“The idea was to create a very simple application that would keep my fingers busy without requiring too much concentration. A memory from one of my visits to Sinai (Egypt) brought the Bedouin prayer beads to mind and I set about replicating its mechanism.”

Heilweil, is a high tech veteran who shifted careers to education, advertising, and now mostly develops computer games for toddlers on his own. He sat down, wrote some code, drew some beads, and ran the result on his mobile phone. With some positive feedback, and a general feeling he wasn’t about to insult the entire Muslim world, Heilweil then uploaded his application to the Android market, Google’s app store for the Android Operating System.
The Android application can be downloaded at no charge, and is free of any advertising, for now. In the two and a half weeks since its launch, the app has been downloaded over 2,500 times, an impressive feat for an anonymous application with no PR or marketing behind it. One third of the downloads so far were from Saudi Arabia, making it the country that has downloaded this application the most (so far)
“There’s nothing like finding a new audience, and it is very gratifying to look and see someone from Morocco is playing with something I developed at this moment”, says Heilweil about his new side job. “It is interesting to see some of the resopnses and mails I’ve received. I was surprised to find out, that for the most part, users like the application, and are happy enough to have it giving it a 4.5 star rating out of a possible 5 (with 27 votes). Those who didn’t like it described it as ‘bidat’, a form of heresy, and gave it just one star”. On the other hand says Heilweil, “I’ve also received some funny responses, for instance one writer hoped Allah would save the developer from his application. Some responses were in Arabic or French.

With regards to the word ‘Peace’ written in three different languages and appears for several seconds while the app is launching, Heilweil says, “maybe the message will seep through”. A few days ago Heilweil launched a new version of the app for the Apple app store. The Apple version is available at the app store for one dollar.

Misbaha for Android

Misbaha for iPhone

This post was originally published in Hebrew by Gal Mor on HolesInTheNet on May 16, 2011

Translation by David Miron

In a press release issued yesterday, MoMinis announced the public launch of MoMinis Studio, a game development and distribution platform. The end of the Beta stage was also marked by the announcement that the company had signed several distribution agreements, most notably with NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile carrier. The premise behind the MoMinis project is a need to resolve one of the most serious obstacles in the way to mobile game success stories, fragmentation. Different devices running on very different operating systems, and a very short life span at the top of the technological heap, have made developing a successful mobile game that is played on all types of mobile phones almost impossible. MoMinis envisioned a ‘develop-once-deploy-anywhere’ approach to mobile gaming, and have now made their offering available for free on their developer website.

Games created with the MoMinis are cross platform, and run on almost all operating systems, once they are launched. MoMinis has created built-in distribution channels that assist developers in getting their product to all markets quickly, and efficiently. MoMinis wants to create a platform, and a marketplace that will do away with the plethora of competing mobile app-stores, some of which support the same devices. The growing mobile gaming market topped $5.6 billion in 2010, and promises big rewards for those who can disrupt the fragmented status quo. Eyal Rabinovich, MoMinis Co-Founder, explains that  “MoMinis lets developers seamlessly deploy games on the widest variety of devices, easily access the market, and get paid swiftly. Developers can now concentrate on game quality rather than on porting and monetization problems.”

Website: http://www.mominis.com/
Abstract: Mo'Minis offers a revolutionary solution for the fast creation, porting and publishing of mobile games and entertainment applications. Mo'Minis platform allows advanced as well as non-skilled...  
Read more about Mo'Minis in The Wadi Index.

Getonic is an open marketplace for digital goods that enables anyone to sell their content and distribute over several different types of venues, and vectors. Opening up shop on Getonic is simple and straight forward, once that has been achieved, and at least one item has been uploaded for sale, users are ready to go, but go where? To start with, the Getonic site provides its memebers with a visual marketplace venue where goods can be sold, however the site is designed to assist member in marketing their products on social venues such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and even messenger clients.

Getonic offers a commerce platform, complete with payment processing, that let’s its users choose where, and how to market their digital content. Shops on Getonic are organized by categories, that allow most content types to be labeled efficiently. Quick links offer super easy embedding of Getonic products on whatever venue the member chooses to market their content. The commerce platform offers an affiliation service which allows members to empower their online buddies into selling their cool ring tones, or whatever.

Getonic’s payment processing plan indicates a younger target audience, that might not have a a credit card in their name, but most definitely have a mobile phone. For curmudgeons like myself, Getonic offers PayPal processing, but for my kids they have come up with a mobile phone payment option which eventually shows up on the mobile owner’s phone bill (probably the curmudgeon). All product prices are fixed on Getonic at about $1.50 per purchase, and a face value explanation on the company site tells us, that half of the proceeds are devoured by the mobile carriers (even worldwide), and the rest is then, transferred to the seller, minus a few more minor nibbles. The end result according to Getonic, is about 64 cents U.S. per sale.

The idea is fresh, the implementation reveals an understanding of evolving technological trends, and the site is rough around the edges. Even with its limitations, the site enabled me to open up shop in no time, and upload a product which I then tried to get my online cronies to buy on Facebook. I suspect that if Getonic strikes a vein with younger crowd on Facebook, we will be hearing about them again.

Website: http://getonic.com/
Abstract: Getonic is an open marketplace for digital goods. Getonic simplifies all aspects of the digital sale making it accessible and easy to use, particularly for the teen target market. Anything...  
Read more about Getonic in The Wadi Index.

PocketWeather offers a wealth of onscreen information, and additional info that can be panned through or drilled down, until you eventually access the raw meteorological information (Metar Data). For a fuller list of features and screenshots check out the SBSH blog. The new app supports Apple’s iPad, and displays additional information when viewed on the tablet.

PocketWeather iPad interface

Tapping any on-screen detail leads the user deeper into the application. Synoptic maps, earthquake maps, and a host of different standard measurements to choose from, are all just part of the new offering. One interesting feature allows users to save their configuration to DropBox or another unit by using the bump application. The new app is sold for $3.99 on iTunes, where additional information and screenshots can be found.

PocketWeather iPhone interface

Website: http://sbsh.net/
Abstract: SBSH Mobile Software LTD is a privately held company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, founded in 2002. The company's focus is on application development for the mobile world, currently offering solutions...  
Read more about SBSH in The Wadi Index.

Nitai Peretz discovered that Israeli users of Waze, a social GPS smartphone application, were inadvertently exposing information about the movement of forces, and the code names roads on which the army operates.

Waze is a free social GPS application that is in wide circulation in Israel. Smartphone owners use this application to intelligently navigate to their destination while circumventing traffic jams. The application relies on traffic reports generated by user geo-location data and user generated traffic reports. The application allows users to join groups that focus information on specific routes, or intersections. This allows them to prepare for their commute even before they leave.

The Average Israeli driver uses this application to navigate to unfamiliar locations, including, as it turns out, to far off military installations, that they are occasionally called too, as part of compulsory reserve duty.

One of features offered by Waze, enables users to introduce into the system, roads, and paths that don’t show up on it’s maps. The process is performed automatically with the help of GPS satellites which help jot the driving path of the vehicle, after which the application adds the new path to its maps and makes it available to all.

Some industrious users even use the application to mark out military routes in their sector, and sometimes even give them their military code names just for good measure.

The benefit of such an application to Israeli reservists should not be underestimated as the navigation equipment they are provided with is antiquated in comparison. Nitai Peretz, a reservist himself, explains that, “nobody, (referring to Israeli soliders) wants to find themselves stumbling into a hostile Palestinian village at the crack of dawn because they loused up on their navigation”. The downside, of course, is that anyone using this application or checking the company’s online maps is privy to this information.

Anyone exposed to this information can monitor the actual movement of vehicles on these routes. In this fashion, the movement of army border patrols, and field units becomes evident. This prime source of military intelligence can be used in collaboration with others, to determine military drills and operations. The threat, in this case, is clearly evident.

This blotted out map demonstrates how the naivete of application users, combined with the obvious benefits of these applications, can becoming flowing leaks of delicate information.

IDF Major, Efi Fuchs, a reserve duty artillery battery commander who poured over Waze maps concluded that most of marked routes where located in the relatively quite southern sector of the country. “Indeed, most of the routes are clearly marked on the ground also, however, this is an obvious breach of army secrecy that brings this obscure information to the attention of the everyone. It is typical of beleaguered reservists to look for an easier way to perform the burgeoning task they are handed down every tour. Routes that were marked near Israel’s northern borders constitute an even more severe problem.”

Fuchs explained that breaches of army intelligence by reservists are not an unheard of phenomenon, however the distribution of such data as on the Waze network is a serious escalation. “Reservists using military vehicles are assisted by private navigation means in order to enhance their field performance on tour. The IDF cannot compete with the rapid private technology developments, and there is no way to stop every reservist who copies routes from a classified map onto their smartphone, especially if he is not aware of the risks. These occurrences are so prevalent that there is no way to really stop them.”

Website: http://www.waze.com
Abstract: Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. 100% powered by users, the more you drive, the better it gets....  
Read more about waze in The Wadi Index.

Qprize 2010 for Israeli Startups, Up to 250K$
Time to register for Qualcomm’s QPrize event is almost up. Today, December 14th is the last day for companies to sign up for this competition, and be eligible to win up to $250,000 in investment capital.

Any smartphone owner knows, that surfing the internet on their phone requires a lot of resizing, and screen dragging to run through a single site page. Many companies have already created mobile versions of their site to best handle the growing traffic coming in from these gadgets, however, most have not. Zuznow offers a cloud based Saas solution that automatically optimizes websites for smartphone viewing, and also throws in targeted ads for good measure.

The cloud based service waits for a smartphone user to visit a site, and then customizes the content of the site in real-time, specifically for viewing on that model smartphone. During this process the service intelligently embeds in-content advertisements into the site to assist in monetization. Here is an example of an Israeli financial website in desktop form, and next to it the Zuznow customized version for smartphone.

Since the adaptation of a site happens in the cloud no change to the website’s IT infrastructure is required, and no software installation is needed on the Smartphone. Zuznow claims that their service supports traffic sourced from search engines, and social networks also.

Zuznow’s business model is based on a monthly service fee charged to its customers. The company also plans on collaborating with strategic partners such as ISPs, CDNs, digital ad agencies, and website developers, in order to scale up sales figures.

Good luck to them in the QPrize event.

Website: http://www.zuznow.com/
Abstract: Zuznow provides a comprehensive, real-time mobile adaptation service for websites. The original website is automatically adapted to the visitor’s Smartphone, providing an application grade...  
Read more about Zuznow in The Wadi Index.

Qprize 2010 for Israeli Startups, Up to 250K$ (Hurry – Time to register is nearly up)

Launched in 2003 as a mobile game maker, IS has since developed, and deployed their own multi-player gaming platform, known as ‘Is-Real’. Since its launch three years ago, the platform has been deployed by several mobile carriers around the world. The platform was designed to enable many concurrent users to interact, and be managed, in a stable mobile gaming arena. With an eye towards the ’smaller is faster’ motto, IS has been announcing support for more, and more games since the launch of Is-Real. The platform currently supports turn based games, that can be played by many users in real time. A company video demonstrates the speed with which the applications respond to each individual players’ input.

IS – Innovation Systems targets both mobile operators, and content providers. The platform  supports many community features and shares news of new games supported, on Facebook, and Twitter.  Good luck on QPrize.

Website: http://www.inno-sys.com
Abstract: IS-Innovation Systems Ltd was founded in 2003 by young and enthusiast mobile gaming entrepreneurs in order to set a new standard for Mobile Massive Multiplayer games. In 2007 IS launched the Is-Real...  
Read more about IS - Innovation Systems in The Wadi Index.