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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 20th February 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So said Sir Arthur C Clarke.

Last week’s magic was supplied by imaging company Scalado, which announced a new product called ‘Remove’. The clue’s in the name: it can automatically remove unwanted people from photos taken on a mobile phone. Expect to see it on a handset near you before too long.

Also hitting the headlines – but with slightly less magic – was Barclays, which launched what it described as Europe’s first person-to-person service for sending and receiving money using mobile phone numbers. The service is called Barclays Pingit and will be available to all UK mobile users by early March.

From magic to predicting the future. Who’d have expected a humble search engine to buy a multi-national mobile phone company?  Today Google is edging into the driving seat as its acquisition of Motorola Mobility clears two of the biggest regulatory hurdles. Meanwhile Sony has acquired Ericsson’s half of the Sony Ericsson partnership, now being renamed to Sony Mobile Communications. And Vodafone is thinking about a takeover of Cable & Wireless Worldwide. Only thinking at the moment, mind you.

Ofcom cleared a legal hurdle as well last week. Its plans to cut Mobile Termination Rates were given the go-ahead by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, despite complaints from various network operators. The new plans will be even faster-acting than the original proposal. Will consumers see their mobile bills drop overall?  It would be nice to think so.

Talking of legal challenges – fancy that – Apple won a patent-related court case against Motorola Mobility in Germany. Apparently a number of Motorola smartphones infringe the ‘slide-to-unlock’ touchscreen patent owned by Apple. You know, that magical feature you find on most Android handsets. There may be trouble ahead...

Start 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.

The Fonecast is sponsored by 51Degrees.mobi. You’ll find more about advertising and sponsorship opportunities on the About us section of our website.

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Opinion Articles

MEF predictions: ten key mobile trends for 2014

MEF, the global trade association for companies engaged in mobile content and commerce, has revealed its mobile industry predictions for the next 12 months.

Its forecast combines insights from the group’s Global Board of Directors with research from the recent Global Mobile Consumer Survey.

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Top five mobile tech predictions for 2014 from Jasper Wireless

Macario Namie writes:

As the connected car phenomenon gains pace, 2014 will see global automotive firms embracing LTE. Machina Research predicts 90% of cars sold in 2020 will have some form of embedded connectivity – that connectivity roll-out continues strong in 2014 and LTE is pivotal to its long-term success.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 16th December 2013

A Happy Tranquil Christmas for HTC?

Mark Bridge writes:

HTC experienced a bit of Christmas cheer last week when the threat of a sales injunction against the HTC One mini smartphone and a number of other devices was lifted. Nokia had previously won a patent-related court case against HTC but it seems that a sales ban was deemed too harsh a penalty.

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Deutsche Telekom M2M predictions for 2014

Jürgen Hase writes:

Machine-to-machine communication (M2M) and the Internet of Things (IoT) run through all areas of life and work. Cars, cargo containers, parking spaces or even wristwatches and coffee cups – everything around us is on the verge of being connected.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 2nd December 2013

It's oh so quiet...

Mark Bridge writes:

It was a relatively quiet time for tech news last week, with many companies taking a day off to celebrate Thanksgiving in the USA and then planning for a present-buying retail frenzy on ‘Black Friday’. Today the focus on Christmas shopping moves online; a day that’s called either ‘Cyber Monday’ or ‘Mega Monday’ if you work for a news organisation.

Yet it wasn’t an entirely newsless week.

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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.

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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.

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Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

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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.

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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.

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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.

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