Mobile Media Service Provider Earns Spot on Analyst’s Top 10 List

ShoZu Inc., a provider of multimedia delivery and advertising services for mobile phones, has been recognized by IDC, a leading provider of global IT research and advice, as one of 10 Emerging Wireless Entertainment Players to Watch in 2007(Doc #205858, March 2007). IDC identified ShoZu as one of 10 companies with the potential to have a significant impact on the future direction of the wireless entertainment industry.

ShoZu’s inclusion in IDC’s 2007 list of influential wireless players marked the company’s second major industry recognition in a month. In February, ShoZu was honored with The Most Innovative Mobile Application award at the 2007 3GSM awards in Barcelona. ShoZu’s 2006 kudos included awards in the Best Branded Content Application category at the 2006 Forum Nokia PRO and the Best Mobile Entertainment Application category at 2006 CTIA Wireless.

“As camera phones and online social networking Web sites continue to gain in popularity and mobile user-generated content and mobile advertising start taking off, ShoZu and similar companies should benefit from this demand,” said Julien Blin, research analyst for IDC’s Wireless and Mobile Communications. “Ultimately, ShoZu's application could help carriers to improve the mobile user experience, increase data traffic and revenue, and reduce churn”

ShoZu offers two complementary services that simplify multimedia content exchange on mobile phones by reducing the process to a single click or no clicks. The Share-It service enables one-click upload of photos and video clips directly from camera phones to a wide variety of photo sharing communities and other Web destinations, while the ZuCast service provides automated subscription-based delivery of published multimedia content to mobile phones with no user intervention. Brands, media companies and content providers can use ZuCasts to reach customers through the mobile channel.

In addition, ShoZu has developed the first mobile advertising platform that can deliver ads to the handset without random push advertising or disruption of phone activities. Ads and sponsorship material are interwoven with ZuCast videos, photos, music, games, ringtones, wallpaper, news feeds and other rich media sent to the phone at the user’s request. Content is downloaded in the background without waiting for pages to load or interrupting phone calls, creating the first user-friendly mobile advertising experience.

All of these services can help mobile operators drive revenues by providing a reason for consumers to purchase data service plans and increase data usage.
“This latest recognition by IDC reflects the power of our technology to build the mobile channel for consumers, brands and wireless carriers alike by simplifying and enhancing the user experience,” said ShoZu CEO Mark Bole. “We are able to provide a broad range of rich media experiences on the handset without the user frustration associated with the mobile Internet. This is essential to the maturation of the mobile market.”

Source: ShoZu