No need for the big black box

Mobile-TV

I am feeling it because it is nearly here. South Africa has come alive as the 2010 FIFA World Cup is soon to hit. I can already hear the buzzing sound of vuvuzela’s being blown at all times of the day. Proud South Africans can be seen wearing their Bafana Bafana shirts. With all this excitement surrounding me, I began to wonder how I was going to watch the games as June/July was turning into a very busy two months, regardless of the soccer. With this in mind, I thought about how amazing it would be if I could capture the experience on my mobile phone and watch on the go. I decided to go in search to find the easiest and cheapest way to access the soccer games via my mobile phone. However, I was soon disappointed.

FIFA TV Director Niclas Ericson confirmed in April last year that World Cup matches, results and updates will be available on mobile phones.

But the broadcasting and telecoms regulator have plans to issue licenses for the broadcasting of content via cell phones just before June. Isn’t that extremely close to when the soccer is to start? So, this means that the broadcasting and telecoms regulator have not even issued a mobile-TV license?

Mobile phone photography

Room showing different white balance settings 

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is just 23 days away. If you plan to attend some games and would like to capture all the action on your mobile phone camera, here are ten helpful tips to capture those spectacular moments on your mobile phone.

1. Make sure that your lens is clean as a dirty lens could blur images.
2. Set your phone to its highest picture quality and resolution. When printing it out it will be of better quality.
3. Set the white balance, if your phone supports it. White balance allows you to change colour balance in your image based on your shooting conditions. A camera will see that a given subject is redder than normal under normal incandescent lighting of your home. Experiment with this feature to get a feel for it.

Communicating via social network sites

Many people have turned to their mobile phones to access social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and many more. Even I have started to use my mobile phone, more regularly, to access these sites. A computer is not always accessible but with your mobile phone you can use social networks anywhere, anytime. By 2012, about 800 million people will access social networks via their mobile phone. This is changing how people communicate with one another on their mobile phones.

Previously, when using your mobile phone, SMSs and mobile phone calls were the only way to communicate but now with access to relatively high speed internet on your mobile phone it makes communicating on social networks much easier. People are using social networks rather than SMSs and mobile phone calls as social networks can offer you so much more. For example, when visiting Facebook, not only can you see the recent updates from your friends but you can also view events for the week ahead. 

Visiting social network sites on your mobile phone can even be cheaper than a phone call, encouraging many to switch to social networks to communicate via their mobile phone. Opera mini, for example, provides a cheap and easy way to access the internet via your mobile phone. Last year, Patricia de Lille complained that South Africa had the highest mobile phone call costs in the world.

SA ads to mobile

Advertisers have targeted mxit to reach South Africans 

The mobile phone has now become the answer to advertising. Mobile advertising is reaching far greater audiences, as the number of mobile phone subscriptions has predicted to reach 5 billion this year. Advertising companies are turning to the mobile phones for a better chance of consumers clicking on their advertisement. In Japan, already 44% of mobile phone owners click on advertisements they receive via their mobile phone.

It is no surprise then, that there is competition between Apple and Google to buy into advertising companies. Contributing Editor at the Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling said, “Apple tries to buy AdMob but Google ‘snatched’ it away”. Apple, however, manages to buy AdMob competitor Quattro Wireless while Google still battles with the US Federal Trade Commission to allow them to merge with AdMob. This competition is just 
an example of how successful mobile advertising has become.

South Africa’s involvement
But while I was thinking about the great influx of advertisement targeted at the mobile phone and the ongoing battle between Google and Apple, I started to think about South African's and their involvement in mobile advertising.