U Mobile is Asia first ad-funded mobile network
U Mobile surely want to guide you on how to use their cool service.
Our fellow from Philipphines, Jayvee published a local news about U Mobile. What’s interesting about this one is since this company dare enough to become the first yet free advertising-driven telco in Asia. A business model which Google used to implement via their hype-rumored GPhone.
For a complete review about this, please go to Jayvee’s blog at Cellphone9. Here is the excerpt:
So here are a few thoughts about the service and what exactly “free” means.
First off, it isn’t completely free. U Mobile works pretty much like any other telco because it is owned by SMART telecommunications, which is perhaps the largest telco in the PH. The “free” part comes in when you opt in to the contextual advertising program that is sent to your phone and when we say “contextual” we mean something predetermined by a series of lifestyle questionnaires. I filled mine up and it took me a good 20 minutes to get through everything. The form is updated every year. If you don’t fill up the form, you cannot participate in the ad program. There is also a current limit to the maximum amount of free credits you get. I expect this to get higher and higher as they win subscribers.
However, if you want some more information about this brand new thing in telecommunication industry, I suggest you to choose Eri or Mariel to guide you via U Mobile official websites. This is a nice corporate website since U Mobile is likely had already knew about what visitors like us will look inside.
Note:
For every free stuff out there, please don’t forget and beware on Spam!
Source: Cellphone9 | U Mobile
Image courtesy of U Mobile
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Mmm… spam with load…
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Yeah, I hope those spam won’t harming the users cause if it will then U Mobile will meet a big disaster. Oh yeah Mike, as far as I know, the ad will have a relation (i.e. contextual) with users ‘ data. I acknowledge this from Jayvee … he had tried himself.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Each ad gives you only a penny of load. The time and effort it takes you to grab your phone and delete an ad is probably worth more than a penny.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Thanks Mike, based on your information …. perhaps what U Mobile expect from their first year is not a revenue but market segmentation or niche.
They may have a sight after then about a kind of users which suit with this service. And probably it seems that you’re not one of them Mike.
Viva Asia!
May 26th, 2008 at 1:09 am
If they were focused on customers instead of revenue, they would have increased the value of each ad.