Look at some ads, get free mobile email

Mobile software maker Funambol and advertising firm Amobee have teamed up to launch advertising-sponsored mobile email, which the pair say will “shift content subsidisation from mobile users to advertisers. It reflects the growing influence of mobile users”.

The product will use Amobee’s Handset Application Programming Interface and Funambol’s push email client, with ads and brands displayed in users’ emails.

Potentially, the pairing could mean users getting totally free mobile email in return for viewing advertising messages.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard people trot out the statistic that only single-digit percentages of the world’s email inboxes are mobilised. Giving away the software sounds like a good way to boost the numbers – but how willing will operators be to lose all those tasty data revenues?