Aug 6, 2012 ~ Web 2.0 Asia Blog

Monday, August 6, 2012

Mobile search rises, Drives 33% of mobile web traffic in APAC region: Study

11:59 PM Tech News No comments

One in every three visits to a website from search came through a mobile device, according to a new study which also found that in India and the Asia Pacific region, mobile search drives a higher percentage of visits than from PC search.

The latest Adobe Digital Index report, based on an analysis of 2.5 billion visits to websites of over 125 companies in the Asia Pacific region says that search is a more popular navigation tool on mobile devices, likely due to smaller keyboards and on-the-go accessibility which creates more occasions to use search.

Source: Adobe Digital Index

In India, nearly 35 % of visitors who arrived at a website using search came through a mobile phone compared to 27 % from a PC and 32 % from a tablet. As Internet users in India and the Asia Pacific region move to smartphones and tablets, mobile search is rising in importance.

Search Referred Visits as % of Total Visits

Source: Adobe Digital Index

To put things in perspective, however, nearly 97 % of total visits to a website were driven by PC in India and tablets and phones drive only about 3 % of traffic to websites.

% of Total Visits by Device Type & Country

Source: Adobe Digital Index

According to the study

“So far, Google has benefited most by consumers’ move to mobile. Google has a greater share of search-referred mobile visits than PC visits in every country analysed. The trend holds true in areas where Google dominates on PC, such as Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and India, as well as areas where Google is a distant second or third in PC search, such as mainland China and South Korea.”

The study also said that local search engines and Bing deliver lower bounce rates while Google has the highest bounce rates.

Ideosource Launches Incubation Audition in Indonesia

11:59 PM Tech News No comments

ideosource

Startups! Prepare your pitches and get ready for a chance to learn a thing or two from Indonesian incubator Ideosource. Its “Ideosource Incubation Audition” will be held soon in five big Indonesian cities in Java island: Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Malang, and Jakarta. Here are the rest of the details:

Auditions: Bandung (Sept. 24 to 15), Yogyakarta (Sept. 27 to 28), Surabaya (Oct. 2 to 3), Malang (Oct. 4 to 5), Jakarta (Oct. 8 to 9).
Final: Jakarta (Oct. 15 to 17)
Price: Free!
Participants: Startups in IT/digital/internet/mobile industry.
Deadline registration: Sept. 17, 2012.
Prizes: The 20 finalists will get a workshop, a company profile video, and promotional tweet to 52,000 @kerjakreatif followers. Plus, the winner(s) will receive investment from Ideosource, and a three-month incubation program. (Yes, there’s the possibility of having more than one winner)

Here are the five cities where there'll be auditions ahead of the final in Jakarta in mid-October.

Ideosource’s portfolio consists of game studio TouchTen (which has enjoyed a lot of a success, especially with its Infinite Sky game recently); event management platform eEvent; and Singaporean edutainment startup Kark.

Andrias, the VP business development of Ideosource told us that they are conducting the selection based on three criteria: founders, fundamental capabilities, and market awareness. You might also want to check out what the founder of Ideosource, Andi S. Boediman, is looking for from our previous chat with him here. Andrias added that they are also considering to reach other islands too in the next audition tour, depending on the feedback from startups and other industry stakeholders.

For more information and registration, you can check out this link. You can also browse the incubation tips and updates from Ideosource here.

The post Ideosource Launches Incubation Audition in Indonesia appeared first on Tech in Asia.

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Mobile Gold: Who Takes Top Spot in Olympic-related Mobile Searches?

10:42 PM Tech News No comments

Most of you are probably enjoying the Olympics coverage these days, but perhaps in a manner quite different than you did for past Olympic games. The folks at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) have crunched some numbers about what they call the first multi-screen Olympics, where fans are tuning in not just via television, but using mobile devices to find out what’s happening as well.

So which countries are tuning in the most on mobile? According to Google, Japan takes the gold by a large margin with 55 percent combined smartphone and tablet search share for Olympic-related searches during the first two days of the games. Also on the (imaginary) podium was the USA in second with 47 percent, and the hosts UK in third with 46 percent.

What about mobile-loving South Korea? Surprisingly just 36 percent in this study. For more information, you can check out Google’s infographic in full below.

As for me, I’m refraining from Olympic-related searches entirely, and am relying on a fun Ifttt.com recipe to send me an email whenever Canada wins a medal. (So far that hasn’t happened all that often…) You can also have an SMS sent to you or have updates automagically posted to your Twitter or Facebook pages.

The post Mobile Gold: Who Takes Top Spot in Olympic-related Mobile Searches? appeared first on Tech in Asia.

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TravelTriangle : A Marketplace that connects travelers and local operators

10:17 PM Tech News No comments

Breaking the cookie cutter approach adopted by major travel sites in creating packages for their target audience. Noida based startup TravelTriangle, is getting rid of conventions and doing things differently by offering travellers customized tour packages.
Travel Triangle, in simplest terms is a travel marketplace, where the travellers can search for a package for a particular destination. Here after, the service connects the traveller with the select operators in the destination circle to customize the package as per the customers’ request. What follows is a round of customizations and negotiations where the customer can change every aspect of the journey as per his needs and the tour operators try to bid against each other to give the traveller the best deal possible.

The startup was officially launched a year ago, and has seen considerable traction since then. What began as a frustration on getting a sour deal for the same destination by booking with different operators, soon turned into a startup idea for the IIT graduate co-founders. Today the company boasts of trips worth INR 30 lakhs being sold each month and a vast majority of its customers come by word of mouth marketing and referrals. The company boasts of 4000 activities (inventory) across the country and access to 500 accommodation options.

The service is absolutely free for the end consumer who only pays for his trip to the travel operator. The startup earns revenue on the sales converted by the tour operators. The operators themselves are leading local players, who know the destination inside out and would be in the best position to offer the customers the most authentic local experience possible.

The website is simple to use. There are various sections to view already listed packages or get quotes from the operators for one’s dream holiday. The package is customizable as always and prices vary accordingly. One of the less publicized features is the panorama for select famous tourist spots in the country. It adds a unique perspective to that destination. TravelTriangle has a strong set of guarantee ethics in favor of the traveller.
TravelTriangle has a pan India presence and operators in some dozen countries, where just like India, it has tie ups with the local operators and destination experts to offer exclusive packages to the travellers. With 4,000 activities and last minute booking available in many cities, TravelTriangle deserves some tourist love for your next spa trip to Kerala or exotic holiday to Istanbul.

Do give TravelTriangle a spin and share your comments.

Startups in similar space: myGola | TouristLink.

[This startup coverage is part of Pluggd.in’s 65 startup special series, which is supported by Nexus Venture Partners. If you are a product startup, submit your details here.]

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Twitter client, Feel on!, now on iOS with illustration skins from popular Japanese game STEINS;GATE

10:17 PM Tech News No comments

Popular Japanese adventure game STEINS;GATE

(Credit: wikia)

L is B Corporation launches their Feel on! Twitter client for iOS and starts retailing illustration skins from popular Japanese adventure game, STEINS;GATE.

Japan’s L is B Corporation, a startup incubated under Open Network Labs in Tokyo, has announced the launch of their Twitter client, Feel on!, for iOS users in 139 countries. Feel on! uses L is B Corporation’s proprietary Social Emotion Engine to analyse user’s tweets and matches it with the appropriate illustrations. Since April 2011, Feel on! has been adding visual treats to over 250,000 Twitter users’ tweets in Japan. The Android version was launched in June.

For the new release of Feel on! for Twitter Version 3.0, L is B Corporation has changed the user interface significantly. Feel on! will also begin to sell illustration skins through its own store as a move to begin monetizing from the app. The first set of skins available on Feel on! are from STEINS;GATE, a popular Japanese adventure game that has already sold 400,000 copies in Japan alone. STEINS;GATE is also popular worldwide, with many enthusiastic fans even though it is only available in the Japanese language. The skins will retail at ¥350 for 55 illustrations.

With STEINS;GATE as a start, L is B Corporation will be adding more Japanese anime and game characters’ illustration to Feel on!’s skin store.

Read the full press release below.

****

Tokyo, Japan – L is B Corporation who develops and runs a Twitter client ‘Feel on!’ is going to release Feel on! for Twitter version 3.0 on App Store for 139 countries.

Feel on! drastically changed its system and user interface for this world debut. From this version, Feel on! starts to sell illustration skins on its own store. Users can change default illustrations to other characters’ illustrations purchased in the store.

The first characters appear on the illustration skin are from ‘STEINS;GATE’ (©2009-2012 5pb./Nitroplus) the famous Japanese adventure game. STEINS;GATE has already been sold 400,000 copies in Japan. There are many enthusiastic fans all over the world though STEINS;GATE has only Japanese version.

The skin is going to be sold for 350 Yen per 55 new illustrations drawn only for Feel on!.

L is B is planning to add more Japanese anime and game characters’ illustrations to illustration skin store for users all over the world.

Endorsement

“It is very exciting for me to create the new world of STEINS;GATE in Feel on!, the only one twitter client that turns twitter timeline into comics. Please try and enjoy the new illustrations drawn for this app! ”

Chiyomaru Shikura – Representative Director of MAGES. Inc.

[About 'Feel on!']

The most unique and expressive twitter client – ‘Feel on!’ Website: http://www.feel-on.com

Feel on! is a twitter client which turns tweets into comics by analyzing text data with our original Social Emotion Engine. (language analysis engine) You will be able to enjoy communicating with friends on Twitter more and more with Feel on!.

Since its first release in April 2011, Feel on! has provided exciting experiences of reading tweets as cartoons to 250,000 users in Japan.

Feel on! won the admiration not only from Japan but also from overseas. Feel on! got the 1st prize in SF NewTech Japan Night in June 2011, and won the heart of people from Southeast Asia in Echelon 2012.

[App Overview]

Name of App : Feel on! for Twitter

Requirements :

- iPhone 3GS or Later, iPod touch 3rd Generation or Later, iPad

(Requires iOS4.0 or later)

Download :

- for iOS devices : App Store

- for Android devices : Google Play (ver 3.0 will be released in August)s

Languages :

- English, Japanese

Fee :

- Free (STEINS;GATE illustrations skin : 350 yen)

Website : http://www.feel-on.com

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feel-on/199171166782769

Twitter (English) : https://twitter.com/#!/cimmonkun

Twitter (Japanese) : https://twitter.com/#!/cimmonkun_ja

App Features :

- Analyze twitter timeline and turn them into appropriate comic illustrations

- Tweet with an illustration you chose

- Buy illustrations from Illustration Store (In-App purchase system is used)

- Upload illustrations with your tweets to picture sharing services (Twitter/TwitPic/yfrog)

- Post on both Twitter timeline and Facebook Wall at the same time

About L is B :

L is B based in Tokyo, was founded in 2010 by Taisuke Yokoi. L is B are developers, marketer and operators of social media networks. ‘Feel on!’ wishes to enrich digital communication among people all over the world with uniquely developed ‘Social Emotion Engine’ (language analysis engine). ‘Feel on!’ aims to become the communication infrastructure in the world of social media.

For more information, visit us on

Web: http://www.feel-on.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feel-on/199171166782769

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cimmonkun

****

Link to full article

Twitter client, Feel on!, now on iOS with illustration skins from popular Japanese game STEINS;GATE

10:17 PM Tech News No comments

(Credit: wikia)

L is B Corporation launches their Feel on! Twitter client for iOS and starts retailing illustration skins from popular Japanese adventure game, STEINS;GATE.

With STEINS;GATE as a start, L is B Corporation will be adding more Japanese anime and game characters’ illustration to Feel on!’s skin store.

Read the full press release below.

****

Tokyo, Japan – L is B Corporation who develops and runs a Twitter client ‘Feel on!’ is going to release Feel on! for Twitter version 3.0 on App Store for 139 countries.

The skin is going to be sold for 350 Yen per 55 new illustrations drawn only for Feel on!.

L is B is planning to add more Japanese anime and game characters’ illustrations to illustration skin store for users all over the world.

Endorsement

Chiyomaru Shikura – Representative Director of MAGES. Inc.

[About 'Feel on!']

The most unique and expressive twitter client – ‘Feel on!’ Website: http://www.feel-on.com

Since its first release in April 2011, Feel on! has provided exciting experiences of reading tweets as cartoons to 250,000 users in Japan.

[App Overview]

Name of App : Feel on! for Twitter

Requirements :

- iPhone 3GS or Later, iPod touch 3rd Generation or Later, iPad

(Requires iOS4.0 or later)

Download :

- for iOS devices : App Store

- for Android devices : Google Play (ver 3.0 will be released in August)s

Languages :

- English, Japanese

Fee :

- Free (STEINS;GATE illustrations skin : 350 yen)

Website : http://www.feel-on.com

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feel-on/199171166782769

Twitter (English) : https://twitter.com/#!/cimmonkun

Twitter (Japanese) : https://twitter.com/#!/cimmonkun_ja

App Features :

- Analyze twitter timeline and turn them into appropriate comic illustrations

- Tweet with an illustration you chose

- Buy illustrations from Illustration Store (In-App purchase system is used)

- Upload illustrations with your tweets to picture sharing services (Twitter/TwitPic/yfrog)

- Post on both Twitter timeline and Facebook Wall at the same time

About L is B :

For more information, visit us on

Web: http://www.feel-on.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feel-on/199171166782769

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cimmonkun

****

Link to full article

China’s Joome is a “Social Router” That Wants To Spread Free Wifi Love

9:51 PM Tech News No comments

In this digital era, it’s all too easy to be selfish in public, staring down at smartphone screens, hooked up intravenously to the internet. And so the Chinese startup Joome is as much a movement as a service, aiming to create a platform for people to open up their wifi hotspots to users, for free, and for no financial return.

Joome’s co-founder is Issac Mao, the China-based venture capitalist and blogger who advocates the idea that sharing is innately human, hardwired into our neurons; he expands on this in his notion of Sharism which states that localized acts of giving and openness lead to global benefits. Isaac tells TiA that Joome is born of this philosophy and adds that, “The more you share, the more you gain.”

As for the nuts of and bolts of the startup, which is based in the Beijing satellite city of Tianjin, Isaac explains:

Joome is now at angel funding stage, backed by some private investors and co-founders. […] We won’t pay users to share [wi-fi], it’s totally a voluntary behavior. We’d like to see how it’s sustaining after several thousand alpha testers. We do pay users virtual credits for their sharing and those are redeemable in other Joome affiliated services.

He adds that business partnerships will also be built in at some stage so as to aid monetization. Joome comes after some other successful “social router” ventures around the world, such as Spain-based FON, or San Francisco’s WaveSpot. Though Joome’s not quite taking the same approach, those are some interesting paths to follow.

Folks who opt to join in with this wifi-sharing become “Joomers” and they’ll install some dual-channel router software so as to segregate public traffic from their own wifi data. Outside users can then use a service-wide system (like the login pages pictured below) to access, for free, the open wifi from any Joomers.

The Joome homepage is in Chinese, but has an English-language option that’s not yet rolled out. Explaining this, Isaac tells us:

The business is going to deploy its first product lines in major cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Starting from businesses, we will also include homes and communities in the next step. The English [site] is for seeking open solution partners in other regions.

Aside from saving you your limited 3G data, another benefit of such wifi networks is that your smartphone becomes less of a social drain, and more of a social tool. If you’ve just snapped a photo that your friend – or, perhaps, a total stranger – would like to have, then that sharing is now easier – after some friendly human interaction – with the aid of an app like Bump so as to beam that image via your shared wifi network.