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Monday, October 3, 2011

Last week at The Fonecast: 3rd October 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s time for my summary of last week’s mobile industry news… and what a week it’s been. Not just for me – I made my first-ever visit to Over The Air on Friday – but for the world of mobile devices.

The big news came from Amazon, which introduced four new Kindle eBook readers. The really flashy one is the Kindle Fire, an Android-based WiFi tablet with a browser that relies heavily on information in the cloud. At the moment there’s no mention of the Kindle Fire reaching the UK, although that seems unlikely to remain the case throughout 2012.

Samsung revealed the GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus, successor to its original 7-inch tablet, while Orange, NTT DOCOMO and Sharp announced a fascinating Android smartphone that promises an instant conversion of 2D content into 3D. This one is launching in France; no, still not the UK but at least it’s closer than the United States. Sadly, Nokia didn’t have good news last week – it looks as though around 3,500 more jobs are being cut.

There’s also been a lot happening with operating systems. Tizen promises to be the new MeeGo, according to The Linux Foundation. Let’s hope it has a longer, happier life. Samsung became the latest company to sign an Android-related patent licensing deal with Microsoft. And Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ began its worldwide roll-out.

Mobile money was another headline maker. Visa Europe prepared the ground for person-to-person payments and spending alerts. ABI Research optimistically predicted that NFC payments would become mass-market within five years. Payment processing provider WorldPay announced a partnership with The MoBank Group. Isis, the US-based mobile commerce venture announced last November, added HTC, LG, Motorola Mobility, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson to its list of supporters. There was even news about mobile payment regulation, with PhonepayPlus promising to look at the problems of app-based mobile payments.

But – as far as the mainstream media is concerned – all this will pale into insignificance in less than 48 hours, when Apple announces something. Probably an iPhone 5, maybe an iPhone 4S, almost definitely without the presence of Steve Jobs. And it seems that something like two out of five mobile phone users plan to buy it. Which leaves me with a simple question. Is it you… or will it be me?

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Opinion Articles

The end of unlimited* mobile data has almost arrived

Mark Bridge writes:

Unlimited mobile data. Once upon a time, it seemed that everyone offered it. Not that mobile data was ever really unlimited – there tended to be a ‘fair usage’ clause tucked away in the terms and conditions – but the word ‘unlimited’ was used a lot. The fact that it was always accompanied by an asterisk didn’t seem to trouble trading standards departments.

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You can't stop the news when it goes mobile (part 2)

Mark Bridge writes:

Last month I was struck by the way video streaming service Bambuser was being used by citizen journalists.

Now comes news of a different kind of photo-journalism. Instead of shooting behind-the-scenes images of a general election, prisoner Michael Long has been using his mobile to record from behind bars.

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A radial menu for iPhone 5? It's not such a radical idea

Mark Bridge writes:

As sure as eggs, there’ll be an iPhone 5. It’ll be announced on 6th June 2011 if you want my guess. And the latest rumours are suggesting it’ll have ‘radial menus’.

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Apps World: Screach, Sony Ericsson and the Wholesale Applications Community

This week’s edition of The Fonecast includes a report from Apps World, which took place in London on 30th November and 1st December. As the name suggests, the event was all about mobile applications, their development, the technology that’s used and the ways that apps are marketed.

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Is Microsoft about to back down from locking Windows Mobile 7 users into its Marketplace app store?

Mark Bridge writes:

In this week’s podcast we talked about the ChevronWP7 ‘unlocking’ solution that allowed the installation of Windows Phone 7 applications without the need to use Microsoft’s Marketplace application store. Unlike previous Windows Mobile handsets, new WP7 devices can only add applications that are offered via the Microsoft Marketplace.

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