Phone calls will reach you even in Second Life

It seems that Second Life’s popularity has peaked some time ago but the “aftershock” attempts to commercialize it don’t stop. The recent idea from SUN (not Sun Microsystems) and Link Inc. is to enable Second Life users in Japan to call each other from their mobile phones without revealing your real phone number and name. The service called Avatar Keitai will provide users with phone numbers they can share with their Second Life buddies and charge the unspecified amount for the used minutes. You don’t need to be logged in Second Life to receive a phone call. While the idea of connecting mobile phones and online identities is not new (Jangl, Jaxtr and a bunch of other startups are in this niche), Avatar Keitai seems to be first to offer this capability to Second Life users in Japan. The question is will Second Life users adopt this service? Didn’t they escape into Second Life in order to cut any connections with real life and enjoy their dreams without being bugged with phone calls in the first place? However, I can see when Avatar Keitai can come in handy – to call your offline avatar-friend and verify when he will be able to be online again.

Source: +D IT Media

Willcom reveals details about its mysterious Mobile Internet Device

At CES 2008, Intel booth was a center stage for the debut of Internet-optimized terminals, which Intel marketing people called Mobile Internet Devices (MID). There was one device or a mockup, to be precise, with Willcom brand name on it and no information about its specs among the showcased MIDs in Intel’s booth.

Finally, Willcom broke the silence and revealed some specs about its MID scheduled for launch in June this year. Contrarily to many MIDs it won’t run on Linux but will stick to Windows Vista instead. Sharp will be the manufacturer. On the CPU side, the terminal will spot Intel Atom processor based on Intel’s Silverthorne platform. The device will be used for voice and data communications. More information about its specs is promised to be released in April.

The introduction of the MID is a part of Willcom’s strategy to move toward the deployment of the next-generation PHS network that should enable downloads at 20Mbps. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications granted a license for the 2.5GHz band to Willcom in December 2007. Because the next-generation PHS will rely on OFDM and MIMO technologies it shares a lot in common with WiMax. However, it is hard to secure vendor’s dedication to manufacture the gear tailored for Willcom because of the proprietary nature of the PHS technology. At least, the gear comes at higher price, which puts Willcom in disadvantage. Other countries using PHS include China and Thailand.

Source: Willcom press release

Mobile marketing: showcasing clothing collections on 3D avatars

Japan’s Any, a PC/mobile social network focused mostly on women, is offering fashion brands an innovative way to promote their clothing collections. The idea is to send Any’s users virtual gifts like fashion outfits. The reason why this idea maybe brilliant is that Any’s users are 3D avatars who resemble the looks of their owners (a user sends her picture and Any creates an avatar based on that picture). The sent clothing pieces can be tried on by avatars giving their owners an ability to look in a three-dimensional view how the new collection would fit them. With more than 300 thousand women onboard Any is in a sweet spot to strike advertising deals with fashion houses aiming at brand-hungry Japanese female buyers.

Source: PlusD IT Media

Related mobile marketing articles:

• Japan mobile ad spending up 59.2% in 2007
• AdMob eyes Japan’s mobile advertising market
• Mobile advertising in Japan: $236m spent in 2005