Europe
: 3, the UK’s first video mobile network, announced the launch
of its enhanced ‘MMS-to-Email’ service. Over 3 million
customers of 3 can now instantly share MMS texts, pictures or video
clips from their handsets with over 800 million internet users worldwide.
3’s customers can send MMS to any email address and recipients
can reply by email within five days. The ‘MMS-to-Email’
MMS arrives in the recipients inbox embedded in an attractively presented
HTML email. Upon responding, the email text is then transformed into
an MMS. The service closes the MMS communication loop so network differences
and international coverage are no longer issues for MMS senders and
ensures all MMS get to intended email recipients. MMS to email costs
25p for a picture message and 50p for video, replying is free.
“3’s MMS-to-Email
service is set to drive MMS usage on its network,” said David
Springall, Yospace’s CTO. “Users need to feel reassured
that their MMS will reach eventual recipients regardless of network
or country. Our MMS-to-Email Gateway takes away one of the few remaining
obstacles to mass use of MMS.”
“People want to be
able to send MMS to anyone, from anywhere,” commented Jason
Bradley, 3’s Director of Communication Products. “This
is what mobile technology is all about. MMS-to-email is an ideal way
to drive MMS uptake, by integrating with a communications technology
everyone already uses, internet email. Our MMS-to-email service joins
a host of other innovative messaging services including videomail
and SpinVox voice-to-text."
3 offers a range of MMS services including the newly-launched MyGallery
where 3’s customers can share clips and pictures captured on
their video mobiles on their own blogs. The launch of MMS-to-email
is being supported by an MMS marketing campaign called “reasons
to send” that will highlight the benefits of using video and
picture messaging.
MMS-to- email
The recipient opens up the e-mail on the PC and can either:-Play the
Video MMS using Real Time or another player (click through provided
as part of the message footer if the customer has not already downloaded
a video player)
OR
Look at the text and pictures included within the MMS
The recipient of the MMS is also given the opportunity to respond
to the sender for free with text (up to 500 characters) which is delivered
back to the sender’s handset as a text-only MMS.
Picture messages cost 25p
Video messages cost 50p
No charge for replies
About Yospace
Founded in 1999, Yospace provides multimedia messaging, personal storage
and handset simulation solutions. Its clients include over 1,500 mobile
development companies, internet portals and mobile operators such
as O2, Vodafone, Orange and 3. In 2002, Yospace launched the Yospace
Media Community Platform (MCP), one of the world’s first fully
featured media libraries and applications platforms designed for MMS
community-building applications.
