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Monday, May 21, 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 21st May 2012

A different kind of share for Facebook CEO

Mark Bridge writes:

What a week for Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Not content with transforming his company through its stock market flotation, he then went on to marry. What does this reveal?  Well, he’s clearly capable of multi-tasking and he’d rather wear a suit for social occasions than for work.

A few days before Friday’s share sales started, Facebook acquired the technical team behind Android photo-sharing application Lightbox. There’s no mention of costs but I doubt it came close to the staggering $1 billion paid for Instagram. Lightbox’s online service will close in mid-June.

It was also a good week for mobile payments (yet again, some might say) as iZettle announced the beta release of its mobile payment service in the UK. iPhone and iPad users can attach a plug-in chip-card reader that can turns their device into a credit card terminal.

The ever-increasing versatility of mobile phones was emphasised by new research that didn’t just show an increase in the number of smartphone users (and a boost in Android’s popularity) but an increase in the number of downloaded applications as well.

Meanwhile over in the world of business, research commissioned by BT showed that over 80% of IT managers thought a Bring Your Own Device policy gave businesses a competitive advantage. Perfect timing for Cortado to combine its cloud desktop app with mobile device management, I’d say – and for HTC to promote its business-focussed HTCpro service (even if getting hold of HTC phones isn’t so easy for some people).

Is all this the honest truth?  Well, it seems the easiest way to find out is to send a text message. A new study from the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research has suggested that people are inclined to be more honest when they’re texting and also tend to give answers that are more precise. Mind you, it’ll probably be a while before SMS is used in every research situation.

yor honR, im tellin you, I wz not ther

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

The mobile phone doorbell has been with us for five years, not five minutes

Mark Bridge writes:

The 'mobile doorbell'. What a clever idea. If someone rings your doorbell when you're out, it'll call your mobile phone and will let you talk via an intercom to the person at your front door. You can even protect yourself against burglars by pretending you're inside the house.

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This week at The Fonecast: 18th June 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Sometimes it seems that everyone and everything is out to get you. Recently, Nokia's been in that position – but this week it looks as though RIM is taking over as the mobile industry's whipping-boy.

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Box Breaking in the UK

Mark Bridge writes:

In this week's podcast feature, Iain Graham has been taking a look at 'box breaking' in the UK. Box breaking can take a variety of forms but it generally involves buying a 'pay as you go' mobile phone at a price that's subsidised in part by a mobile network - and selling it at a higher price to someone who won't connect it to the original network. The package of phone and SIM card is effectively 'broken', with the SIM often sold separately.

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App discovery gets smarter

Mark Bridge writes:

I've written previously about the changes happening to mobile application stores. Last week I was talking to Todd Levy about the family-friendly application store he's planning to launch. He explained how BloomWorlds would be curated to provide trusted reviews that weren't skewed by the app developers themselves.

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Big Brother Camera Security app removed from Apple store after iPhone password survey published

Mark Bridge writes:

It may have been done with the best possible intentions, but developer Daniel Amitay has managed to upset a few people after releasing information gathered by his Big Brother Camera Security app.

The app helped iPhone users to protect themselves against thieves; not only did it lock the user's iPhone if left unattended, it would use the phone's camera to take a photo of anyone who tried unsuccessfully to unlock the device.

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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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