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Monday, February 17, 2014

Last week at The Fonecast: 17th February 2014

Love is in the air

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile World Congress is just a week away, with lovers of mobile technology preparing to be wooed by manufacturers, networks and developers. But if MWC is like St Valentine’s Day, then LG has been behaving rather like the world’s worst boyfriend.

Not only has it spoiled the surprise of our romantic gift by telling us what we’ll be getting, it’s also told us we’ll be given something that’s very much like last year’s present. At least the G Pro 2 is a bit bigger than LG’s 2013 flagship LG Pro. Currently only availability in South Korea has been confirmed.

However, if you WLTM a new smartphone IRL, take a look at Spanish-based Geeksphone. The Revolution – due out this week – is capable of running either Google’s Android OS or the Boot2Gecko Mozilla operating system, making it particularly interesting to developers (or anyone else that wants to give the Firefox OS a try).

But for a story of true love conquering all, you can’t get better than A4WP and PMA. No, not more dating acronyms. These one-time rivals – the Alliance for Wireless Power and the Power Matters Alliance – have signed an agreement aimed at enabling their wireless power standards to work with each other. Don’t expect seamless compatibility just yet, although there’s now a much greater possibility of chargers supporting both standards.

Sticking with the language de l'amour, there’s a new relationship for mobile VoIP service Viber, which has been acquired by Japanese online specialist Rakuten for £538 million. And there’s a break-up for Motorola Mobility CEO (and former Google exec) Dennis Woodside, who’s off next month to join Dropbox as its Chief Operating Officer.

On Monday mornings we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in an email 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.
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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 9th July 2012

MeeGo... and me come back again

Mark Bridge writes:

It was a good week for technology stories hitting the mainstream news, thanks to the apparent appearance of a Higgs boson, Sir Alan Sugar’s YouView online TV service and football goal-line technology.

Mobile-related news hasn’t been quite so big, although plenty of well-known names have turned up in the headlines. What’s also been turning up – rather more than usual – is the presence of WiFi.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 25th June 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 25th June 2012

Microsoft cooks up two new tablets while LG turns down the heat

Mark Bridge writes:

Microsoft started last week with news of an own-brand rival to the Apple iPad. The new Windows-based Microsoft Surface tablets will start to appear later this year, although full details of the specifications – including whether or not there’ll be cellular connectivity – remain unconfirmed.

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Adding a little extra to every mobile sale will make a big difference

Mark Bridge writes:

Is there any product that offers as much potential for additional sales as the mobile phone?

When I visit a coffee shop to buy a coffee, I’m often asked “would you like any pastries or muffins with that?”

On the one occasion that I bought a new car, I was offered the option of paying extra for different colours, for floor mats and for a fancy stereo. When you buy a DVD player or a games console, it’s pretty obvious you’ll be paying extra for entertainment.

Yet, when you consider the variety of add-ons available in the mobile industry, I’d say smartphones were in a league of their own.

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Article rating: 4.0

Last week at The Fonecast: 18th June 2012

What next for Nokia?

Mark Bridge writes:

Oh, how cheerful we were last Monday. Apple previewed iOS6, which will bring mobile tickets (and 200 other new features) to the iPhone and iPad this autumn. Vodafone cut the cost of using your phone in Europe with its flat-rate £3-per-day EuroTraveller deal and a few days later Three came up with its own ‘unlimited’ European data roaming.

Yet by the end of the week there were fewer smiles in the mobile industry.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 11th June 2012

Vodafone and O2 team up to battle Everything Everywhere

Mark Bridge writes:

With just three working days for many people in the UK last week, you’d be forgiven for thinking nothing much would happen. However, you’d be wrong.

Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK announced plans to pool the basic parts of their network infrastructure in an expansion of their existing ‘Cornerstone’ partnership. It means that Vodafone and O2 will be using the same base stations for 2G, 3G and 4G service across the country. Responsibility is being split down the middle; Telefónica UK will take care of the east, while Vodafone UK will have the west. I imagine the dividing line running conveniently between the headquarters buildings in Slough and Newbury respectively.

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