 Sony Ericsson and Motricity have announced the launch of the new, global Sony Ericsson Application Shop for Sony Ericsson's Symbian OS(TM) enabled phones. It provides customers with an enhanced user experience through completely new design, easy access to a broad applications catalog and several billing options.
Motricity powering enhanced mobile content user experience
Motricity, a leading global provider of mobile content services and solutions, is exclusively powering the Sony Ericsson Application Shop via its Fuel mobile content delivery platform.
The shop currently supports the Sony Ericsson P910, P900 and P800 smartphones. The applications available in the Application Shop fall into a range of different mobile categories including Business, Security, Finance, Navigation, Travel, E-mail, Messaging, Language, Games, Imaging, Music applications, E-books and Synchronization.
Operator feedback and download statistics from the previous Sony Ericsson Application Shop have shown that both consumers and business users are interested in using their smartphones to the fullest potential. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) can be as high as 4 to 5 times that of more traditional voice-centric mobiles.
"With the design, usability, advertising and purchase-flow improvements made for the Application Shop by our new software distribution partner Motricity along with new content categories, we are now looking forward to revitalized customer interest in downloading and using third party applications for Sony Ericsson's Symbian OS based phones," said Ulf Wretling, Director, Head of Content Planning & Management at Sony Ericsson.
A host of new applications from various partners are expected to be available in the Application Shop at commercial launch of the new P990 and M600 phones in Q2 and with the new W950 WALKMANŽ phone in Q3. The Sony Ericsson Application Shop will at the same time introduce a mobile storefront with access directly from the P990, M600 and W950 to a wide range of applications. Utilizing the Opera browser and the UMTS capabilities in the new handsets, the new over-the-air (OTA) storefront will give the consumer an easy-to-use shopping experience directly from the handset. The Application Shop is also an important part of the Try & Buy concept - it will feature full versions of the trial applications that are embedded on the Memory Stick of the P990 and M600 phones. Direct links from the Memory Stick in combination with the OTA download functionality will allow the user to purchase the full versions of the applications directly from the phone.
Motricity is powering both the Web-based and mobile storefronts of the Sony Ericsson Application Shop with flexible eCommerce and mCommerce capabilities through its scalable Fuel platform. Sony Ericsson can now more efficiently personalize, segment and target the mobile content available in the Application Shop to consumers while providing an intuitive end-user experience. The shop can be accessed through localized sites in six different languages, starting with English today and going live with French, Italian, German, Spanish and traditional Chinese over the coming weeks. Currencies supported are USD, GBP, EUR and Chinese Yuan. The shop offers billing support for all major credit cards.
"We are honored to be Sony Ericsson's choice for powering its Application Shop and supporting its future mCommerce strategy," said Larry Wallace, vice president of business development at Motricity. "By delivering exceptional eCommerce and mCommerce experiences to Sony Ericsson's mobile phones, we will demonstrate the strength and flexibility of Motricity's Fuel platform and its position as the premier solution in mobile content delivery."
The Sony Ericsson Application Shop is a valuable go-to-market channel available to any third party Symbian OS application developer who has developed an application for Sony Ericsson phones. In support of an extended range of Symbian OS based phones coming to market, Sony Ericsson has together with Motricity created a scalable and dynamic market place with better advertising space for developers, all aimed at increasing their revenues. Developers are offered support and leading technical resources through Sony Ericsson Developer World and can easily apply to become Motricity Content Partners to have their applications distributed through the Sony Ericsson Application Shop.
The Sony Ericsson Application Shop will continue to support the P910, P900 and P800 phones, until they are phased out from the market. Visit the shop at www.SonyEricsson.com/applicationshop
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