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Monday, July 30, 2012

Hollywood plugs in to tech start-ups

Elizabeth Lee of voanews.com writes:

Smart phones and tablet computers have become so popular that they are now a part of everyday life for many people around the world. These devices have also prompted an explosion of mobile applications. Hollywood is plugging in to this potentially profitable world of new technology.

Matt Kozlov may be the head of a start-up technology company, but his office is located in an upscale part of town with beautiful views and it's not unusual if he sees a movie star going up the elevator of his building.

“I'm working with some of my childhood heroes right now, which is something a lot of people can't say,” Kozlov brags.

He is working with big names such as singer and actor Jennifer Lopez and director John Woo. Kozlov's company, Moonshark, makes games for mobile devices.

“It's an exploding marketplace,” he explains. “Right now there are hundreds of millions of devices out there right now that we can reach. And these devices have turned eight-year-old kids, 40-year-old moms into gamers in a way we've never seen before.”

Kozlov says while consumers have a choice of hundreds of thousands of game applications created by different companies, Moonshark has a unique competitive advantage.

“We are the only mobile gaming company backed by an agency,” he notes.

Kozlov's office is in the building of one of the largest talent agencies in the world, Creative Artists Agency, CAA. The agency developed Moonshark and partnered with wireless technology company Qualcomm to make the company a reality.

“The biggest, biggest obstacle to mobile gaming companies is discoverability. How do people find your app?  How do you cut through the clutter?  We can pick up the phone and within a week, be in the room pitching the idea to a major mega A-list celebrity,” Kozlov says. “And that's something really no one else can do.”

CAA's Matt Mazzeo says these days, the talent agency not only finds jobs or negotiates contracts for actors and athletes, it is also helping celebrities get plugged in to the Internet so they can reach their fans in a different way.

“Increasingly clients at the agency think about digital and need to think about digital as it relates to their long-term career,” Mazzeo says.

CAA has founded five tech companies that range from sports to education to entertainment. The agency comes up with the idea, finds the best people for the job and uses its network of contacts to find funding for the start-ups.

“Our clients are going to continue to move into entirely new areas of storytelling and new ways of distribution,” Mazzeo says.

Jennifer Lopez is helping with Moonshark's first application, a finger break-dancing game called 'Dance Pad'. She consults on the dance moves and will help promote it. Moonshark is also working with international action director John Woo on an action game expected to be released the end of this year.

Originally published on voanews.com

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Opinion Articles

RIM boss ignores the questions when asked about BlackBerry difficulties and competitors

What went wrong? What did you learn from the iPhone?

Mark Bridge writes:

Live TV and radio interviews. They can be worrying things, even when you’re not expecting to be challenged too much. I know this from experience. So when your company is launching a much-delayed operating system, you’d expect a few difficult questions… and you’d be ready with a response.

The official response of RIM is apparently to ignore the questions.

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Mobile phones transform lives in Africa

Jennifer Lazuta of voanews.com writes:

Rene Mendy, a street vendor in Dakar, has never had enough money to open a bank account. But now, thanks to an emerging mobile phone banking service, he has access to many financial services.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 28th January 2013

Figuring out the figures

Mark Bridge writes:

I didn’t study economics at college, which is probably one of the reasons I have a very simple perspective on quarterly results. As far as I’m concerned, they fall into one of three categories: much as expected, better than expected or worse than expected. Anyway, it’s the time of year when some of the biggest names in the mobile telecoms industry publish their financial results – so here we go.

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Bringing personalised radio to your smartphone

We interview Shankar Meembat about the UTuneMe radio app

Mark Bridge writes:

Targeted advertising on mobile devices is something we’re all getting increasingly familiar with. Visit a web site and there’s a good chance you’ll see an advertisement that’s aimed directly at you, perhaps using information about the sites you’ve previously visited, the type of smartphone you’re using or even your location.

Yet listen to the radio or stream music on your smartphone and that same level of personalisation hasn’t been aavailable. That’s all changing now, with help from a new service called UTuneMe.

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Why Huawei should get out of the mobile handset market

Why Huawei should get out of the mobile handset market

or why Huawei need to spend their £1.6 billion profit on marketing

James Rosewell writes:

Huawei is a company one can’t miss at Mobile World Congress. They bring their own building!  Plus last year a wonderful “Pegasus” flying horse sculpture made using Ascend handsets was proudly displayed next to the main fountain to hail the launch of the Ascend series of handsets.

Huawei has been busy following MWC12. They now run major parts of Everything Everywhere, Three and O2’s network in the UK. On a less positive note they’re not welcome in the US.

But how has the devices side of the business performed?

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

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