Nokia is about to close its ailing gaming platform N-Gage next year, acknowledging the defeat of its first major attempt to offer a service applications to their phones. The download service games from the mobile phone maker faced major challenges over the years, as their specific models for games failed to attract consumers.

The online game service launched last year never to go beyond a niche audience. Nokia is seeking new ways to generate revenue from online services, with the maturing of its traditional cellular market, and industries of gaming and music were the focus of the first manufacturer of mobile devices. “We will not make new games for N-Gage application, Nokia said in the blog service.

The company said that the games of his first active service may be purchased by the end of September 2010 and that the community site will remain open throughout the year.
After the closing of the service, Nokia will continue to sell mobile games through its online store Ovi, a smaller competitor from the App Store, Apple.

Nokia is the world’s leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile and fixed telecom networks including related customer services.

Via: Nokia Br.

According to the mobile marketing firm, Brand in Hand which handles global clients like P&G, General Mills, American Express and other big global players, is of the opinion that females who use smartphones likes iPhones are more likely to overlook mobile advertising.

Over the 60 trial campaigns that have been analyzed, it was seen that female iPhone users’ post click page view rates were way lower than the conventional cellphone users. Post click page means the online actions of the user in response to the banner advertisement. Non smartphone users had as average of 3-3-5 post click page views in comparison to 1.3 for iPhone users.

Around 721,000 mothers in the age group between 25-44 years own an iPhone. These women are more task-oriented and it is more difficult to keep her engaged and expose her to mobile marketing.

Brand in Hand develops mobile advertising that caters to a larger population of mobile users and not necessarily only to the smartphone users. It deals with mass consumer brands and so its strategies for mobile marketing will also be the same. However, it can be seen as a creativity limitation; however, with the mobile users also targeted in countries like China, India and Brazil, it only makes more sense. Male users of smartphones like iPhones have shown more response to mobile sites and advertisements.

Via: Adage

Your phone is like a part of your body? A global survey shows that most people cannot live without their mobile phone. They never leave home without it and, given a choice, would prefer to lose the handset portfolio.

Calling cell phones in “remote control” for life, a study bythe research firm Synovate Market says the phone is so ubiquitous that even last year there were more people with a device in the world than people without any.

About 75% of more than 8,000 online respondents in 11 countries say they take the phone to all the places where they go, and the Russians and Singaporeans are the most connected to the apparatus.

Over 30% also said they could not live without cell phones, especially again the Taiwanese and Singaporeans, while 25% find it more difficult to replace the phone than a purse. About 60% of respondents sleep with cell phones and are not able to turn them off, even when they want, because they are afraid of “losing something.

Mobile phones have also changed the nature of relations according to the study showing that about half of people using SMS to flirt. 20% match the first meeting via text messages, and almost the same number of individuals use the same method to end a relationship!

Besides the obvious SMS and phone calls, the three most regularly used features on mobile phones in the world are the alarm clock, camera and games.

Via: Folha.