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ETO Technology News - September 2006 edition
Trade show reminders
In a press release, AOE boss John Green said, "AOE is the most important European trade event to focus on the exciting opportunities in premium adult content and service across combined Online, Mobile, Voice & TV platforms. Webmasters, content owners and providers meet to develop existing business, learn from the big name players, discover new technologies and maximise new revenue potential." All the up-to-date information on the event, being held at the Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest from the 9th to 12th of November, can be found at www.aoexpo.com.
3GSM World Congress Asia is scheduled to take place at the Suntec Centre, Singapore from the 16th to the 20th of October 2006. Learn more about the Eastern World's premier mobile telecoms show at www.3gsmasia.com.
Much closer to home, September the 19th to 21st sees the return of Mobile Content World to the Olympia Conference Centre in London.
November the 20th to 22nd has the NextGenTV 2006 event showing and talking about what's next for Television at the Canary Wharf Hilton hotel in Docklands.
And you are..?
Version 2.0 of AdultWhosWho.com recently went live. It's a networking and community-building resource for professionals working in adult entertainment. The site exists as an online place for affiliates, site owners, performers, etc. to introduce themselves to each other, or via 3rd parties they already know. Updates for version 2.0 include individual profiles, logins and editing rights for multiple representatives of a firm, the facility to upload photographs, a public schedule feature, online CV info, an internal messaging system and a 'friends' system, reminiscent of MySpace's.
"There are other features in there as well, but you get the idea," marketeer Derek Meklir commented. "This is not a webmaster board; it is a community site where webmasters, marketers, designers, talent, photographers, and service providers all get to know each other and become a part of the adult community. As always, we are not allowing the search-engine spiders to crawl the site, so your info won't be grabbed by Google or Yahoo! from AdultWhosWho.com."
Players win booby prizes.
MadForBabes.com, a leading mobile casino games website, has launched 3G Keno for Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung Java mobile phones, in addition to Microsoft Pocket PCT PDAs, Windows XPT and Windows MobileT Smartphones.
Chief Technical Officer Nader Rahimizad said, "3G Krazy Keno is the third generation of [our] popular online Keno game… and is based on the world's first Play4Points service where players win points redeemable for hot babes exotic content on their mobiles!"
Playwizard Co. Ltd, the Thai-owned business behind MadforBabes' downloadable portfolio currently includes sixteen mobile phone online casino games, including Baccarat, Most Popular Poker Babes, "21" Blackjack and Roulette. The service for UK residents is based on the www.CasinoPhone2004.com mobile online casino technology and is hosted by YooMedia PLC UK online gaming service.
Each of PlayWizard's casino games are designed and developed on 22 different screen sizes in both C++ and Java platforms. Its unique dynamic web and Wap content delivery system supports over 95% of UK Vodafone, O2, Orange, T Mobile, and Virgin Mobile Contract and Pay-As-U-Go mobile phones. The Mad For Babes casino games suite can be previewed at Mobile Poker and Bingo games to win 'Babes' pictures. Non-UK residents can enjoy playing for points and redeem their points for hot babes on their mobiles. UK residents can play to win real cash or choose to play for points on their Java or 3G mobile phones.
Dell's address causes distress.
When Dell, the computer giant, launched DellOne2One.com they already knew about a porn site with a similar URL. Their web-log site was intended to communicate directly with customers through the medium of blog. On the other hand, One2one.com is an adult web-cam site, which isn't going to be able to help you with your PC problems. Dell moved their site to Direct2Dell.com at the start of August, preferring the inconvenience of a shift to potentially embarrassed customers.
Lionel Menchaca, Digital Media Manager at Dell wrote, "We looked at the site in question before we launched. We were planning to use a sub-domain and felt it would not be an issue. We also were betting that the few Dell customers who ended up there would realise it's NOT Dell's blog." He continued, "Changing our name and URL is a little like moving the furniture in the middle of a dinner party. Having said that, we'd rather spare you an accidental visit to an unrelated site." Menchaca finished by saying the One2One name wasn't just a porn brand. "[It's] also a unit of T-Mobile, an MIT project and a driving school. It's also a bar in Austin at Fifth and Brazos that, from what I hear, serves a decent margarita."
In a similar vein, URL-fun stretches all the way to US government - WhiteHouse.gov isn't the same as WhiteHouse.net.
Tasty news from Cherrysauce.
It's been reported that the glamour and adult mobile service provider Cherrysauce increased turnover by 350% in 2005. On top of becoming established as a leader in the industry, they've also been nominated for an inaugural Best Adult Service award in Mobile Entertainment Magazine, along with 3000H, WAAT Media, PhoneBox and Brickhouse. The winner will be announced on the 19th of September. Cherrysause is positioned to be a one-stop shop for companies who want to offer adult entertainment to mobile users via a web site of portal.
Cherrysauce founder and MD Julia Dimambro said, "I couldn't be more delighted. [The] nomination is very gratefully received! Adult entertainment is extremely politically and morally charged in all distribution channels and the mobile sector is no exception. By addressing some the issues facing our industry sector and discussing them openly and honestly, we can help ensure the mobile adult sector is seen as professional, responsible and credible." She's also quoted as saying, "If you offer adults high quality content and make it simple, reliable, accessible and professional, they will come and find you, and will continue coming back to you. The challenge now is how to translate this on-portal with access controls in place and effectively reach anticipated global revenue forecasts, whilst protecting operator brand values and perception."
The whole Internet on your mobile for £1 a day.
Pre-pay customers of T-Mobile can now access the Internet via their phones for a maximum fee of just £1 per day. The 'Web 'n' Walk service was launched in August and costs consumers less than 1p per Kb, with a maximum charge of £1 per day. There's no cap on usage and the adult industry will be pleased to note their online offerings aren't excluded, providing that users can prove they're 18 or older.
Previously only available to customers paying monthly (contract), the service is currently restricted to the Motorola v3 RAZR and Nokia 6131 models, although T-Mobile say this will be extended to support many more handsets by Christmas. The terms and conditions of the tariff do specifically ban using it with a laptop, using VoIP or accessing streaming video from the 'net with it. Breaking the rules will find users firmly reprimanded or even having the service withdrawn from them.
3G to PC video chat
Israeli comms firm Radvision has released free PC-to-Mobile webcam client software, which enables a 3G phone user to accept -and pay for- an incoming call from a webcam-and-mic equipped PC. As well as the consequences for video-telephony generally, it's ideal for webcam performers working in countries with poor or no 3G network. Conversely, 3G-owning performers can now be seen by users of the system on the more convenient big screen of a broadband-connected PC, bypassing most compatibility problems associated with video calls.
The main attraction of Radvision's solution for mobile network operators is that it uses standard 3G video calls rather than transmitting IP video over a more expensive data link.
Porn when you want it, where you want it, how you want it.
In mid-August Hauppauge Digital released their new 'TV Anywhere' product. Retailing under £100, it allows owners to watch live and recorded TV from anywhere over a fast Internet connection. The kit includes a small USB2 'WinTV' PVR (Personal Video Recorder) device which attaches to a home PC and has an aerial socket to receive television signals from an aerial. There's also software to transform the computer into a TV and digital video recorder. It also uses a broadband connection to let those recordings or live streaming to be accessed from a PC or Mac anywhere in the world via the 'net. It can also be configured for mobile phones and PDAs. The 'Orb' technology detects the connection speed and screen size and compresses the video to WiFi or 3G qualities.
Yehia Oweiss, UK Managing Director of Hauppauge Digital said, "Appointment TV is dying. People are recording more and more TV and watching what they want, when they want. Timeshifting was first introduced with the VCR, and later enhanced with the PVR. Placeshifting is the new frontier - watching recorded TV where you want it, and moving live TV out of the home."
In contrast with other systems, TV Anywhere works with any web browser and doesn't require additional software to be loaded on the 'receiver' device. This means any modern mobile phone with Internet Explorer and a media player, any WiFi PDA, any laptop, desktop PC or Mac. You can also share the service with friends and family, with each user able to customise how they receive their TV/video stream.
As TV Anywhere uses a home PC and broadband connection to provide a video source, and with support for WiFi and free internet connection 'hotspots' being available, watching TV or a recording of your favourite pornographic film on the move is free from anywhere with a suitable connection. Unlike TV provided by the mobile phone companies, there are no subscription or broadcast content restrictions, and it doesn't eat up mobile minutes or megabytes when using a free connection. Currently available exclusively through Dixons Stores Group (Currys, Currys.digital, PC World), there will be a version with Freeview built-in too, letting users access digital TV channels.
The system can also be used to access other content from the home PC. Downloading files from a database of MP3 tracks or photograph collection, as examples. Although the market for mobile TV is in its infancy, it has clear attractions for the adult content industry and research companies forecast an explosion in user numbers. US research house In-Stat estimates 'mobivision' subscribers will top 100 million by the end of 2010.