Studio Press

LG Electronics, a worldwide technology leader in mobile communications, has launched this year's must-have mobile phone - the chic, sleek and stylish LG Chocolote phone. "This is so much more than a fashion phone," says Mr I.G. Kim Managing Director and CEO at LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd "Modern buying trends are governed as much by emotion as by product specification and the LG Chocolate phone connects on both levels. It is totally unique, utterly desirable and yet affordable.

Sleek and visually stunning, the LG Chocolate phone remains completely black until the touchpad - a world's first for mobile phones - is gently brushed. Once activated, the phone's signature design feature, its glowing red touch-sensitive icons, bring to life a 'hidden' full-colour screen that completes the phone's unique look and feel of minimalism with a modern twist. Having already won two European design awards (iF Design Award and reddot Design Award for its unique styling and user interface), the LG Chocolate phone raises the standard of how mobile phones look and feel. It is also the first handset from LG's new 'Black Temptation' range of design-led mobile phones, aimed at user who value style as highly as they value technology. LG Electronics is the world's first mobile phone manufacturer to create a completely separate range of exclusively designed, premium mobile products.

The phone is also environmentally friendly, having gained certification from the European Union regarding its compliance with the Removal of Hazardous Substances legislation that comes into effect across Europe this July. To obtain the certification, LG Electronics improved a number of features on the Chocolote phone. Key buttons were coated with aluminium and tin. Other parts that had a possibility of containing hazardous substances were changed to non-toxic materials. LG Electronics also used lead-free solder cream to fix parts on the PWB(Printed Wired Board).

"Our Black Temptation series which was launched earlier this year brings something totally new to the mobile market, the category of the design innovative phone sector. Other manufacturers have launched models that have design as a key attribute, bt with the LG Chocolote phone, we have become the first manufacturer to pro-actively design and market a phone based on its visual and emotional appeal. Of course, being LG, the Chocolate phone like all subsequent Black Temptation products, will have a high standard of technical specification but its primary appeal is its design, and we believe it will prove extremely popular with style sensitive mobile phone users across Malaysia"

Already a favorite with cool-hunting, trend leaders in Korea, the eagerly anticipated LG Chocolate phone - which has sold over 400,000 units since it was launched in Korea last November, boasts a class-leading MP3/AAC music player, 128 meg of on-board memory, a 1.3 mega-pixel camera and video camera ... all this in a phone that is slim enough to slip into the pocket of a shirt or a pair of tight jeans. Battery life is an impressive 200 hours standby with 3hours 20minutes talk time.

The LG Chocolate phone will retail for around RM1499. It is available from 29 May 2006 through Zitron Dealers and look out for more Black Temptation launches in the near future.

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) and Dolce & Gabbana unveiled the new MOTORAZR V3i Dolce & Gabbana, the latest collaboration which unites the acclaimed MOTORAZR design together with Dolce & Gabbana’s signature style for consumers across the world.

Following the huge success of the limited edition MOTORAZR V3i by Dolce & Gabbana, the Italian designers have created, together with Motorola, a new version of the device in luxurious gold and silver, with an engraved Dolce & Gabbana logo. Further glamour is added with an exclusive pendent featuring the gold DG initials. Inside the new phone offers further customised features, such as special backgrounds, screensavers, MP3 ring tones and unique animations.

“The MOTORAZR V3i Dolce & Gabbana seamlessly marries style with rich functionality with features such as a 1.23 megapixel digital camera, video capture and playback and optional expandable memory all packaged in the classic MOTORAZR form,” said Simon Thompson, Marketing Director, Motorola Mobile Devices Europe.

Exclusive matching accessories for the MOTORAZR V3i Dolce &Gabbana were also unveiled and can be purchased separately. These include a personalised Motorola H700 Bluetooth headset, a wired stereo headset for listening to MP3 music files and a luxury gold leather phone case.

The beautiful new MOTORAZR V3i Dolce & Gabbana makes a clear modern day style statement, and will be available worldwide from June 1st 2006, at selected Dolce & Gabbana boutiques and all major Motorola stockists.

O2 has announced its latest software update for the Xda Atom and the limited edition Xda Atom Pure. This software upgrade consolidates all the previous enhancements and fixes with new features in a single ROM upgrade.

Xda Atom and Xda Atom Pure customers can now enjoy an even fuller mobile office experience with real-time email access on their devices. This enhanced security and direct push technology is supported by Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 2, which incorporates the Messaging & Security Feature Pack (MSFP). A new Wireless Manager application also allows users easy configuration of wireless LAN, Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone.

This software upgrade provides also improvements to the Xda Atom’s performance and quality of its MMS and camera applications, and GSM radio firmware. O2 strongly encourages Xda Atom users to upgrade to the following system software to harness the full potential of their devices.

O2 web-registered members can download this free software update from today at: http://www.seeo2.com/user/XdaAtom/template/XdaAtom_NMROMUpgrade_May2006_WWE.vm

Opera Software today released Opera Mobile(TM) 8.6 for Windows Mobile(R), finally offering Pocket PC owners a fast and user-friendly Web surfing experience on their devices. Opera Mobile(TM) 8.6 for Pocket PC takes full advantage of the larger screen and higher resolution of PPC devices by offering tabbed browsing and surfing in horizontal landscape mode. The browser is based on Opera's newest core code and runs on Windows Mobile 5 and 2003 SE. Opera Mobile(TM) for Pocket PC is available from www.opera.com/mobile and comes with a free 30-day trial.

"Until now, Web browsing options on Pocket PCs have been decidedly limited, says Paul O'Brien, founder of MoDaCo.com - one of the world's largest Windows Mobile communities with nearly 140,000 members. "Opera Mobile for Pocket PC finally brings browsing speed, security and usability closer to a desktop experience. For owners of Internet connected Pocket PC devices, Opera is a must-have."

The development of the Opera browser for Windows Mobile(R) is a result of market demand from mobile phone operators and end-users. Today's release follows the beta preview of Opera Mobile for Pocket PC announced on January 18, 2006, and promises to deliver a superior Web surfing experience on PPC devices. The first operators to ship Windows Mobile devices with Opera Mobile(TM) pre-installed are T-Mobile through their Web'n'Walk offering, and the leading Japanese operator, Willcom.

"Pocket PC owners are typically advanced users who expect the best and actively seek out better software for their devices," says Roger Carlhammar, EVP Mobile, Opera Software. "Opera's mission is to provide the best Internet experience on any device, and we are very happy to now offer this on Windows Mobile Pocket PCs."

Features in Opera Mobile 8.6 for Pocket PC include

Tabs

Open multiple Web pages at the same time, and switch between them using the tabbed interface.

Landscape/Portrait Mode

Opera Mobile adapts Web pages to fit the width of the screen in both landscape and portrait modes.

Web address auto-complete

The browser remembers your typed-in addresses.

Zoom

Magnify text and images in Web pages for better accessibility.

Download

Get any files and content from the Web, including ringtones and images.

Full screen

View Web pages with the browser interface, or in full screen mode.

Fit-to-screen

Browse Web pages in full size or with Opera's Small-Screen Rendering(TM) to avoid horizontal scrolling.

Pop-up handler

Block unwanted pop-ups

Pad-lock icon on secure sites

The browser can identify trusted sites to avoid scams and phishing attempts

More information

For a full feature list, see http://www.opera.com/mobile/products/winmobileppc/ Screenshots and illustrations: http://www.opera.com/press/images/winmobileppc/

Availability

Opera Mobile™ for Windows Mobile Pocket PC is available from www.opera.com/mobile and comes with a free 30-day trial. The browser runs on both Windows Mobile 5 and 2003 SE. Opera Mobile™ for Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphones will be available shortly.

Time dotCom Bhd (TdC) has launched a 3G pilot trial to test the performance of High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), a next generation 3G technology.

It said on May 31 that the trial was to assess how an HSDPA network behaved given different demand patterns.

“The results from the trial will provide important input to TdC’s planning process including validation of the proposed commercial strategy and product offering,” it said.

TdC, which was recently awarded the 3G spectrum, said to ensure the trial was conducted expediently and effectively, two vendors – China’s Huawei and France’s Alcatel -- were assisting it to achieve the trial objectives.

The company said it remained committed to working closely with other vendors throughout the entire process.

“In particular, the procurement process will involve a wider set of vendors and will not be limited to just Alcatel and Huawei,” it said. The trial would be for three months, from mid-May, in the Golden Triangle area around Kuala Lumpur. TdC’s subsidiary TT dotCom Sdn Bhd (TTdC) and MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd were awarded the remaining two IMT-2000 spectrum by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in March.

The 3G spectrum award was conditional upon TTdC providing a detailed business plan within six months from March 3.

The other two companies which have 3G spectrums are Maxis Communications Bhd and Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd.-theedgedaily

DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd has credited RM250,000 worth of talktime to Indonesian customers for them to call their loved ones in Yogyakarta.

DiGi leveraged on its data and technology to target the Indonesian Prepaid customers who have registered their lines.

DiGi's Corporate Affairs Director Tunku Alizakri RM Alias said: "The ability to talk to loved ones and knowing they are safe brings great relief. Most people will want to stay connected as often as they can in times like this."

He added: "This special relief is our small way of helping them to stay in touch with their families, relatives and friends in Yogyakarta."

The company started sending SMS to the Indonesian customers late last night to inform them of the special relief credit. The reload process will be completed by tomorrow.

The special relief credit is in addition to DiGi's waiver of SMS charges for its customers making donation to the Yogyakarta Quake Fund organized by RTM. The waiver is for a two-week period from yesterday.

DiGi customers can SMS their donations to short code 32770 using text DERMA 1 for RM1, DERMA 2 for RM2, DERMA 3 for RM3, DERMA 5 for RM5 and DERMA 10 for RM10.

Kingston has announced new additions to its full range of memory and Flash products at Computex Taipei in June. Amongst them are the

CompactFlash Ultimate 133x Kingston’s CompactFlash Ultimate line offers digital photographers an ultra fast storage solution for high resolution images. Rated at an impressive 133x* with transfer rates of 23 MB/sec. read and 20 MB/sec. write, these cards are professional grade. With huge storage capacities of 2 and 4 GB, digital photographers get the capacity needed for large RAW files as well as JPEG and TIFF. As a bonus, the cards are preloaded with OnTrack EasyRecovery Professional 6.1 software to recover images in the event they are lost or corrupted.

miniSD and MMCmobile Kingston is producing larger capacity miniSD and MMCmobile Flash memory to support the growing storage demands of advanced mobile phones and new 2-GB capacities are now available.

8-GB CompactFlash Elite Pro Kingston expands its line of CompactFlash Elite Pro cards with the addition of a new 8-GB card--an ideal choice for studio, catalog and portrait photographers who need to produce large files for catalog reproduction and other commercial purposes.

Based on strict manufacturing and 100% testing policies, all Kingston products have a lifetime warranty, with the exception of DataTraveler USB drives which have a five-year warranty. For more information on Kingston products, please stop by the Kingston booth, B501 in Hall 1 or visit Kingston's website at: www.kingston.com/asia.

IF YOU fancy a thin black clamshell phone that runs on Windows Mobile 5.0, the newly launched StrTrk S300 smartphone from Dopod may just be what you’re looking for.

Measuring only 1.5cm thick when closed and weighing 99g, the device offers two 65,000-colour TFT displays (2.2in internal and 1.2in external).

The quadband GSM phone also features EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth and USB1.1 connectivity.

Multimedia features includes support for 40-chord polyphonic ringtones, 1.3-megapixel camera and three dedicated buttons (forward, reverse and play/stop) on the cover to access the device’s MP3 player.

There phone has 64MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM plus an integrated MicroSD card slot for expanded storage.

Among its notable installed applications are Microsoft’s Direct Push Mail that pushes your e-mail to the phone the minute it arrives at your inbox; ActiveSync to update e-mail and schedules; and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for multimedia file playback.

Additionally, the RM1,688 phone is bundled with the Clearvue Document Viewer that enables users to read Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. -theStar

A delectable mobile handset known as the ‘Chocolate Phone’, first in LG Electronics (LG) black-label phone series has become the favourite treat of handset buyers worldwide. The phone from LG, a leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications, officially débuted in London, U.K. in early May and continued its tour to China, Russia, Mexico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, Iran and U.A.E.. There are still upcoming launch events in other cities around the world. The earliest event is scheduled on May 29 in Bangkok. The phone has been sparking a buzz among trendsetters and socialites in every fashion capital.

Mr. Mun-Hwa Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, said, “The Chocolate phone is for discerning customers, in every market worldwide, who view mobile phones as fashion statements. LG is now positioning its mobile handsets as premium products and this stunning phone is just the beginning. The global launch has been extremely successful and we are already seeing a flood of reorders.”

More than half a million Chocolate Phones have been sold worldwide in the four weeks since the global launch in London, where the phone has already sold out. Retailers there are anxiously awaiting additional shipments, and there are long waiting lists of customers with a craving for Chocolate. The phone has also taken the No. 1 best seller position at Carphone Warehouse, the largest European mobile phone retail chain. It also took the top sales spot in Mexico, with 25% market share, beating Motorola’s Razr when it was launched there. Saudi retailers have already signed numerous pre-release sales contracts for the phone, anticipating a huge demand. It is no wonder why the Chocolate phone was chosen for the cover of Swedish mobile phone specialty magazine Mobil, which touted it as the next million unit seller after Razr.

The Chocolate Phone’s success results from the combination of its excellent design, marketing and a proactive sales strategy. LG has hired Colleen McLoughlan, fashion icon and girlfriend of premier leaguer Wayne Rooney, as UK’s primary Chocolate phone ambassador. She mentioned, “The LG Chocolate phone is working as an accessory for any outfit. It’s unique, sleek and exactly the right size to pop into any handbag for any occasion. The black and red theme really makes this phone stand out and the touch sensitive buttons make it beautiful.”

The Chocolate phones have also been presented as gifts for celebrities like Pierce Brosnan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Claudia Shiffer in London launch event. The strategy to position the phone in the luxury market was a great success. In Taiwan, a huge buzz was created prior to the launch event, because of a massive outdoor advertising campaign, and buzz among bloggers. LG use of locale tailored marketing strategies and securing of sales channels through major retailers, led to the incredible sales success.

Though the Chocolate phone phenomenon is expected to continue for the time being, LG is already planning the next move to secure its premium position in global mobile industry, now being established.

But the fight for supremacy will extend far beyond the soccer fields. It will include one that has begun in earnest among telecommunication companies (telcos) here, some 10,000km away. Maxis Communications Bhd has launched an early raid, powered by a RM60 million right as the main broadcast sponsor of the event here. Rivals Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd didn't want to miss the boat, following suit with their football-related campaigns. Celcom introduced Football Mad Nation Ruled By Celcom, while DiGi launched DiGi Destination Germany 06 campaign. During the past few weeks, the two telcos have flooded the local television channels, billboards and newspapers with their football-related advertisements, which somewhat link them to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, directly or indirectly. The reason: The widely-watched football event represents a golden opportunity for telcos to boost their subscriber base and squeeze more revenue from their users as they offer soccer-related promotions, products and contents. As such, the pre-World Cup campaigns are crucial as they help increase the telcos' subscriber base. However, the big money will start to roll in once the World Cup event kicks off. That is when people will be using their mobile phones more frequently, talking and messaging about matters concerning the football game, analysts said. The traffic volume for both calls and short messaging service (SMS) are expected to increase during the one-month period, which will kick off at 1am on June 10 local time, starting with the game between host Germany and Costa Rica. In a recent interview, Maxis Communications Bhd senior general manager and head of consumer business division, Thomas Schnitker said he expects to see at least 5 per cent growth in traffic volume, a modest estimate compared with most analysts' feedback. "We could likely see double-digit growth in volume usage of voice and data pick-up and ultimately peak closer to the finals," Avenue Securities telecommunications analyst Mohd Izhar Mohd Allaudin said. Unlike the previous World Cup tournament, more opportunities are on the table for the three telco players. Among them are the enlarged SMS community and subscriber base. Back in 2002, there were only 3.61 billion SMSes being sent a year. The number has more than tripled today. As of end of 2005, the industry saw the number increase to over 21 billion. During the first three months of 2006, there were 7.46 million SMSes sent. For telcos, this is an important statistics as SMSes are being offered at a minimal cost with attractive margins. "SMS is a cash-cow for telcos," Mohd Izhar said. Currently, there are more than 20.6 million mobile users in the country, which represent a penetration rate of 77.7 per cent. During the 2002 World Cup, there were only around nine million mobile phone users. "With almost eight out of 10 Malaysians owning a mobile line, telcos will need to focus on retaining existing customers, while going at each other to get new subscribers ... And with an event like the World Cup coming up, the telcos just simple couldn't afford to be left out," an analyst said. This is evident as telcos have been offering football-related promotions, special pre-paid cards that feature football players, football-related downloadable contents and free SMSes for their subscribers. Some are even giving away handphones and trips to Germany to entice football fans. Besides that, the upcoming World Cup provides a chance for the telcos to attract third-generation (3G) subscribers. "World Cup would, to a certain extent, entice avid fans to try 3G if the telcos can make their service offerings attractive and affordable," Mohd Izhar said. However, some analysts believe that Maxis, which has the rights to show the game's highlights to its 3G customers, will have an added advantage to court 3G users. Although the stock market in general is expected to be quieter during the World Cup period, we can rest assured, this will not apply to Maxis, Celcom and DiGi.-Bussiness Times

Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd will upgrade its network in Sabah, to reach 70% of the state by the end of the year.

Its head of segment marketing, Yohani Yusof, said the company, which came here in 1995, currently covers about 50% of the state and hopes to provide better coverage in the state’s top tourist destinations.

Digi will improve its network in areas like Lahad Datu, Semporna, Kota Marudu, Beaufort and Sipitang.

As part of its plan to bring high-speed data services to areas still lacking in coverage, Yohani said Digi would cover Tawau, Labuan, Sandakan and Tuaran with improved GSM Evolution (EDGE) services.

“As a leading telecommunications provider, we want to keep challenging ourselves to provide better services for our customers, “ she said. -theStar

LG Electronics (LG), a leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications, has launched the first integrated-memory MP3 Player with Mobile Broadcasting (DMB) reception. The compact FM35 measures just 52mm wide, 92mm long and 14mm thick. It gives consumers an added choice in LG’s DMB lineup, which includes mobile handsets, notebook PCs and PDA's with DMB functionality, offering more choices to customers.

Mr. Si-Bum Park, the marketing head of LG Electronics said, “The FM35 is the slimmest and most compact DMB device available. It has 2GB of integrated memory, so users will be able to carry all of their favourite songs with them. We offer many options in our DMB product line so consumers can choose the mobile TVs that best fit their lifestyles. LG will secure leadership in the mobile broadcasting device market by continuing to update and expand our DMB product line.”

The FM35’s minimalist design and black-and-white façade create a polished look for this high-tech device. It has a 2.4-inch 16:9 aspect ratio LCD display, which allows the viewers to see vivid details of the digital broadcasts. A 360-degree rotating DMB antenna guarantees high-quality reception and 2GB of integrated flash memory store up to 500 music files. The device supports popular audio file formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, AVI and ASF. It allows users to multitask, listening to music and viewing pictures at the same time.

Other features include lithium ion polymer battery which can be recharged through the USB cable or connection of the mobile phone cable. Users can watch four hours of DMB broadcasts or listen to 55 hours of music between charges. The FM35 is also capable to storing images and text files downloaded from a PC, allowing users to access the files on-the-go. The DMB MP3 player also features ultra high-speed file transfer capability through its USB 2.0 and a powerful broadcasting output of 18mW.

LG expects the FM35 to further boost business in the mobile device business. The company will continue to lead convergence technology through its mobile broadcasting devices.

160 Characters, the independent mobile messaging forum, today announced the winners of the third annual Global Messaging Awards, the only industry awards that are solely dedicated to mobile messaging.

This year’s winners were selected from countries spanning four continents, clearly demonstrating the continued evolution and innovation of messaging services and applications across the world. Mobile technology companies in UK continued to demonstrate excellence picking up three of the seven awards, whilst companies from Canada, USA, Singapore and Argentina respectively won the remaining categories.

The ceremony took place at the distinguished Fredericks Restaurant, Islington, London, following the first day of Informa’s Global Messaging Congress and marks the huge contribution that messaging applications and services contribute to the mobile industry, providing recognition for the most innovative companies in this space.

2006 Winners

Most effective device or software for data input

Zi Corporation (Canada) - Decuma Version 4 Decuma® combines handwriting and predictive text technology on devices that render them prone to poor and shaky handwriting. Presenting the award on behalf of the judges Ken Blakeslee said that “usability was absolutely key to this category and was well demonstrated by the Decuma combination of handwriting and predictive text.”

Best SMS and/or MMS Network Infrastructure

Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) (UK) - Votewinner VoteWinner™ is MIG’s broadcast product developed specifically for processing high volumes of SMS votes at high speed. It has been used for all mainstream competitions and votes on ITV including The X Factor; I’m A Celebrity & Dancing on Ice. In addition, VoteWinner™ was selected to manage the phenomenal number of SMS messages sent as part of the Live 8 ticket text lottery in June 2005. Mike Short commented that “this was a highly fought category and Votewinner illustrated scalablity, innovation and reach and together with some of the more recent applications they have delivered it stood out.”

Best messaging application: consumer

Bubble Motion Pte Ltd (Singapore) - Bubble Talk BubbleTalk is a 'Click, Talk and Send' asynchronous Short Voice Messaging Service (SVMS) that works across operators and networks. This is a non intrusive talk and listen messaging alternative to the 'type and read' text messaging service provided by SMS. Bubble Talk is deployed in Malaysia , Singapore , Indonesia, India and Hong Kong where it generates millions of messages every day. “Consumers take to applications that they can easily understand and meets their communications needs and Bubble Talk’ has already shown success with its innovative voice messaging” said Ken Blakeslee presenting the award.

Best messaging application: business

Mobiqa (UK) - Mobi-tickets for the Red Bull Rail Storm Mobi-tickets™ were used as the the only form of tickets available for the Red Bull Rail Storm (an international urban rail snowboarding competition) at Trafalgar Square, London, on 20th November 2005. To date a major headache has been the distribution of paper tickets at the sporting events around Europe, which has proved expensive, complex and very people intensive. Commenting Mike Short said that “when SMS started no one envisaged that barcodes would end up being used. Mobi-tickets is a good example of how mobile can be used to improve event management.”

Best messaging application: public sector/not for profit

Greenpeace (Argentina) - Green lobby mobileactivism The Zero Waste campaign was the first initiative of Greenpeace Argentina in which mobile-activism was the primary tool used to achieve a goal. Through different “guerrilla” marketing tools, Greenpeace asked people to join us as “mobile-activists” sending a SMS to our number and then encouraged them to support and promote the campaign. SMS was also used to arrange spontaneous meeting points and demonstrations. The result: the government of Buenos Aires will implement a Zero Waste policy that will, by 2010, reduce urban waste sent to landfills by 50%. Presenting the award, Mike Grenville said that “there was enormous potential for mobile to be used to deliver interactive services for both public sector and NGOs. The consumers have the phones and are very well used to mobile messaging and Greenpeace Argentina is a good example of what can be done.”

Best new mobile email and/or IM application

Thumbspeed Inc (USA) - 3MC Mobile IM More than 60% of mobile IM users use more than one community. Thumbspeed set out to create a user experience that encourages extensive use of IM on mobile phones across multiple communities. 3MC utilizes a patent-pending, multi-community (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ) tabbed GUI, making it easy for users to simultaneously login to all of their accounts and switch between communities with just one click. “Making it easy for mobile messaging to be used across communities is an important step to stimulate growth” said Ken Blakeslee presenting the award.

Biggest impact of mobile messaging

Spinvox (UK) - Voicemail-to-text service SpinVox is the world’s first voicemail-to-text service for mobile and landline phones. The service converts voicemail messages into texts and sends them straight to your mobile phone, as if the caller has sent you a text. You can instantly see who called and what they said, then call or text back at the push of a button. Dror Bin, VP and General Manager MS Division at event sponsor Comverse presenting the award said that “Spinvox have taken an existing technology and using its merits taken it to the next level. It showed a spark of innovation and brings together the convenience of voicemail and texting.”

Judging Panel

The 2006 awards judging panel contains leading industry leading lights including Mike Short, Chairman MDA and VP Technology for 02, Ken Blakeslee Chairman, WebMobility Ventures, Angel Gambino VP commercial strategy and digital media, MTV Networks UK, Marek Pawlowski, editorial director at PMN and MEX conferences, Graham Trickey, Technical Director, GSMA, Guido Gybels Director of New Technologies, RNID, Paul Walsh CEO, Segala, Philippe Herbert Partner of Banexi Ventures Partners, Jim Black director of MX Alliance and Mike Grenville, founder and chairman of 160 Characters.

Mike Grenville, 160 Characters said: “Every year there are certain sections of the industry who claim that SMS will be replaced by the next big thing but SMS volumes continue to rise.

“Organising these awards for the third year running, I have been impressed at just how inventive some of the applications for SMS have been from companies around the world. Really simple applications of SMS which help every day people in every day situations and it’s that ubiquity of SMS which makes it the most popular form of mobile data available.”