Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

Last week at The Fonecast: 17th February 2014

Mark

Love is in the air

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile World Congress is just a week away, with lovers of mobile technology preparing to be wooed by manufacturers, networks and developers. But if MWC is like St Valentine’s Day, then LG has been behaving rather like the world’s worst boyfriend.

Not only has it spoiled the surprise of our romantic gift by telling us what we’ll be getting, it’s also told us we’ll be given something that’s very much like last year’s present. At least the G Pro 2 is a bit bigger than LG’s 2013 flagship LG Pro. Currently only availability in South Korea has been confirmed.

However, if you WLTM a new smartphone IRL, take a look at Spanish-based Geeksphone. The Revolution – due out this week – is capable of running either Google’s Android OS or the Boot2Gecko Mozilla operating system, making it particularly interesting to developers (or anyone else that wants to give the Firefox OS a try).

But for a story of true love conquering all, you can’t get better than A4WP and PMA. No, not more dating acronyms. These one-time rivals – the Alliance for Wireless Power and the Power Matters Alliance – have signed an agreement aimed at enabling their wireless power standards to work with each other. Don’t expect seamless compatibility just yet, although there’s now a much greater possibility of chargers supporting both standards.

Sticking with the language de l'amour, there’s a new relationship for mobile VoIP service Viber, which has been acquired by Japanese online specialist Rakuten for £538 million. And there’s a break-up for Motorola Mobility CEO (and former Google exec) Dennis Woodside, who’s off next month to join Dropbox as its Chief Operating Officer.

On Monday mornings we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in an email newsletter that’s very much like this article. 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

Whatever happened to all my tech?

ExclusiveWhatever happened to all my tech?

Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.

ExclusivePredictions for 2016: Network Function Virtualisation, 4G throttling and video calling

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Kapture review: the audio-recording wristband

ExclusiveKapture review: the audio-recording wristband

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

Making mobile websites work better

ExclusiveMaking mobile websites work better

Mark Bridge writes:

James Rosewell shows me a colourful roll of paper that's the width of an iPhone but well over three metres long. When I look closer, I can see it's a printed copy of the Wall Street Journal's mobile website. That's a lot of scrolling to do... and a pretty unfriendly user experience for anyone reading the news online. Why does it work so badly?

RSS
1234567810Last

Recent Podcasts

ExclusiveJohan Lodenius of MediaTek talks about wearable devices, smartphone evolution and the importance of driving costs down

This year's Mobile World Congress was notable for the number of product launches by handset manufacturers. To get a better understanding of smartphone manufacturing, we spoke to Johan Lodenius of semiconductor company MediaTek.

He gave us a simple overview of how 'fabless' manufacturing works, discussed developments in smartphones and wearable devices, contemplated the end of the PC era and talked about the importance of driving costs down.

ExclusiveMobile payments, new smartphones, wearable devices, connected cars, CeBIT and David Cameron

This week's programme opens with a quick look at David Cameron's commitment to 5G technology and the Internet of Things, which was made in a speech at CeBIT.

Iain and Mark then move on to talk about the other big mobile news headlines from the past few days, including the forthcoming Paym m-payment service, new HTC and LG smartphones, the growth of Chinese handset manufacturers, wearable devices, in-car connectivity and damaged iPhones.

ExclusiveThe rise of OTT messaging and the future of SMS: we talk to Stacy Adams of mBlox

Messaging was very much on the agenda at Mobile World Congress this year, following Facebook's announcement that it was planning to acquire WhatsApp in a 19 billion dollar deal. So if the future for this type of internet-based 'over the top' messaging service looks good, what does this mean for SMS?

To find out more, we spoke to Stacy Adams of mBlox to learn what was happening in the messaging world, to find out how SMS is being integrated with mobile apps - and to discover some of the other ways SMS was being used by businesses today.

ExclusiveWe talk about 4G LTE coverage and device sensors with OpenSignal at Mobile World Congress

Even at Mobile World Congress, the relevance of the mobile network operator can sometimes be forgotten. So for a different perspective on this year's event, we spoke to Samuel Johnston from British mobile crowd-sourcing firm OpenSignal.

Samuel discussed the announcements from MWC14 and OpenSignal's latest report into 4G LTE coverage around the world, as well as giving us an exclusive insight into OpenSignal's next research subject.

RSS
First567810121314Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Archive Calendar

«May 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
27282930123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

Archive