Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

Last week at The Fonecast: 14th January 2012

Mark

Harder, better, faster, stronger...

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

Oh, how the mobile industry loves a superlative. Much like the work ethic celebrated by Daft Punk (or Kanye West, if you prefer), it’s always looking for a new angle.

The mobile part of last week’s CES show in Las Vegas presented us with the world’s largest smartphone and the world’s thinnest smartphone. Well, depending on your precise definition and probably only until Mobile World Congress.

Anyway, Alcatel came up with the 6.45mm deep (in places) Android-powered One Touch Idol Ultra smartphone, while Huawei’s Ascend Mate had a 6.1-inch screen. Also from Huawei came a Windows Phone 8 handset and a flagship Android phone with a 5-inch HD display, 13 megapixel camera and quad-core CPU… slightly taking the shine off Sony’s flagship Android phone, which had a 5-inch HD display, 13 megapixel camera and – I’m sure you’ve guessed – a quad-core CPU.

Meanwhile, in another part of the show, Belkin added a mobile-controlled WiFi light switch to its home automation product range while Glympse announced an in-car location-sharing feature in partnership with Ford.

Outside of CES, NTT Docomo said it’s planning a smartphone aimed specifically at pre-teen children and teenagers in Japan, UK pub company Punch Taverns arranged free WiFi in its pubs and Ordnance Survey launched its first official map application for Apple devices.

Finally, and away from the glitter of Vegas, we’ve had some preliminary financial results. HTC expects its quarterly profit to show a drop when official figures are released in the next few weeks, Nokia said it shipped 4.4 million Lumia smartphones (and 2.2 million Symbian smartphones) in the last three months and Samsung predicted a record quarter. Yes, yet another superlative.

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

ExclusiveYou can’t stop the news when it goes mobile

Mark Bridge writes:

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering through London, wondering whether mobile streaming could erode personal privacy… and whether anyone cared.

But there’s a positive site to the immediacy of streaming, as Bambuser reminded me today.

ExclusiveMobile phones give you wings

Mark Bridge writes:

James's recent trip down memory lane reminded me of a moment in 1998 when a major mobile phone manufacturer promised phones that 'gave you wings'. No, not Red Bull. No, not Red Bull Racing partner LG. It was Motorola.

ExclusiveA time before Android

James Rosewell writes:

Whilst flicking through my drawer full of old handsets I thought back to a time when Apple produced a new MP3 player, newspaper editors didn't know what a smart phone was, and Android was only a press release. A quick flick through YouTube threw up the following interview with Microsoft's Steve Balmer offering his thoughts.

ExclusiveWhy I don't care about the Google Nexus S

Mark Bridge writes:

The Google Nexus S. Search for it online and you’ll find over a million web pages talking about it.

But I don’t care about the Google Nexus S. Or the Nexus Two or the Samsung i9020 or whatever else you call it. Quite frankly, it’s not any use to me. My current rapidly-aging HTC TyTn II has more features than the Nexus S.

RSS
First8788899092949596Last

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

«May 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
27282930123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

Archive