03/17/10 | No Comments »
More good news from device manufactures. We have been invited by Blackberry to join their Alliance programme as Select Member. Reserved only for organisations that have proven sustainable BlackBerry revenue through various channels, we are very excited and honoured to be invited.
The benefits of being a Blackberry partner include:
Technical
Assigned RIM Application Development Consultant for application development support
Ability to participate in software beta programs
Access to pre-release BlackBerry smartphones
Marketing
Access to marketing on various online BlackBerry resources
Opportunity for co-operative marketing activities with RIM
Priority placement in the BlackBerry Solutions Catalog
Sales
Assigned RIM Business Development Manager
Access to RIM Internal Business Units (Carriers, Product Management, Global Sales teams)
Priority placement in the Mobile Solutions Center, a RIM Internal portal for application demos and trials to various RIM channels
03/16/10 | No Comments »
We are proud to announce that we have been invited by Samsung to join the Mobile Innovator Program, as a Core member. This is an invite-only program for Samsung business partners.
The program provides ServiceMedia access to dedicated technical support and a dedicated account manager to create applications and services for Samsung’s open OS devices. In addition there is a strong focus on creating business opportunities. The program provides a direct route to Samsung Application Store; one of the best ways to get applications in front of Samsung users.
Through joining the program, we demonstrate our continued commitment to supporting all mobile operating systems, including the exciting new BADA platform.
02/17/10 | No Comments »
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc.’s iPhone has more applications than any other mobile phone. Now the world’s wireless companies are trying to catch up.
This week, at least five efforts to dislodge Apple from the top of the global market were unveiled at a trade show in Barcelona, Spain, as companies from Nokia Oyj and Intel Corp. to Deutsche Telekom AG and Samsung Electronics Co. sought to lure developers of games, music, social networking, news, navigation and other apps to their platforms and smartphones.
“Everyone wants to be part of the game as the application business is showing tremendous growth,” J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s mobile-communication division, said in an interview.
All of the new attempts may have an uphill climb as they try to pull alongside Apple, which offers 140,000 apps and has had more than 3 billion downloads from its App Store by iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide. The Cupertino, California-based company has made it easy for developers to design apps across its platforms and provided them clear software tools.
“The Apple store provided a very simple path for developers to create stuff and get it into the hands of users, and there’s no question they’ve done it more effectively than anyone else,” said Nick Jones, a Egham, U.K.-based analyst with industry researcher Gartner Inc. “Now everyone’s playing catch- up. Apple is still way ahead of everyone else, with five to 10 times as many apps.”
Nokia’s Effort
Twenty-four phone companies including Vodafone Group Plc, AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom said they plan an open platform for mobile-phone apps. Nokia and Intel are developing one that makes it easier to create apps for multiple devices. Ericsson AB, Alcatel-Lucent SA and Samsung Electronics Co. are building their own apps platforms.
Nokia’s Intel partnership is banking on a newer, more open approach to draw developers, who can write once to create applications for a variety of devices, and market them through Nokia’s Ovi Store and Intel’s AppUpSM Center, said Kai Oistamo, Nokia’s devices chief. They also plan to bring other companies’ apps to their stores, giving users access to social networking, media readers, games and other add-ons.
“The Ovi Store has been a problem child for Nokia since its launch,” Ben Wood, a London-based analyst at CCS Insight, said. “They’ve already alluded to the fact that that will be refreshed in April so this might be the perfect time to lift the curtain on the new Ovi Store and try to address some of its shortcomings in an attempt to catch up with Apple’s App Store and the Google Android Market.”
Beyond Smartphones
Apple “might not be ahead” in a year, said Gartner’s Jones. “If you look at the numbers developers are looking to reach, Nokia has a much greater number of users. The number of Apple users is still relatively small,” he said.
The apps will also be taken beyond smartphones to lower- priced devices, said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, chief executive officer of Telenor ASA, Norway’s biggest phone company.
“The consumer interest in the iPhone and App Store have shown us that this development path should be extended to the much larger number of other handsets out there,” he said. “Why shouldn’t these applications also be accessible on a Sony Ericsson or more of a normal type of phone?”
Analysts are less optimistic about attempts being made by the carriers’ group to get into the apps market.
“It’s not unrealistic to aspire to getting a piece of the applications space,” said Ameet Shah, a London-based director of consulting firm Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath. “I think it’s hard to pull off. The risk is that when Apple has gone through half a dozen iterations of its applications store, the consortium might just be on their first or second.”
Keeping Pace
With 24 operators all wanting their say, it’ll be difficult to keep up with the pace of the market, he said.
The carriers are betting on their more than 3 billion customers to lure developers.
“Apple did an excellent job in boosting the mobile applications market,” said Olaf Swantee, head of France Telecom’s Orange global mobile business. “But the plan to develop an open platform is the right approach to move the application business to a new level and allow developers to target a much bigger market.”
Creating a platform able to serve multiple handset types is a “good way to go,” said Geert Kolthof, founder and chief executive officer of Netherlands-based mobile application and service development firm Service2Media.
“But the market requirement exists today and the opportunities in the enterprise application space in particular will not wait,” he said.
‘Walled Garden’
The 24 carriers’ plan is aimed at countering the fragmentation in the industry, said the GSM Association, a London-based trade body for wireless companies.
“The customer wants to have a choice of applications, he doesn’t want to have a walled garden,” said Rainer Deutschmann, senior vice president of mobile products at Deutsche Telekom. Regardless of which mobile phone model the customer has, they should be able to download any application they please, as would be the case for users of different computer brands, he said.
Developers may not get on board, said Mark Newman, chief research officer at Informa Telecoms and Media in London, adding that they’ve historically distrusted operators because of unfavorable revenue-sharing deals.
‘Smart Pipes’
“A number of the developers that we have spoken to would rather operators keep out of the applications development community entirely,” Newman said.
Operators could function as “smart pipes” for application services, exploiting the information they have on their customers, such as age, gender and location, to deliver useful and relevant applications, Shah said. In return, they would get a piece of the applications revenue.
“The operators don’t like this idea of becoming dumb pipes, where their services are commoditized, but the writing is on the wall,” Newman said. “They have simply not succeeded in launching these services.
02/15/10 | No Comments »
While we welcome today’s announcement from global operators that they would co-operate on a unified wholesale applications community, the App market requires cross platform services now.
CEO and co-founder Geert Kolthof: “This is a positive move and creating a platform able to serve multiple handsets types is a good way to go. But the market requirement exists today and the opportunities in the Enterprise application space in particular will not wait.”
Service2Media specialises in working with financial institutions, commercial organizations, brands and the media industry to create applications that can be delivered to all major handset brands types today – including platforms such as Apple, Android and Nokia that remain apart from the operator plans announced today. The company also keeps applications up to date as new handsets are introduced or current models upgraded.
“Our Enterprise customers want to build relationships with their customers regardless of handset type and also want to deliver applications from within their own brand.”, explained Kolthof.
“We allow them to host the application download link on their own web site and in most cases manage that process for them within their own branded environment. In the majority of cases, they dont have to ask their customers to visit an externally branded portal to get service.”, he added.
Kolthof also said that the move announced by the operators would ultimately help Service2Media’s business:
“We are about ensuring applications reach to as many handsets as possible and this initiative will help that cause and make some things easier to accomplish. But we will also add the brands that are not within operator community initiative and ensure that our enterprise customers can get deliver and manage services across multiple platforms and devices.”
Service2Media used the Mobile World Congress to announce its next generation mobile application service development platform, M2Active. The platform already allows applications to be written once but serve all the major handset brands.
The result of more than five years experience in the creation and management of award-winning mobile services and applications, M2Active is the most powerful and advanced mobile development and runtime platform available today.
Service2Media already runs application services for businesses such as CNN, Heineken, Dutch Rail, Rabobank and Royal KPN. The next generation M2Active platform adds even more features and enables, from one single script, mobile applications and services to run natively across all mobile devices, minimizing the time and effort spent on development and maintenance.
“Using our new platform, companies will be able to both reduce their time to market for new applications, and expand their reach. Everybody wins.”, said Kolthof, “Developers, handset companies, operators and most importantly of all – customers.”
02/04/10 | No Comments »
Relatieplanet, the largest online and mobile dating service in the Benelux, has celebrated this years Valentines Day with the launch of its IPhone app.
Already available across most standard devices including Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG, the iPhone/iPod Touch Relatieplanet app makes meeting new people while living lives on the move, a little bit easier.
“We are already seeing a strong number of downloads in only the first few days since launch – this is a great compliment to the work of our technical supplier Service2Media,” said Tjeerd of Relatieplanet.
More information on relatieplanet.nl
02/04/10 | No Comments »
Today we announced that our next generation mobile applications and service development platform, M2Active, will make its debut during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in a few weeks time.
We have embraced the application revolution from day one and understand that there is a lot more to taking a brand mobile than simply creating a good-looking iPhone or Android app – although that is a good start! The key to creating successful mobile services is reach, relevancy and a future-proof, multi-device strategy, said Geert Kolthof, CEO and Co-Founder of Service2Media. Our next generation M2Active platform allows forward-thinking companies to create, from day one, mobile services that scale across every operating system, network, device and geography.
M2Active is the most powerful and advanced mobile development and runtime platform available today. The new, next generation M2Active platform adds even more features and enables, from one single script, mobile applications and services to run natively across all mobile devices, minimizing the time and effort spent on development and maintenance.
Trusted by companies who have built their businesses around security and service – such as CNN, Heineken, Dutch Rail, Rabobank and Royal KPN – M2Active delivers a high-end, rich and compelling user-experience that is proven to attract audiences, increase loyalty and boost revenue.
Using our new platform, companies will be able to both reduce their time to market for new applications, and expand their reach. Everybody wins, said Kolthof, developers, handset companies, operators and most importantly of all – customers.
02/01/10 | 2 Comments »
The launch of Rabobank’s mobile banking iPhone app, kick starts a very busy month ahead for Service2Media with a raft of new services going live and, of course, this month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We will be posting news as we make it – so either check back here for details or follow us on Twitter!
Rabobank’s latest mobile service, created and managed by Service2Media, enables iPhone customers to view account information and make payments direct from their device wherever they are.
Download Rabobank’s iPhone app.
iPhoneClub has written a good review of the service in Dutch.
01/15/10 | No Comments »
Peter Broekroelofs, CTO and Co-founder of Service2Media, will be joining the debate on “Mobile Trends 2020 – What Comes Next in Europe?” during this year’s M-Days conference being held in Munich, Germany from January 28th and 29th.
Speaking on January 28th at 11:40 am, Peter will be presenting “Mobile Commerce – Changing The Rules” on panel discussing mobile trends, mobile commerce, mobile video and TV.
http://www.m-days.com/
12/11/09 | No Comments »
Dutch insurance giant, Interpolis, today launched its free, instant damage claim application for the iPhone.
Created by Service2Media, a company that enables life on the move, the application allows iPhone owners to make an instant damage claim, complete with an exact location reference and photographs should they have an accident. For those insured by Interpolis, their claim is automatically sent to the insurer for processing, while for those not with Interpolis, the claim is sent via email to the iPhone owner.
The new application makes submitting, handling and processing insurance claims fast and easy, without having to involve the police or completing lengthy forms.
“Such innovative applications make life that little bit easier,” says Geert Kolthof, CEO of Service2Media, the company behind the creation of the application. “Now with your iPhone, making the claim is no longer the stressful part of dealing with an accident.”
Service2Media empowers life on the move. Together with our customers, we consistently keep ahead of the mobile evolution by creating innovative mobile services that engage people across today’s devices and those of the future.
Powered by our award-winning M2Active platform, our customers include some of the world’s most forward-thinking media, entertainment, travel and social brands including: Rabobank, CNN, Heineken, Hyves, Telegraaf, Dutch Rail and Royal KPN.
Watch the Interpolis damage claim iPhone application movie (in Dutch).
07/20/09 | No Comments »
Microsoft has selected Service2Media as preferred partner for the development of consumer applications on Windows Phones. These applications will be easily discoverable and downloadable from Windows Mobile Marketplace, Microsoft’s answer to the iPhone app store.
Today Microsoft announced the opening of Windows Mobile Marketplace for non-English speaking countries. From Monday, July 27 Dutch software developers can register and offer applications for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, the online shop for applications for Microsoft Windows Phones. Microsoft has been working for years with various developers for both the consumer and business market. The new applications for Windows Marketplace for Mobile will be introduced during the launch of the new 6.5 version of Windows Phones in the autumn of this year.
In addition, Microsoft announced today that the Windows Marketplace for Mobile will also be available for Phones with Windows version 6.0 and / or 6.1. This means an even greater range of users and increased opportunities for potential customers for the software developers.
Meanwhile, 150 developers from 29 countries worldwide registered. In the Netherlands Service2Media will be one of the first partners to join. Service2Media offers mobile services for a large number of customers on the basis of its application platform. Service2Media is very enthusiastic about their participation and appreciates the fact that Marketplace is now also compatible for other versions. Geert Kolthof, CEO of Service2Media says: “People want to arrange more and more things with their mobile phone. It is good that Windows Phones is now besides business applications more suitable for consumer services, supported by the Marketplace application store. We are happy to work with Microsoft to develop high quality and user-friendly applications, which are interesting for consumers and for our customers.”
Maarten Sonneveld, Business Group Lead Mobile Communications in the Netherlands is also looking forward to working with Service2Media and other partners to develop innovative applications for users of Windows Phones. “A unique opportunity for developers to deliver services to a wide audience and to join forces to deliver the optimum result for both consumers and business users.
