Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a global leader in wireless communications, today announced the availability of SCREEN3™ in Asia — an innovative technology solution that lets consumers get news, sports, entertainment, and other premium content and services directly from their mobile device home screen (no buttons to push, no browsers to launch).
Motorola’s SCREEN3™ employs a media gateway server to manage content and client technology. According to the media channel subscribed to by the user, the media gateway identifies and delivers the relevant news to the device’s home screen, via consistent content management from the back-end to the device.

Additionally, the SCREEN 3™ solution also enlists a “smart synchronization” function. This means that only the latest, freshest content gets delivered and displayed on the device’s home screen. This in turn minimizes network traffic and thus increases consumer satisfaction. The end result of this entire service is that users are presented seamlessly, and in a simple, organised manner, all the latest news headlines for that specific channel subscribed to.

“This is an innovative content and marketing deal we have with EMI and Gold Label on music contents and other content providers leading the content industry. Subscribers want the latest mobile content without having to click, scroll and hunt through menus for it,” said Cedric So, general manager of Mobile Devices Business, Motorola Hong Kong. “And network operators want to be able to do more with mobile data services. With Motorola’s SCREEN3™ solution, we address both sets of needs, making the mobile phone the next major media gateway by putting content where it belongs, in front of subscribers’ eyes, zero-clicks away.”

Motorola’s SCREEN3™ solution is designed to help operators drive mobile data usage and generate revenue. Operator studies show a drop-off in users with every click that it takes to access content. By placing targeted content and promotions on the device home screen — where it is easy access and impossible to miss — subscribers are more likely to try to use data services.

Motorola works closely with the operators and Content Providers in Hong Kong to provide rich variety of contents to SCREEN3в„ў users.

* News (Both local news and global news are available. Users can choose from the top stories, entertainment and business news provided by Oriental Daily News, and global news provided by Financial Times. For those who would like to know the latest update in the city, they can subscribe to the instant news offered by RTHK)
* Music (There will be new records and latest singers’ update exclusively from EMI & Gold Label and record appraisal from HMV)
* Leisure (Information on lifestyle, football and horse racing are provided by orisun.com to help users to plan their leisure life)
* Bidding (Users can access to the eBay site to receive the latest information on the online auction items and buy their favourite items wherever they are)
* HKSAR Government press release to keep users informed the latest government announcements

“We are very optimistic about the future of mobile contents. Last year, we are the first media company to launch a mobile portal. Since then, we are looking for ways to enhance our service. When we learn about the SCREEN3™ technology from Motorola, we feel so excited because it allows users to access information more easily and conveniently. This is exactly what we would like to provide to our customers. We believe SCREEN3™ will bring the mobile content business to the next level and mobile users would enjoy using this new service.” Cynthia Lee, Controller of orisun.com under Oriental Press Group.

“We are very pleased to work with Motorola on the SCREEN3™ project and this will be a new, fun and effective marketing channel to promote EMI and Gold Labels’ various genres of music including Canton pop, International, Korean, Japanese, classical and jazz,” said Caroline Chow, Director of New Media, EMI Music Hong Kong.

“eBay Hong Kong’s bidders are amongst our most active in the world, and the SCREEN3™ solution from Motorola is a great way to keep our members connected with the latest offers available for sale on eBay,” said Kerry Wong, Managing Director of eBay Hong Kong.

SCREEN3в„ў is featured today on the Motorola V3i and will be available on a variety of additional Motorola handsets over the next several months.

Smart Communications unveiled new and expanded 3G service offerings and announced the commercial rates for its Third Generation cellular service which is now supported by an extensive nationwide network ready for High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology.

Starting May 1st, Smart postpaid and prepaid subscribers with 3G-capable handsets will enjoy enhanced applications and extensive rich media content on a commercial basis. These include live TV streaming of two major television networks and 3G downloads of full music tracks and video clips.

Smart 3G users can now make video calls not only within the country but also to 3G subscribers of eight mobile phone operators in six countries that include Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Austria and Germany.

“With 800 cellsites covering 119 key cities and municipalities, Smart offers genuine nationwide 3G coverage. We’ve made the service very affordable to encourage usage. To pave the way for continuous improvement in the service, we’ve made our 3G network HSDPA-ready” said Napoleon L. Nazareno, president and CEO, SMART.

Smart is not only the first mobile operator in the country to commercially launch 3G services but also the first to use a 3G network with HSDPA technology.

High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) allows data calls with transfer rates exceeding one megabit per second. HSDPA will allow better quality video streaming as well as enhance user experience of Web browsing and file downloads. As Smart’s 3G cellsites are already HSDPA-ready, subscribers can enjoy the service once the devices are available in the market. Last March, Smart became the first operator in the country to successfully conduct HSDPA test calls.

When Smart 3G was launched February 14, 3G services such as video-streaming, video calls, high-speed internet browsing and downloading of special 3G content were offered on a free-trial basis.

Under the introductory pricing scheme that takes effect May 1st, Smart 3G rates are aligned with existing 2G rates while some services will remain free of charge.

:: Video calling. Smart-to-Smart local 3G video calls remain free of charge. Smart’s 3G customers can also make international video calls for the price of a regular IDD call (at US$0.40 per minute) to eight 3G operators in six countries. These include NTT DoCoMo in Japan, CSL, Smartone and Hutchison in Hong Kong, Starhub in Singapore, Chunghwa in Taiwan, Vodafone in Germany and Mobilkom in Austria – with many more being added in the coming months. Meanwhile, video calling on international roaming will remain the same as international roaming voice rates for both outbound and inbound roamers.

:: Video and audio streaming. All Smart 3G video and audio streaming applications – including live TV viewing – will be charged a P15 access fee for every 30 minutes based on running time that starts when a subscriber clicks on a streaming link regardless of the number of videos viewed. Aside from the access charge, there will be a separate fee for content. Smart 3G subscribers can watch GMA7 and ABS-CBN Channel 2 live via video streaming. Subscription fee for each network is P20 per day. 3G streaming of audio and video clips will be charged P5 per hit. However, streaming of movie trailers, live traffic and summer hotspots cameras and music videos will be free of charge.

:: Multimedia Messaging. Rates for multimedia messaging or MMS across all Smart subscribers have been set at P1 per message for Smart-to-Smart messages and P2 per MMS for Smart to other operators. Before, the rate for MMS was P5 per send.

:: Internet browsing. Internet and WAP browsing using GPRS and 3G will be at P10 for every 30 minutes, regardless of the file size downloaded. The charge applies to browsing Internet sites outside of the free Smart WAP site whether connected via GPRS or 3G.

:: Downloads. For Smart 3G content such as video clips, ringtones, visual ringers, and games, the introductory rates range from P20 for a video clip download to P50 for a full music track and a premium game. Downloading of preview clips will be free of charge.

For postpaid subscribers, all introductory 3G rates are part of their consumable plans. Corporate accounts have the option to avail of the introductory pricing or retain their current data consumption rate based on their contracts.

Smart currently has approximately a quarter of a million subscribers with 3G capable handsets.

The commercial launch of Smart 3G is a culmination of significant milestones and firsts. In December 2005, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) awarded SMART its 3G license after the telco garnered the only perfect score of 30 based on the regulatory body’s grading system designed to gauge the capability of operators to massively and effectively provide 3G services.

This was followed two months after by the launch of Smart 3G on free trial basis, making Smart the first telco to offer 3G to the public. In March, the company also successfully made the country’s first data test call on HSDPA, with registered data throughputs at speeds exceeding one megabit per second (Mbps).

The company started preparations for a seamless transition to 3G as early as five years ago. In December 2000, SMART in cooperation with Nokia conducted the first successful experimental 3G video call trials in the country in the presence of NTC officials.

Seven Asian operators today announced the formation of an alliance to enhance competitiveness in the international roaming market and deliver corporate services across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia Pacific Mobile Alliance boasts a combined customer base of about 100 million subscribers over eight countries and regions, but plans to expand its members over time.

The founding members are: Far EasTone (Taiwan), Hutchison Essar (India), Hutchison Telecommunications Limited (Hong Kong and Macau), KTF (South Korea), NTT DoCoMo (Japan), PT Indosat (Indonesia) and StarHub (Singapore).

The alliance will promote voice, video and data roaming via members’ GSM/GPRS/WCDMA networks, with an intention to launch roaming via HSDPA once the market is ready. These initiatives are targeted for launch in the latter half of 2006.

The alliance also aims to create a Virtual Home Environment amongst customers of member operators, so that they are able to experience seamless, convenient mobile-related services when they roam. Such services include caller ID and short codes to allow quick and easy connection to their home country operator’s voice mail and customer support.

The formation of the Asia Pacific Mobile Alliance marks the arrival of the region’s second such partnership. Last year the Bridge Mobile Alliance launched its first services – seamless GPRS and MMS roaming and a common prepaid roaming top up service.

The Bridge Alliance’s founding operator members are Airtel in India, CSL in Hong Kong, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Maxis in Malaysia, SingTel Mobile in Singapore, SingTel Optus in Australia, Taiwan Mobile in Taiwan and Telkomsel in Indonesia. But the organisation has now opened its doors to the vendor community, with the inclusion of Chinese vendor ZTE, Sweden’s Ericsson and US manufacturer Motorola.