Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Last week at The Fonecast: 31st October 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

In the world of retail, you can’t move for Hallowe’en puns at the moment. You know the kind of thing. Spooky offers. Frighteningly low prices. Missing our deals will haunt you. There’s not the ghost of a chance we’ll shift these PlayBooks unless we cut the price.

And it’s been another big news week for mobile manufacturing. Nokia has revealed its first Windows Phone devices, along with some S40 almost-smartphone handsets. The WP7 phones are branded as ‘Lumia’ and the S40 mobiles are ‘Asha’. Feel free to write your own “Brimful of...” headline.

Also in the world of manufacturing, Sony has agreed to buy Ericsson out of the Sony Ericsson partnership after ten years. Sony is picking up a mobile phone business with a handful of useful patents, while Ericsson is picking up just over a billion Euro.

Still with manufacturing but very much focussed at the luxury end of the market (wherever that is), Porsche Design and Research In Motion have confirmed they’ll be producing a new luxury mobile phone. Officially it’s called the Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry – but it’s equipped with an angular QWERTY keyboard that sets it a long way apart from other BlackBerry products.

As well as talking about the stainless steel and leather P’9981 (which, much like Hallowe’en, has an apostrophe in an unexpected place), RIM had two of its smartphones approved by MasterCard for its PayPass NFC payment system. Mind you, it wasn’t all good news from RIM; the company also warned that the next version of its BlackBerry PlayBook operating system wouldn’t turn up until next year.

Quarterly results are still coming thick and fast, with Motorola Mobility, Samsung, LG and Everything Everywhere all publishing their figures. No great surprises, with the exception of Olaf Swantee’s description of Everything Everywhere as “a silly name”.

And Strategy Analytics has calculated that Samsung is now the world’s top seller of smartphones, overtaking Apple (which, in turn, overtook Nokia in the previous quarter).

Mind you, Apple might have the last laugh. Having been granted a patent earlier this year for the pinch-and-zoom touchscreen interface, it’s now been granted a slide to unlock patent. Thank heavens for Android’s new face recognition unlocking, eh?

Last week we spoke to Dr Mark Smith of ipadio about the ways the voice broadcasting service has changed since it launched two years ago. You can listen on our website, via iTunes or by downloading the MP3 file.

Stay up to date by receiving this news summary by email every week. Simply register at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

Podcast - 30th January 2007

The team takes a look at social networking using your mobile and reviews the LG KE850 (Prada) phone and the Samsung W559. They also find time to take a look at a new mobile game from Desperate Housewives, and Soonr; a utility to connect your mobile to Outlook, Skype and PC. Plus there's a review of global mobile news from the past week.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 22nd January 2007

This week the team look at the new N76 from Nokia, an interesting WiFi & SIM Free phone from Tovo, discuss the future of Push-to-Talk in the UK as well as the TV show Countdown on your mobile and Mobi-Medic to help with on the spot 1st aid.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 15th January 2007

The team discuss the iPhone and the mobile news coming from CES. They take a look behind the headlines at other activity in the mobile industry and review Eragon the mobile game to accompany the film.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 8th January 2007

We have a review of a Mobile based fitness application by Ascendo, take a look at new mobile brand and phone called the NEO 808i and Sagem latest budget 3G offering in the form of the my600v. We also discuss Virtual Networks and ASDA's proposed entry along with the latest news and views.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 2nd January 2007

This week the team review 2006, take a look at two new phones from Samsung, review the last 2 weeks news and take a look at Six-o-Phone a service that allows you to make money from downloads.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First100101102103105107108109

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement