India Broadband

Social networking and more memory introduced for publishing and storing user-generated ringtones, pictures, mobile video and applications

Mobango has today announced users of MOBANGO - Mobile Media Sharing, a site for publishing, converting and sharing user-generated content for mobile phones, now have access to 1Gb of memory for their “WAP locker”. This is a feature of the site that enables members to store their favourite videos, images, ringtones, games and software for sharing prior to downloading onto their computer or mobile phone. The tenfold increase in the amount of memory available to users is part of the ongoing 2.0 development of the site, designed to improve user experience for mobile users around the world.

“More and more mobile user-generated content is being created and shared everyday, said CEO and founder Fabio Pezzotti. “As phone technology and memory allocation advances, we’re also seeing an increase in the sophistication and size of the files being uploaded to the Mobango site, with mobile videos proving particularly popular. By increasing the amount of memory available to our members, we are responding to this trend and the needs of our users as they can now store larger videos, and thousands of ringtones, pictures, and applications.”

The 2.0 version of the site has also seen the introduction of social networking tools, including internal messaging groups that enable user to find and manage friends and create private groups. The site currently has over a thousand Groups created by networks of friends that want to share their mobile files privately. This is a feature unique to the Mobango site, and means members can store files and choose what they want to share and with whom. Tools such as these enable users to personalise both their computer and their mobile phone, sharing content and building networks through common interests and tastes.

Pezzotti added, “Until recently the landscape of mobile offerings was imposed by operators and big business. There was very limited value or selection available to the user. The Mobile Internet is changing this, with a massive amount of user-generated content being shared over the web and coming to mobile phones. This kind of content is incredibly diverse and there is now a far greater degree of personalisation and freedom in the material people can download onto their phones. It’s key that people can now choose for themselves, rather than being limited by the content offered by operators. This is resulting in online and mobile communities being created based on the preferences and interests individuals have in common.”

The development of MOBANGO - Mobile Media Sharing is being funded by €2 million invested in the site by London-based venture capital fund Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures in Mobango’s first institutional equity round in January. Doughty Hanson has appointed Jerry Ennis and Ivan Farneti to join Mobango’s Board of Directors.

“The ongoing evolution of the internet has seen a huge market developing around sharing user-generated content, as seen with the success of sites such as YouTube and MySpace. This trend, combined with the take-up of mobile Internet being driven by mobile broadband and flat rates for data downloads, is resulting in new opportunities to create and grow online digital communities. This enables a greater degree of choice and personalisation in the way mobile and internet users communicate,” said Ivan Farneti of Doughty Hanson. “Mobango is well positioned to make the most of this opportunity as it already offers a seamless experience for both web and mobile phone users looking for personalisation and mobile entertainment.”

About Mobango
Mobango Ltd operates an innovative online and mobile service targeted at the vast community of mobile phone enthusiasts. The service allows users to create, store, share and enjoy user-generated content both over the web and via mobile phones. Ringtones, photos, wallpapers, video clips and other applications can be easily converted and optimised by Mobango’s users to best fit their cell phones. The site also offers social networking tools so users can create communities and share content with their friends.

The Company, formed in September 2004, launched both an internet and WAP service in May 2005 and now has over one million registered users, with tens of thousands more joining every week from all over the world. Mobango has offices in London, UK and Milan, Italy. For further information visit MOBANGO - Mobile Media Sharing