Microsoft has released a list of the application types that will be banned from their upcoming mobile app store. The 12 point prohibited list includes VOIP over mobile, links to other app stores, files larger than 10 MB, apps that show advertising that does not meet the Microsoft Advertising Creative Acceptance Policy Guide, plus several more.

The “Windows MarketPlace for Mobile” app store is expected to open later this year, to compete with apps stores for the iPhone, Android, Nokia, and RIM. more»

Comverse is the world’s leading provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for mobile advertising, voice, messaging, and mobile Internet; converged billing and active customer management; and IP communications.

Comverse’s extensive customer base spans more than 130 countries and covers over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company’s innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse’s solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and can run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS or converged network environments.

Comverse is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (CMVT.PK). For more information, visit www.comverse.com.

Kraft Foods has announced that it will be adding a mobile site to increase mobile engagement with consumers. The site, built by Publicis-owned Phonevalley, will offer consumers recipes, meal ideas, and shopping lists while on the go. more»

J.D. Power and Associates, the US based consumer research firm, has released a “consumer satisfaction” study which analyzes how consumers feel about their mobile phones.

Consumers rated Apple‘s iPhone as the top smartphone, and LG as the top traditional mobile phone. more»

Orange has released the latest in their Digital Media Index series of consumer usage reports.

The study shows that despite the bad overall economic climate, consumers are rapidly increasing their consumption of mobile data, including music downloads, video downloads, mobile social networking, and mobile gaming.

And mobile data using dongles increased a phenomenal 4,125% in the past 12 months! (available for download)

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Vodafone announced that it has completed the rollout of mobile advertising services to 18 countries in the past 18 months.

Citing strong revenue growth, Vodafone also announced they would continue expanding both the portfolio of mobile advertising services and their reach. more»

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has announced the shortlisted entries for the 2009 Meffy Awards.

The shortlisted entries for the Best Mobile Ad Campaign are a strong group of campaigns that showcase how far mobile advertising has come in the past year.
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Amobee Media Systems has announced that they have launched mobile advertising for mobile giant Telefónica in Spain.

Telefónica is one of the world’s largest mobile operator groups, with close to 200 million mobile subscribers in Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
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The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have just released the first independent study of the UK mobile advertising.

They found that despite the current economic crisis and the widely reported reduction in advertising, mobile ad spend actually doubled in 2008 compared to 2007.

Investment in mobile advertising grew at a faster rate than predicted as more UK brands invested in the medium due to its exceptional targeting, immediacy and return on investment. more»

Gamevil, the LA based mobile games publisher, has announced an extension of their partnership with the Coca-Cola company.

A new version of their best selling Baseball Superstars game will include Coke ads throughout the stadium.
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Vodafone has announced an aggressive plan to stimulate a new generation of mobile internet applications by providing internet service developers with a single point of access to Vodafone’s global customer base of 289 million subscribers.

Vodafone also announced plans to make available a series of network API’s which will provide controlled access to their billing system as well as customer location information.
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BuzzCity, the global ad network and owner of mobile social network mygamma, has released a ‘white label’ version of their ad network system.

This new service is intended to enable major mobile publishers more effectively monetize their mobile internet traffic.
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Effectively communicating a “safe sex” message to 15 – 18 year olds could be a difficult task, especially as they are often wary of mainstream media.

So the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in the UK turned to mobile marketing to help them connect with this hard to reach group.

thmbnls is a free, 22 episode mobile soap opera that was launched earlier this year and which is a key element in DCSF’s overall Want Respect? Wear a Condom campaign. more»

Ad-funded games company Cellufun seems to have a talent for coming up with unique, topically relevant mobile games.

Last year they released the world’s first “Mobile Political Boxing Game” for the US presidential election campaign.

And now they are releasing what must be the world’s first Mobile Scam Simulation, called “Made Off” (as in “I made off with your money”).
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Greystripe, the ad-funded mobile game distribution company, has released their latest “Consumer Insight” study.

The study gives an in-depth demographic view of the iPhone consumers seen on the Greystripe network during the first quarter of 2009 and provides information about consumer behavior preferences for a range of product categories, including fast food restaurants, PC’s, television, and cinema – all categories which are advertised on mobile.

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