Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

This week at The Fonecast: 14th May 2011

Mark

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

There’s one tech story that’s dominated the week’s news: Microsoft buying Skype. “Why?” and “Really?” appear to be the top questions; we’ll do our best to answer them and provide some more insight in Wednesday’s podcast.

Other big partnership news came from Google, which has been working with Samsung and Acer to create the Chromebook... which is rather like a netbook but using Google’s Chrome OS and with all your personal data in the cloud, not on the hard drive.

How will you get hold of your information?  Well, there’s 3G and there’s WiFi - and with hotspot community Fon now having over four million hotspots worldwide, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Mind you, with the volume of mobile voice and data traffic expected to grow 67-fold in the next 10 years, having both options seems a very good idea.

An assortment of mobile money stories have been vying for attention in the last few days. Visa announced mobile wallet plans for the USA. Chiltern Railways introduced mobile train tickets. Vodafone launched free text donations for charities. And a survey said over 20% of us were now using our phones for banking. We’ll be continuing the theme in our programme next week when we interview the CEO of DigiMo, the Israel-based company that’s just launched “the first true mobile payment solution”.

Finally, I’ll end with some application news. Google - not satisfied with launching the Chromebook - has a new mobile music streaming service in the USA and is updating its app store. Doing even more updating is GetJar, which has bought Infrinity to help customers find the apps they’re looking for. And usage research from Ericsson ConsumerLab inspired the worst headline I’ve written for a while. Smartphone users are 'appy in bed. Sorry. I’ll get my coat.


Stay ahead of the crowd by receiving a weekly news summary from TheFonecast.com by email. Simply click the ‘register’ link at the top right-hand corner of our website and enter your details.

Comments

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

Opinion Articles

ExclusiveEnterprise smartphones are a Trojan Horse

Ralf-Gordon Jahns of research2guidance writes:

The ever increasing demand for access to company data on the go has compelled companies to address the complexity of application deployment, device management, security management and user support. These factors will lead mobile device policy setting to become one of the most important decisions for IT departments.

ExclusiveCan net neutrality ever be a bad thing?

Mark Bridge writes:

If I’m paying for internet access - whether the arrangement is with a broadband service provider for my home or a mobile network operator on my smartphone - I want to be able to use that access however I want. That’s pretty much what net neutrality is all about.

But the debate isn’t necessarily as straightforward as it sounds. To learn more, I spoke to Doug Suriano, Chief Technology Officer at mobile broadband solutions company Tekelec.

ExclusiveHollywood plugs in to tech start-ups

Elizabeth Lee of voanews.com writes:

Smart phones and tablet computers have become so popular that they are now a part of everyday life for many people around the world. These devices have also prompted an explosion of mobile applications. Hollywood is plugging in to this potentially profitable world of new technology.

Review of Nexus 7 audio recording

ExclusiveReview of Nexus 7 audio recording

Mark Bridge writes:

By now, everyone who's anyone has offered an online 'unboxing' of their Asus Google Nexus 7. And if they haven't, there's probably a review on the way.

I'm very happy with mine. But there was one particular usage scenario I was curious about. How would it function as an audio recorder?

RSS
First3435363739414243Last

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

«July 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
293012345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829303112
3456789

Archive