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Monday, December 16, 2013

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.

Things didn’t run quite so smoothly for Sony Mobile, which had a complaint against it upheld by the ASA. Referring to the phone’s “exquisite aluminium frame” didn’t go down too well because the frame was actually a combination of aluminium and plastic... and you couldn’t see the metal anyway.

And while we’re talking about complaints, Ofcom has published the latest of its quarterly reports about mobile, fixed-line and broadband companies. T-Mobile generated the highest proportion of ‘pay monthly’ mobile phone complaints to Ofcom, while O2 was - once again - teacher’s pet.

But that wasn’t the only news from Ofcom; the regulator seems to have been particularly busy this month. It’s published new research that shows UK consumers are benefiting from lower-priced communications services than people in much of Europe and the USA - and it’s also planning to simplify charges for calling numbers that start 08, 09 and 118.

Finally, some app news - giving us an opportunity to use the inevitable “appy Christmas” pun. Music service Spotify fought back against its competitors last week by bringing free ad-supported streaming to mobile devices, while Facebook-owned picture sharing app Instagram launched a photo and video message feature to challenge Twitter - or maybe BBM. Could messaging become a battleground for 2014?

Well, that’s the kind of thought we’ll be entertaining on Wednesday when we present our final podcast of the year. Listen to our mobile industry predictions for 2014 - and enjoy a spot of time travel as we revisit our thoughts from Christmas 2012!

On Monday mornings 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.

Planning a visit to Mobile World Congress next year?  Sponsoring one of our special podcasts from Barcelona is a great way of getting heard by the people who matter. It’s the proven power of radio but at an affordable price. Click here for more details - or just drop us a line.
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Opinion Articles

Tablets, Smartphones spell trouble for PCs

VOA News writes:

New market research has many technology experts thinking the era of the personal computer (PC) is coming to an end as consumers worldwide begin to embrace tablet computers and smartphones.

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An introduction to Social WiFi

Hazel Allsopp of Purple WiFi writes:

Retail and hospitality businesses have long been aware of the need to offer free WiFi access to their customers. The use of smart phones is becoming increasingly widespread, and people expect to get online wherever they are, whatever they’re doing.

The latest large brand to recognise this is Intercontinental Hotels Group, who announced last month that they would be offering free access to 71 million loyalty scheme members’ worldwide. The decision was made in response to a survey in which 43% of guests said they wouldn’t stay in a hotel if it didn’t offer free WiFi.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 8th April 2013

Something old, something new...

Mark Bridge writes:

Let’s start with a slightly belated birthday wish to the hand-held mobile phone, which made its first public appearance on 3rd April 1973. At that point we’d had carphones for a while… but this was the first time anyone had heard the phrase “Sorry, I’ve got to go, the battery’s running out” spoken in public. Or something like that.

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Why Mobile Apps work for the Military: It's all about operability in the field

Five key elements of a successful mobile deployment

Mobile apps are a hot topic in the Aerospace and Defence industry right now.

Jeff Pike, Head of Marketing and Global Markets Development for IFS in the Aerospace and Defence industry, outlines five key elements which are key to a successful military mobile app.

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The Cell Phone Turns 40

Rick Pantaleo of voanews.com writes:

Forty years ago today the cell phone era began on the streets of New York City. The historic first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper, director of systems operations for the communications division of the Motorola company, to his main rival at Bell Labs.

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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.

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

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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.

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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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