SMS2.0 starts here

Singapore - Following pilot tests in Singapore and India, Mobile media innovations company, Affle has launched its new mobile text messaging platform SMS2.0, to be marketed across Asia through strategic partner, GroupM.

Affle will attempt to bring SMS2.0 to ten countries in the next two years, starting with Singapore and India, and then followed by Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, China, Taiwan and Japan.

As reported by Marketing on 15 June, Affle's SMS2.0 application trial in Singapore involved a collaboration with M1, providing more than 2000 users with the application - aiming to show that unlike traditional mobile marketing, users would be more likely to explore onscreen content and ads delivered via SMS2.0, with Affle's new offering featuring updated messaging features, including colours, emoticons, scheduled SMS and other personalisation options.

The application also features a search function allowing users to conduct a search similarly to the way in which they would using search engines, except users access an enhanced options menu and then select the search function. Affle has not confirmed an online search engine to power its mobile search on SMS2.0 yet.

"Affle's vision is to have mobile phone users around the world make a complete switch from Short Message Service to Short Message and Search, or SMS2.0. With significant consumer adoption, SMS2.0 will make media truly mobile and redefine the rules of the mobile advertising business. It is an ambitious goal, but I believe consumers will be won over by the SMS2.0 experience," Anuj Khanna, CEO and chairman of executive committee for Affle said.

In Singapore, Affle has partnered with Singapore Press Holdings to bring quality local content to users and with Nokia, SMS2.0 is expected to be pre-embedded on select models of new S60 phones for M1. The application ready phones are scheduled for release later this year.