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Sunday, July 17, 2011

This week at The Fonecast: 17th July 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Much like the mainstream media, this week’s news summary begins with ‘voicemail hacking’. In our podcast feature on Friday we spoke to industry crime-fighter Jack Wraith about the security of voice messages. He explained how remote voicemail access was now much more secure than it was ten years ago, which is good news for everyone (except dodgy investigators).

But that wasn’t the only security scare in the last few days. The Hacker's Choice explained how a modified Vodafone Sure Signal femtocell could be used to intercept calls made by Vodafone customers within 50 metres of the rogue device. It’s a loophole that Vodafone has now closed, which – again – is likely to be a disappointment to the criminally inclined.

It’s also been a busy week in app-land. Apple’s lawyers have told independent application store GetJar to stop using the term ‘app store’; a move that’s seen GetJar respond with the online equivalent of thumbing its nose. PayPal has said it’s preparing a peer-to-peer NFC solution that’ll let people pay money to friends by touching two phones against each other. Electronic Arts has announced an agreement to acquire PopCap Games, the company behind Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled. Handmark is turning its social apps business and mobile ad services group into a new company. And Google is giving the Android Market a facelift.

Manufacturing has had a mixed week, with Sony Ericsson reporting quarterly results that weren’t as good as originally expected, while an up-beat ZTE has revealed plans for selling own-brand devices in the UK. In addition, HTC created a new global sales and marketing role for Jason Mackenzie, who’s currently president of HTC North America and Latin America.

Finally, to innovation. O2 UK launched a new location-based offers scheme called Priority Moments; potentially a threat to Groupon and to Orange Wednesdays. And Jawbone – a company best-known for its range of stylish noise-reducing Bluetooth headsets – announced mobile-connected jewellery that'll keep an eye on your health. Let’s hope no-one works out how to hack the data it collects... or we could have a new tabloid scandal on our hands!


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Opinion Articles

RIM is still committed to the consumer market... like there was ever any doubt

Mark Bridge writes:

There are times I feel like turning my back on the mobile phone industry and joining a monastery. That’s probably not going to happen, given the monks’ tradition of not admitting wives. But yesterday was another of those frustrating occasions. Let me tell you why.

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Are social media and smartphones really killing SMS and MMS?

Mark Bridge writes:

A couple of research reports this week have noted that text messaging and picture messaging growth is slowing down. Could this be the end for our trusty friend SMS and its bolder, brighter (and slightly flakier) sibling MMS?

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Last week at The Fonecast: 26th March 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s been a week of ups and downs for the mobile industry.

It started with good news as Apple – fresh from hitting 3 million new iPad sales – announced its plans to spend some of the $100 billion sitting in its decidedly non-mobile wallet. There’ll be a quarterly dividend and a share buy-back scheme.

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New product overtakes old product: why the surprise?

Mark Bridge writes:

Sometimes I’m a simple soul. This is one of those occasions. I simply don’t get what all the fuss is about.

Sales of Windows Phone 7 smartphones have overtaken Symbian device sales in Great Britain for the first time ever. Yes, the new heavily-promoted mobile phones from Nokia are more popular with consumers and retailers than those using the obsolescent Symbian OS. Windows Phone 7 now has 2.5% of the British smartphone market, compared with 2.4% for Symbian.

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Mosaik Solutions: providing mobile coverage data by putting all the pieces together

Mark Bridge writes:

Some parts of the mobile industry are all glamour and glitz, megapixels and multi-cores, apps and ads. And then there are the essential parts of the industry, quite often with considerably less competition... and therefore accompanied by less singing and dancing.

Despite hailing from the city of Memphis in Tennessee, Mosaik Solutions isn’t from the rock ‘n’ roll end of the mobile industry. It creates mobile coverage maps and provides coverage data, as well as supplying information about coverage patterns, wireless spectrum depth, network configurations and licencing.

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