ARKive’s mobile menagerie
Release date: 14th February 2005
ARKive’s mobile menagerie
Have you ever dreamed of having a mobile menagerie where you can see the wonders of the natural world at the touch of a button - watch Bengal tigers fighting, hear the love song of a bird of paradise and have thousands of wild facts at your fingertips, anyplace, anytime. Well now you can by visiting ARKive via your mobile phone.
ARKive, the award-winning web-based Noah’s Ark for images and information on the world’s endangered species is now even more accessible – by using the latest cutting edge technology ARKive is now available to anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet activated phone. So now you can have your own pocket zoo.
Developed as a trial of the latest mobile software solutions with Mobile Life, users can now view the ARKive website’s vast bank of images, species information and a selected range of movies via their handsets. Access to the site is free and mobile usage costs are reduced though the new intelligent SlipStream software. All that is required is to access the web browser option on the phone and type in www.arkive.org, ARKive will then do the rest. SlipStream software recognises the make of phone and network being used and provides content resized specifically for the users mobile, so maximising server capacity and reducing the time and cost taken to download information. At a cost of about 1p a page or 20p a movie this is probably the cheapest and largest wildlife resource available via mobile phones.
Launched in May 2003 by its patron, Sir David Attenborough, ARKive has been hailed as the Noah’s Ark of the 21st century because of its pioneering work to provide the world’s first accessible digital bank of films, photographs and sound recordings of the world’s endangered species. ARKive has so far created species profiles for over 1500 species, with 10,000 still images and more than 20 hours worth of movies available via its free-to-view website. The site currently receives around 10,000 visitors a day from 120 different countries, with visitors ranging from children to scientists.
ARKive Director, Richard Edwards said: “We are always keen to explore new ways of making ARKive even more accessible. Although access to the site via mobile phones was initially developed as a prototype we are so pleased with the results we have decided to make it globally available. This means even more people can use ARKive to learn about the wonders of our natural world and the urgent need to conserve it.”
“As mobile technology continues to develop and the global network coverage expands, we see ARKive becoming a useful tool for scientists, conservationists, educators and eco-tourists anywhere in the world - whether they are working in the field, on safari, visiting a zoo or even on a country walk."
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Media queries/ interviews/ photo requests
Hamish MacCall, Communications and Marketing ManagerTel: +44 (0)117 328 5952
Email: hamish.maccall@wildscreen.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Hamish MacCall, Communications & Marketing ManagerTel: +44 (0)117 328 5952 Mobile: 07919 115 133
Or email: hamish.maccall@wildscreen.org.uk
ARKive
The ARKive project is an initiative of Bristol-based Wildscreen, a UK-registered educational charity which is working globally to increase the public’s awareness and appreciation of the natural world through the power of wildlife imagery.
Full details of the project, its development and creation are available from the online ARKive press centre by downloading the Media Information Pack http://www.arkive.org/press.html#pack
Slipstream
The mobile ARKive service has been built using SlipStream – a mobile content production system from Mobile Life (http://www.mobile-life.com). Thanks to SlipStream ARKive can now deliver the rich and detailed wildlife content of its website to mobile users irrespective of the type of mobile being used. The user will receive “multi-media” content that is both compatible with their mobile and quick to download. In particular ARKive’s substantial library of still images are re-sized and formatted appropriately for each type of mobile device to ensure the best image size and quality is received. Additionally where a mobile supports video playing capabilities SlipStream detects this and enables the ARKive video resources to be accessed in a suitable format.
ARKive mobile facts
Who can access ARKive on their phone?
A simple rule of thumb is that any modern colour phone is almost certain to support Internet access, although some older black & white phones can also view web pages. In addition the mobile ARKive service also works with popular PDA devices connecting via mobile or WiFi networks.
There are a number of web-sites which provide information about phone capabilities and a call to the network operator will answer the question of Internet access and provide help and instructions if needed. In some cases access to the Internet just needs to be enabled by the network before it can be used.
How do you access ARKive from a mobile phone?
If the phone is enabled for Internet access, all you need to do is access the web browser option on the phone (check the phone manual or with the phone provider for specific instructions) and type in ARKive’s URL - www.arkive.org. ARKive will then do the rest, using SlipStream software to recognise the type of phone and network being used and deliver content optimised for your mobile.
Does the option to access the internet increase the basic rental cost?
This is subject to the package that the network provider offers. If it is not included there may be an additional cost. In the UK, depending on the phone package, charges can be around £1-2 per megabyte of data, although this is likely to fall as this service becomes more widely used.
Does it cost more to surf the net than talk on your phone?
When browsing the Internet on your phone, you pay for data downloaded rather than duration. As a result of the intelligent Slipstream software, which removes unnecessary data from a web page when accessed by a phone, the cost of viewing an ARKive page in the UK is only a matter of pence (around 1p with the cheapest networks / phone packages) whist movies which range from 200 -500 Kbytes of data will cost from around 20p to view.
Viewing a movie will cost less than sending a picture message and compared to text messages that can cost up to 10-12p in the UK for only 160 characters, viewing information from ARKive is incredibly good value.
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