August 18, 2005
Gearing up with new Fun & Downloads partners

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Sony Ericsson supports the professional software developer with various go-to-market distribution channels. These include the Sony Ericsson Application Shop for smartphone applications, the Sony Ericsson Fun & Downloads portal for Java-based applications and other entertaining content, PlayNow over-the-air download lists for various phones, and selected applications preloaded on Sony Ericsson mobile phones at market launch. Here we will focus on the opportunities offered by Fun & Downloads.

What is Fun & Downloads?

Fun & Downloads is a Sony Ericsson web portal and WAP service, offering Sony Ericsson mobile phone users high-quality content for download. It showcases a selection of first-class content from Sony Ericsson and partners with whom we have distribution agreements. The objective is to promote the use of the phone and give end-users a rich experience which in turn will contribute to increased sales.

Focusing on fun and entertainment, the content offering on Fun & Downloads includes ringtones, images, video clips, picture messaging, themes and Java-based games for a wide range of Sony Ericsson phones.

Fun & Downloads content varies by geographical region and country, with a mix of branded, premium and free downloads, as well as on-line tools and services.  

The portal was launched in March 2003 with free content available through a WAP service, while premium content was offered in ten markets through a billing mechanism. In March 2004 credit card billing was introduced in Europe in order to facilitate the sales of higher value content. Today, we have premium SMS billing running in 27 markets, and during the fall of 2005, we will enable consumers to purchase content for their Sony Ericsson phones via WAP with the introduction of WAP direct billing in selected markets.

In terms of premium content, games and ringtones have been the best sellers. Competitions, seasonal promotions and user registration all contribute to building long-term relationships with Sony Ericsson mobile phone owners.

Some key facts

Taken from a recent Fun & Downloads web site traffic report, here a few interesting trends:

• Consistent increase in visitors to Fun & Downloads since its launch in 2003.
• The Sony Ericsson S700 and K700 mobile phones are currently the top phones for download transactions.
• Game downloads continue to grow.
• Largest growth in free downloads is the themes category.
• There are significantly more WAP users than web users, with currently 90% of all traffic from the WAP service.
• The largest increase in traffic and downloads is from China.

Supporting your business

As Fun & Downloads content is tailored to local markets through negotiated partnerships and pro-active management, this enables you to benefit from offering products that best suit a specific market. This increases the value delivered to the end-user as well as securing loyalty and repeat purchase. And as partner content is co-branded, your company and products gain added exposure.

All traffic through the web site and WAP service is monitored, and statistics such as number of downloads per phone model and top five best-sellers help refining the content offering over time.

The PlayNow service

PlayNow™ is a popular download service available directly from the phone menu on most Sony Ericsson phones, with pre-defined download lists easily accessible. PlaNow today features mainly ring tones (master tones), however games have been added for K500 in Sweden and J300 in 15 markets around the world. PlayNow™ games will also be available for the K750 going forward in the same 15 markets.

New partners added to Fun & Downloads and PlayNow

More information:

• Visit Fun & Downloads>>
• Sony Ericsson Developer World Business Opportunities>>
• Visit Sony Ericsson Application Shop>>