I got my ümobile and I’m happy, so is my girlfriend Sherlene, we are very thankful! We’ve been waiting for our ümobile SIM for a month or so, why? As they say:
Follow up:
ümobile is the first ad-funded mobile network in the Philippines and ASEAN, it was patterned after UK’s Blyk^, where (currently) Gen Y’s can enjoy free-of-charge SMS by just viewing highly targetted advertisements (SMS and MMS).
Well, technically speaking. If you don’t do something with the ADs you are receiving, I doubt you will receive any free credits, so in the end you just top-up your ümobile just like any other mobile network. But who cares if:
- You have a cool prefix – 0999
- You can change your mobile number on-the-fly
- Can get into exclusive events
- Get free PhP100.00 for the first 6-months of joining ümobile
- Receive only highly targetted ADs that you agreed to
And many more… Even for businesses like Online Games – HighStreet 5, GONG!, CrazyKart, to mention a few, can advertise in ümobile and reach their target market effectively and guaranteed. It is push advertising, legally, because when you joined ümobile, you opt-in to receive mobile ads.
Neat! You don’t agree? Well I am sure you are pissed receiving unsolicited ads from Globe, Smart, and SUN mobile networks and they claim those are free-of-charge. With ümobile, you get what they think you will like, based on the profile details that you gave them.
But be warned. Currently, ümobile is not reachable by Globe and SUN subscribers, not by SMS or Calls. Additionally, ümobile can only Call Globe and SUN, SMS will not work either. However, ümobile and Smart are working fine since ümobile is using Smart’s network (why build your own infrastructure if you can join one of the local networks?) I strongly suggest that they build a Community Blog where they can easily and casually update their users.
Example, I sent emails to them before but I did not receive a single reply. But they have people answering their 999 hotline. I wonder if they’re doing it the old way? Calls only, no emails? That’s where the Blog will come into play, for sure they are receiving a lot of emails and maybe most are asking the same inquiries, or they are having problems like they can’t access their email servers.
With a Community Blog, they can address similar inquiries in one go. With a Community Blog, they can inform us that they are having problems accessing their emails and so they will not be able to reply ,or our emails were lost in the interwebs. It could be anything, Content that are not applicable to be put in the Product site.
Anyway, ümobile really need to have a Community Blog, that is the best way to engage your community. You don’t stop with building your Community, your next step is to Engage them. Then after that, you Empower us, I call that BEE Communities (Building, Engaging, Empowering). Check out Blyk^’s Community Blog, that will help you a lot ümobile team.
Also please get that “Change your Mobile” page back up please T_T Apparently, they haven’t really enabled that feature since, after I talked to their customer service. So please put it online quick 
, I don’t want to use my ümobile until I have the number I want. I already have a list of vanity numbers I will try to acquire, a couple from Top to Bottom, whichever was not yet taken, that I will use more likely – permanently. Didn’t I tell you, that is the reason why I joined ümobile (other than to get ads)?
Update 2008-07-21: I mis-sent to ümobile this afternoon after they sent an announcement about their maintenance tomorrow, 2008-07-22. They called me! (I just sent them “J”.) I took the chance and asked them two questions – the first was just above (Change Mobile Number). The second was about “going public” next month that I read on other blogs – no info on that on ümobile’s Customer Service level.
Oh well. I just hope the change mobile number goes up before there is an influx of ümobile Gen Y’s I want my number first.
Now for the invites… If you are between the ages of 15-35 (as of this writing, those are the Generation Y folks), just reply back here with your Name and Email Address. I only have 10 invites and some are for my relatives already. If you are lucky then you’ll have one your way, and ff ümobile will give me invite codes (a hundred maybe), then most of you will get an invite.