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Monday, March 25, 2013

Last week at The Fonecast: 25th March 2013

I’m moving on up, you’re moving on out

Mark Bridge writes:

Farewell, ST-Ericsson. It didn’t bode well when CEO Didier Lamouche announced his planned departure a couple of weeks ago – and now both STMicroelectronics and Ericsson have confirmed they’ll be splitting the company between them before closing it down.

Meanwhile, as new CEO Carlo Ferro prepares to take over, there are also succession plans in the air at UK rival ARM. Warren East is off in July, handing over to company president Simon Segars.

Remaining with the subject of newness, Google has announced a new note-taking service called Google Keep. It was described by the company as an online equivalent of ‘sticky notes’ – but there was no mention of it being anything like Evernote.

UK-based mobile ticketing business Masabi announced a new £1.8 million investment from a group of investment firms led by Fontinalis Partners. Incidentally, Fontinalis was co-founded by Bill Ford Jr., the great-grandson of motoring pioneer Henry Ford.

And sticking with a transport theme, Juniper Research forecast that a fifth of all consumer vehicles in North America and Western Europe are expected to have app-capable multimedia systems by 2017.

That’ll just add to the figures revealed last week by mobile network analytics and optimisation specialists Actix. They discovered that only 30% of smartphone data sessions are user initiated; most begin automatically without the user even noticing. As Actix points out, it means that quality of service reports and usage monitoring aren’t necessarily as straightforward as you might think. After all, a dropped connection isn’t all that important if you don’t notice it.

Last week we went to Mobile Monday London, where we talked about mobile start-ups and learned about business funding opportunities. You can listen to the panel discussion on our website or read highlights on the Mobile Monday site

Every Monday morning we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in a 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.
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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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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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