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  November 2008

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Press Releases

Mobile Developer Blog

You wouldn’t believe who I had in the back of my cab the other day. Written on November 19, 2008, by admin.

During his keynote speech at the GSMA Asia Congress in Macau, Chairman of the GSMA, Rob Conway, gave us all an idea what’s on his Christmas list for Santa this year:

“Open up the lower spectrum,” Mr. Conway demanded of the world’s governments. “LTE depends on harmonized spectrum, LTE is the future, Wimax is a sideshow to the main event.” The lower-band frequencies are wasted on TV, he opined, give them to the telcos.

Stop investment crippling regulation in Europe. No more heavy handed pricing interference. I almost expected him to parrot Woodrow-Wilson at this point: ‘the Business of Mobile Operators is Business.’

Spend on infrastructure to get through the recession – invest in your network and new spectrum auctions (this after telling us that USD 2.1 trillion of telecoms debt is coming due in the next three months).

Price chips for new markets and business models. Manufacturers should enable all devices for Near Field Communications (NFC). Connect the unbanked - realise the mobile wallet/credit card.

As he’s the point man for 80% of the world’s Mobile Network Operators, you wouldn’t really expect to hear anything different from Mr. Conway. What could he say that would surprise us?

Having inveigled us with talk of the UK Operator’s new audience measurement pilot, Mr. Conway let slip that he’s been doing some market research of his own. Only the other day, he’d been riding in the back of a London Taxi, the cabbie was busy surfing the net on his new O2 iPhone (as 90% of iPhone users are, alledgedly, wont to do, though perhaps not whilst driving). This cabbie had always been scared of the PC and hadn’t realised the power and potential of the Internet until he bought his iPhone: “ I just push the button and it opens.” This, Mr. Conway told us, was the power of a good UI. Well strike us down, we’d never realized that – as one, those of us at the back of the class rolled our eyes.

MO-Call launches Affiliate and Reseller programs Written on November 17, 2008, by admin.

MACAU — Virtual International Mobile Network Operator, Morodo has announced the  launch of an Affiliate and Reseller program, enabling everyone to share in the success of the popular MO-Call mobile international calling service.

Speaking at GSMA Asia Macau, where Morodo are exhibiting, Morodo Group Managing Director, Andrew Reid, said, “We had not planned on launching an Affiliate and Reseller program so soon but we were inundated with requests from around the world. It’s a great means of letting everyone share in the success of MO-Call.”

The MO-Call Affiliate program has been created to reward website owners for referring and creating new customers; Affiliates earn uncapped commission, in perpetuity, based on customer spending. The MO-Call Reseller program offers discount on volume airtime purchases. To join either program, simply visit www.mo-call.com

“Everyone wants to save money on international calls made from a mobile, MO-Call let’s you do just that.” Said Mr. Reid. “In the present economic climate, we believe the Affiliate and Reseller program will be a welcome source of extra income for members of the MO-Call global community.”

MO-Call enables low-cost international calling direct from a mobile phone, without the need to change mobile number, SIM or network. Offering seamless connection of low-cost calls, MO-Call provides savings of up to 90% over existing Mobile Network International Tariffs. The service works through a plug-in software application that can be downloaded, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.com

Morodo is exhibiting MO-Call at the GSMA Asia event in Macau from 18th – 20th November. Come and see Morodo in Hall D Stand B42. www.mobileasiacongress.com

About Morodo
Morodo Group offers mobile services to a global customer base under the MO-Call brand. The company also offers software services (under license) to traditional telecoms carriers, mobile networks and brand name owners.

Headquartered in London UK, Morodo Group owns and operates Beijing Morodo Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Beijing Morodo), a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise in the People’s Republic of China. Beijing Morodo’s Research and Development facility focuses on innovation in the wireless world.

Morodo news is available at the company website: www.morodogroup.com

Media Contact:
Andrew Reid  (e-mail: areid@morodo.co.uk)
Morodo Limited
Level 6
68 Lombard Street
London EC3V 9LJ
United Kingdom

How much? Written on November 15, 2008, by admin.

The Register posted an article this week about a subject that must be close to everyone’s heart at the moment: tariff transparency.

Seems that the gentlemen in grey from the UK telecom regulator, Ofcom, have once again been prompted into action to do something about telephony provider tariffs. Why? Because the public just cannot understand the tariff plans on offer and are fed up. Biggest amongst the complaints is switching network provider for a better deal that turns out to be more expensive.

Caveat emptor? In the world of mobile, bundling minutes and SMS has to be one of the greatest legitimised scams of all time. Ever tried to compare either prepaid or post-paid mobile plans? It’s hard and it should be a lot easier. More choice does not always equate to better value.

Once upon a time I sold corporate airtime from one of the world’s largest mobile operators to suits in the City of London. Were these companies offered bundled minutes and SMS? No, we would not insult their intelligence so. The offer? Straightforward line rental, service charges and per minute billing. Keep It Simple Stupid we would say.

We tried to keep MO-Call rates as easy as possible to understand. Despite the fact that MO-Call World can be a fairly complex service for the new-to-mobile to understand, we think that we have done just that. Plain per minute rates, no surcharges and no hidden fees.

PS: if you’re interested in seeing how we stack-up against our MO-Call competition, please have a look at this site: www.lowcostmob.com. We might not be the cheapest of the alternative operators but we like to think we are one of the best. If you live in one of our MO-Call Home countries, we’ll even give you some free credit to try before you buy.

The Wolfman Cometh Written on November 9, 2008, by admin.

Phandroid has posted a noteworthy story on Huawei’s plan to launch a mobile based on Google’s Android Operating System in early 2009.

Huawei is well known locally as China’s Wolf in the Network Hardware business and in recent years has gobbled up Ericsson/Nortel/Lucent/Alcatel’s customers in this sector, supplying kit to British Telecom, Vodafone and France Telecom amongst others.

Huawei’s adoption of Android comes as no surprise. Firstly, I do not know one single mobile developer in Beijing who does not want to work on a Linux-based mobile platform. Secondly, whilst Symbian and Microsoft continue to sell OS licenses at between GBP 5 and GBP 10 per unit, who wouldn’t want to choose a ‘free’ OS?

The Missionary Position Written on November 9, 2008, by admin.

As smartphones are getting smarter, it’s good to see not-so-clever phones being blessed with a little more intelligence too.

Planning to build on the incredible success of the 1100 Ultra Low-Cost Handset (ULCH) Nokia has announced an upgrade to its ULCH range, introducing seven new low cost devices, each one packed with more features than ever before.

Pricing the mobiles from Euro 25 through to Euro 80, Nokia aims to capture the next billion unconnected consumers in the emerging markets and with missionary zeal, build that Brand.

Converting the masses to the Nokia experience is very much in evidence in the feature-set across new the ULCH range. Nokia’s Life Tools and Ovi Mail service offerings are as prominently promoted in the press kit as I am sure they will be in the packaging. Read the Nokia mantra.

And perhaps packaging is one of the key issues: many of these ULCHs will ship  to sales channel as subsidised and bundled with a Network Operator prepaid SIM. How many will be ‘box-broken’ for the mobile and SIM to be sold separately? In the prepaid segment, how much greater is the consumer’s loyalty to the hardware than the Network bitpipe?

Network Operators should perhaps be watchful of Nokia pulling off an ‘iPhone’ in the emerging markets.

Amen to that.

The iPhone is the lowest common denominator Written on November 3, 2008, by admin.

Has the iPhone become so pervasive in the market as to be the lowest common denominator of smartphones? According to a post on IT World that was Slashdotted this weekend, it would seem that way. For the world outside America, Symbian still rules supreme but there is no denying the way that the iPhone has changed the common expectation of what a mobile can and should do.

Most Slashdot comments focused on the whys and wherefores of those on US$25,000 pa buying US$200 mobiles on US$70 pcm contracts. I’d argue that this focus detracts from a more interesting point: post iPhone everyone (and I really do mean everyone) expects more from their new mobile phone.

We expect our mobiles to be smart enough to cope with email, WiFi powered web-browsing, IM and a bunch of clever applications. Perhaps a significant segment is prepared to over-extend their budget to get what they want? Perhaps these people are switching off their fixed line to do so?

When we founded Morodo, a little under three years ago, some people thought we were mad to base our business on downloadable mobile apps. “Applications? Bah humbug! Ringtones, Games and Enterprise applications are all that’ll ever amount to.” They said. Now, Apple, Microsoft and Research In Motion are serving mobile download stores for the masses and the masses are coming.

The plug: Our flagship application, MO-Call, can save you money on every international call you make and can be used anytime, anywhere, without the need for an Internet connection. We planned ahead so that you could use MO-Call on practically any mobile you choose, over 1,100 at last count. Sign-up and download it for free. You’ll be very glad you did.

First Written on October 30, 2008, by admin.

As many millions of bloggers have pondered before me, I was wondering what the first post on this wesbsite should be about. The Morodo story? Morodo people? Morodo’s achievements over the last few years? What’s the very first thing we want to say about ourselves?

Then I saw this story about Truphone launching a least cost routing mobile app for Blackberries. And I saw a few other people blogging about this release here and here.

In a very ‘You Tube guy’ kind of way, my immediate reaction was: First! We’ve done that already.

OK, maybe that is a little immature but there we go, there’s nothing wrong with being proud of your achievements and we’re certainly very proud of the fact that we created and launched a MO-Call application offering low cost international calling from Blackberries way back in February of this year.

Truthfully: way to go Truphone. You’re a great company with some great apps and I wish you every success. Competition is good and the more people that realise that there are simple to use alternatives to the Mobile Network Operator, the better.

Morodo teams up with Circle K to launch a MO-Call payment service in Hong Kong Written on August 19, 2008, by admin.

LONDON — Virtual International Mobile Network Operator, Morodo (Hong Kong) Limited has teamed up with Circle K, providing electronic point-of-sale payment to customers of the popular MO-Call service.

Morodo Group Managing Director, Andrew Reid, said, “You can now buy MO-Call credit over-the-counter at more than 250 Circle K stores in Hong Kong. The Circle K brand is synonymous with convenience quality and value for money, together we make ideal partners as we share the same commitment to service excellence.”

MO-Call enables low-cost international calling direct from a mobile phone, without the need to change mobile number, SIM or network. Offering seamless connection of low-cost calls from a mobile phone, MO-Call provides savings of up to 90% over existing Mobile Network International Tariffs. The service works through a plug-in software application that can be installed on most mobile phones. Customers can download the plug-in, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.hk

Morodo is giving customers a free MO-Call account top-up card that can be used at any Circle K store in Hong Kong, anyone with a MO-Call account can request a card at the MO-Call website: www.mo-call.hk. For a limited time, Morodo is also offering a free MO-Call credit bonus of HK$25 with each new MO-Call account top-up card.

James Barnes, Technical Director at Morodo, restated his belief in continually improving MO-Call, saying, “Not everyone has, or wants to have, a credit card; topping up your MO-Call account at Circle K is easy, simply hand the cashier your payment and your top-up card and we’ll take care of the rest.”

To cool off in the summer heat this August, Circle K and Morodo are also giving all customers purchasing HK$100 or more of MO-Call credit a free can of 7UP Bite.

About Morodo
Morodo Group offers mobile services to a global customer base under the MO-Call brand. The company also offers software services (under license) to traditional telecoms carriers, mobile networks and brand name owners.

Headquartered in London UK, Morodo Group owns and operates Beijing Morodo Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Beijing Morodo), a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise in the People’s Republic of China. Beijing Morodo’s Research and Development facility focuses on innovation in the wireless world.

Morodo news is available at the company website: www.morodogroup.com

Media Contact:
Andrew Reid  (e-mail: areid@morodo.co.uk)
Morodo Limited
Level 6
68 Lombard Street
London EC3V 9LJ
United Kingdom

MO-Call supports 1,000+ different mobile devices. Written on August 4, 2008, by admin.

LONDON — Virtual International Mobile Network Operator, Morodo Ltd, continues to expand the device footprint of its popular MO-Call low-cost calling service. Customers can now use MO-Call in any one of more than 1,000 different mobiles, from over 30 different mobile manufacturers.

MO-Call offers low-cost international calling direct from a mobile phone, without the need to change mobile number, SIM or network. Used when traveling overseas, MO-Call also helps avoid roaming charges. Providing seamless connection of a low-cost call from a mobile phone, MO-Call offers savings of up to 90% over existing Mobile Network International Tariffs

Morodo Ltd. Managing Director, Andrew Reid, said, “It’s yet another great leap forward for MO-Call. Expanding the device footprint is essential when addressing a global market. We have MO-Call customers in over 150 countries, using a wonderful mix of mobiles, some old, some new. We configure MO-Call for every new device and we’re working back into the legacy mobiles as well”

The MO-Call application was developed at Morodo’s Research and Development Centre in Beijing, China. Morodo Group Technical Director, James Barnes, said, “The Morodo team is intent on providing software applications for every popular mobile device group, operating system and manufacturer. From a €5,000 Gresso to a $25 Nokia, MO-Call just works. For those few mobiles that remain unsupported, we offer customers low-cost calling, direct from a device at our mobile website: http://mo-call.mobi.

MO-Call works through a plug-in software application that can be installed on most mobile phones. Customers can download the plug-in, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.com.

About Morodo
Morodo Group offers mobile services to a global customer base under the MO-Call brand. The company also offers software services (under license) to traditional telecoms carriers, mobile networks and brand name owners.

Headquartered in London UK, Morodo Group owns and operates Beijing Morodo Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Beijing Morodo), a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise in the People’s Republic of China. Beijing Morodo’s Research and Development facility focuses on innovation in the wireless world.

Morodo news is available at the company website: www.morodogroup.com

Media Contact:
Andrew Reid  (e-mail: areid@morodo.co.uk)
Morodo Limited
Level 6
68 Lombard Street
London EC3V 9LJ
United Kingdom

MO-Call Home now available in 39 countries Written on July 28, 2008, by admin.

LONDON — Morodo Ltd is pleased to announce that its popular MO-Call Home service now covers 39 countries around the world. MO-Call Home provides low-cost international calling direct from a mobile phone, without the need to change mobile number, SIM or network. MO-Call Home offers savings of up to 90% over existing Mobile Network International Tariffs

MO-Call Home is available in Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.

Morodo Technical Director, James Barnes, said, “Together with a local SIM card from any of these countries, MO-Call Home will dramatically reduce international calling costs for consumers. What’s more, MO-Call World can also help customers avoid roaming charges when they are traveling.”

Morodo Managing Director, Andrew Reid, went on to say, “Our global service is growing, I’m delighted. Our MO-Call Home footprint is substantially increased, reinforcing our objective to become a Virtual International Mobile Network Operator without the capital costs or licensing burdens that encumber traditional Mobile Network Operators.”

MO-Call works through a plug-in software application that can be installed on most mobile phones. Customers can download the plug-in, free of charge, from the MO-Call website www.mo-call.com. A Special Offer of GBP 2.50, Euro 3.50 or USD 5.00 trial credit is available, for a limited time, to allow new customers to experience the benefits of MO-Call.

About Morodo
Morodo Group offers mobile services to a global customer base under the MO-Call brand. The company also offers software services (under license) to traditional telecoms carriers, mobile networks and brand name owners.

Headquartered in London UK, Morodo Group owns and operates Beijing Morodo Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Beijing Morodo), a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise in the People’s Republic of China. Beijing Morodo’s research and development facility focuses on innovation in the wireless world.

Morodo news is available at the company website: www.morodogroup.com

Media Contact:
Andrew Reid – e-mail: areid@morodo.co.uk
Morodo Limited
Level 6
68 Lombard Street
London EC3V 9LJ
United Kingdom

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