GMIC Beijing – into the Dragon’s Den

Beijing’s annual Global Mobile Internet Conference was better attended than most GSM Mobile World Congress conference halls.

For two days, the great and good of the Chinese Mobile Internet regaled us with valuable advice, canny predictions and wonderful insight. As a cross-cultural affair for networking and business learning I cannot recommend this event highly enough, definitely one for your 2011 diary and beyond.

Morodo was on the shortlist of the Innovation competition for start-ups. I really enjoyed presenting MO-Call to the massed attendees and a stiff panel of experts. Thank you to the Dragons, Joe Jasin, Victor Tong, William Wang and Wang Ye, for the excellent advice and feedback.

Thank you also to Benjamin Joffe and Barrett Parkman, founders of the Great Wall Club, organisers of the event. Now I’m looking forward to catching up with all the new people we met.

Image: Duncan Leung

Press Release: MO-Call for the iPhone now works on 3G networks

LONDON – Morodo Limited today announced the release of a new version of its iPhone app that supports cheap calls and SMS via both WiFi and 3G networks. The new iPhone app is free and available now for installation or upgrade from iTunes.

Morodo Managing Director, Andrew Reid, said. “This is the first of many MO-Call apps that will allow customers to make MO-Calls over the 3G network. What’s more, the app offers both cheap calls and low rate SMS. If your Mobile Network Operator’s iPhone bill is too expensive – well – now there’s an app for that!”

“It seemed like all of customers were asking us for a MO-Call app that used 3G as well as WiFi, it’s great that the iPhone app has been released first. It works on any iPhone or iPod touch running software version 3.0 or above and it even works on the iPad. We’ll be launching MO-Call 3G apps for other devices soon..” Added Chief Technical Officer, James Barnes.

MO-Call enables low-cost and free calling and SMS direct from a mobile phone or computer. Offering seamless connection of low-cost and free calls, MO-Call provides savings of up to 90% over Traditional mobile and Fixed Line networks. MO-Call works through a browser or plug-in software applications that can be downloaded, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.com

If Google can’t do it – why can we?

This was the theme for Wednesday’s excellent Global Mobile Internet Conference dinner panel. Moderated by everyone’s favourite local blogger, Jeremy Goldkorn, the panel of speakers was a veritable who’s who of Beijing tech consulting. We were treated to some fantastic advice for those fresh-off-the-boat or yet to embark on their great Sino adventure.

Kaiser Kuo told us to seek local help and guidance and accept that, as a stranger in a strange land, someone might take advantage of you.

Victor Tong recommended establishing a family-like rapport with your core team of engineers/developers.

Richard Robinson and Alvin Wang both added caution to Kaiser’s comments: find a trusted partner with strong local knowledge and accept that you will be ripped-off at least once.

And finally, David Wolf reminded us all of the cha (茶) principal: C for Creativity, H for Humility and A for Adaptability. I like this acronym very much as it compliments my own advice to newcomers: “Don’t obsess about your Face, obsess about your Work.”

Image: James’ trusty Nokia E71

IMS: What Is It Good For?

Frost & Sullivan agree with the Morodo Team: it is only a matter of time until Internet protocol (IP) becomes the principal transport for various access technologies. Most Mobile Network Operators are some way from launching their much-feted all-IP IMS networks., and we say: why bother?

As long ago as 1999, the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), an architectural framework for delivering IP multimedia services, was defined and placed before the 3rd Generation Mobile Group (3GPP), ostensibly as a means of delivering Internet services over General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), the then Next Generation in high speed wireless data.

Gathering momentum through the latter part of the last decade, Mobile Network Operators, the International Telecommunications Union, 3GPP, device manufacturers and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) devised a framework of standards that define access, billing and control methodology for new network services under IMS. This ‘improved’ network architecture relies on the addition of an horizontal control layer isolating the access network from the services layer. In layman’s terms, the addition of a costly means of control managed by the Gatekeeper networks.

Within the mobile world in particular, the vision of IMS as a Rich Communication Suite (RCS) has become quite popular amongst the incumbents. Not only does IMS provide further protectionism and barriers to entry for disruptors, in the customer context, RCS is meant to offer an enhanced device phonebook, enhanced messaging and presence and advanced call functionality. In other words, very cool services that customers want to use.

The peculiar thing about IMS and its subset, RCS, is that there is absolutely no need for it, unless you are an incumbent operator intent on clinging to the remaining limits of control in your grasp. The base protocol for IMS is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a common Open Protocol defined by well-written community developed Open Standards that relies on base IP protocols (i.e. the ones we use to run the Internet today).

Quite simply, all of the enhanced features evident in IMS and RCS are available to Morodo today and if they are not already implemented in MO-Call for Morodo’s customers to use, they are either in development or in pre-launch alpha test. Morodo’s MO-Call client applications are fairly agnostic of network bearer technology and can originate and terminate calls over GSM, CDMA, 3G, UMTS, WCDMA, PSTN, WiFi, WLAN, WiMax and probably LTE too. More advanced features, such as messaging, rely on common IP protocols where these bearer technologies support them (which is in most cases).

The answer to the question ”What Is MO-Call?” It’s the next generation of Rich Communication Services available from any connected device, today. In MO-Call, Morodo has created all the services, features and functions provided and supported by a Mobile Network and VoIP Operator and presented them to a global market.

Nokia Comes With Something Missing

Press Release: MO-Call offers cheap SMS for BlackBerry

LONDON – Morodo Limited is pleased to announce that cheap SMS is now available to everyone using a BlackBerry. MO-Call for the BlackBerry is available from the MO-Call website or simply go to http://mo-call.mobi from a BlackBerry handheld to install or upgrade the application.

Morodo Managing Director, Andrew Reid, said. “MO-Call BlackBerry customers don’t want to pay a fortune to send SMS to work colleagues, clients, friends and family. We’ve added a simple option to the MO-Call app that lets you send messages anywhere in the world at low cost. It’s so easy to use, just open the MO-Call app, write your text and send it.”

“To make life even easier for new BlackBerry MO-Callers, we’ve made considerable improvements to the app User Interface and installation process.” Added Chief Technical Officer, James Barnes. “A new customer can be making MO-Calls and sending SMS in minutes.”

MO-Call enables low-cost and free calling and SMS direct from a mobile phone or computer. Offering seamless connection of low-cost and free calls, MO-Call provides savings of up to 90% over Traditional mobile and Fixed Line networks. MO-Call works through a browser or plug-in software applications that can be downloaded, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.com

Mobile Banking made Easy

Over at GoMo News, Cian was wondering How do banks and operators feel about mobile banking? An insightful post that’s worth a read.

We all know this is one hot area and there are plenty of vendors out there ensuring that the ‘key’ aspect, Authentication, need not be beholden to the Operator; the game is still open to anyone.

Here in Beijing, China Mobile has a simple solution to all of those pesky commercials that have held up European Operator’s mobile money projects: buy a bank.

Update: Testing Times

Some very good news from the Symbian Foundation further to my 19th Feb post highlighting changes to the Symbian app approvals process.

Last Friday evening, I received an email from Symbian advising that Sogeti will remain a Symbian Signed Test House, and will accept Certified Signed submissions at a flat fee of €150 per submission. Also, the cost of Express Signed Content IDs will reduce to €15 from 8th March.

Thank you Symbian.

If you’d like some insight into the future of Symbian and Meego, Rafe Blandford and the team at All About Symbian have posted a great video of their MWC conversation with Nokia’s Anssi Vanjoki. Worth watching or reading.

Press Release: MO-Call offers cheap SMS for the iPhone

LONDON – Morodo Limited is pleased to announce that cheap SMS is now available for everyone with an iPhone. MO-Call for the iPhone is available in the iTunes store or simply go to http://mo-call.mobi on the iPhone to open a free account and install the application.

Morodo Managing Director, Andrew Reid, said. “MO-Call customers love the call savings our iPhone app delivers, now they can save a fortune on their SMS too. It’s so easy to use, just open the MO-Call app, write your text and send it. I’m pleased to say that we offer the same massive discounts against Network Operators and alternative Operators like Skype”

“Customers don’t need to download a new MO-Call iPhone app to use the new SMS feature.” Said Morodo CTO, James Barnes, “All they need to do is open the app, go to My Account, write and send their SMS. It’s as simple as that. We’ll be adding a lot more messaging features in the near future ”

MO-Call enables low-cost and free calling and SMS direct from a mobile phone or computer. Offering seamless connection of low-cost and free calls, MO-Call provides savings of up to 90% over Traditional mobile and Fixed Line networks. MO-Call works through a browser or plug-in software applications that can be downloaded, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.com

The World’s Largest App Store

Yesterday PocketGear announced their acquisition of Handango with a bold claim to being the world’s largest app store. With 140,000 apps, covering 2,000 devices and downloaders from 175 countries, they may very well be right, only GetJar comes close in cross-platform.

As GSMA members in the Wholesale Application Community have realised, addressing the mass market, device fragmentation demands app store consolidation. They’re a bit late coming to this party. In my view, the Operator On-Deck app store has about as much chance of success as the Operator On-Deck Internet Portal.

Congratulations PocketGear!