Global Mobile News Round-up – Week 14th July 2014

Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.  Global News Stories Microsoft calls end to Android Nokia X smartphones BBC Microsoft is to stop developing Android-powered smartphones beyond those already available, the BBC understands. Nokia X models will now become part of the Lumia range and run the Windows Phone operating system, although existing Android handsets will continue to be supported. …

MEF Connects Singapore – Event Roundup

MEF Asia recently hosted the ever-popular MEF Connects Singapore held during CommunicAsia where MEF members and business leaders from across the world met to share knowledge and do business. Here, General Manager for MEF Asia, Linda Ruck, shares the background to one of the most exciting mobile markets in the world, and her takeaways from the member event. With a population of almost 5.4 million, Singapore is a busy and exciting market with a this tech-savvy nation that enjoys a staggering mobile penetration rate of more than 148 percent and 8 million active mobile subscribers - split between …

MEF Africa Report: Mobile Leaders Confident of Regional Industry Expansion

First announced at the recent Africa Day in Johannesburg, MEF this week launched the second part of its three-country African Growth Market Study, which surveyed mobile business leaders in the region to deliver an industry snapshot of market confidence and key drivers for mobile content and commerce in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Confidence across the continent was shown to be high with over two-thirds in Kenya (70%) and South Africa (68%) and almost all in Nigeria (93%) optimistic for  mobile content and commerce revenue growth. The three-country study provides insight into the …

Improving Mobile Services for the Bottom of the Pyramid in Africa

Africa has the fastest growing mobile market in the world and opportunities to use mobile technologies for social upliftment abound. More Africans have access to mobile phones that to clean water and by 2016, predictions indicate that approximately one billion people in Africa will have access to a handset. As a mobile-first (and often mobile-only) region, mobile is the perfect technological conduit to provide demand-driven, real-time information and services to a variety of audiences. However, there are numerous barriers that must be overcome if we are truly to see the full power for mobile …

Innovation Series Part 2: Meet the MEFGF13 Start-ups

As part of the Innovation Day at #MEFGF13 delegates were treated to pitches from some of the hottest early-stage start-ups based in Silicon Valley showcasing mobile technology innovation. Hosted at NestGSV’s Redwood City campus, MEFTV was on hand to speak to the execs behind these potential future tech giants – here in part 2 we meet Olset and Eko Devices. Olset - the virtual travel buddy Gadi Bashvitz, founder & CEO introduces Olset, an innovative virtual travel agent that saves user’s time spent on making bookings while providing a superior travel experience by creating “a …

Innovation Series: Meet the MEFGF13 Start-ups

As part of the Innovation Day at #MEFGF13 delegates were treated to pitches from some of the hottest early-stage start-ups based in Silicon Valley showcasing mobile technology innovation. Hosted at NestGSV’s Redwood City campus, MEFTV was on hand to speak to the execs behind these potential future tech giants – meet the first two companies Tile and Partender. Tile - the world's largest lost and found Tile co-founder and CEO Nick Evans describes the revolutionary and Meffy award winning tracking system whereby you can attach a discrete tracking device to your wallet, laptop, keyring or any …

Cutting edge start-ups set to impress at MEFGF13

An ever-popular highlight at MEF events, next week at MEFGF13 we will be showcasing the hottest technology trends from early-stage start-ups from the Valley. On 14th November as part of the Innovation Day in association with Silicon Valley Bank and supported by Mooreland Partners and KPMG at NestGSV’s Redwood City campus, seven cool start-ups will show us what they are up to. Sam Hill, MEF Minute & MEFTV editor, will be covering the event - and here shares a sneak preview of the line-up. The start-up pitching sessions are always a real highlight for me at MEF events - last year’s MEF …

Standing room only for MEF privacy workshop at AppsWorld Europe

Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak wasn’t the only draw at last month’s AppsWorld expo in London. More than 60 developers crammed into the Tech World workshop to hear about AppPrivacy – MEF’s free privacy policy generator. MEF Chair Andrew Bud hosted a panel including Martin Fanning, a partner at international law firm Dentons, James Pimentel-Pinto, a founding director of leading UK developer AgencyMobile, and MEF’s Senior Advisor for Policy & Initiatives, Simon Bates, who here summarises the session, which you can watch in full in the video below. MEF has long championed the importance of building …

MEF Global Board Elections 2013 in Pictures

Unable to attend this year’s Global AGM? Check out the photos from the evening where four new Directors were elected by the membership on to the MEF Global Board representing DMG Media, mBlox, Pearson and TIMWE. The Global AGM is always a great opportunity for members to get an update on MEF’s activities around the world in the last 12 months, and hear the roadmap for the year ahead. This year’s meeting was kindly hosted at MEF Member Atos‘ London offices. The EMEA board met first in the afternoon to catch-up live and debate both the Privacy in Mobile Apps and newly approved EMEA …

MEF Asia develops successful strategic collaboration with Asian Carrier Conference

MEF Asia recently hosted its first set of events in the Philippines in collaboration with the Asian Carriers’ Conference (ACC), an event which draws Telcos and delegates from around the globe to sunny Cebu. With organisers, Philippine Long Distance Company, keen to develop the breadth of content for their event, this was the first collaboration of its kind with an industry association. The programme provided MEF members with some great benefits including delegate discounts, speaking opportunities and provided a backdrop for some fantastic networking in a fast paced growth market. MEF Asia …

MEF Launches Research on Mobile Content and Commerce Trends in Africa

MEF Africa General Manager Jo Crawshaw writes... It’s no secret that Africa is an incredibly exciting place to be involved in the mobile industry. Contributing 3.5% towards to continent’s total GDP and home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies, the African mobile market is forecast to quadruple in seven years, growing from a combined value of US$60 billion in 2013 to around US$245 billion in 2020. Despite the impressive growth and countless innovations coming out of Africa, barriers to market entry still exist. Challenges for those navigating the various regulatory …

MEF CTIA Panel explores the future of m-Commerce

MEF hosted an excellent panel at CTIA last week featuring a line-up of expert panelists including Todd Daubert of Dentons, Samsung's Steve Cho, John Giamatteo of AVG, Todd Mazurek of Blackberry, Tim Ritchie of Openmarket and Patrick Parodi of WifiName Corp. Fiona Gellatly, MEF North America General Manager was there to moderate... The topic of MEF's CTIA panel was "M-Commerce: What the Future Holds for Retailers, Brands and Content Owners" and the conversation immediately focused in on key areas: security, privacy and consumer adoption of commerce on a mobile phone.   With recent …

MEF Consumer Trust in Mobile Applications Breakfast Briefing with Kaspersky Lab

MEF is again hosting an essential MWC briefing session for 2013, this year with Kaspersky Lab and focusing on the latest threats affecting mobile app consumers, with a special emphasis on the latest developments in mobile malware. The morning session (Wednesday, 27 February 2013 from 08:30 to 10:30) will also include a  roundtable discussion featuring industry experts from MEF’s Privacy in Mobile Apps Working Group including Brendan Eich, CTO Mozilla, Chris Davies, General Counsel EMEA and Head of Privacy at InMobi and Nick Graham, Partner, SNR Denton. Moderated by Tim Green from Mobile Money …

Win MEF Connects MWC13 tickets

MWC 2013 is just around the corner and as ever MEF is hosting the hottest ticket of the Congress - MEF Connects MWC 2013. Now in its 11th year, the legendary party has moved to an exciting new location; the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA).  MEF Connects MWC is an exclusive bash for MEF members and their guests only, which means tickets can be hard to come by. So for 2013 MEF has teamed up with the Heroes of the Mobile Fringe to give away ten pairs of tickets in an exclusive prize draw, meaning not only could you get to rub shoulders with the cream of MWC attendees, you get to take a friend …

Privacy in Mobile Apps Roundtable – MEF Podcast

A key event for MEF at MWC 2012 was the Privacy in Mobile Apps Roundtable where over 35 members and invited guests joined a lively debate on the critical issues surrounding privacy in mobile applications. Speakers included Todd Daubert and Nick Graham of SNR Denton, Ilja Laurs, CEO Get Jar, Andreas Constanidou, MD Vision Mobile, Gary Schwartz CEO of Impact Mobile, MEF Global Chair Andrew Bud, Michelle Sklar VP Industry relations Poynt, Carl Uminski, COO of Somo and Mike Butcher, TechCrunch Europe Editor.The roundtable was supported by SNR Denton in association with the Mobile Fringe and Media …

MEF Roundtable: Privacy in Mobile Apps at MWC 2012

In response to industry shortcomings around privacy recently highlighted in the media, MEF hosted a roundtable on Privacy in Mobile Applications. Supported by SNR Denton and in association with the Mobile Fringe and media partners TechCrunch, the packed roundtable session brought together over 35 members and invited guests for a lively debate on the critical issues surrounding privacy in mobile applications. The panel and audience represented the diverse mobile ecosystem including App Stores, Developers, Digital Agencies, Media Owners, Legal, Security and Payment service providers from the US …

Newly elected MEF EMEA Board represents mobile ecosystem diversity and growth markets

MEF, the global community for mobile content and commerce, has announced the results of its 2012 EMEA board elections with Colin Yeh, Head of Group Product Development QTel Group (Qatar) elected as EMEA Chairman. Ben Carter, Head of Mobile Services Atos (UK) and Emma Kaye, Director, Mira Networks (South Africa) were also voted in by the membership as co-Vice Chairs.The Elections took place at MWC 2012 directly after the EMEA AGM, where members received an update on all of MEF’s regional and global activities. The audience heard from outgoing chair Lee Epting, Vodafone and Vice Chair Colin Yeh …

MEF publishes 2nd Content & Commerce Survey defining the mobile value chain in the Middle East

Back in October, MEF invited companies active in the Middle East to share their insights on the region’s market performance in the previous quarter and outline their expectations for the future. Now the results have been published of this, the second dedicated Middle East mobile content and commerce surveys, conducted in partnership with the global firm of auditors & MEF member KPMG. The survey found that the overall level of confidence in the future of the Middle Eastern mobile market remains high, with growth opportunities in particular identified for games, apps and ad-funded mobile …

Member Event: Join Nielsen at MWC for an Uncommon Sense of the Consumer

MEF member Nielsen will be hosting a full day of panel sessions at this year's MWC in Barcelona, and you're invited. With a packed schedule on Tuesday 28th, attendees can expect powerful insights and networking firmly focused on today’s digital consumer and how best to seize the enormous opportunities.Sign up now to get access to all of the sessions throughout the day.Nielsen presents: An Uncommon Sense of the Consumer - Tuesday February 28th, FIRA Hall 2, Mezzanine Level, Theatre D10:00-11:00 - The Mobile Media Revolution13:00-14:00 - The Mobile Mynd: Nielsen NeuroFocus Live Demonstration …

Candidates announced for MEF EMEA Board Elections 2012 at MWC

MEF has announced the first round of candidates for the MEF EMEA Board Elections, to be held at the end of the month at MWC in Barcelona.Full MEF members are eligible to vote and stand as a candidate, and will be instrumental in creating thought leadership, sharing knowledge and addressing the critical issues facing the mobile commerce and content industry today and in the future.The current standing is as follows:• Diane Alphonse, Head of Marketing, Communications & PR, Barwa Bank• Ben Tatton-Brown, Co-Founder & Regional SVP, EMEA, Amobee• Emma Kaye, Board Director, Mira Networks• …