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Shozu Says No to Ads, Instead Will Sell Apps
Shozu, a mobile software company that has so far made money by selling advertising on its services, has decided to change models. Shozu software allows mobile users to upload photos and videos captured by mobile phone cameras to various online services such as Flickr and social networks.
It has been particularly successful on the iPhone platform. Now instead of advertising, the company will charge for its applications that will be sold via various app stores, including Apple’s iTunes and Nokia’s Ovi store. In other words, it will be charging for its “mobile applications.”
Shozu will charge only new users. Current users will not pay for updates, either. The company will continue to allow consumers to upload photos and video via MMS, mobile email, desktop computers and through a web browser.
As part of their decision to enter the App Stores, ShoZu also decided to not actively sell ad space. Instead, the company considered the various App Store financial models available and chose to go with a modest, one-time download charge for new users of the application ($4.99 or the minimum charge based on the specifics of the App Store).
The New York Times’ Claire Cain Miller has been blogging about many ad-supported startups looking for non-ad revenues in a series for the Times’ Bits Blog.
… when Flikr, Picasa and Facebook all providing same services, why does one need another media upload service????
One reason is with ShoZu its one click, publish to many technology means you only need one application – ShoZu to upload to all those sites. Why do you need any other?
Have you used the native Shozu app on your mobile device yet? It will geo-tag and automatically upload your pictures as you take them. No need to do anything other than take the picture. Great piece of software – one of my favs. I would gladly pay for this service and I am hoping they port it to the Palm Pre soon.
Thank you guys on behalf of answering those valid questions from Saurabh