Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Monday, October 1, 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 1st October 2012

A high for RIM, a low for Apple

Mark Bridge writes:

Apple started last week in the glow of a CoolBrands survey that had named it the UK's coolest brand – but it ended the week with its head bowed in embarrassment. Not only did Tim Cook apologise for the quality of the company’s iOS 6 Maps application, he recommended that customers use competing services until it gets better. In addition, the company revised its web site to drop any suggestion that Apple Maps might be ‘the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever’.

RIM could have had a similarly downhill week, starting with the excitement of its BlackBerry Jam developer conference and ending with a financial results announcement. However, its figures showed an increase in worldwide users alongside the expected quarterly loss, which seemed to please the stock market.

Also ending the week on a high were Vodafone and O2, who said their planned network collaboration had been given the all-clear by the Office of Fair Trading and Ofcom. The two operators already work together on a UK mast-sharing project and now plan to combine the basic parts of their network infrastructure in a new company.

As well as all this, changes were afoot at augmented reality pioneer Layar, at O2 shops, at WHSmith and at Brightstar. Layar is adopting a new focus on ‘interactive print’, O2 wants to sell more phones without chargers, WHSmith is installing free WiFi and Brightstar has added the Mobile Phone Xchange trade-in business to its distribution empire.

When it comes to retailing, Barnes & Noble responded to Amazon’s recent revamped Kindle Fire line-up with two of its own multimedia tablets. One has a 7-inch screen, one has an iPad-like 9-inch screen, both will hit the UK and the USA before Christmas.

Mobile billing hit the headlines twice. Facebook announced a deal with Bango to let the social network bill customers via their mobile networks, while MACH announced direct mobile operator billing partnerships with all the UK’s major mobile phone networks. I’d say it won’t be too long before customers are adding all manner of purchases to their phone bills.

Enough of my opinion; time for some proper research. SIM-only contract sales have hit a new UK record, according to figures from GfK. Three is still the UK’s most complained-about mobile network, according to Ofcom. Live sport is driving mobile video usage, according to QuickPlay Media. And the forthcoming Firefox mobile OS from Mozilla is expected to be used on 1% of global smartphone shipments in 2013, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics.

Finally, if the constant ‘Apple vs Android’ discussions are all getting a bit much and the British weather is getting you down, take a look at http://youtu.be/xnI9h3ELwjc. It’s a good way to start Monday morning.

Begin your week with a reminder of the latest mobile headlines. Simply register at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page and we’ll send you this weekly news summary by email.
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

Opinion Articles

The art of accessory sales is changing

Mark Bridge writes:

We're told it's not merely 'sales'. No, it's an art. "The art of selling". And with over 4 million hits on Google, you could easily argue that the art of selling is more popular than painting.

The same goes for the two sub-categories of cross-selling and up-selling. They're arts as well, you know. Mystic and creative disciplines...

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Secure mobile phone calls explained

The security of 3G and GSM mobile phone calls has been questioned recently. Mark Bridge spoke to Dr Simon Bransfield-Garth, Chief Executive of Cellcrypt, at Mobile World Congress to find out how real the problems are. The interview was included in our podcast on 19th February 2010; here's an edited transcript of the interview:

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

‘The App is Dead. Long Live the App’ at Mobile World Congress

James Rosewell writes:

Apps (defined as games, information services, social networking video and web content among other things) dominated MWC10 with debate focused on the provision of radio network capacity to support them, the technologies used to create them and the methods for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to monetise them. Given the fragmentation in technology and the investment needed from MNOs to provide capacity coupled with a lack of reward for MNOs, we would be forgiven for thinking the App as we know it is not long for this world. However new technologies offering broader platform support, plus smart network investment coupled with new business models, mean the App will evolve and come of age ready for 2011.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Windows Phone 7 Series at Mobile World Congress

Mark Bridge writes:

We queued in the rain outside the Catalonia Barcelona Plaza hotel. We sat on the floor in a basement room. And we watched on TV as Steve Ballmer announced Windows Phone 7 Series.

The life of a reporter is not a glamorous one.

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating

HTC Smart could start a smartphone price war

Mark Bridge writes:

I’ve previously talked about a report from 2009 which warned how touch-screen phones that weren’t true smartphones were pushing down ARPU. Consumers thought they were buying something that was relatively advanced but were being seduced by form over function.

This week HTC stepped in to the arena with the HTC Smart, described by HTC's Peter Chou as "a more-affordable smartphone". Although it may not fit everyone’s definition of a smartphone, it certainly ticks most of the boxes. It has an open operating system, Qualcomm’s Brew platform, which has over 18,000 available applications and has been installed on over 1200 handset models worldwide.

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First99100101102104106107108Last

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
12345678910Last

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