Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences: Boost Revenues with Better Service

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A hospital empowers patients and families with a Cisco location-based Wi-Fi solution.

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Transforming Hospital Experiences

A conference center engages attendees with the Cisco CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi solution. (2:14 min)

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Learn about the benefits of the Cisco CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi solution. (0:58 sec)

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Wi-Fi has always enabled faster, mobile network connectivity to make internal processes more efficient. Now you can use it as a tool to more effectively engage your customers, provide the right content at the right time, and generate revenue.

Using smartphones and the mobile Internet, your customers have embraced a connected lifestyle. Whether you are in retail, hospitality, transportation, healthcare, education, or government, Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) lets you tap into this lifestyle now. Provide your customers with a highly personalized mobile experience that builds loyalty and boosts customer satisfaction.

Built upon Cisco Unified Access infrastructure, CMX is a platform for business innovation that includes:

Cisco Mobility Services Engine, Cisco wireless access points, and Cisco wireless controllers

Detect presence of mobile devices, transparently connect to Wi-Fi, and locate mobile devices to deliver location-based services.

An open Mobility Services Representational State Transfer (REST) API

Easily integrate location and contextual attributes into relevant customer applications.

Cisco and ecosystem partner applications

Deliver location-aware guest access, device-based services, browser-based services, mobile apps, online and onsite analytics, social analytics, and ads and offers.

CMX helps organizations increase efficiencies by better understanding customer behavior with onsite, online, and social analytics.

Onsite location analytics uses CMX to detect presence, locate, and track all Wi-Fi devices. It then aggregates and enhances the data to gain insight into the visitor interaction with the venue. The analytics engine classifies and groups the data based on defined criteria to provide information such as dwell times, crowding index, and traffic paths.

Online analytics equip organizations with the top websites that customers are visiting while in the venue, and the percentage of visitors who have taken advantage of online banner campaigns. Online analytics can help organizations better understand aggregate trends of websites such as online reviews, competitor offers, and social media chatter. The data helps customers combat show rooming and deliver a more relevant mobile experience.

Social analytics, including the Cisco CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi solution, deliver social media demographic information of customers who have checked in to the venue from their mobile device. With this information, organizations can gather aggregate trends such as age, gender, or city of origin.

The intelligence from CMX Analytics helps you provide the most rewarding experience for you and your customers. Get more from your wireless network with Cisco CMX.

The ability to capture new customers and keep existing customers by delivering more value is essential to continued growth in all customer-facing industries. Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) allows customers to connect through your onsite Wi-Fi. It opens a direct channel of communication that lets you better understand and deliver what your customers want.

When you more effectively engage your customers, you can:

Increase loyalty of existing customers and attract new customers by providing them with a personalized experienceIncrease customer conversion by providing key information at critical decision points in the purchase processReduce potential for show rooming by proactively responding to online customer behaviorIncrease brand exposure through social media check-in and feed streamingIncrease customer satisfaction by helping customers make decisions more aligned with their needs

By helping you better understand how your customers actually behave while at your site, Cisco CMX helps you make the best use of your floor plan. With this improved insight, you can:

Determine the most trafficked locations to position or price products or servicesAdjust venue layout to optimize traffic flow in periods of high useAdjust venue layout to place goods or services along the most used pathwaysStaff service locations to accommodate customer flows and time of dayEvaluate impact of floor plan adjustmentsFor your customers and your business, the Cisco CMX solution can deliver the right information at the right time.

The CMX solution integrates new and existing Cisco technologies and services with hardware and software components supplied by third-party partners.

Cisco Aironet Access Points

Provide robust wireless performance and optimized performance.

Cisco Wireless Controllers

Support large and small wireless deployments.

Cisco Mobility Services Engine (MSE)

Get advanced spectrum capabilities, location services, advanced location services, and adaptive wireless IPS. The MSE is available as a physical or virtual appliance, and includes APIs and an SDK to support a growing ecosystem of third-party applications.

Cisco Identity Services Engine

Manage and enforce policy for wireless onboarding and access with saved profiles that determine the level of access suitable for guest networks.

Cisco Prime Infrastructure

Get complete wired and wireless network management and reporting from a single pane. Cisco Prime Infrastructure functions as the interface for the Cisco Mobility Services Engine.

This Cisco developed standard allows mobile device users to automatically shift from 3G/4G to W-Fi connectivity based on roaming credentials administered by services providers.

Most of the world's leading service providers use Cisco carrier-grade switches, routers, and network components.

CMX Ecosystem Partners

Partners in the Cisco Developer Network deliver location-aware guest access, device-based services, browser-based services, mobile apps, online and onsite analytics, social analytics, and ads and offers.

Open up new revenue opportunities for enterprises and service providers. Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) provide the wireless platform for business and network service innovation. Cisco Services, together with Cisco partners, offers services to help plan, build, and manage your mobile wireless solution and get the most from your existing network.

For enterprises, Cisco Services helps extend bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives beyond employees, to engage customers with a personalized mobile experience based on their location and preferences. For service providers, Cisco Services can help expand 4G, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), and Wi-Fi services with small cells to provide personalized mobility services.

To deliver an effective and optimized mobile experience, your deployment should consider the industry, business, customer, and your existing network infrastructure. Cisco Services, together with its partners, can help with professional services that support you across three important areas of your CMX platform:

PlanningDeploymentManagement

During the planning phase, Cisco Services or a certified partner will assess your WLAN to:

Evaluate your existing WLAN infrastructureCapture both technical and business input and requirements

Next, the team will use the Cisco WLAN Planning and Design Service, which includes location services and high-density wireless. Your services delivery team will use the assessment findings to help you plan and design your connected mobile experience solution, addressing important elements such as:

Access point placement and mapping against venue sizeLocation service functionalitySecurity and compliance concerns

With the scope of your solution deployment well defined, your Cisco Services team can design a high-density, location-aware wireless network that:

Addresses your primary needsProvides a clear path to future growth and expansion

The actual development and deployment of your Cisco CMX solution can be performed by Cisco Services teams or a qualified professional services partner. Either delivery model:

Is built on proven Cisco methodologiesIncludes advanced technology expertiseUses Cisco smart services technology and intellectual capital

After your Cisco CMX solution is in place, you can let Cisco or one of its partners manage day-to-day operations to help ensure:

Peak performanceOptimal return on investmentTalk to your Cisco representative or a certified partner service representative to tailor a solution for your needs.

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Online betting: Bovada's good reputation for service

I've never been a big fan of online betting. For sports, I'd rather bet with a bookie or, when in Nevada, wager at a sportsbook and watch the games on giant TV screens.

In California, sports betting isn't legal, so many people turn to online gambling sites. The legality of betting via offshore sportsbooks remains in question, but for now online wagering is popular and generally unobstructed by federal authorities.

I chose Bovada.lv because I'd long followed it to get odds on games and futures, and it has a good reputation for customer service. A reviewer of online gaming sites, MyTopSportsBooks.com, says Bovada - which used to be called Bodog - has the "best customer service in the industry" and the "best mobile betting."

Most enticing, Bovada offers a 50 percent signup bonus, up to $250. Here's how it works: Say you bet $200 on the 49ers at even money. If you win you get $500 ($200 in winnings, $100 in bonus plus your original wager).

So a few weeks ago I took the plunge and authorized a $250 deposit on my credit card. But I hit a snag: The charge was denied as "irregular." Visa sent a text alert warning me of possible fraud. I texted back to note the charge was legit, but I still had to call Visa to authorize the charge. (While this was a problem a couple of years ago, it's reportedly not as widespread an issue today.)

Then I started betting. The odds are standard: Typically you have to bet $110 to win $100, and the site is relatively easy to use. Bovada also offers proposition bets on everything from NBA scoring leaders to Academy Award winners, but the site keeps a larger proportion of money bet on props, typically 25 percent. (That's true in Nevada casinos as well - given the odds, props, including futures, should be small wagers made for fun.)

I put my entire $250 on Indianapolis, giving three points, to beat San Diego on Oct. 14, but the Colts lost, so I didn't get to see how quickly Bovada would pay. I've had problems in the past getting my cash out of another online betting site, but reports are that Bovada pays promptly. A reviewer on MyTopSportsBooks said, "When I've requested a payout ... they come quick."

Other leading online betting sites include BetOnline.com, TopBet.com and GTbets.com.

It can be easy to get carried away betting online because you're not handling money. But if you bet responsibly, it can add a thrill to watching games, wherever you are.

Michael Shapiro is a freelance writer and author of "A Sense of Place." E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shapirowrites

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Optimizing Connections to the Apple Push Notification Service

iOS submissions reviewed in the last 5 business days:

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Last Updated: May 31, 2013

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New service delivers passes for Apple's Passbook via text message

New service delivers passes for Apple's Passbook via text messageGet the lowest prices anywhere on Macs and iPads with exclusive coupons: Apple Price Guide updated May 25th. (Get the lowest prices anywhere) HomeReviewsBackpagePrice GuidesNew MacsMacs with AppleCarePrevious MacsiPadsApple Wireless DevicesBid on New & Used Apple ProductsFollow UsTwitterFacebookGoogle+RSS Feeds & QriusiPhone AppTip UsSend us a tiptip us anonymouslyContact us by e-mailForumsAAPL: 445.15 ( +3.01 )Never miss an update Follow AppleInsiderFollow @AppleInsider –A+
Friday, May 24, 2013, 09:44 am

New service delivers passes for Apple's Passbook via text messageBy Kevin Bostic

Users of Apple's Passbook feature for iOS have a new option for getting tickets, coupons, and more delivered to their devices, as Skycore has launched support for cross-carrier delivery of Passbook passes by MMS.


Pass providers can plug into Skycore's SaaS platform and APIs, allowing for secure transmission of passes to a user's messaging inbox. Those passes can then be transferred to the user's Passbook app. Skycore also allows for mobile-optimized email and mobile landing pages, but the company believes the MMS feature gets content to users faster and more reliably.

The service also allows pass providers to monitor MMS delivery receipts and confirmed installs, which can be helpful in determining the success of a campaign.

Skycore can currently deliver MMS passes to U.S.-based AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon customers. The service is built to work with Apple's Passbook, but if a customer is on an Android phone, Skycore's MMS device detection can send a message presenting alternative storage options, such as PassWallet for Android.

Launched as a feature within iOS 6, Apple's Passbook feature has seen considerable adoption by a range of service providers. Discover uses the feature to deliver cardholder rewards, American Airlines allows more than a million users to store boarding passes with it, and a number of Major League Baseball stadiums allow users to store tickets in the app.

Other smaller pass providers have used the feature to drive coupon campaigns and drum up new business. Filings from last year indicate that Apple may be looking to integrate Passbook with near-field communications technology in the near future. Tags:PassbookJump to comments (5)Categories:iPhone(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Tweet!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); On Topic: iPhoneApple's iPhone sales tactics in Europe under antitrust investigationCradle attachment turns Apple's iPhone into handheld biosensoriPhone urinalysis app draws scrutiny from FDABest Buy to offer $50 off all iPhone 5 & 4S models starting SundayNew service delivers passes for Apple's Passbook via text messageToday's' HeadlinesFoxconn may sell own branded accessories after Apple profits dipApple's iPhone sales tactics in Europe under antitrust investigationRelated ArticlesApple's Passbook used to drive coupon campaign at UK restaurant chainBritish Airways planning to add support for Apple's PassbookAmerican Airlines, Sephora excited by initial uptake of Apple's PassbookDiscover launches Passbook support for cardholder rewardsSamsung's new Wallet app has numerous similarities to Apple's PassbookPrevious Comments View Alldamn_its_hot2013/05/24 09:55am

So far nothing to see, just an API. Seems like a cool way to go -- will be interesting to see who might adopt it.

gazoobee2013/05/24 11:31am

This only exists because Passbook as it currently stands is a hot mess of confusion that people *want* to use but mostly can't figure out *how* to use, or don't have the time and energy to devote to the task once they know.

solipsismx2013/05/24 11:37am

Quote:Originally Posted by Gazoobee?

This only exists because Passbook as it currently stands is a hot mess of confusion that people *want* to use but mostly can't figure out *how* to use, or don't have the time and energy to devote to the task once they know.
It definitely isn't widely understood but I every day at Starbucks. I'm not sure it's a Starbucks or Apple server change but after a couple months of using it the updates for the balance on my card started coming within 60 seconds. Since I don't get a receipt I can easily just look at the phone to see the updated balance.

jim bonner2013/05/24 01:08pm

The ability to deliver passes by SMS has been in Passbook from start. ?Other vendors (including us) deliver passes by SMS as a routine thing.

?

Why is this news?

rich eicher2013/05/24 02:29pm

Quote:Originally Posted by Jim Bonner?

The ability to deliver passes by SMS has been in Passbook from start. ?Other vendors (including us) deliver passes by SMS as a routine thing.

?

Why is this news?

?

The press release talks about MMS, not SMS.

?

MMS is a completely different user experience with entirely different benefits to issuers.

?

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New Subscription Service for iOS Apps

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Boot Camp: Installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Boot Camp: Installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)If you attempt to install Microsoft Windows XP SP3 on an Intel-based Mac (Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac) that is running Windows XP SP2 via Boot Camp, an "Out of disk space" alert may appear even when there may be adequate disk space to install the update.

">ACUtil.setPOD('us~en'); var articleId = "TS1565"; var ACStaticText = { 'more': '…more', 'less': 'less' };KmLoader.akamaiUrl = 'http://km.support.apple.com';//function sendRead()var locale = 'en_US';Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {ACHistory.addKbView('TS1565', 'Boot Camp: Installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)', 'en_US', 'unknown');ACUtil.getMultipleOffers('PP38', 'TROUBLESHOOTING_ARTICLES', 'en_US', 'false');ACUtil.reportView('TS1565', 'en_US');// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(enableAppleInstant == "yes"){var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats');if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true'){var time = new Date();// Fix for /*setReadTimer = setTimeout(function(){var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();feedStats.updateRead('TS1565', store.get('position'));store.remove('TS1565');store.remove('position');}, 3000);*///store.set('TS1565', time.getTime());store.set('timeStart', time.getTime());}} });Event.observe(window, 'beforeunload', function(){// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(enableAppleInstant == "yes"){ var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats'); if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true' && store.get('timeStart') !== null){ var time = new Date();//var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('TS1565');var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('timeStart');var timeSpent = Math.floor(timeDiff/1000);var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();// Fix for if (timeDiff Boot Camp: Installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) Products Affected

Boot Camp, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Professional

Symptoms

If you attempt to install Microsoft Windows XP SP3 on an Intel-based Mac (Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac) that is running Windows XP SP2 via Boot Camp, an "Out of disk space" alert may appear even when there may be adequate disk space to install the update.

Resolution

Update to the most recent version of Boot Camp.  Updating should allow the installation to complete.

Additional Information

Important: Apple does not provide technical phone support for installing, using, or recovering Microsoft Windows. Support is available for using Boot Camp Setup Assistant, as well as installing or restoring Boot Camp software while booted into Windows. Support articles and discussions may also be available on Apple's support website.

$('articlecontent').select('img').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 640 ){ var imageDiv = document.createElement('div'); imageDiv.setStyle({ 'display':'block', 'width':'660px', 'overflow':'auto', 'border':'1px solid #dedede','margin-right': '15px'}); element.parentNode.replaceChild(imageDiv, element); imageDiv.appendChild(element); } }); $('articlecontent').select('table').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 660 || element.offsetWidth>660){ var tableDiv = document.createElement('div'); tableDiv.setAttribute("class","kbtablecontainer"); element.setAttribute("style","margin-bottom:0px !important"); element.parentNode.replaceChild(tableDiv, element); tableDiv.appendChild(element); } }); Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information. Rate this article:Not helpfulSomewhat helpfulHelpfulVery helpfulSolved my problemOne Moment PleaseThanks for rating this article Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem Share this article View the original article here

Google to buy $39m Provo fiber service for $1

Summary: If the deal between Provo and Google doesn't work out, the tech giant can sell the network back for a dollar.

Recently, the latest destination for Google Fiber was confirmed to be Provo, Utah, but rather than building the system from scratch, the tech giant would buy out the city's own network.

iProvo will be bought out by Google pending a vote by the Provo City Council on April 23, but the financial details were not disclosed at the time of the original report. However, according to the Associated Press, Google will buy the existing network -- which cost $39 million to build -- for only $1.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based firm is taking an unusual step in its roadmap by buying an existing fiber-optic network, but it's not difficult to see why. Under the terms of the deal, Google will complete the network's construction and upgrade the system so it offers Provo residents gigabit connections, which are touted to be 100 times faster than current broadband speeds. The city will have to pay remaining loans resultant of the $39 million build, but if Google decides the merger isn't working out, the firm has a get-out clause -- it can sell the network back to the city for the same symbolic dollar.

Provo is approximately 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, and has a population of 115,000 residents. If the deal is voted in, then the city will be the third extension of Google Fiber's city roadmap. At the moment, according to the publication, Provo residents have been paying a little over $5 a month for their Internet, television and phone services. However, if residents agree to sign up to a $30 connection fee, then they will receive basic Internet services at no charge.

Google has five years to complete Provo's fiber network. In a blog post Wednesday, Google Fiber general manager Kevin Lo explained why Provo is of interest to the firm:

"Utah is already home to hundreds of tech companies and startups, and many of them are based in Provo. In fact, the Provo area ranks second in the nation in patent growth, and is consistently ranked as one of the top places to live and do business in the U.S."

The high-speed Internet service will join fiber networks expanding across the U.S. Last month, Google announced that residents in Olathe, Kansas, would join those waiting in Westwood, Westwood Hills and Mission Woods, Kan. that would have access to the network in the near future, although "a lot of planning and engineering work" is required first.

Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, KS, and Kansas City, MO, with Austin, Texas marked as the next city for the service to launch.

Topics: Google, Fiber, Wi-Fi

London-based medical anthropologist Charlie Osborne is a journalist, graphic designer and former teacher.

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Digital data volumes are increasing tenfold every five years, and yet a majority of executives say they are not getting the information they need to make important decisions - 36 percent say their business units and functional operations are making decisions based on inconsistent information. This whitepaper looks at whether you getting the information you need to run a successful business in today's competitive climate?

Oracle explains how SPARC technology enables you to change the shape of your IT budget, dramatically transforming IT into a force for change and innovation. Read more

Faced with static or shrinking budgets, IT organizations need to lower costs throughout the data center. Read about real business results that organizations around the world have achieved by upgrading and standardizing on Oracle Database 11g.

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Google to buy $39m Provo fiber service for $1

Summary: If the deal between Provo and Google doesn't work out, the tech giant can sell the network back for a dollar.

Recently, the latest destination for Google Fiber was confirmed to be Provo, Utah, but rather than building the system from scratch, the tech giant would buy out the city's own network.

iProvo will be bought out by Google pending a vote by the Provo City Council on April 23, but the financial details were not disclosed at the time of the original report. However, according to the Associated Press, Google will buy the existing network -- which cost $39 million to build -- for only $1.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based firm is taking an unusual step in its roadmap by buying an existing fiber-optic network, but it's not difficult to see why. Under the terms of the deal, Google will complete the network's construction and upgrade the system so it offers Provo residents gigabit connections, which are touted to be 100 times faster than current broadband speeds. The city will have to pay remaining loans resultant of the $39 million build, but if Google decides the merger isn't working out, the firm has a get-out clause -- it can sell the network back to the city for the same symbolic dollar.

Provo is approximately 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, and has a population of 115,000 residents. If the deal is voted in, then the city will be the third extension of Google Fiber's city roadmap. At the moment, according to the publication, Provo residents have been paying a little over $5 a month for their Internet, television and phone services. However, if residents agree to sign up to a $30 connection fee, then they will receive basic Internet services at no charge.

Google has five years to complete Provo's fiber network. In a blog post Wednesday, Google Fiber general manager Kevin Lo explained why Provo is of interest to the firm:

"Utah is already home to hundreds of tech companies and startups, and many of them are based in Provo. In fact, the Provo area ranks second in the nation in patent growth, and is consistently ranked as one of the top places to live and do business in the U.S."

The high-speed Internet service will join fiber networks expanding across the U.S. Last month, Google announced that residents in Olathe, Kansas, would join those waiting in Westwood, Westwood Hills and Mission Woods, Kan. that would have access to the network in the near future, although "a lot of planning and engineering work" is required first.

Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, KS, and Kansas City, MO, with Austin, Texas marked as the next city for the service to launch.

Topics: Google, Fiber, Wi-Fi

London-based medical anthropologist Charlie Osborne is a journalist, graphic designer and former teacher.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

This white paper describes how to integrate on-premise and cloud applications, including Oracle Cloud applications.

The three biggest problems facing IT administrators today are long response times of the application/database, application quality shortfalls and application downtime. Download this whitepaper and read more about it.

As a HR leader, what keeps you up at night? Is it meeting your executives' demands for a greater contribution to the company's strategic vision? Is it the requests to cut costs while increasing efficiency? Read what HR success today means.

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Yahoo China to cease e-mail service

Yahoo China will cease its e-mail service on August 19 and has advised users to register for an account with Alibaba's e-mail service, called Aliyun, to retain their data.

In an announcement Thursday, titled "Yahoo China's e-mail services start overall migration on April 18, 2013", Alibaba Group said Yahoo's e-mail service will only remain available for the following four months. The Chinese Web giant owns Yahoo's operations in China.

With an Aliyun account, Yahoo China e-mail users will be able to retain e-mail messages and continue to receive e-mail sent to their Yahoo Mail account even after it ceases operations in August. However, this e-mail redirect will only be supported until December 31, 2014. 

The announcement comes as Alibaba prepares to reduce its dependence on Yahoo's global infrastructure. 

Zhang Jianhua, Yahoo China's public relations executive, told Chinese media the company's e-mail services were supported by the U.S. headquarters' global unified mailbox-based systems. As mutual agreements between both companies only allow Alibaba to use the system for four more years--from 2012--the company is making moves now to give users options as early as possible, Zhang said.

Chinese media, however, suggested the termination of agreement between the two companies played only a minor part of the cease of service today. They pointed to Yahoo China's diminishing market presence.  

Over the past six years, the market share of e-mail service providers have altered dramatically in the country. Five local services providers including Tencent and NetEase had seized majority share, while Yahoo China slumped to sixth position, according to Hitwise data.

The data also showed that termination of Yahoo China's e-mail services will only affect 2 percent of e-mail users in the country. Market share of Yahoo's e-mail service in China has continued to shrink over the past 12 months to its current 1.9 percent. 

Alibaba in 2005 sold 40 percent of its stock to Yahoo in a US$1 billion deal to acquire the latter's China operations. Last year, the Chinese Web giant bought back half of the stake Yahoo owns for US$7.6 billion as it preps for its initial public offering. 

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hoppr banks on being device-agnostic location-based service

hoppr, launched in May last year, claims to be the world's only device-agnostic location-based check-in and rewards service.

Using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), SMS, and a mobile app, it allows customers discover one's neighborhood, check-in into places for specials and rewards. hoppr recently crossed 85 million check-ins in less than a year, with over 1 million active users.

Mohammed Imthiaz at hoppr's HQ in Gurgaon, India

I met Mohammed Imthiaz, the founder and CEO of hoppr, who told me about how the service will contribute to the growth of location-based services in India as it was created keeping in mind the Indian mobile ecosystem, thereby being device-agnostic.

hoppr reaches out to a bigger consumer base due to its easy accessibility on feature phones--still the majority for now despite the growth of smartphones.  

Its mobile device-agnostic nature of the service along with offline connect with merchants gives rise to a hyper local commerce platform that benefits users, telcos and brands together by bringing together their online and offline worlds.

Imthiaz insists the service is no Foursquare clone as many, including me, wonder.

One, it is not limited to smartphones. And secondly, hoppr is making a huge investment in merchant relationships and evangelizing its capability.

"hoppr was conceived in a bid to connect the online and offline worlds of consumers and businesses. And that requires feeding on the street. Our sales guys meet about 400 merchants a day. We train the staff at merchant partners, integrate with their POS systems, and work very closely with them," Imthiaz explained, adding that they have over 10,000 merchants across major cities on hoppr already.

hoppr is available on seven leading telecom operators in India: Airtel, Aircel, BSNL, Idea, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Vodafone. The service reaches out to over 90 percent of the entire Indian mobile population. "Considering voice is ubiquitous, we are number two as a service availability on mobile phones," Imthiaz said.

While most would perceive the service to be of consumer interest, hoppr's focus is B2B with merchants and telecom operators while serving the former. Currently, hoppr does not charge merchants to offer rewards on the service, however some commercial features like promotions, loyalty programs, and data mining could come through.

Imthiaz talked about how location was a powerful information of relevance and while every brand wants to "do something mobile", how of the equation was not answered as yet. "We tapped on USSD and SMS--the emerging markets' Internet. We started at the bottom of the pyramid and now our Android app is out while iOS one is in the works".

Responding to my worry if the mobile apps would bring a fragmentation to the service in terms of capability, Imthiaz said: "The core of the service remains same. Check-in, and earn rewards and points, in less than 30 seconds."

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