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Saturday, July 30, 2011

This week at The Fonecast: 30th July 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Those quarterly figures keep coming. In our Wednesday podcast we talked about Apple and Nokia – and since then we’ve heard from Everything Everywhere, LG, Motorola, Samsung (with its multi-million selling Galaxy S II), Telefonica and Virgin Media. Each had something positive to stay, although some were more convincing than others.

RIM didn’t have quarterly results, having published its figures last month, although it did have more details about its 'cost optimization program'. Apparently around a tenth of the global workforce, a total of 2,000 jobs, are being cut to save money.

Anyway, the really big news – which isn’t really big news any more – is that Apple’s currently the top smartphone producer, followed closely by Samsung and then Nokia. Also, as we’ve been saying for a while, smartphones are becoming increasingly popular – to the extent that feature phone sales have fallen for the first time in almost 2 years.

Talking of which, we’ve seen a couple of very different new devices in the last few days. From watch manufacturer TAG Heuer comes the LINK, an Android smartphone available in a choice of exotic materials. The “first Swiss luxury touchscreen smartphone”, apparently. And at the other end of the financial scale is the Vodafone 555 Blue, described as “the world’s first designated prepay phone specifically designed to put the Facebook experience into the heart of the handset”. It's probably as close to an official Facebook phone as you’ll find.

From the present to the future, with claims that the UK’s 4G plans are set to disappoint. The Institution of Engineering and Technology says we don’t need more regulation but the right regulation. And the Communications Consumer Panel says Ofcom should use the UK 4G spectrum auction as an opportunity to increase mobile coverage. Meanwhile those legal challenges need sorting out. Will the rest of the world be on 5G before we get to 4?


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Opinion Articles

UK riots hit the mobile industry

Mark Bridge writes:

Having just returned from a week's holiday in a part of the country where mobile coverage was surprisingly sparse, it struck me how much mobile phones were linked to the recent English riots and looting.

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Rhona Cashman from OtterBox explains the secrets of mobile phone cases

Mark Bridge writes:

A mobile phone case is often seen simply as a revenue opportunity for retailers. But, as you might expect, there's a lot more to this type of accessory than first meets the eye.

I started this week's podcast feature by asking Rhona Cashman from protective case manufacturer OtterBox why mobile phone dealers should be discerning about the cases they sell.

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Steve Ballmer and Rupert Murdoch - both troubled by their one-percent businesses

Mark Bridge writes:

Last month, News Corporation's Rupert Murdoch said the News of the World had accounted for just 1% of his global business. It's a figure that put the overall size of News Corp into perspective.

This week, some analysis of Microsoft's financial results seems to suggest Windows Phone is only generating a similarly small percentage for its parent.

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Google claims 'hostile campaign' against Android by Microsoft and Apple

Mark Bridge writes:

David Drummond, Google's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, has just written a blog post that describes an 'anti-competitive strategy' against Android by companies including Apple, Microsoft and Oracle. Entitled "When patents attack Android", it points out that more than 550,000 Android devices are now activated every day... and says this has resulted in "a hostile, organized campaign against Android".

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I'm unconvinced about the new T-Mobile hybrid tariff

Mark Bridge writes:

I don't like marketing spin. You know, the kind of thing where the small print contradicts the headlines or where an embarrassing u-turn becomes a benefit. Given my chosen profession, I find it tends to stand out.

And so I turn my attention to T-Mobile's new 'You Fix' tariff. Sounds rather like T-Mobile's 2005 'U-Fix' tariff, but that may be coincidence. You pay a fixed monthly fee and - if you use all of your inclusive calls - you can add an additional allowance during the month by paying a bit more. Rather like buying a top-up on a prepay phone.

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