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Monday, March 18, 2013

Last week at The Fonecast: 18th March 2013

S4 for Samsung, 1m for BlackBerry

Mark Bridge writes:

Samsung launched a new flagship Android smartphone last week, eschewing Roman numerals and calling it the Galaxy S4. Well, it was never really going to be the SIV, was it?

It’s faster, slimmer and better-specified than its predecessor, boasting a 5-inch HD screen and a 13 megapixel camera. Incremental improvements rather than game-changing, I’d say. Doesn’t stop me from wanting one.

BlackBerry is also the producer of very desirable handsets according to a recent announcement. It’s received an order for one million devices… but isn’t saying much more. Most assumptions seem to be centred on Z10 smartphones for the US government.

Departures have been in the news, with CEO Didier Lamouche of mobile semiconductor specialist ST-Ericsson resigning “to pursue other opportunities”, Andy Rubin moving away from his work with the Android operating system to a new role at Google and Vodafone choosing not to renew its sponsorship deal with McLaren after the 2013 Formula 1 motor racing season finishes.

Finally, last week ended well for O2, Lebara and Samsung. All three won multiple prizes at the Mobile News Awards 2013, which were held in London on Thursday night.

O2 picked up trophies for Best Network Operator, Best Advertising Campaign and Most Innovative Service, while Samsung walked off with Best Manufacturer and Most Innovative Product. Lebara was rewarded with Best MVNO and the Community & Social Enterprise award.

We’ll be talking more about the event in this week’s podcast.

Every Monday morning 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.

Missed our latest podcast?  Listen on our website, download the mp3 files or find them all on iTunes and via RSS.
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Opinion Articles

A Sure Signal from Vodafone

Mark Bridge writes:

Today I've been using my mobile phone at home. For many people that’s not an unusual thing to do – but it is for me because, around here, coverage indoors isn’t particularly good. Downstairs it’s previously been non-existent. But this morning everything changed.

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Physician uses cell phones to bring health care to the poor

Natalia Ardanza of voanews.com writes:

In Africa there is another use for mobile phones. Public Health workers in Kenya are now using mobile phones to gather health information from patients in remote areas and upload it to the internet for instant analysis at distant centers. And it is all happening thanks to Dr Joel Selanikio.

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Making dumb touchscreen phones was a smart move

Mark Bridge writes:

I remember a report from last year that said ‘non-smart’ touchscreen handsets – generally those without a popular operating system – would be bad news for mobile operators.

Conventional touchscreen smartphones tended to result in higher-than-average ARPU thanks to their early-adopting tech-loving users, their web-friendly browsers, their email programs, their app-friendly operating systems and their fast 3G connectivity. However, dumber touchscreen devices – those with a manufacturer’s own proprietary OS and perhaps a clumsier browser – could generate 23% less ARPU than smarter phones. So, if touchscreen dumbphones weren’t good for networks… and weren’t really good for consumers either… manufacturers wouldn’t really bother with them. Right?

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"Hello Nexus One" I say...

James Rosewell writes:

Mark’s been encouraging me to write an opinion piece on the Nexus One for the last few days and I’m finally putting fingers to keyboard to share my experiences. It’s taken so long because this phone has so many features. On a positive note I could go into details about the gorgeous screen, the Android Marketplace that will out-sell Apple’s over the next 18 months, the built-in satellite navigation service and the speedy processor that makes everything run smoothly in real time. Or on a less positive note, the touch screen keyboard that sucks (think carefully about this if you’re a heavy texter or emailer, it’s even worse than the original iPhone), the lack of ActiveSync for Calendars and Tasks, no support for WMA music files or the clunky zoom functions on the web browser.

However I’m going to focus on voice dictation. Nexus One is the first phone I’ve used with this feature.

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The Amazon Kindle prepares to fight the Apple iPhone and Tablet

Mark Bridge writes:

Here’s a curious thing. Firstly, Amazon creates the Kindle. It starts selling the Kindle in the USA with a mobile deal that lets users download electronic books and newspapers wherever they are. Then it starts selling the Kindle to us in the UK, although – hang on a moment – it’s not talking about a UK mobile deal. Instead it still seems to be ‘roaming’ from the AT&T network. Next comes the larger-screen Kindle DX – also roaming away when it reaches our shores. And now Amazon is talking about third-party downloadable applications for the Kindle. Yes, a mobile device with downloadable apps. Hold that thought; I’ll be returning to it.

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