Brian Seligmann, MTN Senior Manager: Data Bearers, says it was the right time for MTN to launch its new instant messaging product (IM), NokNok as the technology was simply not able to provide an acceptable user experience for the mass market until now.<\/p>\n
\u201cUp until now we were not able to get a clean user interface, there was not enough handset penetration into the market and the packet data network was not ready,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
MTN first began trialling IM services in August 2005, according to Seligmann, but felt that the average end user was not ready for the product back then. It was not a consumer friendly solution, he says.<\/p>\n
So what can consumers expect from NokNok? NokNok was developed from a proprietary solution with \u2018significant development\u2019 on top of that. Error messages thrown up in early use of the product reference Colibra which means MTN is probably using a solution from IM vendor, Colibra.<\/p>\n
NokNok has a PC suite and a client for the phone. The solution only offers chatting options on a one-to-one or group basis, although Seligmann says picture sharing will soon be on the cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe product is in its infancy and we\u2019re working on a lot of things. The user interface is significantly friendlier than other IM clients and the PC client is \u2018clean\u2019 and easy to use,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can set up chat rooms on the PC client and if a user is not registered, they are sent an SMS to invite them to NokNok and any messages you send to them or offline users will be delivered by SMS. This will be free until 1 March 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether it will be free to use for the foreseeable future remains to be seen. Seligmann was cagey on this issue saying charging strategies could change. Until March it will be free. Vodacom has taken a similar stance on its IM client Meep, saying that it would be free until the end of January 2008. For now the two products are not interoperable. Seligmann could not comment on whether this would happen in future although various sources in both networks have confirmed it is something both parties are actively exploring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be competitively priced and the client will always be free,\u201d he says. Whether that is \u2018free to download\u2019 or \u2018without subscription\u2019 remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Eleven handsets are currently certified for NokNok although others may operate as they use the same operating system. This will be scaled up to 30 handsets by the end of December. The first handsets are the Nokia 5200, 6230i, 6233, 6280, 6288, 6300, N73, N95, N80; Sony Ericsson W810i and the Motorola V360. see http:\/\/im.mtn.co.za\/download.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve chosen the most popular handsets of our user base and this represents around 1.5 to 2 million subscribers or 15 percent of the total base. In addition, users with Wap 2.0 enabled phones can access it through the WAP site, opening it to a much larger base,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n