Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

Last week at The Fonecast: 12th December 2011

Mark

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

With less than a fortnight until Christmas, it’s probably time to order the turkey and start thinking about gifts. What could be a better present than being given your very own mobile operating system?  That’s what’s happening over at HP, which is making its webOS software available to the open source community. The big question now is whether developers will respond with “lovely, just what I wanted” or a slightly embarrassed “oh, I’ve already got one of those.”

Talking of open source mobile operating systems, the Android Market has now served over 10 billion app downloads. It’s not caught up with Apple’s App Store yet... but it’s getting close. Some will argue about quantity over quality, others will have been downloading Google’s celebratory 10p applications to their phones.

And on the subject of celebrations, it’s party time at Samsung – where more than 300 million mobile phones have shipped this year. That’s a company record and is only the second time any company’s managed the feat. (Nokia was the first, in case you’d not guessed).

While you’re reminiscing, here’s another blast from the past. Panasonic is getting back into the European mobile phone market. In March we’re expecting to see an Android smartphone with a 4.3-inch organic LED screen. But how will it be sold?  Well, if O2 has its way, there’ll be a new way of buying phones. Alongside the prepay and ‘pay monthly’ contract will be a lease. Spend nothing up front, pay a monthly fee, then give your phone back after a year and start again. Or walk away.

Walking away from its proposed new brand is Research In Motion, which has temporarily been barred from referring to the new BlackBerry operating system as ‘BBX’. BBx is already a trademark of software company Basis International, so the new RIM OS looks likely to be called BlackBerry 10 instead.

Location-based social network Gowalla is also calling it a day. The company will close at the end of January, having been acquired by Facebook. And Jawbone is – temporarily, at least – admitting defeat with its UP mobile health wristband. Technical problems have led to a generous refund policy and a halt to shipping for the moment. Mind you, with Christmas culinary over-indulgence just days away, that’s probably not such a bad thing. Well, not for me, anyway.

Are you subscribing to our podcasts?  Last week we started by talking to device data and web optimisation specialists 51Degrees.mobi (who are also our current sponsors). Next came the regular news update on Wednesday, followed by a conversation about mobile telecare with Burnside Telecom on Friday. Find all the latest broadcasts on our RSS feed or via iTunes.

Start your week with a reminder of the latest headlines. Simply register at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page and we’ll send you this weekly news summary by email.

Comments

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

Opinion Articles

ExclusiveReview: BeeWi BBS020 solar-powered hands-free Bluetooth car kit

Mark Bridge writes:

Persuading mobile phone users not to hold their phone when they’re driving should be a simple task. It’s dangerous, it’s against the law and the penalties include a fine plus points on your licence.

But even then, there’s often an excuse about convenience and usability. Some people don’t like wearing headsets, some don’t like wires and some simply forget to charge the batteries.

That’s why a new hands-free Bluetooth loudspeaker from French company BeeWi caught my eye.

ExclusiveThe simple case of the disguised iPhone 4

Mark Bridge writes:

I remember the launch of Carweek back in the 1990s. It was a motoring magazine produced as a weekly glossy newspaper; a novel format, although one that probably led to its demise. 'Spy shots' of prototype cars seemed then – as now – to be much sought-after, despite them often not showing much resemblance to the finished product. Indeed, I often wondered how you could possibly road-test the handling of a new car when it was covered with unflattering body parts that served to disguise its shape.

ExclusiveMaria Sharapova and the 'geek porn' of unboxing

Mark Bridge writes:

'Unboxing' is - or was - the new geek porn. We know this because The Register told us so in 2006, when the practice of video recording the unpacking of new consumer electronics products started to become popular. Just over two years later The Independent tried to tell us that unboxing was still the new geek porn but, by then, conventional porn had probably returned to... er... pole position.

Why do I mention this?  Well, Sony Ericsson has just published its own unboxing video featuring tennis player, model, charity worker and Sony Ericsson brand ambassador Maria Sharapova.

ExclusiveAn extra 74 percent of nothing is still nothing

Mark Bridge writes

Ah, the joys of multiplying by zero. I was reminded of my school maths lessons when I saw a news release from Orange UK this week.

Steve Wallage, Head of Sport Partnerships and Services for Orange UK was quoted as saying “Based on the surge in demand for mobile TV during the Ashes last summer, we expect viewing figures could rocket by at least 74% during the World Cup”.

RSS
First9495969799101102103Last

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