Critical Path Offers Asian Consumers Affordable Mobile Email

A survey commissioned by Critical Path revealed a significant market opportunity for consumer mobile email in Singapore. It was discovered that more than one-third (37%) of Singaporeans surveyed want access to email on their mobile phones. However, the survey also found that 85% of Singaporeans who want mobile email, are not willing to pay for a new mobile phone to get it.

Critical Path, a provider of messaging software and services, addresses this need with their Memova Mobile solution which was released this year. The Memova Mobile solution lets users push emails from popular consumer emails such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, or ISPs to their mobile phones.

Memova Mobile works with the MMS client software and that is already on most consumer phones so there is no need for users to install any software on the phone. A simple text message is all it takes to set up the service and full registration can be done right from the mobile phone. Therefore the solution allows most consumers to access email without having to upgrade to more expensive smartphones or PDA phones.

Critical Path recognizes that when on the move, consumers do not necessarily want to receive all of their emails – only the ones that matter the most. With Memova, users can choose which messages they receive. According to the survey, three-quarters (75%) of Singaporean consumers also indicated that they want the ability to select the messages they receive on their mobile phone.

"There is a big opportunity for mobile operators in Asia to drive data revenue with consumer mobile email, which is largely untapped,” said Mike Serbinis, Chief Technology Officer, Critical Path. “The key to success is to deliver an experience that consumers want and not just retro-fit enterprise solutions. Consumers don't want to buy an expensive device or access their entire inbox on their mobile phone, especially when most of it is spam. Consumers want an affordable solution that works on their current phone and delivers the messages that matter."

The survey also revealed that Singaporean consumers want mobile email that is simple and affordable with 48 percent citing “low cost” as a most important mobile email feature and 43 percent citing “ease-of-use” as most important.

"The polling results provide us with interesting insight into the mobile email market," added Serbinis. "It is clear that consumers have unique needs and behaviors, and that the solutions business executives use will not satisfy the mass market. Operators who offer a low-cost service that's easy to use with the ability to control which messages are received will reap the biggest rewards."

In August, IndosatM2, a leading Internet and multimedia service provider in Indonesia, together with its holding company Indosat Tbk, launched a new consumer email service using Memova Mobile from Critical Path.