From the always-informative picturephoning.com I learned that a Johannesburg online youth magazine, JHBLive.com, allows camera phone users to download party photos that were taken by JHBLive photographers.
The magazine's Web site says, "2005 is up on us and our team of ultra styling and super sexy photographers are roaming the streets of Joburg once again. So make sure you get your pretty face or any body part onto our new super mms enabled gallery pages."
The site has more than 300 images (rather tame photos), but the photos can be downloaded only to Nokia phones. The cost of 3 rand ($.50) and you use SMS to send the number of the photo.
Platform
I don't know whether there's something special about Nokia software or the platform software JHBLive is using or whether the magazine has a special deal with Nokia.
JHBLive works with Web development company IGroup that uses the messaging platform from IGroup's new iGroupMobile venture.
An article in ITWeb quotes Michael Balkin, the managing director of JHBLive, saying, "We were the first to launch the online gallery system in the country and we knew the value it served as an advertising tool. People love to see photos of themselves and their friends on a night out.
"Now with our new technology created by our IT partner, Igroup, we give users the ability to download their photos directly to their phones."
Not the first
Picturephoning.com notes that JHBLive isn't the first company in the world to offer such a service. The Swiss newspaper Le Matin offers a similar service through tillate.
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