Echovox unveils industry’s first mobile2mobile
Instant Messaging application
• Launching ‘ZeeWee’ – the first ever cross-network, cross-handset mobile Instant Messaging solution
• Revealing an ultra low cost alternative to SMS for mobile users – cutting up to 90% off current SMS costs
• Available soon across Europe and the US, thanks to Echovox’s proprietary network infrastructure
Echovox, a pioneer in the delivery and monetisation of mobile content, applications and services, today launched the industry’s first cross-network, mobile2mobile Instant Messaging (IM) application. The move marks one of the first steps in the transition from SMS to true multi-media person-to-person communication, based on next generation IP technology.
The ground-breaking IM solution, ‘ZeeWee’, combines the huge success of both SMS and online Instant Messaging in a highly viral format. It is compatible with all JAVA-enabled handsets on both 2.5G and 3G networks, and thanks to Echovox’s proprietary network infrastructure ‘ICON’ (Inter Carrier Open Network), it will be fully interoperable across both Europe and the US.
‘ZeeWee’ uses a patent-pending IP-based IM infrastructure to send and receive messages over the ICON network rather than standard SMS. This IM infrastructure uses a combination of GPRS (or UMTS) and Reverse Charged SMS to overcome the fact that mobile phones are not ‘always connected’ when initiating IM sessions. The usage of 2.5G or 3G capabilities to transmit messages cuts up to 90% off equivalent conversation via SMS.
The new service is targeted particularly at teenagers and high spenders in user2user SMS, enabling them to interact with multiple participants by sending messages in real time. It also delivers an enhanced user experience through the addition of emoticons, images, group sessions and further advanced features.
In order to take advantage of the service, a user will simply subscribe via text message or online at the supporting web portal. Subscription will be free, and users will be notified by a low-cost reverse-charged SMS when one of their contacts initiates a session. Once a user has logged on, they will be able to access the full history of messages and chat almost for free for the rest of the session.
Along with enriched visual content and simplicity of use, ‘ZeeWee’ delivers an enhanced service which is expected to drive customers to spend longer sending and receiving messages. The ‘recipient pays’ billing model means the number of paid SMS notification messages grows exponentially as more users join the group chat sessions.
David A. Marcus, CEO of Echovox, comments: “The huge success of both SMS and IM as independent applications speak for themselves: 750 billion messages were sent last year, and
200 million people use Instant Messaging globally. The ubiquity of mobiles, and particularly the popularity of SMS as a means of communication, makes mobile Instant Messaging an obvious progression and a highly powerful proposition."
“In order to reap the benefits of investment in next generation network infrastructure, the wireless industry must transition much of the traffic and hence the revenue that is currently generated through SMS towards interactive, multi-media communication based on IP networks. The launch of ZeeWee represents one of the first meaningful steps in this direction. www.echovox.com
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