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Saturday, August 20, 2011

This week at The Fonecast: 20th August 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Welcome to this week’s UK mobile industry news summary from TheFonecast.com. After a week’s holiday on the scenic north coast of Norfolk, which not only lacks cellsites but also hills to put them on, it’s good to finally see the ‘3G’ indicator reappear on my phone. My week off may have been relatively quiet - but the last few days have more than made up for it.

On Monday, Google announced plans to acquire Motorola Mobility, the company formerly known as ‘the mobile bit of Motorola’. Google talked about supercharging Android and reinstated its commitment to openness, while all of Android’s major partners made upbeat noises - although the purchase seems as much a defensive move as the ‘natural fit’ Larry Page described.

We’d barely had time to think of some comically implausible hybrid names - Googorola, Motoroogle, maybe even Motorola-Droid - before being hit with a triple-whammy from HP. It was buying software giant Autonomy for somewhere around £7 billion. (Cue much punning about Autonomy losing its autonomy). It was calling time on the production of webOS devices. (Alas, poor Pre 3 and TouchPad). And it was looking at the possibility of moving its PC business into a separate company. The future of webOS as a platform hasn’t been decided, although I’d say it doesn’t look especially healthy.

After all that, the rest of the week’s news seems a bit insubstantial - even Peter Jones’s £35 million sale of machine-to-machine specialist Wireless Logic. Research In Motion announced a free online service to let small businesses manage their BlackBerry devices remotely . Phones 4u said it would be stocking Huawei’s own-brand Blaze and Vision smartphones in time for Christmas. And Nokia released its Symbian Anna OS update, marred slightly by a server problem that frustrated some users.

But it’s HP’s decision to abandon mobile devices - hot on the heels of Google’s decision to acquire mobile devices - that’s got everyone talking this week. We’ll certainly be doing our share of talking in Wednesday’s podcast.

If you own an iPod, iPhone or iPad - or you’re a regular user of iTunes - it’s easy to find our weekly mobile industry podcasts. Simply click here to subscribe... or search for ‘The Fonecast’ in the iTunes store. Alternatively, you can pick up the podcast from our RSS feed.

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Opinion Articles

SpinVox visit offers a few clues about the technology

Mark Bridge writes:

So, dear reader, let’s start at the beginning. Once upon a time, a mere five years ago, there was SpinVox. A company created with help from entrepreneur Christina Domecq – whose surname offers a clue to her family’s background – and Daniel Doulton, the man behind the Psion series 5. (Sherry and portable computers; two of my favourite products. But I digress).

The company’s promise was simple: to turn voicemail messages into SMS text messages.

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That just about covers it

Mark Bridge writes:

In my last article I looked forward to a world of cyborgs… but feared that decent battery life could stifle my dreams. And this week I’m on a similar theme, despairing that the UK’s mobile coverage problems probably won’t be solved before the Silver Jubilee of Vodafone and Cellnet’s networks.

To illustrate my worries, let me tell you a story.

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What price for a hands-free conversation?

Iain Graham writes:

When you get up tomorrow morning and get in the car, why don't you screw up three £20 notes and lob 'em out of the window?!  Oh, and whilst you are at it, take out your driving licence, and put three points in the penalties column!!

Why would you do that, I hear you ask?

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The Singularity is… errm… on its way, I think

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m an optimist. I’m not quite sure why I’m wired that way but I’m perfectly happy with it. Much as you’d expect, I suppose. And although I tend not to tap-dance in the gutter when it’s raining, I firmly believe that life is like a musical.

That’s probably why I’m such a fan of what’s become known as ‘the Singularity’; a point when technology and evolution are expected to combine. As computers become smarter, so they’ll be able to build smarter computers themselves – and before you know it they’ll be repairing people and improving the design. If all goes well I’ll look like a combination of Robocop and Jude Law.

“Fascinating”, I hear you say. “Bring on the medical nanobots. But what’s all this got to do with mobile phones?”

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Web Browser vs. Application Stores

James Rosewell writes:

Anyone involved in the mobile industry will have hardly failed to notice the hype surrounding mobile application stores led by Apple. Application stores provide a really simple way for consumers to install applications on their mobile phones. They’re so simple I heard Iain Graham had used one the other week!

However they don’t solve the fundamental problem of handset compatibility.

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