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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Are Microsoft and Skype on their way to world domination?

Mark Bridge writes:

The TV in the bedroom switches on. “It’s 6.45am. Good morning, Mark. Here are your news headlines for Tuesday 14th June 2016.”

The announcer sounds remarkably like Holly Aird, which is hardly surprising because the actor has licensed her voice to the Skype software in my television.

“Holly, video call, please. James”.

It’s not a particularly new TV, so I make sure I’m in front of the Kinect bar when I speak. The main television downstairs has the familiar three-sensor Microsoft layout built in, but the bedroom TV is plugged into a Kinect 2. My avatar appears on-screen; its torso is mirroring my movements and my appearance, except that it’s clean-shaven and wearing a suit.

“Morning, James"!”

James is apparently not in the office. The blurred background I see on my TV suggests his iPhone X is concentrating on James’s face rather than the whole picture. He’s clearly not yet upgraded to the premium bandwidth service offered by the recently merged Apple/Orange partnership...


Okay, okay. Entirely fictional. I’m no Cory Doctorow. And I’m no futurist. But the merger of Microsoft and Skype has got me thinking. This isn’t - as Tomi Ahonen recently pointed out - about the merged company taking on mobile network operators by incorporating a voice-over-IP service with Windows Phone 7. Anyway, before too long everything’ll be VoIP on 4G. I’d say it’s more about the merged company taking on all communications. World domination.

After all, the Microsoft that many of us grew up with appeared to be ubiquitous. Adding Skype to the Microsoft family isn’t simply a commercial decision - it’s a marketing decision. It may even be Microsoft’s new loss-leader.

Incorporating Skype with Microsoft Outlook might be an internal political battle - but it’s possible. Skype’s already created an Outlook toolbar. Putting Skype technology in Lync is even more likely. How about Skype on Xbox?  Then there’s Skype on Mac, Skype on Linux, Skype on Android, Skype on iPhone, Skype on Symbian, Skype on TV...

Yes, the deal could still go wrong. Yes, the current focus on Skype could help a competitor gain traction. But if I were Google, I’d be a bit worried. And that’s probably a good indicator this wasn’t the poor deal many people think.

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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 24th March 2014

The new iPhone no-one was expecting

Mark Bridge writes:

New Apple products! New Android smart watches!

You’d be forgiven for not having noticed either of those news stories last week. Apple did indeed announce a new iPhone – but it was simply a new iPhone 5c with just 8MB of memory.

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LTE fuels the race for the fastest network

Noam Green of Flash Networks writes:

The introduction and deployment of LTE networks offers real promise for both subscribers and operators worldwide. It brings the potential for revolutionary improvements in quality of experience for mobile broadband, and even faster downloads and video streaming.

Author: The Fonecast
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Last week at The Fonecast: 10th March 2014

Bye-bye Barcelona, hello Hanover

Mark Bridge writes:

As one show closes, so another show opens.

It’s now more than a week since we bid a sad farewell to Mobile World Congress 2014 – I imagine hotel rooms for 2nd to 5th March 2015 are already being booked – but there’s now CeBIT in Germany to look forward to. Prime Minister David Cameron kicked things off last night with a speech that talked about UK-German partnerships, more funding for research around the ‘Internet of Things’ and the development of 5G technology.

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WiFi technology, problems and solutions

explained by Professor Andrew Nix from the University of Bristol

In this presentation, which was originally given as part of the ‘Multimedia Content Delivery onto Mobile Platforms’ session at Mobile World Congress 2014, Professor Andrew Nix from the University of Bristol explains many of the often-forgotten truths about WiFi service.

If you’re an IT manager, working in a mobile phone shop, looking at tech product design or simply want to get the most from your mobile phone, Professor Nix has plenty of practical advice in this 20-minute video clip.

Author: The Fonecast
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Key themes from Mobile World Congress 2014

by Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays

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Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays, reflects on his time in Barcelona and some of the key themes to come out of this year’s show.

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