With a rising number of children and teenagers now owning a mobile phone in Britain, the UK’s leading mobile phone comparison website has commissioned a study into a new ‘random text’ trend, which could be putting youngsters at risk.

In a new poll of 1,382 teens aged between 13 and 16, www.rightmobilephone.co.uk has found that there is an increasing number of young people engaging in what is potentially a dangerous text messaging trend, involving sending a message to a random number and awaiting a reply.

19% of the respondents who took part in the poll admitting having previously done this, despite the risk of speaking with strangers and 22% claimed to have played ‘text roulette’, a slightly different trend that involves typing an obscene text message before scrolling through the contact list and sending it to whoever it lands on.

Further findings of the study by rightmobilephone.co.uk included almost two thirds, 64%, of the young respondents admitting to adding or accepting somebody they didn’t know as a friend on Facebook.

Of those who admitted to sending random texts to unknown numbers, 11% said it was ‘loneliness’ that prompted them to do so. 31% said it was ‘just for fun’ whilst 9% were ‘dared’ to do so. 42% said ‘boredom’ was the reason they sent random texts to strangers. More than half, 54%, said they had received a reply from the unknown number they had texted.

In terms of Facebook and those who admitted adding or accepting people they didn’t know, 72% said they just wanted to ‘look more popular’ by having more friends.

Of the teenagers that admitted to playing ‘Text Roulette’, 1 in 3 claimed it had landed them in trouble with the recipient.

Neil McHugh, co-founder of rightmobilephone.co.uk, said;

“We’d hope young people realise the dangers of texting strange numbers and adding people they don’t know on Facebook, although judging by the findings, this is not the case. As more young people now own mobile phones, I would encourage parents to keep a closer eye on how their children are using them.”

“We were surprised by the number of teenagers that have actually taken part in these risky ‘games’ like Text Roulette and what was even more worrying is that the majority of the teenagers had a reply from texts they had sent to random numbers.”

LINK http://www.rightmobilephone.co.uk

ENDS

For more information, or to arrange interviews with Neil McHugh, please contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or email [email protected]

Editors notes

Rightmobilephone.co.uk was launched in November 2007 to help consumers save time and money by providing a trusted comparison platform for customers to purchase from.

The site has become the UK’s most comprehensive and user friendly mobile phone comparison engine, with 600,000+ mobile phone offers combined with user friendly consumer reviews, ratings and video.

Users can review and compare over 800 handsets with images, specifications and video with unique users reviews, opinions and ratings provided by handset owners and compare over 2000 + pay as you go offers and tariffs from all major networks.

Stuttgart, Germany – According to InfoCom latest release, mobile carriers are the most active players in the provision of e-health solutions. This market is indeed led by Orange, Movistar and Vodafone, as the most innovative players in introducing new solutions that go beyond basic health assistance. The French mobile carrier Orange, for instance, has its own healthcare division, which facilitates solutions for hospitals, physicians as well as patients; while Movistar is very active in Spain in introducing such applications, which can be combined with its mobile services. Vodafone as well has introduced a wide range of offers in several countries, ranging from service hotlines to devices measuring blood glucose levels for diabetes patients.

E-health solutions are mostly offered on a domestic scale as majority of these applications are provided in partnership with domestic health associations, for instance in Portugal with the local Ministry of Health, in Spain with the country Spanish unit of the Red Cross. Only Vodafone has started to introduce a diabetes measuring device both in Spain and in the UK.

At the moment, carriers’ business models focus on stand-alone services with monthly subscription ranging from €1.90 with NTT Japan’s Online portal for healthcare management, to €59 with Orange France’s GPS wristband for Alzheimer patients. In some cases, e-health services are offered as add-ons to current mobile services, for instance available as downloads for the mobile device and charged though an activation fee.

While senior citizens, together with handicapped and people with chronic diseases, are the main target segments of e-Health solutions addressing the private market, B2B e-health applications increasingly address public institutions, such as government entities and health agencies as well as hospitals and physicians.

This Innovations Spotlights by InfoCom also includes:

- Most popular telemonitoring services.

- Emergency/locating services and offers for handicapped persons.

- Offers of location-based services.

- Spreading reminder services and information portals.

About Innovations Spotlights – These reports are topic-focused papers, presenting strategic assessments of industry innovations, with marketing strategies, pricing as well as an evaluation of the impact on the existing markets. 12 issues a year, Innovations Spotlights are integrated into InfoCom Telecom Innovations  – Services & Products, a market intelligence tool serving as an information pool based on InfoCom’s competencies in market data research, analysis and advisory services. This compelling tool offers a continuous flow of forward-looking intelligence on global trends and developments that enables to identify new revenue opportunities, build and tune strategies and create successful products and services.

About InfoCom: InfoCom is a market research and consultancy company with over 20 years experience providing strategic analyses and planning assistance to stakeholders in the telecommunications, IT and multimedia industries. InfoCom’s independent and fact-based analyses highlight trends and opportunities, supporting decision makers to understand market dynamics in order to improve their competitive advantage.

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Star News, part of the MCCS group has partnered with One97 to launch a slew of services on the mobile platform.

Through this service Star News can now proactively reach its viewers with the latest news without having to wait to them to tune in. Increased interactivity with viewers will also enhance interest in programmes.

Managing Editor for MCCS, Milind Khandekar says “MCCS is the number one News Network in the country and we would like to extend this leadership by providing the best content on the mobile platform.”

L.Ramakrishnan, Head New Media Business says “ In keeping with our vision of Aap ko Rakhe Aagey we would like to keep our viewers updated with the latest news through all possible media and the mobile platform is a step in that direction. With One97 we have created a unique value proposition for a media house to establish a connect with our viewers. We are happy to associate with One97 Communications as our exclusive partner and believe that services like this would bring our channel more closely to the customers and enhance our branding and revenues.”

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Managing Director, One97 Communication said “We are excited to partner with Star News. Our service offering has endless potential and will further strengthen Star News connect with viewers more personally. It is extremely flexible and has been tried and tested to deliver services across all modes of services (SMS, Voice, Video, WAP, USSD)”.

The first service to launch is an sms subscription news service operational with 3 operators Airtel, BSNL and Reliance which is soon to be launched across other operators. To subscribe to this service one needs to send an sms “StarN” to 53030. MCCS will soon launch services for their other channels Star Majha and Star Ananda.

SMS GupShup, India’s largest social messaging platform today announced that it is working with Facebook, the world’s largest social network, to enable Indian Facebook users to go mobile. SMS GupShup’s messaging platform will enable Indian users to take Facebook with them, wherever they go, using SMS.

By working with SMS GupShup, Facebook is enabling its service on SMS, the most popular messaging platform in India. Facebook users can now update their status updates and message friends using SMS. They can also receive status updates, messages and wall posts instantly in their SMS inbox.

SMS GupShup will provide the underlying messaging infrastructure to rapidly and reliably deliver the high volume of incoming and outgoing messages between users and Facebook.

“SMS GupShup has built the largest SMS-based mobile community in India, on the foundation of a high-performance messaging platform that supports nearly 6% of India’s SMS traffic”, said Beerud Sheth, CEO, SMS GupShup. He added, “We are excited to enable mobilizing the Facebook service in India and look forward to delivering a great mobile experience to their users.”

“We are very excited to work with SMS GupShup, given their experience with both mobile messaging and social media in India”, said Henri Moissinac, Director of Mobile, Facebook. He added, “We realize how important it is to work with great companies in the mobile space in countries like India, and by enabling Facebook on SMS, users can now use it even when they’re not near a computer.”

Users can activate Facebook on their mobile devices by visiting www.facebook.com/mobile. Users can then update their status by sending a message to 92-FACEBOOK (9232232665). Users can reply to their friend’s messages by simply replying to the incoming SMS. The service will operate on longcodes (i.e. regular 10-digit phone number). Facebook does not charge anything for the mobile service, but regular carrier charges may apply for messages sent to Facebook.

About SMS GupShup

SMS GupShup is a social messaging platform that enables users to build mobile communities. Consumers use it to communicate and connect with family, friends and fans. Businesses use it to engage with their customers. Launched in Apr 2007, it is used by nearly 25 million users in over a million communities. Funded by Charles River Ventures and Helion Ventures, the company is founded by seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and incubated at the IIT Bombay Business Incubator.

For further details on this release, contact:

Toral Sanghavi

Clea Public Relations

+91-98210-45846

+91-22-40188669-79

[email protected]

10 ways to GupShup with your colleagues

SMS Gupshup offers colleagues and companies an effective and easy way to stay in touch with each other through the work day – be it people from the same office or across branches. Want to send an update to many colleagues, want to share a funny moment, do you need advice or suggestions, SMS Gupshup is your answer. All you need to do is to send sms to your SMS Gupshup community….

1. Schedule meetings
2. Activate instant polls for business decisions
3. Update on news and happenings in the organization
4. Tips on stock movements
5. Inspiring messages and quotes to motivate
6. Reminders for meetings and tasks
7. Post job openings
8. Share achievements and interesting job techniques
9. Share news on the industry and people movements

10.  Send jokes for a light moment during the day

Testimonials from Colleagues:

• SGS is awesome, Gupshupping on the latest topics with my colleagues keeps me updated with the daily
• Gupshupping helps me to keep in touch with my friends from different industries
• Sharing info on job vacancies has helped a lot of my colleagues, this is happened only bcoz of SGS, great job guys, Keep it up!
• We have managed any impending crisis efficiently, by alerting our colleagues through SGS!
• Gupshupping lifts my routine workday from monotony and makes it livelier.
• We work, we meet deadlines, we perform, we excel and we also GupShup.

To know more Visit: http://www.smsgupshup.com/

10 ways to stay connected with Friends using Gup Shup

Keeping in touch with all your friends has never been this easy. SMS GupShup lets you share all the latest updates and tidbits with your friends at one go. All you have to do is send a sms to one number and all your friends will get it at a go. Keep your friends in the loop about cancellation of any lectures, update on DJ nights, the most happening clubs and much more through a single message. Share information on the latest gossip, style trends, the best places to eat, the latest in music and so much more, all through SMS Gupshup.

1. Update on Course reviews and Admission details
2. Send alerts on lecture timings, seminars
3. Special messages to friends on occasions such as Friendship Day, Rose Daye etc
4. Invite friends for DJ nights, Karaoke nights, parties etc
5. Update on the latest hang out, shopping outlets, discounts etc
6. Send alerts during Inter-College fest – Results, Schedule, Winners etc
7. Chatting about the latest campus trends (fashion, fitness)
8. Greeting on various occasions like anniversary celebrations, birthdays, good scores in exams, and much more
9. Share study centric trivia

10.  Gossip (Girl!!)

Testimonials from Friends:

• This service is super duper; I can now GupShup all day long with my pals, yoo-hoo!!
• SGS rocks, I can now use my Shayari and send it across to all my loved ones.
• Getting info on the latest clubs is so cool, I love SGS, way to go!!!
• I was able to check out the latest DJ act at the last minute, thanks to SGS!
• Gupshupping helps us communicate so easily during fests, competition, etc.

Gup Shup with your Family

Bring your families closer with SMS Gupshup. Keep in touch with your chacha, kaki, cousin, mum, dadi no matter which part of the country they are in. Simply start a group for your family and keep each other updated on the trivial and important as it happens. All you have to do is send a single sms to a number and everyone in your family will be instantly updated.

1. Spiritual quotes
2. Status on family members safety during curfew, riots
3. Share family recipes
4. Greeting on various occasions like anniversary celebrations, birthdays, good scores in exams, baby shower and much more
5. Send links of family photo albums
6. Update on ‘Saas Bahu’ soaps
7. Updates on latest price hikes/cuts like petrol, daily consumption commodities
8. Family gossip
9. Play games with your cousin

10.  Share information on holiday packages and deals

Testimonials from Family members:

• The regular spiritual quotes keep me motivated during the day, all thanks to SGS.
• It’s only bcoz of SGS that I have been able to keep a track of my serials.
• I love GupShupping; it’s so simple and can send my greetings to all my family members at 1 go.
• All thanks to Gupshupping, now I feel I am always close to my family, even when I am away from them.

About SMS GupShup:

SMS GupShup is the world’s largest and fastest growing social messaging platform. Launched in April 2007, it is used by twenty million users in nine hundred thousand communities. Users create communities on SMS GupShup in a wide range of categories such as finance, entertainment, lifestyle, health, sports, technology etc. Users join communities that they are interested in and engage and interact with each other.  SMS GupShup has grown virally as users create communities, join them and invite their friends.

Consumer brands, sports teams, celebrities, politicians and others use the GupShup platform to build mobile communities and engage their customers, fans and voters through messaging and interactivity. The company has been founded by successful Silicon Valley technology entrepreneurs who have created path-breaking companies including Junglee.com and Elance.com. Visit: http://www.smsgupshup.com/

For more information on this release please contact: Toral Sanghavi, Clea Public Relations

Tel: 4018 8669, Email: [email protected]

txtNation, an innovative service provider of multi-service billing solutions for the Mobile industry, today announced their latest venture, powering the latest in a string of TV based clients in Nepali TV, broadcasting a large variety of both SMS and IVR services.

Michael Whelan, Director says, “This agreement is another step in the right direction. As the company wants to ensure the success of their business model, this of which plays a large part in our companies success. We will be working very closely with the team from Nepali TV to ensure that the channel provides maximum benefit for those who watch.”

txtNation has created a comprehensive billing back office system that allows Nepali TV to add mobile communications to their TV based services.

The system comprises a comprehensive back office network, including all operations functions such as automated customer activation, carrier procurement, fulfilment integration, billing, reporting, customer service and data rich features all integrated into one ubiquitous operating platform.

txtNation effectively uses the Internet to automate the complex customer acquisition process, thereby allowing its clients to instantly penetrate new markets or expand service offerings.

LONDON, ENGLAND. Leading mobile messaging and billing solutions provider txtNation has reported additional services to its existing platform in the face of global economic woes. Going from strength to strength despite the global crisis, txtNation has invested in new SMS connectivity in China and the USA and has launched the latest version of its award-winning software.

As a measure of the resilience of the mobile sector to keep innovating and exploiting opportunities in new markets, txtNation is bucking the economic trends by increasing its international reach as well as making substantial improvements to its established software line.

Michael Whelan, Director of txtNation, says “We’re positive that the mobile sector will continue to innovate despite worries about global slowdown and we intend to keep investing in better services. This is very much a long-term view of things. Our faith in mobile is as strong as ever and it is evident that our clients feel the same way. We have big names scheduled to launch with us over the next year.”

To coincide with the Olympic Games in Beijing, txtNation has made deals with China’s network operators to bring its clients prime access to every mobile user in the country. Though it keeps its international strategy close to its chest, txtNation promises even greater connectivity in future.

txtNation’s US office, established last year, has already moved to bigger premises and continues to recruit in its sales and technical departments. Despite the regulatory hurdles in the US, in contrast to more liberal communications policies in Europe, txtNation is steering a confident path and getting the attention of major corporations.

As part of its efforts to spread the word about its new services, txtNation will be making itself available at some of the sector’s biggest events, including the upcoming ad-tech in London and CTIA in San Francisco.

txtNation, leading mobile billing and messaging specialists, have today announced soon to be live SMS Short Code connectivity, available within the next several weeks across the CIS, Asian and Middle Eastern regions. The countries listed on this roll out schedule include a massive eleven new untapped markets; Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kirghizia, Israel and Tajikistan.

This agreement builds on a two year collaboration between txtNation, partners and operators out in these regions.

Michael Whelan, Director, “This is opening up opportunities for our partners and clients that have active business in these countries and will provide services they can now monetize with Premium SMS.”

txtNation continue to expand aggressively into new markets, with the largest reach of any mobile provider. txtNation state like all other SMS markets, each of these countries has its own rules and regulations to which all have been approved across txtNation’s portfolio of solutions; from mobile billing, micro-payment, content, chat and campaign based services. This new, previously un-touched connectivity will be a large addition to the already massive global footprint offered by txtNation.

Whelan quotes, “These countries feed directly into our overall objective. Our aim is the same as it was several years ago, to have the widest global reach with local, personal touch, focusing on local support. As consumer demand continues to build for mobile messaging services in these markets, this is the next logical area of focus for txtNation.”

txtNation acknowledge they are one of the few companies to be in these markets, giving major advantages to businesses already doing business with txtNation further opportunities. txtNation encourage all companies interested in this connectivity to make contact at the earliest opportunity to get more information on switch dates.

About txtNation
txtNation is an outstanding multi award-winning solutions provider across billing, content and mobile messaging platforms. Focussing on sophisticated, ease-of-use solutions designed and supported by knowledgeable technical and customer support teams, txtNation have consistently proved itself one of the most efficient and cost effective messaging, billing and content providers in the business. txtNation’s global reach means that we can facilitate mobile messaging services and products via the SMS Gateway across North America, Europe, Australia and Africa. txtNation have developed strong partnerships with many major industry leaders to ensure our solutions are compatible, well-connected and adequately secure. txtNation have well over 7000 clients large and small on every continent who are already experiencing the outstanding advantages which txtNation has to offer. txtNation’s products and services increase customer acquisition, improve loyalty and build trusted brands and awareness through direct, personal, easy, and immediate communications.

Subscribe to the txtNation newsletter: http://txtnation.com/newsletter.php

Most Small Business Owners think that VOIP and text Message Advertising is either unaffordable for their budgets or too high tech for their customers. AdCalls has now proved that nothing can be further from the truth.

How many customers, of any business, would appreciate a gift of free World Wide Long Distance calling, for just coming into the store? The answer is obvious, just about every customer would appreciate this free Calling Gift.

How many business owners would like to have the email address and mobile phone number of every customer? This answer is also obvious, every business owner would love to have every customer’s contact email and mobile number.

AdCalls, Inc., (www.adcalls.com) a five year old VOIP and Mobile Marketing Company has found the solution. Give customers free World-Wide Long Distance, and the customer will give you their Email address and mobile phone number. It is as simple as this.

The AdCalls free Calling Club Program (www.freecallingclub.com) provides business owners with personalized free World-Wide Calling Cards to distribute to all their customers and clients. When customers call anywhere in the world, they hear voice advertising messages from the advertiser and receive a custom text message ad at the completion of the call.

Finally, the Advertiser captures a permission based email address and mobile phone number for future advertising. “AdCalls free Calling Products are designed to help businesses bring in new customers and keep their old customers coming back more frequently” states, Al Krauza, President of AdCalls. “at $50 per month, there is not a business around that cannot afford this program”. AdCalls is currently interviewing prospective Vested Interest Partners to coordinate the Direct Sales expansion throughout Europe and Asia. With the programming capability of providing free Long distance in over 200 countries, AdCalls is poised for rapid global growth.

The AdCalls products are distributed world-wide through a direct sales corps of Agency Owners who personally contact business ion their local area. All product and sales training is conducted on the Private TV station recently purchased from Wi-FiTv (www.rcalls.com/tv) Clients and potential Agency Owners can view a complete selection of live product and training videos that are continually updated on the AdCalls Wi-FiTv Station.

For Information: Al Krauza, President, AdCalls, Inc. 949-305-3050 [email protected]
72 Argonaut #140 * Aliso Viejo, CA 92656