London, Tuesday 1st July 2008 - The 2008 Mobile Data Association Awards, or ‘MDAs’ have been announced today, recognising the companies and individuals who have made the most outstanding, innovative contribution to the rapidly growing UK mobile data industry.

Among the winners was Dynmark International for Best Messaging Application. Mobyko won the award for Best Consumer Mobile Data Application, for their personal address book, backup and storage service.

The MDA Personal Achievement Award went to Jonathan Ive of Apple, in recognition of his contribution to the design of the Apple iPhone and its groundbreaking user interface.

“The aim of the MDAs has been to show how much world-beating talent there is in the UK for mobile data applications and technology, and this list of award winners does just that,” explained Steve Reynolds, Vice Chairman, The Mobile Data Association. “Our winners have been able to demonstrate innovation and commercial success which deserves this level of recognition.”

The 2008 judging Panel consisted of:

Steve Reynolds, Vice Chairman, Mobile Data Association
Anuj Khanna, Mobile Media Director, Mobile Data Association
Martin Ballard, Director, Mobile Data Association
Nick Hunn, m-Health Director, Mobile Data Association
Mike Grenville, 160 Characters

The full list of 2008 MDA Award winners:

Best Messaging Application – Dynmark International Ltd.
Judges comments: There is still a great deal of potential to increase use of mobile
messaging in many areas. One key area with much potential is within the SME business community. Dynmark has been successfully offering its e-txt interactive solution messaging to since 2002.

The e-txt product is easy to download and install and users can start sending and receiving messages in a few minutes. Operating like many email applications, users can set up email-to-SMS and SMS-to-email communications. There are plug-ins for popular CRM contact management systems including Goldmine, Sage ACT!, Sage CRM MME and Microsoft CRM. Although there were a number of other strong contenders in this competition category, Dynmark stood out for its strong support and SME market focus.

Best Consumer Mobile Data Application – Mobyko
Judges comments: “The industry has faced an uphill struggle to persuade consumer to use their phones for anything other than voice calls and text. There are a number of things that need to be achieved if this is to change – users need data applications that are easy to use and they also need to be made aware of the value of the content that they store on their mobile phones.
The judges chose Mobyko as the winner of this section because of its approach to solving both of these issues. Its free contact storage approach is a paragon of how to make data applications easy for the user. Mobyko’s website and business model then extend this usage model to persuade consumers to backup and store more mobile content, reinforcing its value, which in turn makes the user understand the value of their handset as a mobile application platform. It is one of the most accessible and useful data applications that we have seen.”
Best Corporate Mobile Data Application – Wapple.net
Judges comments: “Business cannot thrive today without some sort of website in support. From a simple home page to a full blown e-commerce site with customer support and supply chain management built in. With more mobile devices than people in the UK and the everyday reliance on these devices for business (and consumer) use, it remains a problem to develop mobile websites that work well across the many device types and operating systems in use.

The judges chose Wapple as the winner in this section because their Wapple Canvas offers a no-nonsense easy-to-use mobile website building and publishing tool that automatically adjusts its delivered content to the receiving device. Being simple to use, a professional site can be put together very quickly enabling even smaller companies, with limited budgets, to grow by reaching their target mobile audience. With its managed services and design support, Wapple offers a total package for today’s mobile marketing world.”

Best Network (text vote) – T-Mobile
Judges comments: Not applicable.

The Best Network vote was conducted via any industry wide text vote. The service was provided by MDA member Dialogue http://www.dialogue.net/who_we_are/

Best Mobile Internet Use – Bango
Judges comments: “The Bango service has been awarded the MDA award for the best use of the Mobile Internet because of the company’s contribution to getting both big brands and small content providers to take advantage of mobile internet services. The Bango Service is a global platform that makes the mobile web easy for everyone and offers a mass market mobile content monetisation solution. The adoption of Mobile Internet services has faced many hurdles in the past but Bango has worked within the constraints and is a early innovator.

The recent efforts from UK mobile operators with regard to flat rate data charges will enormously help in growing the Mobile Internet market and the Bango service helps companies profit from these developments. The MDA will also like to commend the work of 3, O2, Orange, T-mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone in growing the Mobile Web.”

The MDA Green Award – Motorola
Judges comments: “The environmental agenda has moved rapidly from a fringe issue into the corporate mainstream, and it’s a subject will remain a permanent focus for businesses. Technology, in all its facets and forms, has a major role to play in addressing environmental issues. The Motorola Namibia project demonstrated an innovative use of technology which in the future could mean that all mobile networks will be powered by sustainable natural resources and not requiring carbon based power. We wish Motorola every success with this pilot and look forward to seeing more and more carbon free wireless networks around the world.”

The MDA Personal Achievement Award – Jonathan Ive, Apple
Judges comments: “This year the MDA personal achievement award winner is Jonathan Ive for his design of the Apple IPhone and its user interface. The physical design of the IPhone and its intuitive user interface has completely redefined the mobile phone as we know it. The IPhone is arguably the most talked about consumer-electronics device that has hit the market in the last 5 years. Ive has designed the best implementation of a touch UI, this with the Safari web browser has definitely pushed mobile content into the forefront of the consumer consciousness. It sets the bar very high for all present and future competitors and as such, is shaking the mobile phone industry. We look forward to seeing Ive’s design innovation continuing to challenge the mobile world.”


About The Mobile Data Association
The Mobile Data Association is a supply-side, technology neutral, Trade Association that is now in its 14th year of operation. We count all of the Mobile Network Operators as well as many content providers, aggregators and mobile data solution providers amongst our membership. We aggregate and publish the SMS texting figures each month as well as organising member events on various topics of interest and/or concern.

Web: www.mdaawards.org