NeoMedia Technologies, Inc (NEOM)

[ss9173]

DD Connecting the dots to News Corp...possibly our "big gorilla" deal in the making:

4/11/06 post by N E O M highlighting his CTIA observations and discussions with Neomedia Management http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=10630798&txt2find=news

Excerpt: When asked about NEWS Corp’s interest in NeoMedia I received a uncharacteristic “no comment”.


4/7/06 PR: http://www.neom.com/press_releases/2006/20060407.jsp

- Gavitec is working with The Times, which is owned by News Corp.

Excerpt: Recent successful public trials include: "Coast Mobile" in conjunction with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and News International's The Times newspaper, along with a number of other interactive mobile campaigns. Gavitec's Lavasphere technology is synergistic with NeoMedia's own PaperClick handset code-reader, and plans are being implemented to further strengthen NeoMedia's offerings that connect the physical world to the mobile Internet.

3/28/06 posting from JP highlighting the connection of Chas Fritz interview on TS radio show with News Corp http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=10403851&txt2find=news

Excerpt: Fox, who welcomes TS as a weekly guest speaker on Bulls & Bears is a wholey owned NEWS Corp. company.

3/14/06 posting from SOG highlighting News Corp's digital strategy http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=10152553&txt2find=news

Excerpt: Newspapers will have to adopt a multi-channel strategy, embracing mobile phones, iPods and even PlayStation Portables, if they are to survive in the digital era.

The prediction was made by Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corporation, parent company of The Times, in a speech given tonight at the Stationers’ Livery company in London.

Mr Murdoch, who turned 75 over the weekend, said that newspapers will have to use new technology to engage readers in what he described as an era in which "media becomes like fast food".

In the future, readers and viewers will consume "news, sport and film clips on the go" on devices like "Sony’s PSP, or others already in test by our satellite companies" such as BSkyB, the broadcaster in which News Corp holds a 37.2 per cent stake.

Mr Murdoch said: "Crucially, newspapers must give readers a choice of accessing their journalism in the pages of the paper, or on websites such as Times Online or — and this is important — on any platform that appeals to them, mobile phones, hand-held devices, iPods, whatever".

2/27/06 News Corp Targets Mobile with Mobizzo http://www.moconews.net/news-corp-targets-mobile-with-mobizzo.html

Have you noticed all the Mobizzo advertising on TV lately?

Article: “Twelve executives from the News Corporation gathered recently in a makeshift office in Barcelona to plot their newest entertainment venture. But they did not come to discuss television dramas, film or newspapers, their core businesses, but how to create entertainment for the cellphone.”
So they’ve launched Mobizzo, a mobile content store which offers “text alerts from a gossip column in a British tabloid, The Sun, and kung fu movie posters and yoga and meditation music from the Star media group in Hong Kong”. It will cost $2-3 per item or a subscription plan for $5.99 per month…available on Cingular and T-Mobile with other carriers planned (obviously, for a third-party portal). However, despite the obvious strength from News Corp’s archive video won’t be available for at least 12 months “because most American cellphones cannot receive it”. Then Lucy Hood, who is overseeing Mobizzo at the News Corporation’s Fox Mobile Entertainment and Fox Mobile Studios, had the nerve to try and pretend News Corp is somehow breaking new ground.
“The question,” she said, “is, How do we roll out a global mobile product? How do we share? It’s a new business we are trying to conquer. We are taking an enormous risk. But these days, it’s about being first.”
From what they’ve launched so far I’m pretty sure it’s all been done before, or something similar. Admitedly, there are some interesting sources of content…a Hollywood tattoo designer, a Chinese art collective, a Los Angeles street artist, some teenage underground comic writers and so on.
Apparently Rupert Murdoch wants Mobizzo to be a global brand by the end of the year, but it’s going to take a lot of work…

Mobizzo- About us: http://www.mobizzo.com/us/panelLinkDisplay.do?linkTo=about

What is Mobizzo?
Welcome to Mobizzo, THE mobile entertainment destination for the hottest deals on the coolest content for your mobile phone. Whether you want ringers, grafix or games, Mobizzo's got it all including exclusives from your favorite movies and TV shows like FAMILY GUY and NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE and awesome original content that you can't get anywhere else. Mobizzo lets you own your phone by customizing it with grafix and ringers that reflect your personality and make a statement about you.

Content
Mobizzo offers some of the coolest grafix, ringers and games around. And we update our catalogue constantly, so there's always new stuff, from the latest music releases to new grafix that we've designed exclusively for you. Plus Mobizzo offers collections of ringers, grafix and screensavers of your favorite content categories -- sort of like one-stop-shopping for a coordinated outfit for your mobile phone.



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I am not the first to speculate that News Corp might have interest in Neom. But as each day passes with News Corp continuing to expand its business into mobile, the possibility of such a 'big gorilla" deal becomes increasingly more likely.

JMHO.

SS9173