Monthly Archives: March 2012
Young Brit iOS app developer churns ‘em out
Rating: Modular approach to app development
Having written up the exploits of a young British app developer turned hackeer – Aaron Bond (see our previous story here), it seems only fair to mention his latest iOS creations. Aaron appears to be focusing in particular on two of his apps – MyReward + and iice SOS. Version 1.5 of the latter should appear this week [March 2012] and version 1.2 of MyReward + should come out shortly after that. Incidentally, Aaron tells GoMobile News that his vehicle for creating iOS apps is now iPhoneappz rather than SeRiiOn. “I’ve moved onto bigger and better things,” he told GoMobile News. Which is lucky because iPhoneappz is much easier to spell. Continue reading
YOC Group increased sales to €33 million according to preliminary figures
Press release
March 22nd 2012. According to preliminary calculations, YOC Group closed the financial year 2011 with sales amounting to €33.3 million (2010: €30.5 million) and an operating result of €-3 million (2010: €2.8 million). YOC Group consistently focused their business operations strategy on the core competencies Mobile Technology and Media in the financial year 2011. With this positioning, the company concentrates on the requirements of the market and lays the foundations for further growth and profitability. However, a temporary decline in earnings due to the structural reorganisation and discontinuation of non-core activities has to be taken into account. In the financial year 2011, YOC Group generated sales totalling €33.3 million (2010: €30.5 million) and an operating result amounting to €-3 million (2010: €2.8 million) according to preliminary calculations – this includes costs for the reorganisation and one-off expenses amounting to around €1 million. Continue reading
An Android/iOS app that spies on employees’ smartphones
Rating: Copy9 crosses line between data protection and snooping
When we stumbled across Copy9‘s range of mobile apps, we really weren’t sure whether they were genuine or malware. The company itself describes the product as ‘spyware’ and cites child protection; monitoring cheating spouses or errant employees as reasons to install its apps. The catch is that you have to provide the Copy9 app will exactly the kind of capabilities you would for a nasty piece of malware. So we asked our old buddies at mobile security software specialist, avast! Software, their opinion. This is what Alena Varkockova, Android analyst with the AVAST Virus Lab, said. “This app is an example of the thin line between malicious and PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program).” So GoMobile News bit the bullet and installed Copy9 on an old Android handset lent to us by ZTE. The app does what it claims to do. It spies on the handset for you. For free. Continue reading
GSMA to bring roaming to Wi-fi networks
Rating: Some kind of hook up with the WBA
It seems the GSMA has got together with the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) to work on a means of simplifying connectivity to Wi-fi hotspots from mobile devices like smartphones and connected tablets. Their joint initiative is developing a version of Wi-fi roaming, which will bring together the benefits of mobile technology and Wi-fi networks and hopefully create a far simpler consumer experience. “The proliferation of smartphones and tablets around the world, as well as consumers’ huge appetite for data means innovative solutions need to be explored to make using the Internet as convenient and as accessible as possible,” said Dan Warren, a senior director of technology at the GSMA. Continue reading
YOOSE & Mobsta form alliance for ‘hyper-local’ mobile ad sales
Rating: British Summer of mobile ad opportunities
YOOSE which claims to be a global hyper-local mobile ad network has just announced that it has formed a sales partnership with UK-based premium mobile ad network Mobsta. The consequence is new ‘hyper-local’ service called MobGeo which aims to bring the benefits of ‘precision’ mobile consumer targeting to UK brands and agencies. “The YOOSE platform simply delivers unprecedented hyper-local reach,” claims John Scorah, a co-founder of Mobsta Networks. He adds, “In terms of monthly ad requests that can be qualified at a hyper-local level, the MobGeo service will be able to tap hundreds of millions in the UK alone. The opportunity we can extend to brands and agencies running nationwide campaigns with hyper-local relevance is just phenomenal.” Continue reading
PingMe for W7 Mango on its way
Rating: App comes to most mobile OS in 6 months
RadiumOne, the firm behind the PingMe Messenger app, has revealed that it hopes to unveil a version PingMe for Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) next week [April 2012]. Following an overhaul of its existing BlackBerry application, the company claims that in just six months, PingMe has [...]
M2M tariffs need to be flexible says Pyramid
Rating: AT&T’s success in M2M down to partnerships
In a newly released report, analyst firm – Pyramid Research, argues that mobile network operators will need to be more flexible in their approach to tariffing for M2M (Machine-to-Machine) if they are to be successful in this rapidly expanding market. The report is entitled, ‘Operator M2M Success Hinges on Flexible Pricing’ and according to lead author, Sylwia Boguszewska, a senior analyst with Pyramid Research, “We expect the operators will introduce a greater degree of price tiering because M2M will serve a larger number of verticals, some of them more data-hungry than others.” Consequently the report predicts that M2M pricing will move away from a fixed price to a mixture of flexible and tailor-made tariffs. Continue reading
PlayBook OS 2.0 will boast Android app player
Rating: Questionmark over whether such apps can run RIM served ads
Almost as a throwaway, in the full description on what you can expect to find in the latest release of The PlayBook OS (version 2.0) from RIM, there’s a line simply reads, “Support for Android applications.” (See here). How understated is that? RIM’s gone to all the trouble of getting QNX to work on its tablet, then it casually mentions the device should be able to run Android apps. In our book that’s a major selling point. Anyway, the smart money is on most PlayBook owners using the facility to run free Android games. The guys over at GigaOm have been trying to think this own through. They’ve come to the impression that an Android game running on the PlayBook should be able to run regular ads but won’t have access to ads that RIM normally serves up to BlackBerry owners. Then there’s the question of in-app purchasing. GoMobile News thinks the answer is for readers to upgrade and let us know. Continue reading
Apps can be fine tuned for W7 Mango entry phones
Rating: Also tethering for 800 & 710 coming soon
Here at GoMobile Towers, we’re looking forward to arrival of Nokia’s entry level W7 Mango handset, the Lumia 610 (see our previous story here). It should be shipping in Q2 2012 and in the UK, Clove Technology is already taking orders for it here @ £190 (ex VAT). The only snag is that that the 610 has less memory available to it than the other models in the Lumia range with a mere 256MB. So GoMobile News is afraid that Mango apps will run slowly on it. Not if developers write them properly. There’s an excellent article on the Windows phone Developer Blog here written by Mike Battista who reveals the existence of a 256MB emulator. Did you also know that the 610 will also be featuring ‘tethering’? Continue reading
Job of the day … Head of Sales, mobile advertising
This global Mobile Advertising company with an exceptionally strong management team is now hiring for a Head of Sales to sell to advertisers in the UK as well as building and managing the UK team. This is an excellent opportunity to further your career with a rapidly expanding market leader!!
Fore more details, please contact Aspire Mobile, the global leading provider of Mobile Media professionals. Continue reading
Here from PayPal kicks up some dust
Rating: A mobile payment solution but not as you know it, Jim
When GoMobile News first saw the words “first global mobile payment solution for small businesses”, we naturally assumed that this must be a new way of paying for goods and services via a mobile phone. It’s not. PayPal Here is actually a way of accepting payments using a mobile phone. The cleverest thing about this offering in our humble opinion is the actual card reader. The app initially only appears to be available for iOS but we assume when the Android version appears it will be the same. The card reader fits into your mobile handset via the audio port and enables the handset’s owner to swipe credit/debit cards in the normal way. As a solution for businesses attending music festivals, it is ideal. Continue reading
World’s simplest use of QR codes discovered
Rating: My Contact Info Free app from Yuv Apps
If Carlsberg made the world’s simplest W7 Mango app to employ QR [2D] barcode technology then it would have invented My Content Info Free. But it doesn’t – Yuv Apps does. It’s a very basic app that turns your contact info into a QR code which you can display on your Windows Phone 7.5′s (Mango) screen. The Free version is exactly what it says – it costs nothing so you can only enter a limited amount of information. For example, it only lets you store one telephone number. If you like the idea then you can simply pay $0.99 for the full version and store more telephone numbers. Continue reading
Guavus expands big data analytics footprint to Western European operators
Company takes ‘Apps Store’ approach to real-time, streaming data
Press release
February 29th 2012. Guavus – a decision analytics company that enables complex decision making in environments with significant data volume, variety and velocity, has announced its Western European launch. Tier-One customers and Key investors with growing traction in the US, Guavus currently counts three of the top four mobile operators and three of the top five Internet backbone operators as key accounts. Deployment partners also include four of the top five largest global communication infrastructure vendors. In addition, Guavus recently raised $25 million in a series-B growth round led by Intel Capital, Artiman Ventures and Sofinnovia Ventures. The company will use the new funds to continue to expand the reach of its industry-leading big data analytics platform to new industries and geographic markets. Continue reading
PayPal unveils PayPal Here – the first global mobile payment solution for small businesses
Press release
March 15th 2012. PayPal has announced PayPal Here, the world’s first global mobile payments solution that allows small businesses to accept almost any form of payment. The new service includes a free app and fully encrypted thumb-sized card reader, which turns any iPhone, and soon Android smartphone, into a mobile payment solution. With PayPal Here, small businesses, service providers and casual sellers can send invoices or accept debit and credit cards, checks and PayPal using one simple product Continue reading
Be careful when upgrading your handset to watch F1
Rating: Only seven Android models support SkyGo
The difference between iOS and Android is put into perspective by the ability to run Sky TV’s Sky Go app on your smartphone/tablet. This app was finally made available on February 23rd [2012] but it only runs on a tiny number of Android phones.The list of which seven models from HTC (5) and Samsung (2) support Sky Go is given below. Sky attributes the very short list to the “considerable time” it takes to tailor the app for each distinct Android device. If you want to watch Formula One (F1) motor racing on you Android handset you need to possess one of the seven. The easiest way to find out whether you need to upgrade or not is simply to try to download the app from Google Play (the new name for the Android Market).You can download the Sky Go from Google Play here‘ Sadly our loan Motorola Razr isn’t on the list. Continue reading
