Wireless Developer Network

CeX announced that it has launched what is believed to be the first mobile valuation and trading service in the UK. The new service, which is powered by mobile internet technology from Wapple, can be carried out entirely on a mobile phone.

With 100m second hand ‘phones in the UK market and this figure expected to increase with Orange and Vodafone in the pre-Christmas rush encouraging their customers to trade up to a 3G iPhone, it is expected that customers will be keener than ever to recycle their old ‘phones for cash. The launch of a new mobile site makes it even more convenient for consumers to trade their old handset from the actual device itself if they wish.

CeX, was established in 1992, (coinciding with the last major UK recession), and today, with the current market downturn proving to be even tougher, CeX is still providing an appealing retail proposition to consumers where CeX buys, sells and exchanges a range of technology and entertainment products including mobile phones, video games, DVDs, HD films, computers, digital electronics, vision and music CDs. Customers can already trade their mobile ‘phones, through one of its 90 plus stores in the UK or via its web site – http://cex.co.uk.

Now CeX has launched a mobile site http://m.webuy.com where consumers can instantly get a valuation on the ‘phone they are using or another they may wish to sell. They can also go to the web site to buy, sell and exchange their mobile as normal.

Robert Dudani, CEO of CeX said "Mobile trading is an increasingly important part of our customer proposition and by adding a mobile trading service to our retail and etail presence, this is an exciting step forward for us in a very competitive market place.”

CEX’s price proposition is that it aims to pay considerably more than the existing competitors trading only via web. Using affiliate web marketing and by adding the mobile channel to complement CeX’s existing retail network and web site, CeX can now target potential customers in a much more direct and cost effective way using SMS push campaigns with WAP link return path and mobile banners that link to the CeX mobile site.

The service uses mobile internet technology to closely follow the transaction that already can be made via the web site. Olea Communications was appointed by CeX to explore the long term growth of the CeX digital business. Olea then engaged THT Consulting to advise on how best to deliver a mobile version of the web experience for mobile and write the initial brief for the service. After short listing three mobile web companies, THT recommended that Wapple could deliver the exacting requirements against budget, in a tight time frame, to launch pre-Christmas.

Leading mobile internet specialist Wapple has built and is hosting the mobile service, which included the creation of the API that communicates with CeX’s central servers.

The mobile service is available across all handsets – from iPhones to Blackberries and other smart phones to older handset models. Using Wapple’s patent pending mobile web device optimization service it immediately serves up the make and model of the phone being used, plus network and renders the page images specifically for the entering mobile web device. All handsets traded in are repaired and re-cycled where possible through CeX’s stores and web site.

CeX now have stores in the UK, Spain and the USA. CeX buy, sell and exchange a range of technology and entertainment products including mobile phones, video games, DVDs, HD films, computers, digital electronics, vision and music CDs.

Olea Communications Ltd:
Olea Communications help businesses to develop and profitably monetise their digital offerings by looking after and/or working alongside our clients in all aspects of their business. For CEX, Olea has helped to develop their mobile platform, develop and implement a broad search strategy, create multiple advertising executions across a number of different media as well as negotiate all media deals.

Wapple’s ground-breaking products make it possible to create innovative and rich mobile websites, applications and marketing campaigns that are automatically optimised for every mobile device, on any network, anywhere in the world. Wapple Canvas^TM, the award-winning design and publishing platform, enables anyone to develop highly functional, creative and scalable mobile websites; while Wapple Architect^TM allows developers to take existing web content and applications and deliver them in a mobile-friendly format for access from a mobile device. Wapple Exhibit^TM is a powerful, dynamic profiler and delivery engine that ensures all content is automatically optimised and displayed perfectly on any mobile phone, PDA or games console. Using its market leading technology, combined with over 6 year’s experience designing and developing for the mobile internet, Wapple also offers bespoke mobile web development services.