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Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Opinion Articles

Monday, January 13, 2014

Last week at The Fonecast: 13th January 2014

Arrivals, departures... and a little confusion

Mark Bridge writes:

Farewell for another year, dear old International CES. The Las Vegas-based consumer electronics show is but a fading memory as the mobile industry starts preparing for next month’s GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

However, what happened in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. Most of the big mobile manufacturers had something to say. Samsung revealed four new tablets and also introduced the new ‘Samsung Smart Home’ service. ZTE came up with new smartphones and a handful of other mobile-related equipment. Sony added two new models to its Xperia Android smartphone range and talked about wearable devices. Google is aiming to get Android into Audi, GM, Honda and Hyundai cars. And Bullitt Mobile revealed the rugged Cat B100 mobile phone, proving that the featurephone isn’t dead... even if you try to drown it or bury it.

On the subject of departures, we we’re saying goodbye to the O2 Wallet, which is closing after around 18 months. UK mobile phone recycling business Cash4phones has filed for insolvency, leaving hundreds of people without their old phones or any money. Meanwhile Intel said it plans to drop the McAfee name for its online security products.

Security was also in the air at Samsung. A university in Israel had identified what it described as “a critical vulnerability” in devices that used the Samsung Knox security system. But things aren’t always what they seem. Samsung now says the so-called vulnerability was actually a ‘man in the middle’ attack that could affect any Android device. Oh, and its Knox hardware/software combination works fine, thank you.

Time for a few numbers now. EE was celebrating the two millionth 4G connection in the UK, as well as doing a deal (along with Vodafone) to provide mobile coverage in the Channel Tunnel. Technically in one of the Channel Tunnels because French networks already provide service in the other. . Apple says customers spent over £6 billion last year in its App Store. Strategy Analytics reckons 4G will account for half of all mobile connections in the USA by the end of this year. And Juniper Research says consumers are likely to spend £430 billion by shopping via mobile devices in 2018.

Finally, time for another mention of Mobile World Congress. There’s still time to sponsor one of our podcasts from Barcelona, which is a great way of associating your company with the event – and keeping it there long after the delegates have gone home. Click here if you’d like to know more about the opportunities we’re offering.

On Monday mornings we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in a 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.
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Recent Podcasts

Operating Systems: a new set of Davids emerge to challenge the incumbent Goliaths

Podcast - 22nd July 2013

This panel discussion about new mobile operating systems was recorded at Mobile Monday London on 15th July 2013.

It's chaired by Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight with contributions from the GSMA's Alex Sinclair, David Wood of Delta Wisdom (and formerly of Symbian), Andreas Constantinou from Vision Mobile, Victor Palau of Canonical and Christian Heilmann from Mozilla Corporation.

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Nokia, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Telefonica and much more... all in this week's podcast

Podcast - 17th July 2013

There's big news from big names this week as Nokia announces a new smartphone, Microsoft announces a new structure and Research In Motion announces a new name.

We also talk about O2 UK's backhaul deal, Apple's eBook court case, a complaint about advertising and plenty more as well.

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A security scare, a new mobile payment service, some quarterly results and loads of money

Podcast - 10th July 2013

We start this week's podcast by talking about an Android security risk - before moving on to new 4G services from EE, a drop in Nook tablet prices and a couple of quarterly results that disappointed the stock market.

In addition we discuss insurance complaints, Bluetooth Smart technology, a new multi-million investment in Shazam and some research about the future of apps.

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Will mobile data kill SMS, does all-IP mean less security - and what's the future for mobile networks?

Podcast - 5th July 2013

Robin Kent, operations director at Adax Europe, talks to Mark Bridge about some of the challenges facing mobile network operators as data usage increases.

They discuss how networks can differentiate their services, how can they monetise the app phenomenon, whether mobile data will kill voice and SMS... and the privacy concerns that arise around all-IP communication.

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New mobile products from Sony, Firefox and Sainsbury's

Podcast - 3rd July 2013

In our podcast this week we're discussing the new SmartWatch from Sony, talking about Firefox OS smartphones and contemplating Vodafone's partnership with Sainsbury's.

We're also looking at complaint figures, roaming charges, pay as you go pricing, joint ventures, BlackBerry's recent results and the future of Windows Phone.

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