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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Last week at The Fonecast: 12th December 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

With less than a fortnight until Christmas, it’s probably time to order the turkey and start thinking about gifts. What could be a better present than being given your very own mobile operating system?  That’s what’s happening over at HP, which is making its webOS software available to the open source community. The big question now is whether developers will respond with “lovely, just what I wanted” or a slightly embarrassed “oh, I’ve already got one of those.”

Talking of open source mobile operating systems, the Android Market has now served over 10 billion app downloads. It’s not caught up with Apple’s App Store yet... but it’s getting close. Some will argue about quantity over quality, others will have been downloading Google’s celebratory 10p applications to their phones.

And on the subject of celebrations, it’s party time at Samsung – where more than 300 million mobile phones have shipped this year. That’s a company record and is only the second time any company’s managed the feat. (Nokia was the first, in case you’d not guessed).

While you’re reminiscing, here’s another blast from the past. Panasonic is getting back into the European mobile phone market. In March we’re expecting to see an Android smartphone with a 4.3-inch organic LED screen. But how will it be sold?  Well, if O2 has its way, there’ll be a new way of buying phones. Alongside the prepay and ‘pay monthly’ contract will be a lease. Spend nothing up front, pay a monthly fee, then give your phone back after a year and start again. Or walk away.

Walking away from its proposed new brand is Research In Motion, which has temporarily been barred from referring to the new BlackBerry operating system as ‘BBX’. BBx is already a trademark of software company Basis International, so the new RIM OS looks likely to be called BlackBerry 10 instead.

Location-based social network Gowalla is also calling it a day. The company will close at the end of January, having been acquired by Facebook. And Jawbone is – temporarily, at least – admitting defeat with its UP mobile health wristband. Technical problems have led to a generous refund policy and a halt to shipping for the moment. Mind you, with Christmas culinary over-indulgence just days away, that’s probably not such a bad thing. Well, not for me, anyway.

Are you subscribing to our podcasts?  Last week we started by talking to device data and web optimisation specialists 51Degrees.mobi (who are also our current sponsors). Next came the regular news update on Wednesday, followed by a conversation about mobile telecare with Burnside Telecom on Friday. Find all the latest broadcasts on our RSS feed or via iTunes.

Start your week with a reminder of the latest 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.

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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 11th February 2013

WiFi goes on the attack

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile networks aren’t what they used to be. As last week’s interview with Vince Russell of The Cloud demonstrated, more and more customers are relying on WiFi to augment their mobile data service.

Truphone is now planning to do exactly the same with voice calls and text messages by linking its mobile network with WiFi for even wider coverage.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 4th February 2013

Goodbye RIM, hello BlackBerry

Mark Bridge writes:

Apple launches a new product and BlackBerry pushes it out of the headlines. Who’d have thought it, eh?

Yes, Apple’s new $799 128GB iPad didn’t get much of a mention in the mobile press last week - thanks to the new BlackBerry 10 platform and two new smartphones. Memories of Stephen Bates’s awkward BBC interviews were soon forgotten as the touchscreen Z10 appeared and quickly hit the shelves of UK retailers.

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HTC smartphones are too good

HTC smartphones are too good

Causing HTC a serious headache

James Rosewell writes:

During December 2012 in the United States the HTC Evo 4G contributed 20% of web traffic from HTC devices. What is remarkable about this figure is that the HTC Evo 4G was first released in June 2010 and is almost three years old.

The HTC One series of devices were released during 2012 and contributed less than 10% of HTC’s web traffic in the same month.

Are HTC devices released pre-2012 too good at browsing the web?

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Future smart devices will extend our senses

Faiza Elmasry of voanews.com writes:

Imagine shopping for clothes online and being able to run your hand across the screen on your computer or smartphone to feel the fabrics. That kind of simulation technology could be available within the next five years.

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Discover the secrets of mobile innovation at The Mobile Academy in London

Mark Bridge writes:

Developing a successful mobile product or service isn’t just a question of having a great idea. There are all sorts of challenges, from the technical aspects of application development to the wider issues of branding and funding.

That’s where The Mobile Academy steps in. It’s a London-based mobile masterclass designed to give you a helping hand with innovation, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a business owner, a developer or a designer.

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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

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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.

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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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