The Mike Abundo Effect

When I heard from Jayvee Fernandez that the monthly ad-supported load cap for U Mobile is PhP350, I instantly wondered just how many ads you should have to see to get that small subsidy. Let’s compare U Mobile’s deal with that of the world’s most successful ad-supported cellco, Blyk. After all, Smart bought U Mobile for $10 million on the same day Blyk announced 100,000 subscribers. Read the rest of this entry »

We all hate mobile spam, but what if mobile spam came with prepaid load? Would you hate it so much then?

That’s the question posed by Smart as they launch their new ad-supported mobile service, U Mobile. The service launches publicly in June, but I’ve been testing it since Tuesday. I’ve posted my initial impressions over on my other blog.

Useless overhyped idea of the week: Philippine cellular provider Smart hopes to put local TV on mobile phones.

While I’m all for maximizing new phone capabilities — in this case, DVB-H — I don’t see much potential in the technology. I discussed this Joey Alarilla last year, and he hit the nail on the head: Filipinos with enough social standing to own video-capable phones are probably too smart to watch the shit local TV networks crap out. Furthermore, people on the move want to access content on their time, not some programming manager’s time.

If YouTube’s popularity in the Philippines is any indication, Filipinos who can buy these phones would rather watch watch on-demand online video. That’s what Smart should focus on delivering.

(Via Abe Olandres.)