For years the IMPS (Instant Messaging Presence Services) was moving nowhere. With 3G connectivity, and open OS we see more and more services that offer a rich IM experience. So is the IM market ready to grow and become a mainstream service?
Two of the major players in this field provided information that supports this assumption.
Fring posted in its blog about the layoffs in the company (about 20%) because of the global economic slowdown but also mentioned that the number of users is rapidly increased and there are 400,000 new users every month. The company also hinted that some “very exciting product announcements” are planned.

On the other hand, Nimbuzz launched its iPhone version which offers a landscape mode and announced that Nimbuzz will support Facebook chat and Myspace chat in all their clients.

Taking into account the news that Nimbuzz added 17 SIP partners and that it raised 15 million dollars, the company, its condition looks great.
Although we are glad for the developments in this market we really do not agree with CNet’s estimation that mobile IM will surpass SMS. Mobile IM is still not a native client and it takes a great effort to shift the usage patterns of users. There is a good attraction point in IM with the ability to integrate with web based services and offer added functionality (like basic graphics and VoIP talks, PTT, send files etc). The operators want the users to continue using SMS as it offers a strong viable business model. Mobile IM may cannibalize in SMS traffic but it can never generate this amount of revenues based on the current business model.

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The storage paradigm was in the center of the mobile phones market since the devices became more media capable. Mobile phones’ storage capacity has rapidly grown and more and more information is being kept on the devices.
Video clips, MP3′s and pictures are often saved on the mobile device, while the mobile phone increasingly takes part in more events in our lives.

Two problems remain with the data stored on our devices; 1. Content is created to be shared and the social factor is crucial to maintain the interest level in the content. When the content is stored on the device, our friends and family members are being excluded from participating in the social activities based on the content. 2. The device can easily get lost or get stolen, leaving us without the content we have accumulated.
Synchronization is the answer to both problems, but to sync the mobile phone to the PC on a regular basis can be a burden, and to get the content on the computer and then share it with friends is cumbersome.

There are many services aimed to synchronize our data especially for devices with high speed connectivity like 3G. These services were traditionally offered by the operators to let them hold our content thus increase our loyalty (as a result of the dependency in their service). Recently, more and more services are offered independently, detached from the operator, as premium and even free services. Such services include Nokia’s OVI and Plaxo.

Newact, a company specialized in synchronization solutions, has recently changed their focus and their business model in a move that also included laying off 30% of their employees. vufone, a new free synchronization service is the result of that move. Vufone service backs-up the data from your mobile phone and connects Mobile phones to web2.0 sites like Facebook, Flickr, etc.

Access to the vufone service will be soon pre-loaded on Motorola’s devices, but it is also free to any user and supports devices from Nokia, Motorola, SE, LG, and other Symbian powered devices.
The registration has two phases, the first one is the online registration and the second one is the installation of the application on the mobile device. Once these phases are completed, you are “sync” to go.
The mobile application holds 5 basic functions: sync, upload, download, backup, and restore.
These functions are meant for manual synchronization but the application also enables an auto synchronization option that will do everything for you (in the background). When a new contact is added or when a new song is downloaded, the application will automatically synchronize it with the service, accessible online.
The information is stored and is reachable on vufone’s site, in a plain, simple and clean interface in 9 languages to choose from at the moment.

vufone is a great tool for people who are looking for synchronization and backup of their mobile phone’s data seamlessly and in real time.
The big bonus in vufone is that it also supports direct and automatic synchronization to several web 2.0 services such as Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and more. If the user decides that the data should also be posted to these sites, every picture the user takes will automatically go to Vufone and facebook and flickr etc.
From an interview we held with the Newact’s CEO, Rafi Ton, we learnt that there are many planned features including a Firefox plugin which is in the works, that will let you “grab” content from the web and get it on your device promptly.

Overall, from what we have tested, vufone offers nice functionality with a clean interface. The connectivity to web 2.0 sites and the free nature of the service makes it a good service to use in order to backup and share your content.

It was back in January this year when Modu Mobile first revealed the video teaser, and two weeks after that release, the big announcement was made. Modu even brought a whole plane full of the start-up employees for a one day visit in 3GSM Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Everything was bright and promising for Modu.
Modu Mobile was (and still is) a big promise/potential. Its revolutionary concept, a modular mobile phone with “Jackets” and “Mates” that change its purpose utilizing its mobile abilities and its memory. There were disappointments that the first generation will not be a 3G phone but still, it was obvious that Modu’s product has the potential to lead a revolution of a lightweight basic unit that connects and corresponds with other devices.

Almost a year later and the first modular phone’s future is unclear. Here are some developments that from our perspective show there are serious problems in Modu, problems that have a bad effect on one of the biggest promises of the Israeli and mobile market.

Layoffs- In just two week, the company fired in two cycles 100 workers, and some executives. That’s about 25% of the company working staff.
Do not get me wrong, layoffs in this time can also project managerial responsibility towards the problematic state in the markets. But it is a massive hit to a company that its first product should be out soon and just until recently was recruiting in a crazy pace.

Launch delays- When the Modu was officially announced the company said that the first devices would hit the market on October 1st, 2008, since then the date changed and it was assumed that we could buy the device on Q1 2009.
Today in an interview Dov Moran, the CEO and Co-founder, said that the device will only be available on April. This statement is actually to say that the launch date was delayed by 6 months.

Operators- At first, Modu announced that three operators will launch the device at the same time, Cellcom (Israel), TIM (Italy), and Vimpelcom (Russia). Time passed and after the first delay of the launch, it seems Cellcom will be the first to launch and TIM and Vimpelcom will come second (meaning they will wait).
This launch resembles what Apple aimed to when launching the first iPhone in the states, but in Apple’s case, that was their strategy and not a misfortune.
It seems that TIM and Vimpelcom are waiting to see if the launch in Israel is successful and will decide only afterwards if and how to deploy.

Advertisement of the launch- Modu sent a request to two major publicity agencies in Israel (with a global ownership) to send them a price quote on the Israeli launch campaign.
That is a bit strange, Cellcom will be the first to launch the device and it is expected that they will worry for the marketing side to their customers with ads and promotions. This step can be interpreted as a lack of commitment / security on Cellcom’s side.

All that being said, Dov Moran is an established business man with a brilliant record from M-Systems and with great connections. Modu still has a large sum of money in their bank and there are many skilled professionals still working in Modu. Bottom line, I hope that Modu Mobile will pass these bumps on the road and leaves as a triumphant from these challenges.

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• $100 Million Coming To Israeli Startup Modu

Fring has announced that an ad trial is now running on some of the users around the world.
Fring,  a free IM and VOIP client, did not seem to clock-in  much revenues, although the application is very popular.
The ads are banners at the end of the chat window as show in the picture:

The announcement is truly good news to Fring’s Business plan and business model, moreover it is an ultimate test for  the mobile advertising market.
Ads that will be displayed on millions of Fring clients, to users that come from different backgrounds, different languages, different geographies, different age groups Etc.
So how do you create an advertisement campaign on such a personal device to such a varied audience?!
Will the users click on the banners and actually perform or initiate transactions?!
Will they use the integrated VoIP engine to create calls to the advertiser?!

One thing is for sure, the mobile advertising market will have much to learn from this move, and Fring will be the first to know.