How Can Phone Makers Differentiate in a 2.0 World

Interesting piece. Will refrain from making comments on professional proprietary grounds.

Raj Singh, Venture Beat
July 7, 2010

Android’s open-source platform has been a huge success for Google. but it’s leaving phone makers at a loss. I sat in on a discussion recently with a handset maker that said Android has affected its ability to differentiate. The fear is that Android’s adoption will mimic Microsoft Windows in the PC industry, where hardware manufacturers are relegated to just hardware.

As Rich Wong described in a previous post, the mobile model has changed. In Mobile 1.0, operators were king and handset makers effectively serviced the operators. Differentiation was primarily in un-commoditized hardware, custom user interfaces, operator relationships and manufacturing economies of scale. Software was fragmented but mostly an afterthought. And operators, being the guardian of the industry, were the primary interface to the consumer.

In 2010, with Mobile 2.0, the model has changed. You don’t distribute content to customers by scoring the sought-after Verizon deal; you do it through an app store. Consumers don’t choose a phone based on Bluetooth and megapixels; they choose based on apps and services. Smartphone platforms have become the brand to the consumer; it’s no longer the Motorola Razr, it’s Google Android.

To survive in this changed market, handset makers will have to make some hard choices.

1. Finding the right market focus

Handset makers have to make a choice: Do they focus on lower-end and lower-margin devices, where consumers don’t expect as many apps and services, or do they play in the smartphone segment, where they need a services strategy? It’s ok to play on both sides, but it’s not ok to straddle the line. And if they decide to rely on the platform or ecosystem provider for service, then they don’t need to waste precious dollars and time promoting full-scale developer programs and setting up a deep Bay Area presence. Save us developers some noise. 

2. Figuring out how to maintain an independent brand

As beautiful as Android is, taking the Android OS is effectively giving users to Google, and the story isn’t going to change with Windows Mobile 7. Granted, Google Maps is probably the industry’s must-have application, but the long-term winners will be a handset maker’s enemies: Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft are the identity managers, and they will eventually own that key consumer billing relationship.

It’s ok to launch devices that are Android, Windows Mobile 7 or other operating systems tied with services, but in the long term, and on the majority of their phones, handset makers need to extend their own services to the consumer. They can either do that by launching their own smartphone-like OS, like Samsung has done with BADA, or partnering with a services-independent OS provider like Symbian or LiMo — and, no, I’m not saying those are necessarily the right ones.

3. Doubling down on HTML5

With all the recent discussion around HTML5, I probably don’t need to evangelize the platform. What the industry is lacking is new HTML5 frameworks for rich internet applications and the developer’s creativity to think of web applications as rich native experiences.

As publishers strive for development efficiency, HTML5 enables easier cross-platform applications. Native development will continue to exist in the short-term, but the 80/20 rule applies, and unfortunately, if a handset maker isn’t one of those 80% platforms that is generating the revenue, developers are not going to write native applications for that platform.

4. Working out effective billing models

As mentioned before, for developers, it’s all about revenue, so to the extent that handset makers can offer unique billing methods and integrated ad networks, developers will build.

It’s critical that these companies build web app stores where web applications (bookmarks) can be submitted and offer as many billing models, methods, mechanisms as possible. Windows Mobile 7’s try-before-you buy SDKs is a great first step, and Apple’s integration of Quattro Wireless into iOS is another good step, but developers need more. We need to make money.

5. Keeping the geometry simple

In the past, Nokia was notorious for building devices with different keyboard alignments. Some have become industry standard and others were very unusual. Whereas the challenge for the consumer was getting comfortable with the key alignment, for developers it’s much more complicated. Great strides have been made to make platforms more cross-compatible to reduce overall porting efforts but the problem isn’t the software, it’s the screen.

Apple’s brilliance with a true write once, run anywhere is the result of geometry. Each screen, regardless of form-factor, has maintained a geometric ratio — meaning an application written for the original iPhone can pixel-double and run on every single Apple mobile device, and maybe even the Apple TV! If the battle for developers is about revenue then platform uniformity and coverage is key.

6. When to stop racing and watch the margin

While I was at Kodak Mobile in 2004, I witnessed the cameraphone megapixel race. Today, the megahertz race has emerged. Handset makers have adopted an hourglass strategy, where there is high-end and low-end hardware. High-end devices are supposed to provide high-end margins, but they’re not. 1 GHz is more than plenty, especially with all the other hardware optimization happening with the application processor. 800 MHz is probably enough and would likely result in better battery life. I don’t know what the floor is, but we’re definitely close to the required ceiling.

7. Creating a desktop presence

It sounds counter-intuitive for a mobile handset maker to build out a strong desktop presence, but it’s all about the billing relationship. Apple’s 60M+ cached credit cards enable a one-click purchase experiences with all of their services. Presently that includes iTunes content, but longer term that may also include premium services (Email++) and so forth. Owning that billing relationship is what the identity managers intend to take, but device makers have ultimate control, since they own the devices.

If apps and services are the new business model, then it’s all about seamlessly capturing that user’s billing identity in desktop saturated markets.

8. Leveraging connected devices

In a recent automotive survey, consumers said they cared more about their phones than their cars. So phone manufacturers have a lot to gain by focusing on the connected lifestyle. If they can’t differentiate on core mobile device user experiences such as email and browsing, they can focus on differentiating in connected experiences, such as enabling the phone to connect device to TVs or to serve as the smart-hub in cars, especially since most of these manufacturers are the same company.

9. Offering data packs

Apps and services are getting more and more data hungry, and there’s no end in sight. With AT&T and other operators introducing data caps, operators now have the power to flat or zero-rate certain apps and services, bringing them potentially back into the forefront of mobile content. So device makers have to think ahead and work with operators to mitigate these concerns for their developers. Offering unlimited data or zero-rating capabilities for certain apps and services could become a new handset differentiator.

10. Considering exclusive deals with “micro-brand” apps

Core apps are those that you use every day and are often part of the platform, but the cool apps are the unique apps users get addicted to. For my Dad, it’s his calculator app, since he’s a math professor. For me, it’s the nutrition app, since I’ve made getting healthy the priority. Each category within the app store has micro-brands for different segments of users. Evernote has cemented itself as one of the leading note-taking applications, and Pandora as the leading mobile internet radio service — the list goes on.

So if it’s all about the content and services, handset makers may want to make bets on exclusives. This may sound counter-intuitive, and I’m not sure how many large publishers would opt-in, but the reality is that the majority of micro-brands would probably consider time or feature-based platform exclusives.

11. Preparing for a flip in the revenue-share model

Today Blackberry may be one of the few device makers that not only gets paid per device but also manages to receive a subscriber data revenue-share from the operator. But as more operators relegate service creation to platforms and handset manufacturers, the model will flip, and phone makers will have to pay a revenue-share to the operators — potentially meaning that a phone maker’s presence in an operator store will be dictated by how much revenue that manufacturer can generate for that operator.

After clocking record exits in '10, VC firms expect more from '11

The VC sector clearly is hot in India ! Would add the following sectors to what could be potentially of interest - Enterprise productivity, Health, Education, Entertainment (Gaming & Video) & Local Search.


Worry about the impact on valuations getting unduly stretched with too much money chasing too few quality deals !

Deepti Chaudhary, The Mint

December 29, 2010

Venture capital (VC) firms enjoyed a successful year in India on the back of a reviving economy, exiting 40 companies, the highest ever in a year, with returns ranging between 10 and 20 times their initial investment.


Although the number of VC deals, including angel and seed-funding deals, slipped slightly from 2009, the com- bined value of new deals in- creased from $359 million (INR 1,619 crore) to $455 million in 2010 as economic growth ac- celerated after 2008-09 downturn.
Investors say the trend will continue in 2011, with sectors such as e-commerce, retail, financial services, Internet and mobile services and sustainable development emerging as the main attractions for VC firms.


But the high returns on invest- ment have substantially raised the valuation of VC deals, and this may dampen the spirits of some investors in the new year.


In 2010, VC-backed firms such as microlender SKS Microfinance Ltd and travel portal MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd became publicly listed.


The total number of VC exits was four times more than last year. Sequoia Capital India, which backs early to late stage firms and listed companies, exited from half a dozen firms - the highest for any VC fund - including companies such as SKS Microfinance, diagnostic services provider Dr Lal PathLabs Pvt. Ltd and legal outsourcing firm Pangea3.


Some investments fetched as much as 20 times the initial capital, said an official at Sequoia, asking not to be named.


The company has at least five exits lined up for 2011, the official added.


As the US and Europe contin- ued to struggle in the aftermath of the economic downturn, a number of foreign VC investors came to India seeking higher returns. Foundation Capital, TLG Capital, Globespan Capital Partners and India Venture Partners were among the new global investors who entered the country in 2010.


More US-based VC firms are on their way, said investors.


“It will not be just general partners wanting to come to In- dia, LPs (limited partners), who are beginning to see returns from Indian investments, may also demand an exposure to In- dian markets,“ said Alok Mittal, managing director, Canaan Partners India.


General partners of a VC firm typically run the management, while limited partners provide the capital.


With early-stage investments depending on seed-funded or angel-funded firms, incubation was a focus area in 2010. At least half a dozen private incu- bators came into being, including Technovate-India and Seeders Llp.


Seed funds are designated firms that invest in companies with a business plan in place, while angel investors are indi- viduals, typically experts in their field, who back a business idea. Incubation involves offer- ing a team of associates to work with budding entrepreneurs and help in setting up infra- structure, in addition to capital support.


“This is a pipeline building mechanism for the $2-$5 mil- lion stage,“ said Indus Khaitan, general partner, The Morpheus, a seed-stage incubator. “More early stage investors will think on the same lines as seed fund- ing is crucial, otherwise they won't have enough companies to back.“
IT and business process out- sourcing (BPO) firms, the tradi- tional favourites of VC inves- tors, were hit particularly hard by the slowdown and are yet to offer good returns. Investors said these sectors are now off the investor radar. E-commerce and consumer-focused companies are emerging as the new favourites, particularly after the successful listing of firms such as MakeMyTrip.


Retail and financial services will be among the main attrac- tions for VC companies in 2011, along with healthcare and mo- bile telephony.


“3G launch, which is immi- nent, will create new opportu- nities. A lot of action is happen- ing, with e-commerce, content, video-based applications com- panies gearing up for the 3G launch,“ said Kanwaljit Singh, managing director, Helion Ven- ture Partners. Telecom firms are expected to start offering 3G services next year after spend- ing more than `67,000 crore in total for buying licences and ra- dio spectrum this year.


Enterprise mobility and en- terprise applications will also gain traction, said T.C. Meen- akshisundaram, managing di- rector of IDG Ventures India.


Applications such as ERP (enterprise resource planning) software and SaaS (software as a service), which focus on small and medium enterprises, “will be interesting as there is an in- creased realization from com- panies to adopt technologies and upgrade“, said Meenaksh- isundaram. Jayant Sinha, man- aging director of Omidyar Net- work India Advisors, said in- vestment in sustainable devel- opment companies--which offer basic services to the poor in an environment-friendly manner--took off in 2010 and will grow next year.


“In 2010, by my rough esti- mates, about $50-$100 million was invested in entrepreneurial ventures targeting the base of the pyramid, which comprises about 850 million people in In- dia (who have incomes less than $2 a day),“ Sinha said. “In 2011, it could be in the range of $100-$200 million as more in- vestors target this market.“ But Sumir Chadha, managing di- rector, Sequoia, sounded a note of caution. As public markets and the returns on investment have risen, so have the valua- tions of VC deals. “This year has been much more difficult on the new investment front, with valuations being very high,“ Chadha said.


Negotiations between VCs and target firms, he added, are getting prolonged as a result, and deals are even falling through. This is another trend that may stretch into 2011.

HTC - Peer to Peer Transfer of Apps

In my opinion it is very important to support his functionality : 

•          Helps to add to the virality
•          Enables faster and easier sharing
•          Aids discovery and access

Mobile Device Trends for 2011

Comments very welcome as always !


My quick personal views and I will probably refine this over the next few weeks -


On the Hardware & Platform front

• Further Growth of the Tablet segment - Tablet market will expand and competition will heat up with entry of more vendors and more platforms

• NFC - Beginning of the resurrection of Near Field Communications for proximity based payments and content dissemination/transfer

• Coming Alive of the Phonebook - With tighter integration of social assets, the phonebook will come alive and become the nerve center of our social connections and social graph and a goldmine every platform provider will want to tap into

• Move towards High Resolution Screens & Dual Core Processors will gain momentum

• Next break through in battery technology - While commercialisation is likely to be over a year away we probably will hear of the first innovations in battery technology. Its been a while and with increasingly powerful phones and greater demands & usage of the phone this becomes all the more critical

• Chrome will like merge with Android 

• In the battle of the Smartphones and OS, RIM is likely to get bruised the most

• Smartphone features penetrate feature phones + Smartphones start to become available in far lower segments 

• Improvements in the UX across platforms and innovations in particular with respect to input (voice, gesture, etc.)

• Tighter Internet integration

& on the Mobile Services side

• Increasing use of mobile devices for Identity Management

• Socializing Everything (Social Layer for all services)

• Increasing Consumer Personalization via Apps (Phone = Life Dashboard)

• Billing Innovation (Micro billing, Micro Tx, etc.)

• Rise of User Generated Content (e.g. in video, maps)

• Greater role for Location & Presence awareness

Inflated Tech Valuations? Blame Uncle Sam

Interesting read particularly the bit about financing terms have gotten more pro-founder in recent years, and VCs and angels are increasingly willing to let entrepreneurs take some money off the table along the way. 


The one other reason not mentioned here in my mind is intense scrutiny and quarterly reporting which a listing start putting on firms which crimps the flexibility to innovate, explore and take risks.


Eric M. Jackson, GigaOM
December 26, 2010

Are technology startup valuations in the middle of another bubble? The New York Times stoked the debate last month when it quoted famed venture capitalists John Doerr and Fred Wilson, who were seemingly agreeing that it is.

One area of tech investing that seems especially “bubble-icious” is the secondary market where investors trade shares of private companies. Last week, Bloomberg reported on a study by Nyppex LLC, a broker for secondary transactions, which found that valuations of private, VC-backed tech companies on the secondary market have risen a whopping 54 percent since June. Retail investors are so eager to get a piece of the action that they’re paying a 31-percent premium over the valuations paid by institutional investors when they first put money into the startups, up from 12 percent in June.

Light volume is part of the reason for the run-up in prices; the market simply isn’t liquid. Nyppex estimates that secondary market transaction volume will be just under $5 billion this year. That’s a small amount of churn compared to the total capitalization of the companies in question. To put it in perspective, $5 billion is roughly equal to the value of Groupon and only 1/10th the most recent valuation of Facebook as reported by SharesPost, so any surge in demand would drive prices up significantly.

I’m quoted in the Bloomberg article noting that the likes of Yelp, Zynga, and LinkedIn are great companies, so it’s natural there would be strong demand on the secondary market for their shares. But why are these companies trading on a secondary market in the first place? A few years ago, many of them would have been publicly traded by this point. Facebook’s revenue run rate is around $2 billion, and Twitter’s is said to be around $300 million, which is more than enough revenue to merit a market cap (and the corresponding liquidity) sufficient for a publicly traded company.

There are some obvious reasons why many tech companies are choosing to remain private instead of having an initial public offering:

• The weak stock market remains a challenge. While markets have rebounded from their early-2009 lows, it’s still a tough environment.
• Financing terms have gotten more pro-founder in recent years, and VCs and angels are increasingly willing to let entrepreneurs take some money off the table along the way. This decreases insiders’ needs for a liquidity event.
• The venture capital bubble is only recently beginning to truly deflate. For many years, private capital has been plentiful and cheap for high-growth tech firms, rendering IPO proceeds as less important.

These factors are well-known, and no doubt they’re all contributing to the IPO drought, but the federal government’s role in the process can’t be ignored. In the wake of stock market scandals in the early part of the decade, Washington sought a political solution in the form of legislation called Sarbanes-Oxley.

Known as “Sarbox,” the legislation mandated sweeping new internal controls over the bookkeeping of publicly traded companies. The new mandates came with a cost: A 2008 study by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found the average cost of Sarbox compliance is $2.3 million per year. A whopping 70 percent of all smaller public companies said compliance costs have prompted them to consider going private, and 77 percent of smaller foreign firms reported considering abandoning their American listings.

The feds made the moribund IPO market even worse by providing additional disincentive against going public, and the end result has been to make it harder for the little guy to get in on the action at all. Or, if he wants to take a small stake in a high-growth tech company like Facebook, he’s got to pay a 31 percent premium to buy it on the secondary market.

Defenders of Sarbox may counter that fewer IPOs are a good thing, and it’s true that during the late-90s dot-com bubble (fueled by the easy money policies of the Federal Reserve) there were companies going public that shouldn’t have. The pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Ten years ago, the IPO market was too hot. Today it’s so cold that Facebook, Zynga, and their peers won’t come out to dance. Retail investors must feel like Goldilocks, wondering if it will ever be “just right.”

Retail investors are increasingly looking down-market by investing in earlier-stage startups, something we’re seeing on our platform at CapLinked. This doesn’t diminish the fact that soaring prices on the illiquid secondary market are a symptom of a larger problem. While personal responsibility on the part of retail investors shouldn’t be overlooked in inflating this apparent bubble, the federal government shares in the blame. When prices can’t adjust, the government needs to find ways to increase efficiency so the market can work. Driving up costs through red tape like Sarbox restricts supply, and we can see the effect of this in the overheating secondary market.

Facebook Overthrows Yahoo To Become The World’s Third Largest Website

Angry Birds On Android Projected To Generate $1 Million Per Month In Advertising

The "Might Eagle"'s video is definitely worth a watch !


The android version of the game is free (ad supported) - 5 Mn downloads in a few weeks generating $1 Mn per month in ad revenues.


Engagement stats overall (across platforms) for Angry Birds is fantastic - Retention rate (# of people who downloaded updates) @ 80% and iPhone users spend a collective 65 million minutes a day playing the game!


Erick Schonfeld, TechCrunch
december 3, 2010

One of the most successful mobile games right now is Angry Birds, which has been downloaded more than 30 million times across different mobile platforms, with 12 million of those being paid downloads on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. But on Android, the game is free, and is supported by advertising. Angry Birds has been downloaded more than 5 million times on Android since that version launched in October. “By end of year, we project earnings of over $1 million per month with the ad-supported version of Angry Birds,” says Peter Vesterbacka, the “Mighty Eagle” behind the game at Rovio Mobile.

He appears in the video above taken by Google’s AdMob team, which kicks off a mobile developer series. In the video, he doesn’t mention the $1 million a month figure, but he does reveals some other stats, such as the fact that the apps have an 80 percent retention rate, measured by the number of people who download updates. And on the iPhone alone, people spend a collective 65 million minutes a day playing the game.

He also talks about different ways to make money from mobile games—whether that is paid downloads, advertising, or toys. (Expect to see ads for the Angry Birds plush toys in the game itself).

Sony Starts Music Service in U.K., Ireland

Streaming service that will work only on Sony devices for the next few years....this is not going to fly in my opinion! Too many constraints + expecting the user to be connected/online to listen to his music !

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI, WSJ

December 23, 2010

TOKYO—Sony Corp. opened an online streaming-music service in the U.K. and Ireland and said it will roll out the platform to other major markets next year, as it looks to try to catch up with rivals such as Apple Inc. in linking electronics to digital content.

View Full Image

Sony

The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said Wednesday that its Music Unlimited service, which opened in the U.K. and Ireland on Tuesday, will be available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other European countries next year, though the company didn't offer details.

The Tokyo-based company will offer subscriptions to a library of six million songs. Unlike Apple's iTunes service, which sells copies of music and movies that are stored on hard drives or device memory, Sony's service will deliver the songs over the Internet to PlayStation 3 consoles, Bravia television sets, Vaio computers and other Sony products.

Over the last few years, Sony has pursued a strategy to connect its hardware offerings with online content-delivery services, such as its PlayStation Network for its videogame console and its Qriocity video-on-demand service for Web-connected TV sets and Blu-ray Disc players. Qriocity opened in April and has yet to make a significant dent into the online video-delivery market. The PlayStation Network has been more successful but hasn't overtaken MicrosoftCorp.'s rival Xbox Live platform.

Sony has long sought to replicate Apple's use of iTunes as the common software library and conduit for delivering music, videos, games and other content for its entire range of products. In September, the company said it would start a streaming music service before year-end.

"We didn't think we could appeal to users with the same kind of model as iTunes, so we decided to make this [Web-based] and maintain that music playlist online", Kazuo Hirai, the president of Sony's network products and services group, told reporters in Tokyo. He said the company is looking to broaden the streaming service to include video.

The service can synchronize with a user's existing music collection. Instead of uploading whole songs, Sony software scans a user's music library and collects the basic song and album data. Once that information is collected, Sony matches those songs with its online music database so users can stream music to a range of Web-connected Sony products.

However, users can't play songs that have digital-rights-management protections. Also, it won't work for titles not found within Sony's six-million-song database, which the company says includes songs from non-Sony labels. The service will work only on Sony products for the next few years, although that could change in the future, Mr. Hirai said.

The service currently is available only on Sony's Web-connected TV sets and Blu-ray players sold this year, but it will work for nearly all PlayStation 3 game consoles and Vaio computers. Mr. Hirai said Sony plans to introduce portable devices that work with the service.

The basic service costs €3.99, or about $5.25, in Ireland and £3.99, about $6.20, in the U.K. The premium service, which includes the ability to call up songs on demand and gain access to regularly updated top 100 lists, costs €9.99 and £9.99 respectively.

Mr.Hirai, who also is in charge of Sony's PlayStation business, also said the company is working on a possible replacement to the PlayStation Portable, which was released in 2004. He also said the company is developing a tablet device. He didn't offer details such as pricing or timing for either product.

The holiday shopping season, a critical period for the videogame business, is proceeding "as expected," Mr. Hirai said, although he added that sales of Sony's PlayStation Move motion-controller are doing "better than expected.

India Telecoms Update @ Oct10

Source : Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

• Overall telephony base reaches 742 Mn taking overall teledensity to 63% (I would dispute the teledensity figure given the multi-SIM phenomenon. I would discount the wireless base by ~30% to arrive at the unique subscriber base)
• 19 Mn wireless additions during the month taking the overall wireless base to 707 Mn
• Service provider-wise share of incremental wireless additions in Oct (top 10): Bharti Airtel (16%), Vodafone (13.1%), Uninor (13.1%), BSNL (12.7%), Reliance (10.6%), Idea (9.5%), Tata (9.2%), Videocon (6%), Aircel (5.3%), Sistema (2.6%)
• Of the wireless adds in October, Metros contributed 11%, Category A circles (34%), Category B Circles (41%) and Category C circles (15%) 
• Service provider-wise cumulative wireless market share end Oct (top 5): Bharti Airtel (21%), Reliance (17%), Vodafone (17%), Tata (11%), BSNL (11%)
• Wireleine base continued to decline and was at 35 Mn 
• Broadband (>256 kbps) subscriber base inched up to 11 Mn

Bharti airtel extends its Triple play proposition to Bangalore

Always good to see something you created the market for in the country expanding !


Airtel Press Release

Bangalore becomes the 2nd city to get airtel ipTV services • Pause and rewind live programs at your own will with Time shift TV • Services like Movies-on-Demand & Radio to offer a unique Interactive experience on TV

Bengaluru, December 9, 2010 : Bharti airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced the expansion of its Triple Play proposition to Bangalore. The announcement follows a successful run of ipTV operations in Delhi NCR region. With Triple Play, airtel offers customers the opportunity of simultaneously enjoying voice, broadband and television (ipTV) all on a single line. airtel ipTV will come to customers through a strong backbone of Carrier Ethernet Network with last mile delivery on copper using ADSL2+ technology, which will enable superior digital video and audio quality. s airtel ipTV's unique features • Triple Play-enjoy voice, broadband and television (ipTV)on a single line and simultaneously too! • True VoD Library of 150+ Titles • 42 channels on Time Shift TV - over 7000+hrs of content • Universal remote-single remote for TV and set top box • All weather broadcasting-enjoy uninterrupted signals • Single unified bill for voice, DSL and ipTV Extending its promise of a Single Knock on The Door experience, airtel’s single Customer Service interface will deliver a single unified bill for voice, broadband and television (ipTV) to its Triple Play customers in Bangalore. Transforming TV viewing into a two-way experience, Time Shift TV on airtel ipTV auto records the entire programming schedule on 42 top of the line channels. This ensures that ones favourite entertainment is kept fresh, so that one can enjoy it when they want. So rewind or fast-forward whenever you want, at no extra cost! According to Mr. Girish Mehta, Chief Marketing Officer, airtel telemedia services, "We are pleased to announce the launch of airtel ipTV services in Bangalore. Bangalore has consistently been one of our biggest markets for broadband and often leads in adoption of new technologies. Now viewers no longer need to take an appointment with their televisions. With a customer-friendly interface, universal remote, video library of over 150 titles and all weather broadcasting, airtel ipTV will create an unmatched entertainment experience for our customers." How to get an airtel ipTV- Customers can subscribe to ipTV services for just Rs. 249/month on any broadband plan that has 127 channels in the Basic Pack. A Neo Sports Top up (2 Channels) is also available @ Rs.35. Customers can also opt for our Value for Money Triple Play Plans, Magic 999 and Magic 1299 plans and realize the true benefits of Triple Play-voice, broadband and television on a single line. Getting Started-Installation &Activation Charges- Rs. 1750 for existing customers and Rs.2250 for new customers What is IPTV? One of the key drivers of digitalizing entertainment in India, Internet Protocol Television is a system where: • Digital Television service is delivered using the Internet Protocol over Broadband Network, on Television Screens • Triple play of Telephony, Data access and entertainment service are offered to the customer • A single connection is used to Deliver TV, Voice and Internet Note: IPTV is not Internet TV viewed on ones PC, nor is it Internet Browsing on TV. For more information, customers can visit www.airtel.in/iptv

Airtel Mobitude 2010: The verdict of Indian masses is out!

Numbers are simply astounding - 90 billion SMS and 225 million song downloads.


I would have expected the 25 million images and wallpaper downloads to be higher !


Airtel Press Release
December 21, 2010

• Captures preferences of over 150 million mobile users across the country • Includes annual analysis of music, images, video downloads, and data traffic • Highlights:     » Diwali delights India most: Out of total SMS traffic of over 90 billion in the year - more than 1.2 billion SMSes      were exchanged on Diwali     » 'Munni Badnaam Hui' leads music downloads: While a total of 225 million songs were downloaded in 2010      - Malaika Arora starrer item song from Dabaang peaked full-song music charts     » Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan rule: Of 25 million images and wallpapers downloaded, both stars scored      numero uno position in respective categories

New Delhi, December 21, 2010 : Bharti airtel, India's leading global telecommunications company, today released the findings of airtel Mobitude 2010 - the only survey of its kind to map onto mobile phone usage trends across the country. Based on a detailed analysis of data capturing all downloaded content by airtel mobile users in 2010, this survey is compiled at the end of every calendar year - thus bringing out the India’s preferences and favorites across various categories. Mr Atul Bindal, President – Mobile Services, Bharti airtel said, "Today, people across India are increasingly relying on the mobile platform as their source of entertainment and information from songs, videos, wallpapers to applications. The findings of airtel Mobitude 2010 are a true manifestation of what appeals to the Indian masses. As the country's largest mobile services provider – we are proud to be a leading an industry connecting millions, bringing alive airtel’s brand proposition of 'closer to what you love' for our customers" According to airtel Mobitude 2010 - a whopping 90 billion SMSes were exchanged in India on airtel last year. Interestingly, the maximum number of SMSes exchanged was recorded at 1.2 billion on the auspicious occasion of Diwali (see A). Diwali thus turned out to be India's most celebrated occasion, beating last year's winner - the New Year. In the entertainment space - songs from Bollywood movie 'Dabaang' were on the top of the Indian mobile charts with "Munni Badnaam Hui" and "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" at number one and two (see B) in the full songs downloaded category. In Bollywood segments, airtel Mobitude 2010 concluded that Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan ruled in the categories of images downloaded (see C and D). Despite several new entrants in the Bollywood world - Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor were the only new comers to feature among the top 5 categories. Amongst sportstars (Male) - Sachin Tendulkar was clearly India’s favourite, followed by Indian cricket team captain M.S.Dhoni (see E). In the sportstars (Female) Sania Mirza maintained the number one position closely followed by international stars (see F). According to the survey, 25 million images and wallpapers were downloaded by airtel mobile users in the last one year. Categories of airtel Mobitude 2010 A) Most Celebrated occasions  1. Diwali 2. Dusshera 3. Friendship Day 4. Holi 5. Valentine's Day 6. New Years B) Top 5 songs 1. Munni Badnaam Hui 2. Tere Mast Mast Do Nain 3. Pee Loon Hoton Ki Sargam 4. Zor Ka Jhatka 5. Gal Mithi C) Top images downloads: Bollywood divas 1. Katrina Kaif 2. Kareena Kapoor 3. Deepika Padukone 4. Priyanka Chopra 5. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan D) Top images downloads: Bollywood actors 1. Salman Khan 2. Shahrukh Khan 3. Ranbir Kapoor 4. Akshay Kumar 5. Shahid Kapoor 6. Hrithik Roshan E) Top images downloads: Sports stars (Male) 1. Sachin Tendulkar 2. M S Dhoni 3. Rafael Nadal 4. Roger Federer 5. Harbhajan Singh 6. Sourav Ganguly F) Top images downloads: Sports stars (Female) 1. Sania Mirza 2. Maria Sharapova 3. Serena Williams 4. Ana Ivanovic 5. Svetlana Kuznetsova

Top 20 Brands on Twitter basis # Followers

Source : MS, Nov 2010, Figures in Mn indicate # of Twitter followers. Excludes celebrities

• Oprah - 4.5 Mn
• CNN Breaking News - 3.6 Mn
• New York Times - 2.7 Mn
• Google - 2.6 Mn
• E! Online - 2.5 Mn
• The Onion - 2.4 Mn
• People Magazine - 2.2 Mn
• Time Magazine - 2.2 Mn
• NBA - 2.1 Mn
• Mashable - 2.1 Mn
• Matha Stewart - 2.0 Mn
• Whole Foods - 1.8 Mn
• NPR - 1.8 Mn
• InStyle Magazine - 1.8 Mn
• NFL - 1.8 Mn
• BBC Click - 1.8 Mn
• Zappos! - 1.8 Mn
• Good Morning America - 1.7 Mn
• Woot - 1.6 Mn
• CBS News - 1.6 Mn

Top 20 Brands/Products on Facebook basis people 'Likes'

Source : MS, Nov 2010. Figures in brackets indicate aggregate 'Likes'

• Texas Hold'em Poker (Zynga) - 27.2 Mn
• Facebook - 25.2 Mn
• YouTube (Google) - 19.6 Mn
• Starbucks - 16.9 Mn
• Coca-Cola - 16.7 Mn
• Mafia Wars (Zynga) - 14.4 Mn
• Oreo (Kraft) - 13.2 Mn
• Skittles (Mars) - 12.4 Mn
• Red Bull - 11.1 Mn
• Disney - 10.3 Mn
• Victoria's Secret - 9.1 Mn
• Converse All Star - 8.8 Mn
• iTunes (Apple) - 7.9 Mn
• Windows Live Messenger (Microsoft) - 7.6 Mn
• Pringles (P&G) - 6.7 Mn
• iPod (Apple) - 6.6 Mn
• Zara - 6.5 Mn
• NBA - 6.0 Mn
• Starbust (Mars) - 5.9 Mn
• Dr. Pepper - 5.8 Mn

Indian telemedicine moves on to version 2.0

My long held opinion - Health provides tremendous opportunities, currently virtually untapped, for the the mobile and internet domains.

Archana Rai, Economic Times

December 17, 2010 

Bangalore-based start-up builds the world’s first softwae application that streams live medical images onto mobile devices of specialists.

Four-month-old Tabassum is tearful; squishy liquids are being dropped into her eyes and bright lights shined onto them. Despite her very vocal discomfort, the doctors peering at the images of her retina played out on a computer screen in a Bangalore hospital are upbeat — the blood vessels growing out on her retina are progressing well, there is no danger now of the tiny infant going blind. 

A premature baby, weighing less than 2,000 grams at birth, Tabassum is being screened by specialists using a software developed by a Bangalorebased start-up i2i Telesolutions. The software links ophthalmologists at urban centres with patients in remote areas. 

“This is telemedicine 2.0, moving ahead from the earlier system of videoconferencing to live streaming of data and images onto the mobile phone of the doctor,” says Sham Banerji, CEO of i2iTeleSolutions. The company is partnering with Narayana Nethralaya, a Bangalore-based ophthalmology centre, to pilot a series of initiatives to detect and treat retinopathy of prematurity (RoP) — a condition that affects nearly a tenth of the 27 million children born in India every year. 
“Roughly if 100 critical cases are screened, 15-20% may require treatment to prevent blindness,” says Dr Anand Vinekar, paediatric retinal surgeon, Narayana Nethralaya, who has screened and treated nearly 3,000 babies over the past year using this new software. 

In the 18 months since it was set up, i2i has focused on developing technology that allows data transfer of medical images from ophthalmology to sonography. Using this, specialists at partner hospitals such as MediScan Systems in Chennai can diagnose potential birth defects in foetuses by screening pregnant mothers within the first 13 weeks. 

The Worldwide Telemedicine software and services market, which does not include healthcare devices, is expected to grow to $2 billion in the next two years. 

“Our focus is to lead in the fastest growing segments of this market — from tele-ophthalmology, to tele-cardiology, tele-sonography and mobile health,” says Banerji, who leads a lean team of ten people in his start-up. With his team of co-founders, Banerji has put in a paid-up capital of $600,000 to build the business over the past 18 months. 

Industry experts say a growing shortage of medical specialists as well as rising incidence of disease in post-industrial societies is leading to this upsurge in demand for telemedicine, which includes both diagnosis and targeted treatment. 

For instance, in India, which has the largest concentration of blind people in the world, there is one ophthalmologist for every 10000 people. “The country is now experiencing the third epidemic of ROP with technology-driven healthcare emerging as the best option to arrest this,” says Dr Vinekar. 

To begin with, the hospital had a basic system where photo images of children affected with the condition were sent in as email attachments to specialists who in turn diagnosed the condition and reverted with no universal screening of all premature children. 

“To prevent blindness, a child should be screened within 30 days of birth and treatment initiated within 48 hours of screening as ROP is a progressive condition,” says Dr Vinekar. 

Addressing this gap in the healthcare delivery system is expected to provide telemedicine companies with their largest market opportunity. 

“Several technology drivers are making telemedicine a huge disruptive force in un-served or underserved regions of India. Together, they have the potential to provide access to good medical care without geographical constraints,” says Vijay Govindarajan, professor of international business at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, who has blogged about i2i’s teleophthalmology solution on the Harvard Business Review blogs. 

Apart from the rapid growth of mobile phones in emerging markets, he also lists the evolution in technology platform from the older picture archiving and communication system (PACS) to a tele-PACS system that can help multiple specialists to simultaneously view and report on a single image, as the prime influences of this growing trend. 

“Technology now increases the scale of impact. I can view images of more patients, number of diagnosis rises rapidly and also allows me to source second opinion immediately on any of my cases,” says Dr Vinekar. 

The i2i platform now requires a trained technician to take retinal photographs of the babies and upload them on the move to a secure remote server using a data card, from where they can be downloaded onto a phone or a regular computer to a specialist who diagnoses and provides corrective feedback within 15 minutes of the image being first uploaded. 

“We built this software initially on the proprietary Apple platform for security and advanced graphical capability. We are looking to extend this to Android platforms now,” says Banerji. His company has been approached by makers of Blackberry phones and Samsung to have these applications embedded on their devices as well, he adds. 

Currently, this model has been adopted as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with primary health centres across 23 districts having this capability. For i2i, which is now looking to make this technology platform agnostic, the spurt in revenues from this model has been significant with average revenues now at $150,000 every quarter. 

“We have seen a huge revenue kick from the tele-ophthalmology and sonography solutions,” says Banerji.

Across Indian hospitals alone, there are estimated to be at least 150 million medical images that need to be viewed and screened by specialists. “We estimate that less than 2% of these images are being viewed through the telemedicine route so the headroom for growth is immense,” says Banerji, who is now looking to raise risk capital to expand the business. 

Rapidly-expanding mobile phone networks is seen as one leg of the expansion for telemedicine, while a spurt in the use of hand-held medical devices with wireless capability could also drive this growth, say experts. 

“The recently-introduced hand-held ultrasound machine, VSCAN from GE, uses the same chip architecture that powers most smart phones,” says professor Govindarajan in his blog. These devices will play a pivotal role in telemedicine, he says. For i2i, this expansion provides a threefold business opportunity. 

“We will expand sales and marketing channels in India and select markets overseas and also focus on technology for mobile healthcare access and delivery,” says Banerji, who also expects his company to proactively engage in driving rural healthcare through public-private partnerships such as the current engagement with India’s rural health mission. 

For patients, now the doctor need not be present in person before they receive an expert diagnosis.