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Sunday, March 4, 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 5th March 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile World Congress is over for another year. Also gone is the mobile industry’s sudden obsession with public transport and student protests in Barcelona. But away from the local news, what’s been going on?

Well, if you’re asking that, you’ve probably not been listening to our podcasts. James Rosewell and I spent a week in Barcelona, walking round the exhibition halls and talking to some of the 1500 companies present. We produced a podcast every day from Monday to Friday; you’ll find them in the usual places on our website, via RSS and on iTunes.

Two of the week’s biggest stories from Mobile World Congress didn’t have a ‘traditional’ mobile connection at all. Ford turned up with its B-MAX car, complete with the SYNC in-car connectivity system, while Microsoft arrived with a consumer beta version of Windows 8.

Rather more anticipated was the introduction of quad-core chips into smartphones. Huawei was using its own 1.5GHz processor in a smartphone and a tablet, while HTC, LG and ZTE relied on NVIDIA.

ZTE also had a Windows Phone handset... as did Nokia, although its 41 megapixel Symbian phone rather stole the limelight.

Elsewhere in the world of handsets, Sony (without Ericsson) showed off a couple of smartphones, Doro had an easy-to-use device that was based on Android, Intel signed some more smartphone deals and Samsung had a bit of everything.

Despite having no ‘flagship’ device for Mobile World Congress this year – expect to see the Samsung Galaxy S3 in the next few weeks – there were plenty of other Samsung stories, including a projector phone and a car comms deal with Toyota.

Money was pretty high on the agenda this year. Vodafone and Visa talked about their joint plans for mobile wallets, iZettle expanded its reach (and set its sights on the UK) while Facebook and the Wholesale Application Community both discussed operator billing.

Finally, a quick look at the future. The GSMA made a series of announcements about Rich Communication Services at last week’s Mobile World Congress, including the creation of a new consumer-facing brand called joyn. Expect to see the brand used on handsets that let you seamlessly switch between services, such as sending a photo while on a voice call.

And Telefónica Digital revealed plans to create a new mobile platform in partnership with Mozilla. It’s called the Open Web Device platform and will use HTML5 standards to deliver a smartphone-like device without premium pricing. Everything will run as an app in the browser, making this a particularly ‘open’ choice for developers and manufacturers. I look forward to seeing the first OWD handset appearing... perhaps in time for Mobile World Congress next year.

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 at Mobile World Congress 2012 was sponsored by Good Technology and 51Degrees.mobi. You’ll find more about advertising and sponsorship opportunities on the About us section of our website.


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Opinion Articles

How the right mobile phone technology can turn anyone into a spy

Mark Bridge writes:

A few weeks ago I received a phone call out of the blue. It went something like this:
“I think my partner's cheating on me. How can I get into the GPS on his phone to find out where he is?”

I'm no secret agent. Nevertheless, it got me thinking.

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Mark Bridge writes:

The last couple of weeks have seen the ‘embedded SIM’ making headlines.

The term ‘embedded SIM’ has previously been used to describe non-phone equipment with a SIM card pre-installed in a built-in 3G modem. Technically the modem was embedded, not the SIM – but it looks as though genuinely embedded SIMs could be just around the corner.

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How we could use mobile technology to destroy personal privacy

Mark Bridge writes:

Head to any major city, look around and you’ll see tourists recording their visit. Some have digital cameras, some have phones and some are shooting video.

It’s the same kind of scene when you go to a concert. The performer on stage will be looking at a sea of blue faces, all illuminated by their smartphones. This, I reckon, could be the beginning of the end of privacy.

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What's the value of mHealth?

James Rosewell writes:

Any healthcare solution involving some component of mobile technology seems to come under the banner mHealth. A solution that captures information about diabetes sufferers' blood sugar levels via prompted text messages and relays this information to a physician would be considered mHealth. Providing feedback to the diabetes patient about a change in dosage following review by the physician makes the solution even better. Linking devices that automatically monitor blood sugar levels and dispense insulin involving a remote computer and physician to monitor the real-time situation moves the solution on a level still. All these examples show how mobile technology can be used to improve quality of life.

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How to mess up a customer relationship with SMS marketing

Mark Bridge writes:

Do you want to know how to foul up your customer relationships?  How to use mobile marketing to reduce customer loyalty?  Then gather around, dearly beloved, for I have a case study you're sure to appreciate.

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