Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

Show-starters at ShowStoppers

Mark

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

“Hot products. Cool companies. Meet the press.”

That was the tagline for ShowStoppers, a showcase event that took place last night before today’s opening of Mobile World Congress. As you probably heard in today’s podcast, I went along and met a few of the participants.

Although the overall impression was of start-up businesses, there were also new product from well-established companies. Alcatel-Lucent was there with the lightRadio antenna it announced last week. This promises to replace conventional antennas and base stations… and it was much smaller than I imagined. To describe is as a ‘box’ would be an exaggeration; it’s the size of your fist!

Another well-known name there was touchscreen text input application Swype. Its director of business development, Brian Lysak, talked to me about the company’s existing technology – currently preloaded by 12 OEMs worldwide and distributed on 20 million devices last year – and its plans for the future.

A couple of conversations that didn’t make it into the podcast were my chats with SnapKeys and Wolfhound. In many ways, SnapKeys is a rival to Swype… and in many ways it’s from a different planet. In a nutshell, you use an invisible keyboard to type on-screen. Yes, invisible. How do you know where the keys are?  You don’t really need to know, because there are just four keys. Yes, four. It’s certainly impressive when demonstrated.

Also impressive – and much easier to comprehend – was the Wolfhound-PRO from Berkeley Varitronics Systems. Imagine a mobile phone detector with design by Star Trek. You’ve got it. Rather like a geiger counter for cellphones, it let you know when you’re heading or pointing in the right direction. Ideal for prisons… or even exam halls. The latest version can also detect DECT 6.0 phones, which are approved for use in the US and Canada but are illegal in the EU.

The overwhelming impression at ShowStoppers was that the mobile industry is innovating in pretty much every area. Much as you’d hope, really.

Comments

Collapse Expand Comments (0)
You don't have permission to post comments.

Opinion Articles

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 1st July 2013

Mark Bridge writes:

I don’t know about you but I’m delighted to see Sony Mobile getting plenty of coverage for its new smart watch and giant smartphone. The company’s impressive presence at Mobile World Congress 2013 showed plenty of promise... and I’d say it’s now delivering.

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 24th June 2013

Mark Bridge writes:

Another week, another couple of product announcements from Samsung. There appears to be no stopping them, despite a recent drop in the company’s share price.

This time it’s a couple of tablets – one of which runs both Android and Windows 8 – and a 20 megapixel camera that’s got a 4G-enabled Android device built in.

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 17th June 2013

Mark Bridge writes:

The telecommunications industry was making plenty of headlines last week – but much of it wasn’t particularly upbeat.

The debate about privacy and security continued in the wake of allegations about US agents intercepting internet traffic. Meanwhile, Nokia prepared to make its last Symbian smartphones and Tradedoubler warned that mobile devices were having a negative effect on high-street consumer loyalty.

ExclusiveHow to shield from internet snooping

George Putic of voanews.com writes:

When news broke about U.S. government agencies collecting metadata about its citizens’ Internet and phone communications, many were surprised by its scope. The surveillance covered a vast number of Internet messages and phone calls. The government did not deny the action but pointed out that the collected data contained, not the substance of the communication, but the so-called metadata.

ExclusiveGiving it all away

Mark Bridge writes:

There’s been a lot of talk recently about PRISM, which may allow the US National Security Agency - and anyone they choose - to access some of our personal online information if it passes through the USA. It’s unclear exactly what (if anything) is being shared with whom… and given the nature of national security, we may never know.

However, alongside the possibility of governments seeing information we thought was secure, it’s also worth pointing out that we choose to share plenty of online information ourselves.

RSS
First1415161719212223Last

Recent Podcasts

ExclusivePodcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

ExclusiveLooking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

ExclusiveA month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Archive Calendar

«June 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
25262728293031
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293012345

Archive