O2 Litmus Press Release, Mob4Hire Partnership Announced Options

[jamesp]

I'm delighted to post the press release issued by O2 at 00:01 this morning, announcing our ground breaking partnership with Mob4Hire. We will be delivering a new release in the next few weeks that will provide a deeply integrated experience with Mob4Hire's innovative crowd sourced testing model.

This will provide two key benefits to the O2 Litmus community:

1. Dramatically reduce test costs for app developers
2. Incentivise O2 customers to participate in testing apps by paying them for their time in hard cash!

The full release is below:

Date: 16th February 2009

O2 TARGETS CUSTOMERS FOR O2 LITMUS

• O2 customers paid to trial applications on developer community
• O2 customers to help shape the applications of the future

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona – O2 today announced that it is calling for customers to enrol as members on its new developer platform, O2 Litmus. Since its launch in December 08, O2 Litmus already plays host to a wide range of wireless and Internet-enabled applications and services for O2 customers to be able to test and approve.

O2 customers signing up for O2 Litmus will play a key role in helping to shape future content available on the network. The move will enable O2 to take full advantage of the creativity and energy of over 19million customers as well as its developer community. Additionally customers who sign up receive tangible benefits for contributing time and effort in testing and shaping the emerging mobile applications of the future.

Rating applications

Customers who are eligible for O2 Litmus will be given exclusive access to newly developed applications across a wide range of categories from games and multimedia to communications and GPS. Users will be asked to rate their overall experience of each application with the best ideas receiving the best approval ratings from the user community. Acting as test-beds for further creativity and innovation on the site, O2 Litmus users will liaise directly with software developers, providing crucial feedback on each application they test.


Earning rewards

O2 Litmus customers will not only share in the power and excitement of co-creation, but they will also be given the opportunity to earn tangible rewards for their time and input.

O2 Litmus customers will receive free access to any application they test once it becomes commercially available. Secondly as part of O2’s drive to support its customers during the economic downturn, O2 Litmus users will have the opportunity to earn hard cash for every application they test, via a ground breaking partnership with multi award winning Mob4Hire. Users will be able to bid for each application they wish to trial, putting a value on what they think their time is worth. With each test they complete trialists are paid the pre-agreed amount and, they will also increase their O2 Litmus tester reputation within the community.

James Parton, Head of O2 Litmus, commented: “Opening an apps store has become the new mobile vogue. But for O2 it misses something fundamental: the collaboration of customer, developer and the network operator. We are in the unique position to be able to draw on over 19 million customers and offer those with a proven interest in new mobile technologies and a real thirst for new ideas the chance to shape the future of their network by working directly with software developers to provide feedback on mobile applications that have been designed for them.”

Available on many of the latest handsets, O2 Litmus makes the most of some of the best devices on the market, including Motorola V3, Nokia N95, O2 Xda Orbit II, Samsung U600 and the Sony Ericsson W910.

Parton continued: “We are already seeing signs of strong growth, with nearly 150 applications developed and available since our launch just eight weeks ago. O2 Litmus is driving quicker, better, innovative mobile apps that can be tried and used in days not months – by the user, for the user. By gaining valuable customer insight and taking on board the good and the bad feedback, O2 is creating, not just another apps store, but a completely consumer-led series of useful applications that will drive Mobile 2.0 into the next generation.”

The O2 Litmus site is now live. O2 customers wishing to take part in testing applications on the developer community should apply online at www.O2Litmus.co.uk

-ends-





About O2
• Telefónica O2 UK Limited is a leading communications company for consumers and businesses in the UK, with 19.1 million mobile customers and over 260,000 fixed broadband customers as at 30 September 2008.
• Telefónica O2 UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc which is a business division of Telefónica S.A. and which owns O2 in the UK, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic, and has 44.9 million customers.
• In 2006 Telefónica Europe acquired Be, the UK fixed broadband provider, and in October 2007 O2 launched its broadband service using the Be network.
• O2 is the naming rights partner of The O2, the world-class entertainment venue.
• O2 was ranked the 6th best place to work in the Best Companies to Work for 2008 List and has been awarded a three-star accreditation denoting an ’extraordinary’ company.
• O2 was launched on 1 May 2002 and now has more customers than any other UK mobile network.
• O2’s UK mobile network covers 99% of the UK’s population. O2’s 3G network covers over 80% of the UK population and is fully HSDPA-enabled, providing speeds of up to 1.8 MBps for customers with an HSDPA-enabled device.
• Telefónica Europe also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany.
• For b-roll footage of O2, please visit www.digitalnewsagency.com
• For further press information about O2 go to http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk

For further information contact:
O2 UK Press Office Nicola Green
01753 565656
pressoffice@O2.com nicola.green@o2.com

[jamesp]

I'm pleased to announce that the Mob4Hire functionality went live on O2 Litmus yesterday, integrated into a new feature called "Premium Testing".

Thanks to all involved for their hard work