Website offers unrestricted trade in mobile content
New Delhi, April 2 (PTI): Have you created a jazzy ring-tone, developed a game that is unique or have designed a beautiful wallpaper for mobiles that you want to sell but are clueless about where to find buyers? If so, then a new website offers a ray of hope with its offer of unrestricted trade in mobile content.
With the use of Internet and mobiles rising in the country and the latter's growth estimated at 150 million and Internet users figure at 40 million, there is a high premium on content.
"Mobile content is controlled by major wireless service providers which lock consumers into networks and proprietary websites that refrain from providing a free market place for transactions," says Andrew Clapham, director of the voeveo.com website.
In India also most mobile phone users are left with no choice but to accept whatever is handed over to them by their phone operators, often at prices that are inflated.
New Zealand-based Voeveo.com, which advertises itself as a community-based site promises to remove the "artificial and technical barriers to trade and enable content to be sold globally at all levels from large scale producers to small scale independant sole traders.
Anybody in any part of the world can download videos, music, wallpapers, songs or any other available content for a price set by the producers, or request new content if they cannot find what they want, says Clapham.
Also, individual producers of multimedia content-such as graphics, videos, photos, music, ring-tones etc- can upload material on the site, which provides tools to help them manage their work and market it to buyers. Plus, producers are offered a 72.5 per cent of every sale made.
Consumers are able to browse around the site and select from a range of products available and also pick up tips from other buyers. They will also be able to communicate directly with content producers to request unique or customised content.
The website says it has plans to educate and inform buyers about the wide range of choices that are available for competitively priced, original and easy to use content.
Bollywood image and video content business developer, Victor George of Beena Bollywood says that the "site is a consumer-driven market and capable of responding organically to changing trends amongst mobile content buyers."
Shekar Sharma, GM, Internet and Telecom, India Today says, in India Internet will always remain a secondary medium, and mobiles are going to rule.
He, however adds that such websites would always have a limited clientele because "beyond a level smaller media companies will always require the platform of a bigger operator to market their goods."
Sci. & Tech.