Mark Bridge writes:
This week there was only one set of financial results that attracted the mainstream tech media. Apple reported the first drop in quarterly profit for several years as figures fell by 18% to around £6.1 billion. On the positive side, it made around £6.1 billion profit. It also announced dates for its developer conference in June and promised a new version of iOS.
Samsung’s quarterly profit was up to £4.2 billion, ZTE’s profits rose to £21 million and LG’s profits fell to £12.9 million… but it did manage to produce over 10 million smartphones in the quarter, which is a new record for the company.
In fact, research company IDC reckons quarterly smartphone shipments have now overtaken feature phones.
Sticking with manufacturers, Nokia is claiming a new ‘world first’ by putting a dedicated WhatsApp messaging button on its forthcoming Asha 210 mobile phone. There’s legal action, too: the Finnish company has won a court injunction that prevents HTC from using a microphone made by STMicroelectronics. Apparently the microphone was developed exclusively for Nokia, which is bad news for the HTC One smartphone.
Microsoft and ZTE have been friendlier; they’ve agreed a licensing deal that gives ZTE coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for smartphones and tablets using the Android and Chrome operating systems. Yes, this sounds very familiar, doesn’t it?
Finally for now, UK telecoms regulator Ofcom is encouraging companies to operate wireless devices without a license. Well, sort of. It’s asking companies to take part in a trial of ‘white space’ wireless technology, which is designed to take advantage of unused gaps in frequency bands. If it all runs smoothly we could see machine-to-machine connections and broadband services using the new tech across the UK next year.
Talking of M2M, last week we broadcast a special programme that took a look around the GSMA’s Connected City at Mobile World Congress. You can listen to the podcast via the built-in audio player on our website or by downloading the MP3 file.
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