compete with Google ad solutions.

Google bought YouTube for a whopping $1.65 billion and captured a huge share of the market. Later, Microsoft came up with Soapbox to compete with YouTube but failed miserably.

Google bought Picasa, a photo management software, to set its foot in the market. Later, Yahoo! acquired both Ludicorp and Flickr and has become the market leader in photo sharing.

Google bought Where2 Mapping software to compete with Yahoo Maps, but couldn’t succeed as Yahoo! still remains the market leader.

In the internet space, it’s even more interesting. While Google is the clear winner in the internet search market, leaving Yahoo Search and MSN Search in the lurch, Yahoo Mail is a little ahead of both Gmail and Hotmail. Also, GTalk is giving serious competition to both Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger.

Then, Google made history with its acquisition of DoubleClick for an astronomical $3.1 billion. Now, with its proposed buyout, Microsoft could make history if it does buy Yahoo! for $44.6 billion.

If the acquisition were to happen, it would mean huge competition for Google, no doubt about that. Thanks to the intense competition, both sides will go out of their way to please their customers and retain/expand their market share. In other words, it’s going to be good times for us, customers.

Categories: Google, All things mobile phones, Yahoo, Microsoft.

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Watch live TV right on your mobile phone

It seems Mobile TV is the buzzword these days. After the much talked about partnership between EXPWAY and ScreenTonic, now it’s the turn of Motorola to provide Mobile TV solutions.

Motorola is about to launch a new version of media player in their mobile phones which will allow you to watch live TV on demand. This is considered a big move in the mobile phone industry, as this concept of mobile TV is believed to become a huge hit in the near future. With the new Motorola media player, you can watch live TV whenever you want. The broadcast is based on (DVB-H) Digital Video Broadcast for Handsets system, which is considered the standard in Europe. But unfortunately, this is not the standard in the U.S., and mobile users there might be a little reluctant to try out this service from Motorola. Also, Motorola’s core system consists of Global Applications Management Architecture (GAMA) enabled program which is considered the very best when it comes to providing interactive value-added applications to the end user, thereby making him a loyal customer and enhancing the profits for the content provider.

It’s really interesting to see a mobile giant like Motorola grabbing the opportunity of Mobile TV with both hands. In my opinion, Mobile TV, especially on phones like iPhone and N95, could take mobile entertainment to a whole new level. Advertisers have already realized where the dollar is. Smart; aren’t they?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Mobile TV.

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EXPWAY and ScreenTonic join hands to target Mobile TV advertising

EXPWAY, a French based Mobile TV solutions provider, has joined hands with ScreenTonic, one of the well-known names in mobile advertising in Europe in an effort to develop customized advertising solutions for Mobile TV. This is seen as a very important step by industry experts, as Mobile TV is considered the next big thing as far as mobile phone entertainment is concerned. In just about four years, advertising revenue from Mobile TV alone would be worth around $4 billion.

Mobile TV is considered the easiest way to reach out customers via advertising, next only to the ever-reliable text messaging. Video ads are always more interesting and especially when shown in Mobile TV, which is almost similar to the television in your living room, reach out to the customers really well. This is the reason why these two big names in the industry have joined hands.

EXPWAY offers FastESG, a solution which is meant to make the end users’ Mobile TV experience simpler than ever. With this, you, the user, will be able to explore your favorite content on your mobile network easier than ever. ScreenTonic offers STAMP, a unique advertising platform which is aimed to make advertising on Mobile TV a very simple task.

In my opinion, Mobile TV could be really profitable for mobile advertisers, as customers usually won’t mind ads on TV. It’s something we’ve got so much used to that sometimes it feels odd if you don’t find an advert on your TV. So, it won’t be considered intrusive and might as well reach the end users better than ever.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Mobile TV.

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Cellphone advertising in 2007 - A review

2007 is almost over and we’re eagerly expecting the arrival of the New Year. So, it’s that time of the year when people look back at their silly mistakes, achievements (if any), resolutions they made, and all other useless stuff. I’m not gonna do any of them; don’t worry. Instead, I’m gonna look back at the cellphone advertising and marketing industry and share some of my thoughts with you.

The single biggest event that changed the course of the cellphone advertising and marketing industry was the launch of the Apple iPhone. It was more than just a phone and the truckload of features made it a favorite with users instantly. At a time when cellphone advertisers were thinking about advertising via text messaging and banner ads, the Wi-Fi enabled iPhone offered them a hell lot of options. Interestingly, iPhone is not the only phone in the market with such features. Blackberry, AT & T and T-Mobile Network phones, and a few models from Nokia also have Wi-Fi facility and other features that the iPhone boasts of. But the most important difference was in the way Apple marketed their product. The enormous hype created before the launch of iPhone was simply never heard of in the market before and thankfully, it lived up to the hype.

The second biggest event, in fact the one that almost outshone Apple iPhone was the launch of Google Android. Google had been timing the market to take the plunge for a long time and speculations were running wild. A lot of market experts and market watchers (including yours truly) had predicted that Google would come up with Google Phone, which could be the fitting answer for the iPhone. But when Google announced that it will not develop its own phone, at least in the near future, they had their foot firmly in their mouth. But Google Android proved out to be a bigger success, considering the buzz it created in the market. With its Open Handset Alliance with 30 plus big names, Google simply stole the show from the iPhone. I’ve already explained why Google Android could lead to the undoing of iPhone and it remains to be seen whether I’ll be proven wrong in 2008.

2007 could possibly go down as the most eventful year as far as cellphone advertising industry is concerned, as the year saw some major names like Microsoft, New York Times, Coca Cola, Facebook, MySpace, Fox Interactive Media, and of course Google enter the market in full fledge. Most of the industry experts and research firms predicted a huge growth for cellphone marketing and advertising industry whose revenue was estimated at around $1 billion. Also, it is said that in just about five years, this revenue could increase tenfold.

Also, 2007 was the year of acquisitions. Big players in the market realized the enormous potential of cellphone advertising and marketing and started acquiring cellphone advertising firms. We saw Nokia acquire Enpocket, AOL acquire Third Screen Media, Microsoft acquire ScreenTonic, Publicis acquire Phonevalley, and so on. This definitely marked the arrival of cellphone marketing and advertising in a big way.

Though 2007 is undoubtedly the biggest year for cellphone advertising, there are still some unconquered territories within the industry. First of all, mobile internet facility should be within the reach of the majority of consumers for advertisers and marketers to be able to reach them fully. A lot of companies have realized the potential of mobile websites and for consumers to be able to make the most of it, the price of high-end mobile phones should be brought down. Already, Apple has started the process with a hefty price cut on its iPhone and we can expect other handset makers to follow suit, hopefully. Also, thanks to mobile advertisers, the price of premium services has come down drastically and in a lot of cases, these services are available free of cost, thanks to ad-funded services. With some operators even offering free talk time to customers who opt in for cellphone advertising, I really think cellphone advertising has hit the target big-time. Its continued success though, lies only in the hands of operators, advertisers, and handset makers for they are in a position to lead the industry in the right direction next year.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Microsoft in 2007 - A review

The year 2007 has been a mixed bag for Microsoft. It had its moments, but overall it has been an average year for Microsoft. As far as cellphone advertising industry is concerned, Microsoft has made its intentions very clear – it wants to beat Google in the mobile advertising market.

It all started on a high note. Microsoft made everyone look forward to 2007 with its Vista and it eventually got released in January 2007. But little did Microsoft know that Vista would have such a big backlash. Despite the improved user interface and other things, Vista was not up to the mark and Microsoft was expectedly a tad disappointed.

Then it was the turn of Windows Mobile 6 which was yet another highly anticipated product from Microsoft. It was a good one, but the timing was wrong this time. As soon as Windows Mobile 6 was launched, there was the launch of Apple iPhone which is probably the most talked about product of the year. The iPhone simply stole the thunder and sold a record 270,000 pieces in just about 30 hours of its release, which was never heard of before. (Still, iPhone was not able to bury Windows Mobile completely despite the unbelievable initial sales record, which I will blog about sometime later). Microsoft managed to keep the momentum going as far as Windows Mobile was concerned, as it was considered good and got positive reviews from the market.

Later that year, we saw the launch of yet another highly anticipated product, Google Android. This was even bigger than the iPhone, considering the fact that Google kept us guessing for most part of the year about Google Phone and instead it came up with Android. Again, Windows Mobile was completely off the news for some time.

Also, 2007 was the year of acquisitions. The big players in the market realized the true potential of cellphone advertising and acquired cellphone advertising firms. Nokia, AOL, Publicis, and other big players bought cellphone advertising companies to strengthen their position in the market and Microsoft didn’t want to be left behind and acted quickly. In May, Microsoft bought ScreenTonic, a notable cellphone advertising company in the U.S.A.

In December, Microsoft started offering ads on its MSN Mobile page and became an active competitor in the cellphone advertising market along with Google and Yahoo. The U.S. MSN Mobile page has very good traffic and it’s got advertisements from big names like Bank of America, Paramount Pictures, Jaguar, and many more. Already Microsoft is a well-known name in selling mobile phone ads in U.K., Spain, France, Japan, and Belgium, and if the idea clicks in the U.S., we might even see Microsoft expanding its territory further.

Overall, it’s been an average year for Microsoft and it can only improve. It better get improved, considering the competition from Google and other companies in the market.

Categories: Microsoft.

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