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Sunday, October 2, 2011

I'm no developer - but I still fell in love with Over The Air

Mark Bridge writes:

The text message just said "Yellow Citroën hatchback".  At least the diaeresis on the ë was in the right place. It meant the stranger who was giving me a lift from the station was probably an urbane French speaker. Either that, or they had surprisingly good predictive text on their phone. The third possibility - a serial killer with an old Sagem - hadn't crossed my mind yet.

It was at this point I realised I'd already fallen for Over The Air, a unique event aimed at mobile developers. Throwing caution to the wind, I'd arranged a lift there via Twitter with a mysterious developer I'd never met. Or spoken to.

I needn't have worried. The mystery developer turned out to have an iPhone mounted on the dashboard of their yellow Citroën. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Two and a half hours later, having talked about everything from religious homophobes to battery life (via Doctor Who and greenhouse gases) with no obvious disagreements, we arrived at Bletchley Park. This definitely had the makings of a Very Good Day.

I'll admit the sight of the mansion, the huts and the grounds didn't really impress me. It's not that I'm soulless, just that I'd previously been there in the 1980s when BT used some of the buildings to host training courses for their telephone engineers. Yes, Alan Turing and I worked on the same site, albeit decades apart. However, I doubt that Mr Turing played table tennis and drank lager in the evening after a day of soldering practice and safety films. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I'd pass the test that bears his name.

Delegates who'd arrived for the 10am start had been welcomed by an introductory talk from Dr Sue Black, Bletchley Park campaigner and Senior Research Associate in software engineering at UCL. Slow traffic and GPS failure on the iPhone had delayed us, so Sue generously revisited her keynote speech and explained to me why Bletchley was so important to the nation... and to developers in particular. The answers are in Saturday's podcast; listen out for the phrases "geek Mecca", "shortened the war" and "world's first digital programmable computer".

Next on my interview list was co-founder Daniel Appelquist, who took time out from keeping the entire event on track to discuss the aims and ambitions of OTA.

Also happy to chat was Paul Johnston of padajo, a man who was in the fortunate position of living nearby. Not for him the pitching of tents on the lawn or the secret Coca-cola hoarding in preparation for all-night coding. I could have talked to him for much longer but it was time to hear some of the presentations.

Hang on a moment. I'm getting ahead of myself. You'll find my conversations with Sue, Dan and Paul online at TheFonecast.com: listen online, subscribe via RSS, get it on iTunes or download the MP3. And on Friday you'll be able to hear part 2 of my report, which includes some of those presentation speakers.

As for my love affair with Over The Air, I'm already counting the days until we meet again.

James Rosewell from The Fonecast reported from Over The Air in London last year. You can listen to his 2010 podcast on our website, via iTunes or by downloading the MP3 file.
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Opinion Articles

We interview ipadio CEO Dr Mark K Smith about the company's growth

Mark Bridge writes:

Two years ago we talked to Mark Smith about a new company he’d just launched. It was called ipadio and it offered a straightforward proposition: you made a phone call and ipadio would turn it into a live online broadcast with a permanent online recording - either as a free service for consumers or as a premium service for businesses.

This week I caught up with Mark again and started our conversation by asking him what had changed.

Author: The Fonecast
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Last week at The Fonecast: 24th October 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

If there’s one theme that dominates the last seven days – and, let’s face it, I like to find a theme wherever possible – it’s new mobile devices.

We started the week with Apple having sold over four million units of the new iPhone 4S in the first three days since its launch. This was followed by Motorola Mobility reinvigorating its RAZR brand by applying it to a high-spec Android smartphone – which in turn was followed by Google and Samsung revealing the Galaxy Nexus.

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Technology makes cash transfers safer in Kenya

Cathy Majtenyi of voanews.com writes:

In the slums of Kenya's capital, residents and aid groups are using new technology to send and receive money.

Irene Okoth and her five children have been living on 50 cents a day in Nairobi's Korogocho settlement.  That is what she earns recycling garbage from the nearby dump.

Author: The Fonecast
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An introduction to mobile financial services with Gemalto

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile banking. eBanking. Mobile money. m-payments. They’re all terms that are often thrown around interchangeably (and incorrectly) when talking about mobile financial services.

To help understand more about the difference facets of mobile commerce - from security concerns through to current implementation and future innovations - I headed for Gemalto’s recent Innovation Day at the Museum of London. I started by talking to Howard Berg, senior vice president at Gemalto, and admitted to him that I still thought of Gemalto as being a SIM card and smartcard manufacturer rather than the digital security company it’s become.

Author: The Fonecast
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The future for feature phones isn't as bleak as it first appears

Mark Bridge writes:

With Hallowe’en just around the corner, thoughts turn to the departed... and it would be easy to think that the market for feature phones is in the technological graveyard. After all, Sony Ericsson has recently said it’ll be dropping feature phones from its product range in 2012. But perhaps the battle of feature phone vs smartphone isn’t over yet.

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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.

Author: The Fonecast
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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.

Author: The Fonecast
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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.

Author: The Fonecast
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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.

Author: The Fonecast
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