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Thursday, May 20, 2010

A lukewarm mobile payment solution doesn't benefit anyone

Mark Bridge writes:

It's not often that a news story about the Apple iPhone prompts me to remember a bible verse... but this week was an exception.

The story was in The Washington Post and it was headlined 'Apple's iPhone does well without being the best'. “Very true,” I thought, as I remembered something similar I'd written last summer.

The article reflects on how Apple has triumphed at status and simplicity while other devices may offer better technology.

I hear you asking “Which bible verse?”  Wait a moment. That wasn't the story.

Later in the week came news from DeviceFidelity. They've created a protective case that adds the capability for NFC payments to the Apple iPhone. It's a case that has a slot for DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay microSD card, which can use the Visa payWave contactless payment technology.

This, incidentally, is a news story that was issued as a press release a couple of weeks ago and was then withdrawn the same day. Perhaps that's the reason there was a bit of a buzz around this. Because when I heard about it, I was underwhelmed. Protective case?  It seemed barely smarter than a roll of gaffa tape.

And that's when I thought of the line from the bible. Revelation 3:15-16. The Son of Man is sending a message to the Church in Laodicea... and He's not happy.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

NFC-enabled mobile payments. Smart idea. Putting NFC on a microSD card. Smart idea. Putting that microSD card in a device that wraps around an iPhone because the iPhone isn't flexible enough to accommodate a microSD card slot. That – to use an appropriately inelegant word – is a kludge. An embarrassment, not a reason to celebrate. Yeah, it's better than nothing. But it's lukewarm. It's tepid. And that's not good for anyone.

 

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Opinion Articles

FCC regulators pass controversial 'net neutrality' rules for US

William Ide of voanews.com writes:

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, approved controversial new rules for the Internet on Tuesday that supporters say will protect the interests of consumers, service providers and investors. Opponents, however, warn that the new rules seek to fix something that is not broken and will invite other countries to do more to regulate the Internet.

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WAC, Opera and Android

James Rosewell writes:

Just in time to make it into 2010, the Wholesale Application Community has gained some important but relatively unreported publicity courtesy of Opera. It’s a slightly early Christmas present for Peters Suh, WAC CEO and a man keen to ensure the industry is presented with a story showing WAC meeting its targets.

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The teardown: engineering or entertainment?

Mark Bridge writes:

A few months ago I wrote about the so-called geek porn of unboxing. However, I’ve recently been reminded there is another similar type of geek porn. It’s darker than unboxing. More destructive. It’s the teardown.

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Groupon goes mobile in the UK - but what will it mean to us?

Mark Bridge writes:

Groupon is a US phenomenon that’s not quite become ‘mainstream’ in the UK… yet. While the transatlantic tech press have been intrigued by the will-they-won’t-they story of Google apparently offering up to $6 billion for the two-year-old company, most of the UK has been wondering what the fuss is about.

But all that could be about to change.

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Universal mobile phone chargers are on their way to Europe

Last year the European Commission encouraged mobile manufacturers to agree on a universal charger for mobile phones. The first compatible devices are now expected in Europe early next year.

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Recent Podcasts

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Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

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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.

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Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

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In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

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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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