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Monday, September 23, 2013

Last week at The Fonecast: 23rd September 2013

Black days for BlackBerry

Mark Bridge writes:

There are bad weeks... and there are BAD weeks. Blackberry had one of the latter. It all started so well. The company announced a new flagship phablet – the Z30 – and said it would be launching its BBM instant messaging service for iOS and Android handsets at the weekend.

Then came the quarterly results, with an admission that poor Z10 smartphone sales had contributed to a loss of almost $1 billion. Around 40% of jobs worldwide would be cut and the product range was also going to be reduced.

If all that wasn’t enough, an ‘unreleased’ version of the BBM Android app found its way online, causing BlackBerry to temporarily remove the official apps from the Apple and Google app stores. All very messy.

However, even with the delay to BBM, consumers are expected to download over 100 billion mobile apps this year. Figures from technology research company Gartner expect 102 billion applications to be downloaded from mobile app stores this year, up from 64 billion in 2012. App revenue will rise as well, despite less than one in ten of those apps being chargeable.

Also increasing is the number of 4G networks in the UK. Well, kind of. Virgin Media Business has launched a 4G virtual mobile service that’s based on EE’s network. It’s called Business Mobile, which seems pretty straightforward.

And finally, to news of some old technology that just keeps going. No, not your BlackBerry 7230. I’m talking about SMS and cell broadcast. Both are being tested by the UK government as potential methods to deliver emergency messages to mobile phones. People in North Yorkshire, Glasgow and Suffolk have been invited to opt-in for the test. They’ve also been reassured that their local areas haven’t been chosen because of any specific threats. Recommendations are expected to be published next year. Regardless of any technical considerations, I reckon it’s the Orwellian implications that’ll worry most people. After all, what could possibly go wrong when the government starts sending messages directly to your mobile phone?

On Monday mornings we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in a newsletter that’s a lot 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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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 8th July 2013

Not all good news...

Mark Bridge writes:

The UK is beginning its week with news of a long-awaited sporting victory for Andy Murray. The telecoms world had its own much-anticipated good news last week, when European roaming rates fell again. And regardless of Neelie Kroes’ plans to abolish roaming rates completely, there’ll definitely be another roaming cut in 2014.

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The hidden benefits of 4G

Dan Grose of Phones 4u writes:

It’s been nearly 10 months since EE launched the UK’s first 4G network and an estimated 55% of the country is now enjoying its benefits. The fourth generation of mobile networks has brought speeds of between 10-12 megabytes per second to thousands of areas across Britain, creating somewhat of a revolution in super-fast mobile browsing.

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Nokia’s £13 phone still makes money for the company

Mark Bridge writes:

The UK mobile phone industry knows all about subsidised prices. Independent mobile dealers and high-street shops will happily offer a ‘free phone with free connection’ in order to tie a customer into a minimum-term contract.

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Easily upgrade your Android and iPhone app to access physical objects

Andrea Gerber of baimos technologies writes:

Mobile devices are becoming ever more prevalent in our daily lives and so it comes as no surprise that they are now being utilized in security-relevant scenarios such as car-sharing and shared parking. Mobility solutions such as these increasingly rely on smartphone applications, hence technologies arise that allow the smartphone to morph into a digital key.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 1st July 2013

Good news from Sony Mobile, bad news from BlackBerry

Mark Bridge writes:

I don’t know about you but I’m delighted to see Sony Mobile getting plenty of coverage for its new smart watch and giant smartphone. The company’s impressive presence at Mobile World Congress 2013 showed plenty of promise... and I’d say it’s now delivering.

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