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Monday, April 16, 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 16th April 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

At the beginning of last week, Facebook and Instagram were the talk of the mobile industry. Was this billion-dollar deal the sign of another tech bubble?  Facebook’s fast track into mobile?  Facebook moving to cement its dominance of online photography?  You, the jury, decide.

A second billion dollar shopping trip also made the headlines as Microsoft picked up hundreds of AOL patents. And here in the UK, the Daisy Group made a £28 million acquisition of audio-conferencing specialist Worldwide Group Holdings.

Were things just going to keep getting better and better?

No. Bringing us down to earth with a bump was Nokia, which – along with announcing its first NFC-equipped Windows Phone device – admitted that its forthcoming quarterly results were going to be both “difficult” and “disappointing”. Expect discussions about the future of Nokia to continue well beyond Thursday this week, when full details are released.

Also with bad news for many people (despite an upbeat ‘transformation’ message) was Sony, which is likely to lose around 10,000 jobs this year as it makes big changes to its electronics business.

Google’s news was pretty cheery, with quarterly results showing revenue up 24% from the same period last year. Meanwhile Barclays was pleased to roll out its Pingit person-to-person mobile payment service to customers from all UK banks and building societies. And crime-fighters in the USA received a boost with news that trade organisation CTIA was working with its members to set up a nationwide stolen mobile phone database (rather like Immobilise in the UK).

Finally to research, where three separate studies told us that tablet sales, machine-to-machine connections and mobile ticket usage were all on the rise. Expect to see a robot with an iPad on the bus very soon.

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

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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