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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, November 4, 2013

Last week at The Fonecast: 4th November 2013

Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar

Mark Bridge writes:

The Rockstar Consortium. That name sounds as though it could be promising more than it can deliver, doesn’t it?  Well, it’s not. It’s the group of mobile companies that picked up Nortel’s portfolio of several thousand tech patents for $4.5 billion. And now, its members – including Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson and Sony – have set some of those patents on their biggest competitors. Watch out, Google, Asustek, HTC, Huawei, LG, Pantech, Samsung and ZTE. I like to imagine Steve Ballmer shouting “At my signal, unleash hell”, although I doubt that actually happened.

Anyway, some of the aforementioned companies were busy launching new devices last week. LG revealed a curved-screen handset, Huawei unveiled its second Windows Phone 8 smartphone and Google introduced its Nexus 5 device plus the KitKat update for Android.

Keeping well away from trouble and arguably making life easier for itself was Dell, which returned to private ownership under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Dell.

Also in the USA, the Federal Aviation Administration decided to allow electronic devices (including smartphones) to be used in ‘airplane mode’ during flights… although, perhaps worryingly, it’s said they may need to be switched off for some landings because they could affect the aircraft.

Finally, time for some research. Figures from IDC showed that worldwide smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2013 reached a new record. Unsurprisingly Samsung and Apple were in first and second place, although there was a bit of a battle for third with Huawei just coming out on top. When it comes to tablets, it was Apple first and Samsung second. Overall, Android is dominating… but will the Rockstar Consortium change all that?  Only time will tell.

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

Big announcements from Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and LG

Podcast - 4th June 2014

Iain, James and Mark begin this week's podcast with Apple's recent iOS 8 revelation and its plan to acquire Beats Electronics.

They then move on to discuss Samsung's Tizen-powered smartphone, a new flagship device from LG and the latest Microsoft Surface tablet - as well as a network takeover in Ireland, BlackBerry’s M2M moves and UK price changes for Vodafone.

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Takeovers, tablets, taxes and testing... all from the perspective of the mobile industry

Podcast - 21st May 2014

This week's podcast begins with news about the creation of Dixons Carphone plc. We then move on to talk about patent-related legal action, customised Braille phones and the health concerns of children using smartphones.

There's also time to discuss tablet shipments, potential protests and foreign network sales.

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Cloud computing and Mobile: questions and answers from Mobile Monday London May 2014

Podcast - 16th May 2014

This podcast contains the audience question-and-answer session from 'Cloud Computing and Mobile'; a Mobile Monday London event held on 12th May 2014.

The discussion was chaired by Camille Mendler, Principal Analyst at Informa, with a panel that comprised Rob Easton of Google, Dr Janko Mrsic-Flogel from Private Planet, Caroline Van Den Bergh of Golden Gekko and Jonathan Raper from TransportAPI.com.

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Cloud computing and Mobile: Mobile Monday London May 2014 panel discussion

Podcast - 16th May 2014

Cloud Computing and Mobile was the title of the Mobile Monday London event on 12th May 2014.

The session was chaired by Camille Mendler, Principal Analyst at Informa, who was joined by a panel that comprised Rob Easton of Google, Dr Janko Mrsic-Flogel from Private Planet, Caroline Van Den Bergh of Golden Gekko and Jonathan Raper from TransportAPI.com.

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Huawei upgrades its flagship, Vodafone fixes its prices and Carphone Warehouse prepares an announcement

Podcast - 14th May 2014

This week's podcast begins with a new keenly-priced flagship smartphone from Huawei. We then move on to talk about a UK price promise from Vodafone, mobile payments, feature phone upgrades, WiFi hotspots and the benefits of a Carphone/Dixons merger.

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge condense all the biggest mobile industry news headlines from the past 7 days into a free 30-minute podcast.

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