Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

TheFonecast.com newsletter: 7th January 2013

Mark

Time to catch up with everything mobile

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

Happy New Year!  It’s been three weeks since our last newsletter and a fortnight since our podcast of mobile predictions for 2013, so there’s plenty to catch up with.

Although we took a bit of a break for Christmas, telecoms regulator Ofcom was especially busy. Not only did it reveal the bidders in the UK’s 4G spectrum auction, it also published its latest mobile phone complaints research – once again, O2 is causing the least trouble – and launched a consultation about protecting consumers from price rises during fixed-term contracts. That’s a particularly touchy subject for Three UK following a recent ASA adjudication.

When it comes to innovation, we heard that the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system was heading to smartphones, Toyota was planning built-in Qi wireless charging for one of its cars and free WiFi was coming to Scottish train journeys.

RIM settled its patent disagreement with Nokia but revealed a drop in quarterly revenue and profit, Google arranged to sell the non-mobile Motorola Home business, Telefónica said it had chosen Nokia Siemens Networks for O2’s 4G rollout in the UK, Kodak sold its digital imaging patent portfolio to a collection of tech giants, US mobile operator Sprint agreed to acquire broadband provider Clearwire and René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, announced his retirement plans.

We learned that SMS and WiFi had both been in demand over the festive period, that over 100 million 4G LTE mobile devices were shipped worldwide last year and that more than a billion new smartphones and tablets had cameras in 2012.

Phew. For a holiday period, things have been pretty busy in the mobile industry. And there’s more to come. The consumer electronics CES show opens in Las Vegas tomorrow… and we’re already preparing for Mobile World Congress in February. The next few weeks will be very busy indeed – but stay tuned to our free podcasts every week and you’ll always keep up-to-date!

Every Monday morning we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in our newsletter. To receive it, simply register your email address at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page.

Comments

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

Opinion Articles

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 21st May 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

What a week for Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Not content with transforming his company through its stock market flotation, he then went on to marry. What does this reveal?  Well, he’s clearly capable of multi-tasking and he’d rather wear a suit for social occasions than for work.

ExclusiveFree calls, free texts, free data: we talk to Dariush Zand of Ovivo Mobile

Mark Bridge writes:

The idea of a free mobile phone network is a dream for many consumers – and potentially a nightmare for traditional mobile operators. Most notably we saw Blyk launch an ad-funded network in the UK five years ago, with the MVNO closing in 2009 as the company’s business model changed.

In this week’s podcast feature I’ve been talking to someone who’s just launched a brand new mobile service that’s giving away calls, text messages and data in return for advertising. The company is Ovivo Mobile, it launched last month and it’s currently targeting students to sign up.

ExclusiveDoro PhoneEasy 515 review

Mark Bridge writes:

This was going to be my best-ever mobile phone review... and I wasn’t even going to use the handset. But all my plans fell apart because my mother wouldn’t let me do it.

Don’t get me wrong, I hadn’t planned an elaborate ‘theatre-not-journalism’ piece of creative writing and I’m not tied to anyone’s apron strings. I was going to give mum a mobile phone to test.

ExclusiveCortado brings mobile device management to its cloud desktop service

Mark Bridge writes:

Cortado was founded in 1999 as ‘ThinPrint’, with the company’s expansion beyond wireless printing leading it to change its name.

This week it’s expanded even further, combining its cloud desktop services with mobile device management. The result is Cortado Corporate Server 6.0, a new service that enables organisations to offer their staff secure, managed mobile access to corporate files.

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: tell 'em about the money, honey

Mark Bridge writes:

As summer approaches, so the media’s interest in mobile phone roaming increases. Once again, the maximum price of calls and texts when abroad in Europe is falling – but this year there’s something different on the horizon. The European parliament has just approved the EU’s plans to introduce a price cap for mobile data... and in a couple of years’ time we’ll be able to choose a completely separate network to help cut roaming costs.

RSS
First3839404143454647Last

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

«August 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
272829303112
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31123456

Archive