Next Great Thing

Softbank, Telefonica Reach Deal To Sell iPhone in Japan, Spain [ WSJ]

Look out Japan and Spain, the iPhone is coming your way via Softbank and Telefonica. Supposedly, the iPhone is to land on these foreign shores later in the year. (Even though we bet half of them have it already anyway…)

Marketers Sold On Recall From In-Game Ads [MediaPost]

The results are in on in-game ads: they work. Researchers find that gamers exposed to ads while playing games are more likely to remember the product slogan and agree with statements like “Adidas is the only brand for me.” (Um, that sounds creepy. Did Adidas run some sort of in-game subliminal messaging?) Anyway, Sony announced that PS3 will be putting games in their ads as well.

Harry Potter MMORPG Under Development at Warner Brothers [Mashable]

Just when you thought Harry Potter had been stripped of all his merchandising options (as well as his clothes), rumor hits that they are making an MMORPG. WoW. Mystical world lovers may never leave their computers again.

Rocawear launches mobile campaign on Boost Mobile deck [MobileMarketer]

Rocawear, rapper Jay-Z’s clothing label, will launch a mobile marketing campaign exclusively through Boost Mobile. Customers can sign up to receive messages that include 10% discounts on Roccawear clothing as well as opportunities to engage in video documentaries.

Is Nokia monkeying with music’s future? [MobileMarketer]

Nokia’s announcement that select phones will allow customers to download songs for free sounds too good to be true. MobileMarketer questions whether Nokia will break even (the first year is free and users keep their existing library if they do not subscribe) or hurt a failing music industry by only promoting established artists.

Shawn Fanning sells third brainchild to EA [LA Times]

Napster-founder Shawn Fanning finally gets a payout for his creative social networking genius. EA bought his company ThreeSF and the service Ramage for a reported $20 million.

Go2Media Adds Sites to T-Mobile [MediaBistro]

Go2Media paired with T-Mobile to allow customers access to go2 Election ’08 and other go2 sports channels. Smart move by T-Mobile considering time-sensitive content such as sports and politics is likely to be huge on mobile.

16-35s OK with Mobile Ads if Services are Free or Discounted [MediaBistro]

Another study has found that youth are more open to receiving mobile ads. This one by U.K.-based Mobixell Networks said that 35% of 16- to-35-year-olds would use more ad-funded MMS, and 29% would use more video services, if those services were offered for free or at a discount.

Whrrl rolls out client for BlackBerry users [MobileCrunch]

Slow-growing Whrrl expected take off after announcing its partnership with BlackBerry. Like Socialight, Whrrl neatly ties social networking into a map where users view and add reviews of events, bars, restaurants in the area.

Jott Networks Allows You To Listen To RSS Feeds By Phone [MocoNews]

RSS is the perfect companion for phones, which can be aggregationally-challenged. Enter Jott, which now offers a service reads you pre-selected RSS feeds by audio. Great for those who cannot read the tiny print on their handset, not so good for the hard of hearing.