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@ CTIA: Billboard Live: RealNetwork’s Rob Glaser Takes On iPhone And Mobile Advertising

By Tricia Duryee - Mon 31 Mar 2008 12:01 PM PST

RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK) CEO Rob Glaser addressed the audience at Mobile Entertainment Live! just about an hour ago, covering a variety of subjects, from content bundling, the iPhone and mobile advertising as a revenue source.

-- Content bundling: Glaser said in places where they have been able to cross-sell, where a customer will be able the option of buying a ringtone, a full-music track and a ringback tone all at once at a discount, they saw an immediate 30 percent uptake. “It makes sense to consumers, why wouldn’t they want to get it everywhere in an easy way.”

—Advertising and mobile content: Glaser said the industry needs to be careful. Ads on a small screen and a network with limited bandwidth can create a negative experience. Glaser said you also have to be cautious about mobile search. On the iPhone, where you are using a full browser, it could work, but on regular feature phones, space is limited. “It will take longer to develop than what people think. You don’t want your pixels being used for things you don’t want. The most successful ad model, Glaser has seen, is in-game advertising. Online, RealNetworks has slipped advertisements in between game levels.

—On open networks: “95 percent of consumers have a feature phone, or an advanced smartphone where the carrier is involved in the experience. In a world where there’s WiMax, or 4G, the carriers will get out of the way, and there’s going to be a big pipe—that’s a shift.” But he cautioned that it won’t happen in the same volume as cellular—“The per capita consumption will be higher, but the vast majority of the volume is in feature phones.”

—On the iPhone: Glaser said the iPhone has an expensive demographic, which can be a good business, like BMW and Porsche demonstrated in the auto industry, but “it’s the every man/woman product over the next 5 years—they will be devices from Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Samsung and LG (SEO: 066570)—where the mass volume will be driven through the carrier,” he said. “As exciting as the iPhone is, and the innovation around it, and I think it will be an important beacon, but the revenues will be in the broader market.”