MOKO.mobi raises $1,000,000 in funding
December 8, 2009
MOKO.mobi raises $1,000,000
Announcement comes after mobile device communications platform provider seals first major EU deal.
ASX-listed mobile device communications platform provider, MOKO.mobi (ASX: MKB) has announced it has raised over $1 million in capital at a price of $0.10 per share and is in the process of investigating a “significant corporate transaction”.
In a statement to the ASX, the company said the capital raising was done under a private placement and will be made under the approval given by shareholders at its annual general meeting in September.
It also said the formalities of the transaction would be completed over the coming days with any deal subject to shareholder approval. A spokesperson for the company would not provide further information.
“We are encouraged by this show of strong support from private and institutional shareholders, providing additional working capital to assist MOKO.mobi in its current carrier rollout program” MOKO.mobi managing director Ian Rodwell, said. “The company continues to make progress in acquiring new mobile telephone carriers supplying our product to their user base, and these additional funds will enable the company to better support those new contracts.”
In August the company announced it was in the process of raising $1.5 million in equity with funds coming through a private placement with “Triscreen Media Group (TMG) agreeing to invest a further $500,000 as part of the placement”.
At the time of the announcement it said it was confident of “achieving at least $1.5 million under this placement”.
Early in December, the company also announced it had signed its first major continental European deal with Telefonica Spain.
MOKO.mobi raises $1m
Computerworld Australia
IDN.mobi - China Launch is a Huge success - Day 1 Stats
October 31, 2009
The sunrise launch of the .mobi domain / keyword bundle in China went off as planned Yesterday on 29th October 2009. Everything went extremely smoothly as hoped and predicted.
The dotMobi / Huarui bundle of keywords and Chinese-language .mobi domains were available for regging beginning at 4 a.m. UTC yesterday, October 29, 2009, and will finish at 4 a.m. UTC on November 28, 2009. So people and businesses will have one month to grab what they want.
Immediately after on November 28, general registration will commence, and the keyword / Chinese-language .mobi domain bundle will be available at standard prices.
We asked Vance Hedderel (PR Director Dot Mobi), to detail a little more about ‘keyword bundles’ and idn.mobi and he had this to say:
“Keywords: on a country-by-country basis, words are mapped to a mobile phone number and end users can type a memorable name rather than a number via SMS (Think of ads that say, “Just type ‘deal’ and send to 11222.”). Now, in China (where that service is extremely popular), keyword owners will also have the equivalent .mobi domain available so they can create more dynamic mobile presences.”
The .mobi registration stats can be seen below, approximately 86,000 EXTRA .mobi domains were added to the pool of registered .mobis.
We’ll keep you updated regularly on daily registrations where we can. Dot mobi should cruise past a million registrations once again pretty soon . Many quality .mobi domains are being recaptured daily on the drops too. The natural wasteage will continue of dropped rubbish, of course this applies to all extensions. I will stick to my prediction (many think outlandish) of 5 million + registered .mobi domains inside the next 3 years.
This should be interesting to watch for the next month and beyond. I will closely watch Russia roll out their .mobi domains next. This activity combined with the non stop rollout of developed .mobi sites is making this the the most exciting area of domaining and development to be involved in. There is no opportunity in domaining and development like this at these entry levels. Full stop. Come back to this post in 3 years or less and all the posts in this section. So what are your predictions of thenumber of .mobi registrations in 2 months time, 12 months time, 2 years time and 3 years time. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below ……………………….
.mobi is launched as mobile domain in China, IDN format
October 14, 2009
dot mobi, the company behind the .mobi top-level Internet domain name, today announced the availability of its one-of-a-kind mobile keyword and .mobi domain bundle for Chinese brands and businesses, offered in partnership with China-based mobile keyword vendor Huarui.
Web searches via mobile phones
According to Analysys International, more than 270 million web searches were performed on mobile phones in China in the second quarter of 2009 – double the figure from a year earlier, which highlights the importance of search for the Chinese mobile web.
“With 700 million Chinese mobile subscribers, a rising number are using the web on their phones as carriers in China roll out 3G services,” said Ma Yanli, CEO of Huarui.
Currently, more than 50% of China’s 1.3 billion citizens are estimated to be mobile subscribers – a figure that will quickly grow with the advent of 3G networks, which are just now arriving in China. And as with other countries, 3G mobile network speeds will drive the growth of mobile Web use. dotMobi’s unique mobile keyword and .mobi domain bundle is designed to meet the needs of businesses in that burgeoning mobile Web environment.
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So, less of this:
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And much more of this:
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Trey Harvin, CEO of dotMobi, said, “The packaging of mobile keywords and .mobi domains is a global first. This gives Chinese site owners the flexibility of using the .mobi domain to help ensure successful discovery by search engines, while using both the .mobi domain and matching keyword in advertising efforts.”
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Keywords – memorable words that a user can type into a mobile phone instead of a number – are very popular in China. And specific to the Chinese market, dotMobi will offer Web addresses in Chinese characters. These addresses in non-standard language characters are known as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). The use of Chinese-character IDNs will allow Chinese-language mobile Web sites to be found more easily by search engines. According to Analysys International, more than 270 million Web searches were performed on mobile phones in China in the second quarter of 2009 – double the figure from a year earlier, which highlights the importance of search for the Chinese mobile Web.
“Being able to find content that works on mobile phones is extremely important, given the ongoing rise in mobile-web users, and that is why Huarui is happy to be collaborating with dotMobi,” Yanli added.
The dotMobi/Huarui bundle of keywords and Chinese-language .mobi domains will be available in a special sunrise period beginning at 4am China time (UTC) on 29 October, 2009, and will finish at 4am UTC on 28 November, 2009.
Vance Hedderel (Dot Mobi PR Director) said:
“Huarui is the retail division of the China Academy for Telecommunications Research (CATR), which is in turn part of the China Ministry of Information Industry (MII).
All IDN.mobi names in simplified Chinese characters will be bundled with corresponding wireless keywords. The IDN.mobi names in simplified Chinese characters will not be sold separately. And there will be no Premium Names in connection with this bundle.”
Immediately after 28 November, 2009, general registration will commence, and the keyword/Chinese-language .mobi domain bundle will be available at standard prices.
About dotMobi
dotMobi is backed by leading mobile operators, network & device manufacturers, and Internet content providers, including Google, Ericsson, GSM Association, Hutchison 3, Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Telefónica Móviles, Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Visa and Vodafone.
Pinky Brand Podcast on WebmasterFM - Dot Mobi
October 5, 2009
Victor Pitts from webmasterfm interviews Pinky Brand live on their radio show. This broadcast occurred on 16th September.
The interview lasts 39 minutes, so go grab a coffee and have it playing in the background whilst your developing out some of your .mobi domains!
Go to their site now to listen to the podcast which can also be downloaded free.
www2.webmasterradio.fm/domain-masters/2009/dotmobi-acceptance/
Bing Go Mobile - Bing.mobi
September 22, 2009
Bing.com the search engine giant ranked as the 20th most popular site in the world, has gone mobile with their search engine. The bing mobile site can be found at Bing.mobi
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The website is indexed and standalone on Google and other search engines: www.google.co.uk/bing.mobi
When searching on bing.mobi on the pc, the url strings returned are formatted with bing.mobi but don’t know if this is mirrored in some way from .com site. More needs to be looked into.
When searching ‘bing mobile’ on google, the m.bing.com result is shown though, i would need to check my smartphone to see if the .mobi is returned in serps.
The ready score for Bing.mobi is a fantastic 4/5 though and i also checked on my smartphone too: http://ready.mobi/results
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This is great news and a step forward from a lowly redirect, however it won’t be big news in the mobile and .mobi world until promotion by microsoft occurs at some point. The good thing is that it is indeed possible. Microsoft have a number of .mobi websites and do promote them, they are backers of the tld financially also. Best thing I can say is ‘watch this space’. We’re always the first to bring you the .mobi news
Mobile Banking is the future and the here and now
September 18, 2009
Mobile banking is set to be the most widely used banking channel in the UK, according to a survey of 1,000 people.
It looks likely to achieve the fastest rate of mass-market penetration in history, even outpacing banking channels like credit cards, ATMs and online banking, according to the research from the Future Foundation and mobile money specialist Monitise.
The survey found that 11% of 35 to 44-year-olds use their mobile phones to manage their money. Those who have already adopted mobile banking are also using it more frequently than before, with nearly half (49%) of all existing customers claiming to have used the service more extensively over the last year.
Seventy per cent of consumers said online or mobile phone banking would help them run their budgets more efficiently. Two-thirds (64%) agreed (or strongly agreed) that it was important to be able to manage their money 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Alastair Lukies, chief executive of Monitise, said, “As consumers tighten their belts they are demanding that they are empowered with more control over their money. The banks have recognised this and most have rolled out mobile money services over the past 18 months.
More from this article here: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/12/08/233775/mobile-banking-to-take-off-in-a-big-way.htm
An example in Mobile Banking
September 18, 2009
Imagine you are a bank with no branches or ATMs, almost three million customers and only 195 employees in total. This is e-bank Japan, which provides 24-hour real-time electronic services. With a corporate vision that mobile computing can give customers their own personal branch in the future it is an example of a company that has totally automated its business using the latest technology. Japan may be the first to adopt this kind of technology, but it is something that could make sense in the UK too. After all, e-bank Japan has about 200 staff, of which 30 are internal IT staff, yet it manages almost three million customer accounts. The combined attractions of reduced costs and increasing customer demand could drive mobile banking adoption in here post credit crunch.
“Asia is a major success story for mobile banking,” says Robert Morgan, consultant at Hamilton Bailey. “Many rural people in countries such as India do all their banking by mobile. The West has been lackadaisical because we like to touch things.”
He says banks in the UK can accelerate the adoption of mobile banking as the credit crunch forces them to cut costs. By automating more of the banking processes more staff cuts can be made. “The way the credit crunch has gone, with banks making cost reductions, mobile banking is on the horizon. The age of mobile banking will allow banks to make front office savings.”
So how does it work at e-bank Japan? “Most of our services can be completed by PC, so we just focus on the transaction processing system to keep operating smoothly,” says Kaz Saiki, head of public relations at the bank. “That is why we can manage 2.8 million customers’ accounts with fewer than 200 staff.”
more on this article computerweekly link
Barclays new improved mobi site - Barclays.mobi & British Mobile Banking
September 10, 2009
As many readers of our site will know, and those who keep themselves abreast of mobile web developments, Barclays Bank have had their mobile website for 2 years now. Barclays.mobi was launched in 2007. It is located at Barclays.mobi
It is a cracking site full of really useful information, with ease of access for mobile customers and a nice clean design. A few improvements as detailed below have been added which has helped greatly. Barclays along with other Banks and companies joining the ranks of others on the mobile web are learning themselves how the mobile web differs from the conventional web and how their mobile customers banking needs differ. And are adapting their sites accordingly.
The British Banking sector are lagging behind Barclays in neglecting their mobile sites though. I have seen none of them promote mobile sites and it has to be said i know of only a couple of other British dedicated mobile banking site at the .mobi mobile web address. HalifaxIntermediaries.mobi & FirstDirect.mobi MyFD.mobi
The real shame is i know bank of America and Wachovia and others stateside are really promoting their sites at Bofa.mobi etc. by detailing them on atm screens and customers statements, tv ads etcetera so their customers actually know about the sites. I have been a lifelong Barclays customer and I only know about their site at Barclays.mobi because I keep abreast of mobile developments and sites because of my job. It seems no Barclays customers are aware of this fantastic resource. I know this beacuse even Barclays staff don’t know about their site! I was in my local branch the other day and none of the counter staff had ever heard about Barclays.mobi, none of the telephone banking staff had either.
(Update today; 18th september 2009)
(I contacted Barclays Media centre today by phone and email today, about the lack of information about their mobile banking service at Barclays.mobi, and how if even the staff don’t know about their site, how can the public, and if they were planning to promote it, and how? We will inform you of their response and plans.)
There are however a vast number of other global banking giants joining the fray. To list a few:
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Barclays Article:
Barclays now has a new improved mobi site. They also offer free Kaspersky mobile fraud protection which covers anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-theft protection for their barclays mobile customers.
See the full press release at: www.newsroom.barclays.com/content/detail.aspx?ReleaseID=1612&NewsAreaID=2 and below
“Barclays unveils improved mobile banking service
10 Sep 2009 11:00
Barclays today unveils improvements to two key areas of its popular mobile phone banking site www.barclays.mobi providing additional relevant services and simplified access to online banking for our mobile customers.
The first area of improvement is to the online banking log-in pages which have been optimised for access and viewing on mobile devices. In addition, a new ‘quick access’ log-in has been added for customers who purely want to view their balance, statement or to make a transfer. Research undertaken by Barclays has shown that complex logging in processes put many customers off using a mobile phone for online banking.
Sean Gilchrist, Barclays Digital Banking Director said: “Today’s improvements will significantly improve access to online banking for our existing mobile customers and will also reach out to new customers seeking simpler mobile access and navigation.
The second area of improvement has focused around the popular mobile branch and ATM locator which enables customers to find their nearest ATM or Barclays branch. A new mobile specific locator has been implemented with maps that adjust to fit the mobile handset which is being used.
Sean Gilchrist said: “Our research and customer feedback has shown that how the banking content fits on the screen of a mobile phone is crucial to more people using such services in the future. We believe our mobile banking service leads the market as we are the only UK bank which offers a specific mobi domain site, giving customers web pages designed specifically for viewing on mobile phones and content that customers want when on the move.
“We have seen phenomenal growth in the use of mobile banking this year and we will continue to make improvements to the service. The next phase will be to optimise other online banking services such as viewing balances, statements, transfers and payments to make mobile banking even quicker and easier for customers.”
continued at ………………..barclays.com”
Thumbtribe - Mobile Aladdins Cave
September 9, 2009
Well today i got an email from Thumbtribe pointing out their mobile site to me at thumbtribe.mobi
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I had a little look at their pc site too : thumbtribe.co.za
Both sites are extremely pleasing to the eye, and it seems, whilst we already know South Africa is a rich ground for great mobile sites, in particular, .mobi sites…. well Thumbtribe are at the very heart of the mobile scene in SA.
Great to see a major mobile developer for manyy top brands choosing .mobi as their extension of choice for mobile, also to show the beauty and ease of the branding potential of dot mobi.
When Thumbtribe they say they’re ‘mobilizing brands in south africa’, theyre not kidding!
What’s interesting is how many different ways these mobile sites have of branding their mobile site. There’s .mobi naturally, m. , mobi. , mobile. etc.
Just from this selection.
How to get fired on Facebook!
August 12, 2009
what a silly moo, lol
to make it worse, this is now going viral.
pass this link on to a friend. enjoy…………….
