UK-based mobile solutions maker Affle launched on Tuesday a new version of short message service that will enable delivery of multimedia content to consumers and give advertisers direct access to their potential customers.
The new application -- SMS 2.0 -- has been developed over a period of two years and has initially been launched in India and Singapore.
In India, the service is initially available only on certain mid-segment and high-end Nokia phones that support PRS and 3G technology in India through Bharti Airtel.
In SMS 2.0 whenever the consumer opens a window to type a message a scroll pops up at the bottom of the screen having news or other information interspersed with advertising.
The content
that a consumer gets is free but for doing more with it he pays depending on whether he is downloading wallpaper or using other services.
The consumer also gets to choose content he wishes to receive and advertisers can accordingly tailor their messages.
"We have already tied up with Bharti Airtel as a service provider and Times Internet and Cricinfo as content providers for this service in India," Affle Chief Executive Anuj Khanna told newspersons in Singapore.
He said the new version of SMS has the potential to increase the share of mobile advertising market globally. "Estimates suggest that mobile advertising will grow to $10 billion by 2011 and this innovation can easily double that," Khanna said.
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