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Monday, May 12, 2014

Last week at The Fonecast: 12th May 2014

Feelin’ groufie

Mark Bridge writes:

Last week a major retailer with a significant online presence announced plans to release its own-brand smartphone by the end of the year. No, not Amazon. This news came from Tesco.

The supermarket said it’ll apply its Hudl brand – which was seen on many Android tablets at Christmas – to a new handset by the end of 2014. In addition, an updated Hudl 2 tablet is also expected this year.

Huawei had a new phone announcement of its own. The flagship Ascend P6 is being replaced by the Ascend P7, which will be equipped with an 8 megapixel front-facing camera. Apparently this is perfect for what Huawei describes as ‘groufies’: panoramic group selfies. You can tune into Wednesday’s podcast to hear how Iain Graham reacts to this word… although you’ll probably hear his cries of despair if you merely open your window.

Vodafone has been talking about two very different stories in the past few days. It’s added a loyalty card feature to its mobile wallet in Europe – although there’s still no sign of a UK release date – and it’s also committed to fixing its monthly subscription charges in line with Ofcom’s new guidance.

Sticking with money matters, BlackBerry has now agreed to sell much of its Canadian property portfolio, mobile payment provider iZettle has picked up £33 million in new funding and Nokia has announced a £59 million investment in connected cars.

Finally for now, we’re sending best wishes to Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee. Mr Lee is currently recovering after undergoing emergency heart surgery at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul.

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. Alternatively, stay in touch by listening to our free podcasts via our website, by subscribing on iTunes, by using our RSS feed or by downloading the Stitcher.com mobile app.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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