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Monday, June 11, 2012

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.

But that wasn’t the only big news from Vodafone. It’s also taken control of mobile coupon business Vouchercloud, which lets registered customers receive discounts, codes and vouchers on their phones. I’d say there’ll be some kind of integration into Vodafone’s mobile payment partnership before too long.

On the subject of acquisitions, A1 Comms is reported to have taken over the Go Mobile UK franchise business, Google has acquired the Quickoffice mobile productivity business and Citrix has expanded its mobile services by picking up data optimisation provider Bytemobile.

All fun and games, you might say – which would be a perfect link into our next couple of stories. Microsoft has revealed a new application that’ll bring entertainment from its Xbox gaming console to other Windows 8 devices and Windows Phone handsets. It’s called Xbox SmartGlass and, for example, will display bonus features from TV shows on your smartphone while you’re watching television via the Xbox.

Meanwhile Sony had good news for fans of its rival PlayStation gaming platform. HTC is joining the fun and will be bringing PlayStation Mobile games to HTC devices.

Finally, a question. What’s 12.3mm wide, 8.8mm high and just 0.67mm thick?  That’s the new smallest-ever SIM card. 40% smaller than a microSIM, it’s just been approved by ETSI. Expect to see it appearing in the iPhone 6 from 2013 (perhaps). Let’s just hope my eyesight will still be good enough to fit the card.

Start your week with a reminder of the latest mobile 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.

The Fonecast is sponsored by 51Degrees.mobi. More details about advertising and sponsorship opportunities are available on the About Us section of our website.
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Opinion Articles

Mobile optimised websites v native applications for mobile devices

James Rosewell writes:

51Degrees.mobi's figures show 10 per cent of web traffic in the UK originates from mobile devices. In India this figure rises to over 90 per cent. With global mobile internet usage expected to grow from 14 million at the end of 2010 to 788 million by the end of 2015, every business needs a strategy for mobile connectivity.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 5th December 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Season of goodwill?  Not in the mobile phone industry.

Orange UK is putting its prices up next month. It says the 4.34% rise is less than inflation, so you might think customers would be pleased. You’d be wrong. Also unhappy are many people who’ve discovered Carrier IQ software embedded on their phones. Fortunately for the UK mobile industry, most of those people seem to be in the United States. And there was unhappiness in Egypt as Twitter’s acquisition of privacy and security company Whisper Systems saw Whisper’s mobile encryption applications taken (temporarily) offline.

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My phone isn't spying on me... and yours probably isn't, either

Mark Bridge writes:

“Mobile operators track who you call. In other news, banks know how much money is in your account and utility companies know where you live.”

At the end of a week in which so-called ‘spyware’ on mobile phones had been creating headlines, this tweet from Benedict Evans offered an alternative perspective.

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Farmers want QR cows, infrared sheep and mobile-controlled sheepdogs

Mark Bridge writes:

A brainstorming day run by T-Mobile UK with a dozen farmers, M&C Saatchi Mobile, the National Farmers Union and EBLEX (the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry) has resulted in some fascinating mobile-focussed solutions. The aim was to raise awareness of the benefits that smartphone technology can bring farmers and other small business owners.

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Mobile marketing in 2012: ten predictions for the year from 2ergo

John Barratt, product lead for 2ergo, predicts what lies ahead within the mobile marketing arena for retailers in 2012:

1. Mobile search marketing spend to increase significantly in 2012.

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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.

Author: The Fonecast
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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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