Mobile Punch goes LIVE!!!

On Monday March 16, 2009, Punch Newspapers began a service that will provide media consumers access to the full text of the newspaper on their mobile phones.

The service, called Mobile Punch, will be available to mobile phone subscribers on the three major GSM networks – MTN, Glo and Zain.

According to a statement by the Executive Director, Publications, Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene, “The newspaper business is essentially about providing useful and relevant information to people when, where and how they need it. Mobile Punch will deliver the news to our readers with the ease, flexibility and convenience that the mobile phone provides.
We will also provide updates, all in the racy, dependable and credible tradition of Punch.”

The statement explained that subscribers to Mobile Punch would also get the e-paper – the exact digital version of the print – as part of the bargain.

“This means that the e-paper, which has been free for nearly two years, will now be bundled as a single package with Mobile Punch for a small fee,” the statement said.

Unlike news alerts that provide only headlines or teasers and which have become common offering, Mobile Punch will give subscribers the full details of stories and features as they appear in the day’s print version, with updates at least once daily, for a start.

“There are about 63 million mobile phone subscribers in Nigeria today. Given the serious problems of infrastructure that the country is facing, we couldn’t think of a better way to put our products in the hands of our teeming consumers – especially the technologically savvy segment of the population,” the statement said.

Mobile Punch, which can be accessed by consumers in the country and abroad, will be available to subscribers who have Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) mobile phones. WAP is a feature which enables a phone user to have access to mobile Internet.

According to the Punch statement, to read Mobile Punch, users will log onto http://mobile.punchng.com/default.aspx

The subscription fee is N600 monthly; that is, N20 daily, payable by cash, ATM or Visa cards. Cash payments can be made at any First Bank branch in the country.

For a subscriber on the MTN network to activate the WAP/GPRS on his phone, he should go the message box window on his phone, type SETTINGS, and send to 3888. The subscriber will receive an SMS advising him to save set-up information that will be sent thereafter.

A Zain subscriber should type WAP/GPRS (space) name of the phone (space), model, and send to +232 or 184; he will then receive a message from Zain, which he will be advised to save.

Glo subscribers are advised to type WAP/GPRS, the manufacturer’s name and the model, without space, and send to 927 or 667.
Once the procedure is complete, the user will receive a “user name”, “password” and the web address.

For ATM (Interswitch) or Visa card payments, however, the subscriber is advised to log onto a web portal: http://payment.punchng.com and provide the card details. A “user name” and “password” will be provided.

Punch has set up a help desk with special lines (07029020202–3; 01-7450832–3; 01-7450860; email: helpdesk@)punchng.com) to assist its customers. The help desk will be open between 8am and 5pm on working days.

“We recognise that many of our customers may be first time users, but we are confident that over time they will find this service to be a very valuable part of their daily lives,” the statement said.

Nice mobile update