New mobile phone service targets cyber-savvy singles

By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: A local company has come up with a new service that targets cyber-savvy singles.

In what could change the dating scene here in Singapore, Global Roam has launched a mobile service that allows users to give away their phone number, anonymously.

The new technology allows users to create a new phone number using an existing line, in just a few seconds.

The person on the other line will only be able to see this new phone number, via caller ID.

Developers of the new service recognise that many prefer not to reveal their real phone number.

"Most people prefer to keep these identities anonymous, so they don't wish to reveal their true address, their real phone numbers. So our service comes into play in the fact that it can protect them from potential harassment or potential unwanted calls or SMSes for that matter," said Rick Ho, Product Development Manager, Global Roam.

Undergrad Joyce Woon, an intern at Global Roam, is one of the first to try the service.

She said, "Some people do SMS me strange messages and I do not like that. And if this goes on I'd have to terminate my telco (number) which brings a lot of inconvenience. So with this service I can just block them."

The company is not just targeting youth like Joyce.

"Online property agents, for example, who have their own web presence... actually use our service to get in touch with customers. Instead of normal private numbers, which people don't like to pick up, you see actual numbers that people want to pick up," said Mr Ho.

And if criminals like loan sharks want to use this service to remain anonymous, it is too bad for them as the company will be able to trace their original phone numbers.

The company has a revenue projection of US$15 million over the next three years and is already working with telcos in China.

It will be launching the service here at next week's CommunicAsia 2007. - CNA/yy

Mobile Emailing Without a Smart Phone New Services Make It Easier To Access User's Accounts On Standard Cellphones By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO June 12, 2007; Page D1 Consumers' obsession with sending and receiving email -- easily one of the most popular activities on the Internet -- is migrating onto mobile phones. Numerous companies are making it easier for anyone to send and receive email on their cellphones without splurging on a high-end device or a premium data plan. While the services are generally less sophisticated than the wireless email services offered by BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and other wireless email providers, they are starting to appeal to those who use email more for fun than business. Consilient Push, a mobile email service, is one of many new offerings. Consilient Technologies Corp. has begun selling mobile software that allows users to send and receive mail from multiple personal email accounts on some 400 different cellphones. The software communicates with the Consilient server, which is checking a user's email account for them. When it receives notice that users have received mail at their personal account, it pulls the messages and delivers them to the user's phone. Emoze Ltd., owned by Emblaze Ltd., launched an email service that will configure a user's phone to receive mail it routes from personal and work email accounts. The software, which can be downloaded to most cellphones, is currently free and will deliver emails to the in-box built in on the device, eliminating the need for users to open a separate application every time they want to check email. Teleflip Inc. is taking a different approach with its flipMail service, which allows cellphone users to read and reply to emails they receive from users they have in their address book. The service reformats users' emails so they can be sent over the operator's text-messaging channel but show up on the device resembling regular mail. FlipMail is now free but will soon begin to include advertisements in addition to offering a premium version for a few dollars a month. The services are starting to catch on among a new group of users interested in staying on top of their email on the go. While checking his email via Teleflip on his phone, Paul Brown, a 34-year-old software engineer, received a message from a friend telling him that NBA playoff tickets had just gone on sale. He called to purchase some instantly. "It's nice to get your emails right when they come up," says Mr. Brown, a software engineer from Austin, Texas, who says he doesn't want to pay for an additional data plan since he is usually near his computer. Others have begun using them in lieu of higher-priced services geared toward professionals. Paul Adams, a 35-year-old manager for a rock band who lives in New York City, recently bought a BlackJack smart phone from AT&T but chose not to pay for the fancy wireless email service that would have cost him an additional $60 a month. Instead he uses Consilient for $60 a year along with a data plan that's around $30 a month. He says the service stalls every few months or so and forces him to reboot, but he doesn't mind the glitch. "That probably doesn't happen with a BlackBerry," says Mr. Adams who says he's never liked the look -- or the cost -- of the BlackBerry device. "But I don't care." Leading Web mail companies are also improving the mobile mail experience. Yahoo Inc. has been expanding the availability of its Yahoo Go mobile service that allows users to receive Yahoo mail in real time on their phones instead of logging into a mobile Web site. Late last year, Google Inc. launched a mobile Gmail application that is faster and easier to use than logging into its mobile Web site, and says it might develop technology that would tell users they have received mail without having to refresh their in-box. The new services are aiming for a piece of the mobile email market that is dominated by corporate users. But that is forecast to change as handsets improve, the price of data plans drops and younger consumers rely on their phones as multipurpose communications hubs. The number of U.S. consumers who access personal email accounts on a mobile device is forecast to rise 55% to 17.4 million in 2007, up from 11.2 million in 2006, according to Strategy Analytics Inc., a market-research firm. "There is some latent demand on the part of consumers to get email on their phones," says Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research, whose surveys show that only 11% of adults with cellphones use mobile email. "There is room for more players." To compete, new services are trying to mimic the experience companies have offered for professionals but with prices targeted at consumers. For instance, they deliver mail from users' existing accounts almost as soon as the email is received and often offer features like integration with the address book on the phone, calendar updating and the ability to view photos and attachments. And the services, most of which still require some sort of basic data plan, are creating new business models. Emoze, for instance, is free and the company plans to support itself by selling a corporate edition to large companies. Consilient's service, which costs $5 a month, also offers a free version that includes some scrolling text ads at the bottom of the screen and banner ads that surface between every few emails read. Still, most services aren't designed for corporate users, lacking features like some of those emphasizing speed and security. Some truncate emails or require users to preselect email address they can receive mail from, a measure they say is designed to cut down on spam. Like any mobile software users must download to their devices themselves, such services can be difficult to set up. While the new companies are trying to partner with handset makers and operators to make their services work across devices and carriers, there are no guarantees. And features, like whether you can view attachments, vary widely depending on the service and handset used. These services also face competition from other players trying to offer new wireless email services -- and extend existing ones -- toward consumers. Device makers like RIM, Palm Inc. and Motorola Inc. are starting to sell lower-price wireless email devices that are less clunky than traditional PDAs. These devices, and their accompanying email services, have advantages like a full keyboard, few set-up requirements and integration with other features on the phone, like the address book and camera. New approaches are in the works. Txtbl, a start-up, will begin selling a consumer device focused on wireless email early next year. "[Email] applications are hard to set up and people don't know how to type on their phones," says Amol Sarva, chief executive of Txtbl. The company's device, which will have a full keyboard and is currently known as "Mailster," will be sold commercially in two large electronics retailing chains for less than $100. Write to Jessica E. Vascellaro at jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com1 URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118161558503532181.html Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) mailto:jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com

Finding a Date -- on the Spot

Internet Matchmakers Migrate To Cellphones, Promising More-Immediate Results By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO June 6, 2007; Page D1

Earlier this week, Jeff Blum was out buying a sandwich when his mind wandered toward his social life. So he got out his cellphone and sent a text message with his work ZIP Code to MeetMoi, a new mobile dating service. Within minutes, his phone received the profile of a woman who worked nearby, and the two began exchanging messages about where they worked, their professions -- and meeting up for a drink.

"I liked the fact that we were talking right then and not waiting for emails to go back and forth," says Mr. Blum, who is 24 years old. "It all happened right away."

Millions of consumers have begun prowling for a date on their cellphones, thanks to new mobile dating services that enable "real-time" dating -- that is, letting users connect on the spot with the people they pick out. Designed to be instant versions of Internet dating, many of the new services have capabilities that online-dating services haven't offered -- such as letting you search for a date in a location you can update as you move around, and letting you chat with other people seeking a date while you're out and about.

Match.com, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp of New York, will soon launch a new mobile dating service that will allow its 15 million members to access their profiles and send messages to potential matches from their phones. Match.com is also planning to launch some dating features on IAC's new Ask Mobile GPS, a software application that lets users of phones with built-in Global Positioning System chips search for local businesses near their location. While the service is still being designed, it could allow users to search for other daters nearby. "We want to take mobile dating to the next step," says Match's chief executive, Thomas Enraght-Moony.

New York-based MeetMoi LLC recently launched a new dating service that helps users identify people who are nearby and looking for dates. Registered users can indicate that they are available by text-messaging a ZIP Code or street address to the service. MeetMoi then searches for other members who have indicated they're looking for a date in the area and sends back the profiles of people who match the user's criteria. The service is free to register and costs 99 cents for 10 anonymous text messages.

Zogo, owned by Wireless Introduction Network Inc., of Englewood, N.J., was launched late last year and connects users who want to talk by phone. Users who log in through the browser in their mobile phone will see a list of matches based on information they have provided about their preferences. If one of the matches sparks a member's interest, he can request a phone conversation, prompting Zogo to send a text message to the match's phone. If the recipient consents, Zogo calls both phones simultaneously, without disclosing either member's phone number. Zogo is now free but may soon start charging a monthly subscription fee for some features.

Jumbuck Entertainment Ltd.'s Fast Flirting service is a mobile version of speed dating. For around $3 a month, it allows users to sign into a virtual "lobby" where they can select a flirting partner based on factors such as age and location. They can then have private text conversations of up to 10 minutes -- a twist on real-world speed dating in which users try to meet a lot of new people in a short period of time. [Date]

While consumers who would rather flirt from afar are skittish, the new features are starting to gain steam among a new generation of mobile daters who want to do everything on the go. The services are already driving strong growth for the mobile dating market -- and helping to entice consumers to sign up for the mobile data plans that are necessary to browse the Web from their phones. An average of 3.6 million U.S. cellphone users accessed a dating service from their mobile phone in March, according to Seattle-based M:Metrics, a mobile research firm, up from 2.8 million in March 2006.

Dating is in many ways made for mobile phones, says Mark Donovan, an analyst with M:Metrics, because people are often most eager for a date when they are "out and about." But the services, particularly those based on location, are likely to appeal most to users in dense urban areas, where the dating pool is likely to be larger and more concentrated.

Mobile dating services also face pressure to prove that they are safe for users and can't be exploited by stalkers posing as daters. To address such concerns, MeetMoi makes its matches without divulging members' locations to each other, and it automatically logs users out of the location they put in after two hours. "You tell us when you want to become available," says MeetMoi's founder and CEO, Andrew Weinreich. He adds that the service is safer than other dating services because a user can have only one account pegged to his or her phone number (unlike Internet dating sites where users can register under multiple aliases).

Still, some worry that location-based features might be misused. "Right now the application would become a stalking application if you added GPS," says Ted Verani, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Trilibis Mobile, creator of mobile dating service Webdate Mobile. He adds that GPS may be appropriate when technology improves to enable users to better regulate who sees what.

Other hurdles for potential miscreants include an often complicated sign-up process. While many services will work across most phones, they often require the users to sign up for a mobile Internet data plan. Some carriers may block some services -- or features of services -- like sending profile pictures, because they consume too much traffic. And pricing plans still vary widely, with some services like charging per text message and others charging monthly subscription fees.

Rebecca Harrington, a 20-year-old student at Pennsylvania State University, says she has found mobile dating significantly more streamlined than repeatedly logging into a computer. She has had some luck with Zogo, and she recently decided to meet up with a guy she chatted with over the service. "The best part is the anonymity and that it is discreet," she says. [date]

Write to Jessica E. Vascellaro at jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com3 URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118108651441725709.html

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