Thursday, March 28

Tag: mobile

Nazara Games Generated Rs 220 Cr Revenue FY 2015-16
BUSINESS

Nazara Games Generated Rs 220 Cr Revenue FY 2015-16

Nazara, a mobile having startup generated Rs 220 crore revenue for FY 2015-16, with the Indian market contributing 47% to the top line revenue. "We have seen an explosive growth of 40% CAGR in the past 4 years," said Nitish Mittersain, the founder of Nazara Technologies. "Another aspect that has helped with growth is pre-loading games on millions of devices through partnerships with handset manufacturers," Mittersain said. The company had also picked up a 26 percent stake in London-based Mastermind Sports in April. Nazara Games is present in 48 countries across the world and claims to reach out to more than two billion consumers. It also plans to launch a host if products and services in 20 more countries. "The expansion of Games Club, which is a subscription-based service, into 20 n...
Chinese Smartphone Xiomi Do Not Want Exemption From Sourcing Norm Like Apple
News

Chinese Smartphone Xiomi Do Not Want Exemption From Sourcing Norm Like Apple

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi today said it is not seeking exemption from Indian government to fulfil the 30 per cent local sourcing norm, as it already makes 75 per cent of devices locally that are sold in India. "We are manufacturing 75 per cent of devices that we sell in India locally. From that perspective, we dont need any kind of exemption. Our application is still under the purview of the government. We probably will be able to know about it in some time and then share more details," Xiaomi India Head Manu Kumar Jain said. Xiaomi, in April this year, had approached the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for opening single brand retail stores in India. Apple too applied for opening single brand retail stores but lobbied hard for the exemption from the man...
Over $8 Billion Funding in Mobile-Based Startups in 5yrs: Report
ANALYSIS

Over $8 Billion Funding in Mobile-Based Startups in 5yrs: Report

With mobile phones contributing 40 per cent of all e-commerce sales in India in 2015, startups in m-commerce, video streaming, gaming and m-payment segments attracted USD 8,053 million worth of funding through 394 early stage deals in the last five years, a report said. The highlights of the Annual Indian Mobile Ecosystem Report, by News Corp VCCircle showed startups in these four segments are identified as major contributors to driving mobile data consumption. M-commerce and mobile payments attracted investment deals of USD 7,930 million cumulatively, in the last five years, it said. Across the four segments, 2015 saw a surge in terms of deal volumes with 115 early stage funding deals amounting to USD 2,857.73 million against 87 deals worth USD 3,285 million in 2014. "With a m...
China Tightens Rules For Mobile App Developers
CHINA

China Tightens Rules For Mobile App Developers

China has tightened rules for mobile app developers including requiring real-name registration and preserving users' activity logs, the country's internet regulator said on Tuesday, as Beijing looks to strengthen oversight of the growing app market. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement that mobile app providers would need to fulfill six requirements to help crack down on "unscrupulous" use of their platforms to carry out fraud, distribute pornography and spread malicious rumors. China's government already exercises widespread controls over the internet. It argues tough restrictions are needed to ensure security in the face of rising threats like terrorism, irking some foreign governments and business groups who say that the controls affect trade. Mobile app...
Rs 10k Smartphone Segment in India to Grow 44% in 2016: Report
ANALYSIS

Rs 10k Smartphone Segment in India to Grow 44% in 2016: Report

The under Rs 10,000-smartphone segment is expected to grow 44 per cent this year, constituting 70 per cent of the market, a CMR report said. According to the research firm, smartphone shipment in the country is expected to grow to about 130 million handsets this year from 97 million last year by 163 brands. "The entry-level or sub-Rs 10,000 accounted for 75 per cent of the market in calendar year 2015 with 153 brands shipping in the price bracket," it said. For 2016, the segment is forecast to constitute about 70 per cent of the estimated 130 million shipment (91 million), it added. "The sub-Rs 10,000 segment is expected to grow at 44 per cent, driven by consumers upgrading from feature phones to smartphones," the report said. The mid-tier segment (Rs 10,000-20,000 bracket) is e...
Indian Mobile Advertising Firm InMobi Pay $950k Fine For Tracking Locations of Its US Consumers
News

Indian Mobile Advertising Firm InMobi Pay $950k Fine For Tracking Locations of Its US Consumers

In a report, Us based FTC ordered InMobi, SoftBank-backed Indian mobile advertising firm to pay $950,000 civil penalties for tracking locations of "hundreds of millions of consumers - including children - without their knowledge or consent" to serve their geo-targeted advertising. InMobi is subject to a $4 million penalty but the agency suspended the fine to $950,000 "based on the company's financial condition". This settlement comes at a time when InMobi is struggling to raise funds. In its 17 page report, FTC said, "InMobi created a database built on information collected from consumers who allowed the company access to their geolocation information, combining that data with the wireless networks they were near to document the physical location of wireless networks themselves. They w...
Nanu Started Offering Free Calling Service in India, Operators Object
News

Nanu Started Offering Free Calling Service in India, Operators Object

A new mobile app, Nanu, has started offering free calling service, including on mobile numbers and landline connections -- a facility on which private telecom operators have raised objection before sector regulator Trai and government. "If you read the Indian Telegraph Act, you can interpret that every form of data transmission over the internet, which is a form of communication, is legal because it is not regulated by telecom licences. If you read in that context, its a grey area," Nanu Chief Martin Nygate said. The Nanu support gives free limited credits every day for making free call anywhere in the world on its application and even to those who have not installed its application. The call can be made on mobile number and even on landline. The Telecom Regulatory Aut...
Telecom Solutions Provider U2opia Will Invest Around Rs 20 Cr in Indian Startups
FUNDING

Telecom Solutions Provider U2opia Will Invest Around Rs 20 Cr in Indian Startups

Telecom solutions provider U2opia Mobile will invest USD 3 million (around Rs 20 crore) over the next three years to fund startups working on scalable mobile technology. Under its Catapult programme, in the first year, U2opia will invest in five-six companies that have about 2-4 members. The programme is aimed at helping early-stage startups and entrepreneurial teams that are finding it difficult to raise funds, U2opia Mobile co-founder and MD Sumesh Menon said. These companies could be working in areas like mobile security (antivirus), gaming or solutions for operators, he said. "Under this programme, all teams will be given access to state of the art technology infrastructure, ample working space, brand and marketing support, management and financial cover," Menon added. Bes...
4 Ways Small Businesses Should Leverage Text Message Marketing Campaign
BLOGS

4 Ways Small Businesses Should Leverage Text Message Marketing Campaign

If your business has ignored text message marketing, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Short message service (SMS) has a massive audience, as more people own mobile phones than ever before. More importantly, text messages have an incredible read rate — 98 percent of all text messages are opened by the user. Considering that email marketing open rates tend to fluctuate between 20 and 30 percent, depending on the industry, this is clearly an incredible opportunity. Here are four important ways you can get started with your own text message marketing campaign:   Provide Coupons and Discounts Directly Offering coupons or special promotional deals is a great way to immediately boost sales, and text messaging provides the perfect channel. As we learned above, your audience will be...
India Has Tools To Tackle iPhone Encryption: Ravi Shankar Prasad
INDIA

India Has Tools To Tackle iPhone Encryption: Ravi Shankar Prasad

As Apple slugs it out with FBI on privacy issues, Indian govt has said strong encryption technology to secure data and communications in smartphones, including those made by the US-based firm, is a challenge for law enforcement agencies. It said however that a tool for mobile forensics has been developed to handle smartphones including Apple. "Smartphones including phones by Apple employ strong encryption to secure the data stored and to protect the communication. Such Encryption technologies pose challenges to Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the world including India,"telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha. He said the government has taken note of media reports about the dispute between the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and App...
Healthifyme a Mobile Based Fitness Startup Raises $6 million Funding
FUNDING

Healthifyme a Mobile Based Fitness Startup Raises $6 million Funding

HealthifyMe, a mobile health and fitness startup today announced Series A funding of USD 6 million (about 40 crores) led by IDG Ventures India, Inventus Capital and Blume Ventures. The funding comes just a year after announcement of seed round led by angel investors and Micromax, the company said in a release. Stating that HealthifyMes funding comes on the back of strong growth, it said adding that with in a years time, the company has scaled up users to 5,00,000 from 30,000 users in January 2015. The funds will be used to further develop its digital coaching platform and to accelerate growth in India, the company said. "With these funds we plan to impact 5 million users and tie-up with over 500 corporate and healthcare partners. Our aim is to be the best in the world and we wi...
India bans import of milk, some mobile phones from China
News

India bans import of milk, some mobile phones from China

India has banned import of milk and milk products, certain mobile phones and a few other items from China after finding them sub-standard or not following security codes. Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha that India banned import of milk and milk products from China as their quality was unacceptable. Sitharaman said some mobile phones, which do not carry International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number or other security features, and some steel products have also been banned from importing from China. "Complete ban of import from any country is not possible now due to WTO rules even if we have problems diplomatically, territorially or militarily," she said. The Minister said India's trade deficit with China stood at $48.68 billion (nearly Rs 32.4 lakh...