Top 10 Handsets of Momail Users - March 2009

Even through manufacturers released quite a few new phone models since the New Year, the most popular handsets of Momail users remained rather steady when March figures are compared to January. The state of the economy could be one cause as users hold onto their current models, and upgrade them with services such as Momail instead.

The top handsets of Momail's European customers in March are:

1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. Nokia E71
3. Nokia N95
4. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
5. Nokia 6300
6. Samsung F480
7. SonyEricsson K800i
8. Nokia 6500 Slide
9. SonyEricsson C905
10. SonyEricsson C902

Email and messaging most popular on GetJar

According to a recent survey by the application download platform, GetJar, email and messaging applications are the most popular services among their users. Another interesting bit was that 70% of their users now also surf more on their handsets than on the PC.

Consumers seek simplicity

Over the last number of years, we have been bombarded with ever-more complicated electronics - from TVs to cameras to mobile phones - which the great majority of consumers never bother to figure out how to use fully. For example, even though most most mobile handsets in the market today have features galore - everything from cameras and videos to pre-installed games - the majority of consumers still just use them primarily for voice and some messaging (SMS, MMS, email).

The tech industry seems to be finally taking notice. Among other signs, Cisco's aquisition of Pure Digital Technologies, the maker of the super-simple Flip video camera, highlights the recognition of consumers' desire for products that are inexpensive, easy to use and work easily with online storage and social platforms.

The same can be said in the area of mobile handsets. Up to now, products have been too complicated, too expensive, and targeted to the fancy high-end and smart-phone segments. Going forward, it’s about who can make the mobile web the most accessible, the easiest to use, for the largest amount of phone owners.

Thus, Momail's strategy is on target - simple mobile email, working on the majority of handset models, easy to understand features and functionality - and saves data costs.

Upload mobile photos to Facebook with Momail

We've all been in that situation - you just took some fun pictures with your camera phone, you'd love to share them with friends on Facebook, but you are not in a country where you can upload via MMS, and you don't have a fancy smart-phone with its custom Facebook application.

Momail has just made it easier for you. Thus, if you have a Momail account, just go to "My Services" with your Momail account and follow the directions. It just takes a few minutes - and you don't need an expensive smartphone to use it! Once your Facebook and Momail accounts are connected, start sending emails addressed to "Facebook", with your mobile photos attached, and voilá, your pictures are posted.

If you don't already have a Momail account, set up takes less than 2 minutes, and works on almost any phone! Sign up here.

Respected industry blog, GoMo News, has tested the service with very positive feedback. Our users love its ease of use too!

Have you tried it? Leave a comment, and tell us what you think.

Momail nominated for German Innovation Award

It's been a great start to 2009 for Momail, and things continue to look up! The company has just been nominated in the Mobile Category of the Innovationspreis-IT 2009, to be awarded 5 March at CeBIT.

The Innovationspreis-IT falls under the umbrella of the German Ministry for Business and Technology (Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Technologie), which seeks products, services and solutions in the area of Information Technology which are especially innovative and useful for the middle class.

Needless to say, we're quite proud of this recognition! The Jury clearly understands the value Momail's unique mobile email platform provides for its customers, with its ease of use and data optimization. These features enable the service to work on almost any consumer handset and minimize mobile data costs - points of increasing importance during these days of economic uncertainty.

Why Momail is not on the iPhone App Store

While in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress last week, I was often asked if Momail was on the iPhone App Store. As Momail works quite well on the iPhone, one might think it would be a natural fit. However, the answer is no. The reasons for this include:

- Momail is not an application, it works off the native email platform present within most handsets, including the iPhone. Therefore, to use Momail, you just go to Mail -> Settings -> Add Account -> Other, and follow the directions here.

- Momail works better than Apple's native email application. Not only does Momail optimize email to minimize the amount of data used, but we handle more types of attachments, everything from graphics to vcs files, as well as "collect" multiple webmail accounts into one.

So, to borrow Apple's own tagline, "Think Different", and try Momail on your iPhone. Check it out at www.momail.com, and tell us what you think!

ShareThis: Email is still king

According to both stats from August 2008, as well as the most recent ShareThis stats, email still leads the pack in terms of sharing "platforms". Eg, in January 2009, ShareThis users spread the word via email 57% of the time, more than double that for Facebook at 21%. Considering ShareThis is a very "Web 2.0" application, it's enlightening to see that email how prevalent email remains (even though more than a few people continue to claim it is dying).