With the advent of the 3G era, wireless mobile applications such as mobile magazines are set to play a more imporant role in our world, an industry insider said yesterday.

“Mobile magazines have a great future, but some challenges remain,” Han Ying, founder and CEO of Beijing Vivame Information Technology, said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times.

Vivame, one of a few companies in the country specializing in mobile magazines, stated that mobile magazines have gained momentum this year.

To date, over 2 million people have subsribed to mobile magazines since Vivame began charging for services providing a platform for reading magazines via handsets in February, said Han.

Now, Vivame is authorized to offer access to over 1,500 magazines.

“Mobile magazines possess greater market value in China compared with other mobile wireless applications, particularly when you take into account the purchasing power of average mobile subscribers,” Han said.

Alibaba

Mobile magazine service fees consist of two parts: subscription charges paid to companies like Vivame and browsing fees paid to telecom operators like China Mobile. Users can choose to pay 2 yuan ($0.29) per magazine or 10 yuan ($1.46) a month for unlimited reading.

Have you read a mobile magazine yet?