News
Issue #2003 - 31 (December 2003)
(Updated Dec. 16, 2003)

INFRASTRUCTURE, PRODUCTS & SERVICES

NewBay's FoneBlog wins Ericsson Best Information Application Award

Dublin, Ireland - 26 November 2003 - NewBay Software has won the prestigious Ericsson Mobile Application Award 2003 for its leading mobile phone blogging system, FoneBlog. Against competition from over 275 international entries, FoneBlog was chosen for its innovation, ease of use and strong revenue model for mobile network operators.

At the awards ceremony held in Zurich last night, Paddy Holahan, CEO of NewBay Software presented to a jury of mobile industry executives and a live audience of over 400 key industry representatives who voted FoneBlog as the Best Information Application.

"This award is a great endorsement of FoneBlog and recognises the market potential it offers Mobile Network Operators as a killer application for camera phones," said Paddy Holahan, CEO of NewBay Software. "FoneBlog immediately increases MMS and WAP traffic for Mobile Operators. With FoneBlog, every subscriber gets a personal website where they can instantly post pictures, video and audio clips direct from their mobile phone. It's easy, addictive and fun." 

The Ericsson Mobile Application Awards is an international competition run by Ericsson to identify the best, market-ready mobile applications and services. The awards recognise services that add value, create convenience and make daily life and work easier and more effective.

"The Ericsson Mobile Application Awards are an ideal platform to promote innovative, market-ready applications for mobile phones. FoneBlog was selected by industry experts based on its ability to drive MMS traffic and convert technology innovation into real revenue for Mobile Operators," said Rolf Weiss, Vice President Communications at Ericsson.

What's a Blog?
A blog, or weblog , is a personal Web site updated frequently and arranged in date order. Blogs can be political journals and/or personal diaries; they can focus on one narrow subject or range across a universe of topics. The blog form is unique to the Web -- and highly addictive. 

The first ever web pages were arranged in diary fashion, so blogs are as old as the world wide web. However, the arrival of easy to use software in the past few years has brought blogging to almost anyone with a web browser. (FoneBlog from NewBay Software now means that hundreds of millions of phone users will also be able to blog).

There are no firm statistics, but it is estimated that there are currently over 500,000 active blogs, with thousands more being added every day.

To date, most blogs have been updated from web browsers and are heavily text based.

For more information: http://www.newbay.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory:  Foneblog is a simple and great idea for new breed of MMS applications.This or some incarnation of it will succeeded. Newbay is among the first vendors (shall we say, kid) on the block to do this. Others are and more will be there soon. Newbay Software deserves this award from Ericsson and us.

Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of Securities Exchange act of 1934 in USA. Similar provisions exist in other countries. There is no assurance that the stipulated plans of vendors will be implemented. MobileInfo does not warrant the authenticity of the information. Readers should take appropriate caution in developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology architectures.  All trademarks used in this summary are the property of their respective owners.