From the presentation by Thanita Khomphatraporn, Executive Vice President, Business Development & Investor Relations, The Nation Group, Thailand:

Like a lot of media companies, The Nation has bad memories of the dot-com bust. But it is now using that experience to drive its development in the mobile world.

Why now for mobile? In markets where everyone has a mobile telephone, future growth will come from providing non-voice content for those devices. "It's not just a telephone, it's a personal terminal", said Ms Khomphatraporn. "The content application is getting more and more critical."

Ms Khomphatraporn offered advice to avoid the dot-com excesses when developing mobile services. Here are two suggestions:

- Find partners and find synergy rather than doing it on your own.

- Instead of "go big", make sure the projects are prudent -- and self-funding.

Frpm 'Getting the Most from SMS', a presentation by Morris Packer and Josefine Granding Larsson, Bonnier Group, Sweden:

SMS, or text messaging, has benefits for both newspapers and their customers. For readers, it is easy to use, offers immediate gratification, and it is relatively inexpensive. For newspapers, SMS provides easier administration (no paper to sort for contests and subscriptions, for example), and it provides a new revenue stream (the reader pays a premium fee to send their message).

"SMS is a brilliant return channel for print, radio and TV, says Ms Larsson. "Print is strengthened by SMS, and SMS is strengthened by print. SMS is an untapped source of administrative possibilities. And usage statistics are gold -- knowing who is using services, when and how."

Here are two examples of how Bonnier Group is using SMS:

- A crossword contest in which a successful solution produces a code which the reader then sends by text message to the paper, where the results are sorted by computer. The message costs the sender 50 Euro cents per message. "Even in half a Euro, there are small profits," says Ms Larsson.

- Sydsvenskan, the leading regional newspaper in southern Sweden, inserts an SMS code in stories that won't be resolved before deadline -- court cases that will be held later in the day, for example. Readers who want to know the outcome send the code to the paper and receive the update by SMS. "The reader subscribes to a specific piece of news, not to breaking news in general," says Mr Packer.

From a presentation about e-ink and e-paper, by Harry Bouwman, Manager New Media Strategy, De Telegraaf, the Netherlands; Stig Nordqvist, Ifra Nordic Representative, Sweden; Rudy Raymaekers, Director, Concentra, Belgium; and Gunnar Springfeldt, Development Director, Göteborgs-Posten, Sweden

All of the panellists believe that a reading device using e-ink, now in development, has tremendous potential in the future.

E-ink is an electronic “ink” that can be electronically manipulated on a plastic page that can be used over and over again. The panellists envisage a day when readers will download newspapers, magazines and books into their devices, reducing the need for costly distribution of paper products. Unlike LCD screens, e-ink provides good resolution and can be read in bright sunlight.

Here are a couple of their comments:

"E-ink is a promising technology because it makes reading a nice experience," says Mr Bouwman. "I don’t like reading on a PC or a laptop. With E-ink, seeing is believing. It is as easy as reading from the paper and that is why I think we have to follow this technology."

"We think there will be a huge delivery opportunity, to deliver news to the reader when they want it. They could have a newspaper not only in the morning, but at lunchtime, in the evening. Sundays. Special editions, like for the Tour de France. We will have another way to bring content to mobile readers," says Mr Raymaekers.