Hanover, 4 March 2008. BILD is breaking down the barriers between classic broadsheet and mobile internet. Readers who want to find out more about a specially-marked BILD article simply photograph it with their mobile phone camera and send the photo to 4242. This gives them direct access to additional multimedia content such as photos or videos on BILD's mobile portal, and this content can then be sent to their mobile phone. The service is possible thanks to the new image-based search engine "otello", which Vodafone is showcasing at CeBIT.
All articles that are associated with additional mobile content have a special symbol next to them. In the pilot phase, there will be mobile video content relating to sport, news and entertainment in Europe's biggest daily newspaper. Anyone can use the service, whatever mobile network they use. There are no special requirements of image quality, and photos taken with mobile phones are fine. The search queries cost the price of a standard MMS message at the rate in the user's mobile contract. BILDmobil customers don't pay any further costs for the use of the mobile portal or for the video downloads. All other users pay the data transfer costs according to their tariff.
If you have any queries, please contact:
Jens Kürten, External Communications, T. +49 211 533-6650
Press hotline: +49 211 533-5500
Vodafone Germany is one of the largest and most modern telecommunications providers in Europe. It serves almost 34 million customers, realises turnover of more than EUR 8 billion and has 9,000 employees. Vodafone Germany is an innovative technology and service enterprise, offering a comprehensive range of mobile communication services from one provider. The portfolio includes mobile communications and fixed network telephony, as well as data services for business and private customers. Continuous development, numerous patents and investments in new products, services and the modern network have made Vodafone an innovation leader in the German telecommunications market. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf. Eight branch offices and a chain of 1600 Vodafone shops keep us close to our customers. The Vodafone Germany group of companies also includes a majority shareholding in the Arcor telecommunications group, which is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany. Vodafone Germany is committed to CSR and it additionally supports numerous projects through the German Vodafone Foundation.
The company is part of the Vodafone Group. Visit the website at www.vodafone.de for further information.