Publisher Random House has taken a stake in VOCEL, a supplier of branded applications to mobile phones, and is keen to provide “edutainment”. These are short sessions delivered to the handset that teach people something — a new language or students studying for an exam, for example.
As Carl Washburn, VOCEL founder and chief executive, sees it, mobile has been the method of choice for consumers to access entertainment content such as music and games, and now the time is ripe to use it for learning. “With the mobile phone consumers can prepare for a college entrance exam, learn a new language, or improve their vocabulary,” Washburn says. His inspiration was his own 16-year-old son, who preferred quick, focused study sessions to long, gruelling marathons.
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