BidShot makes wireless work

It’s all about connectivity these days; people on the go need to be linked up, whether for work or for play.

One young and progressive company aims to do just that for the Filipino consumer. Launched in early 2001, BidShot Wireless Services (BWS) is at the forefront of wireless communications with its ground-breaking mobile applications that hit the Philippine market this year.

Their first venture, BidShot Online Auctions, opened shop last September. To date, it is the most active and exciting online marketplace in the country, with over 60,000 registered users who vigorously trade everything from mobile phones to PC peripherals to women’s cologne, and most notably, anime collectibles.

With a patented SMS bidding program, BidShot Online Auctions, or BOA, is accessible from anywhere in the Philippines, whether for Smart subscribers or Globe Handyphone users. If you haven’t seen it, check it out at www.bidshot.com and make sure you check out its ingenious mobile phone registration.

Launched this December was the newest mobile matchmaker in town, CrushCow. Built by the same creative team that built BidShot Online Auctions, it takes the standard new age approach to dating. It uses a new medium, the Internet, and further integrates it into a vital character of mobility – SMS.

You can send anonymous messages to your crushes, find a compatible mate or even take the Love Trivia Challenge. Visit the coolest Cow in town at www.crushcow.com; Globe Handyphone users can send the word CRUSHCOW to 2343.

Offered on the site as well are interactive quizzes and the Love Doctor. There is an ongoing promo for Crushcow, where users who send love messages or answer Love Trivia get a chance to win a matching pair of Nokia 6210s – only until today.

BWS is a wireless developer with a mission. "We create applications that have never been seen before, applications that stretch the imagination and make it run wild," says managing director Patrick Garcia.

One of BWS’ groundbreaking products is Link TV, an interactive cable channel now offered on Home Cable (Channel 44) and SkyCable (Channel 41). Found in more than 10 university campuses around the city, Link TV offers students a chance to chat, answer poll questions, play games such as Trivia and much more.

On air since last November, Link TV is the first truly operational SMS-interactive channel that will be on 24/7, 365 days a year.

In addition to in-house applications, BWS is the developer of many other SMS programs and promotions for various multinational corporations and local telecommunications companies.

Some of the most recently launched applications designed and produced by BWS in cooperation with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom were the MTV Asia Awards’ SMS voting component, Cartoon Network’s "Dexter Goes Global" and "Jungle Bells" promotions, ABC 5’s "The Price is Right! Interactive" and The Philippine STAR’s Dream Lifestyles SMS raffle portion.

"As much as possible, we open up our applications to users of both Smart and Globe because both markets should be able to access different services and even to interact," says Garcia.

"And one thing we can say is that we have been privileged with both access codes from both telcos, allowing us to share our programs with everyone," he adds.

BidShot Wireless Services is definitely going in the right direction. To contact this trend-setting and progressive company, drop them a line at [email protected].