Monthly Archives: November 2012
2nd WIMA NFC USA
[ November 27, 2011 9:00 am to November 29, 2012 7:00 pm. ] Organiser: WIMA
Venue: San Francisco Arirport Marriott Waterfront Hotel
Location: San Francisco, USA
Web: www.wima.mc
For WIMA NFC USA 2012 WIMA is building on previous innovation and enabling greater business opportunities within the event by adding new and exciting elements to drive forward the NFC ecosystem. Continue reading
Researcher bothers to attack a MeeGo handset via NFC
Rating: What you need is a fuzzing tool like Charlie Miller’s
Given that the vulnerability in a Google/Samsung Nexus S handset was exposed last week [July 25th 2012] by Charlie Miller – a researcher with the respected Accuvant Labs, most observers have overlooked the fact that the other handset involved was Nokia N9 running the Linux based MeeGo operating system. The really worrying thing is that the attack was made via NFC (Near Field Communication) which means that there are vulnerabilities in popular NFC stacks. What the demonstration the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas also revealed is that currently there are no real software tools for testing of NFC implementations out there. Very worrying since so many mobile payment systems are now NFC based. Continue reading
Mobile advertising traffic will double in 2012 says BuzzCity
Rating: No signs of mobile advertising slowing down globally
In its latest quarterly report on current trends dominating the mobile advertising industry, BuzzCity, reckons that mobile advertising traffic is on course to double in 2012. The data has been collected from BuzzCity’s global advertising network which is made up of global publishers and BuzzCity’s own mobile media properties. The BuzzCity quarterly report for Q2 2012 shows include increasing levels of adoption dominating for Q1-Q2 2012. It shows that BuzzCity’s global ad network has already served three-quarters of its annual traffic from 2011 in Q1-Q2 2012. Using this information as an indicator, BuzzCity predicts the global doubling of mobile advertising traffic is set to double in 2012. It also shows that Smartphones are becoming mainstream device in many individual markets worldwide. Continue reading
Actual Windows Phone usage jumps massively in July
Rating: Word of mouth rather than waiting for W8 Osbourne
We all know that calculating market shares from units shipments can be notoriously inaccurate as they don’t truly reflect the number of handsets actually in use. So some bright spark at mynokiablog had the clever idea of utilising stats provided by Statcounter. This company provides figures based on actual web browsing numbers which it then extrapolates into an estimate of OS market share. Statcounter provides monthly figures for the OS of all current handsets in use here. What mynokiablog did what feed in the paramenter for Finland only and came up with a comparative big jump in Windows Phone (W7 Mango) usage. Which is good news for Nokia. Continue reading
Netbiscuits and Sitecore collaborate to mobilise exhibitions for Australian National Maritime Museum
ANMM launches Titanic and Fish exhibitions Mobile Sites to reach out to public using Netbiscuits Mobile Platform and Sitecore CMS
Press release
July 31st 2012 Netbiscuits, the world’s leading cloud platform for the development and delivery of next generation web apps across all mobile and connected devices, has announced the first joint integration of Netbiscuits Mobile Platform with Sitecore CMS for two Exhibition Mobile Websites for the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM). Continue reading
Klondike time for Nokia key execs
Stay with us lads and you’ll strike gold
Struggling Nokia maybe axing thousands of its less high flying workers, but for those at the top there is a good chance they’ll be effectively bribed to stay – with lucrative stock options. The Finnish board has drmatically boosted the share options it can dosh out to key seniors by over a third from 8.5 million to 11.5 million, though they won’t be available to CEO Stephen Elop or his immediately inner ring. Continue reading
Sophos blames BYOD for increased interest in hacking mobiles
Rating: Established security firm now offers free anti-virus app for Android users
For a long time those with Symbian OS smartphones were genuinely safe from viruses and malware because no self-respecting hacker would gain any kudos for creating one. So the incentives basically weren’t there. The phenomenon of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is changing all of that, Sophos claims. With BYOD, the end user effectively selects which mobile device to use both at home and in workplace. The later brings corporate data into jeopardy and hackers have spotted the opportunity. Given that IT managers cannot be everywhere, all of the time, security specialist, Sophos has introduced a free lightweight anti-virus app which protects Android devices (smartphone & tablet) against malware, privacy issues and hardware loss. Perhaps, Sophos can replicate it success in the online market in the mobile world? Continue reading
RIM provides kit to bloggers @ WOMAD UK festival
Rating: GoMo makes a guest appearance on Guardian site
Here’s an interesting piece of branding. The WOMAD (World Of Music And Dance) festival held over the last weekend [27th – 29th July 2012] had as its media partner, the UK national newspapers – the Guardian and the Observer [Sunday only]. Now the editors say they “are committed to an ‘Open’ form of journalism. So they invited readers to join in by contributing to its web site with their music reviews and festival observations. But it just so happens that the Guardian festivals are sponsored by BlackBerry. Notice how RIM at least acknowledges that the public only recognises its brand. Anyway, as a consequence RIM provided the full kit to enable bloggers to write directly from the event. Continue reading
Apple and Samsung’s patent clash heads for San Jose
California dreamin’..
Apple’s epic battle with Samsung over patent infrigement goes to court in California today in what may prove a crucial turning point for the fortunes of both smartphone makers. Continue reading
The Geek Games – Friday’s Olympic story
Rating: Thinly veiled excuse for running a cartoon
It’s the official start of the Olympic Games 2012 in London today [July 27th 2012]. We couldn’t resist this Olympic themed story which is a comic cartoon from the guys at Cast. This software specialist offers a mobile app assessment tool for testing the code in Android apps and it is built into the standard CAST Highlight tool. More information here and here.
Enjoy! Continue reading
Samsung posts record profits – as expected
Stark contrast to fortunes of Korean rival LG
Sales of Samsung smartphones rose by more than a fifth in the second quarter to a record profit of $47.1 billion [£30 billion], the South Korean manufacturer has confirmed. The world’s biggest handset maker also increased its operating profit by 79 per cent to $5.9 billion [£3.75 billion]. Though the trading update was in line with analysts expections, shares still rose by more than 4 per cent in early trading in Seoul today.
Samsung added that it expected demand for its smartphones to continue rising in this third quarter as new products with diverse price ranges came on line, building on the company’s success with its recently launched Galaxy SIII. Continue reading
CAST &Dr. Dobb’s offer $10,000 prize for next BreakOut app
Rating: Run you app through CAST’s analysis to win
CAST, the software analysis specialist and Dr. Dobb’s have announced the BreakOut Award to search for the world’s best undiscovered new app, offering a $10,000 cash prize to the winner. This competition aims to support innovation and uncover the next rising star of the app world. The best news is that the BreakOut Award is open to a wide spectrum of developers, from individuals to corporate development teams. Continue reading
HTC set to lose out to Samsung says YouGov
Rating: Consumers struggle to differentiate amongst models
Reading between the lines of recent UK research carried out by YouGov, HTC is rapidly losing its mantle as the brand of choice amongst Android smartphone lovers. According to Russell Feldman, associate director in YouGov’s telecoms and technology team, “HTC has long been falling out of the rat race. Our research also found a small number of HTC owners considered their make and model of HTC before purchasing it – significantly lower consideration rates compared to rival brands – a worrying sign.” Who is benefitting? Answer – Samsung. “The [Samsung] brand is now the Android future choice of destination with high loyalty, consideration and expectation rates increasing year-on-year,” says YouGov. Continue reading
Not so lucky LG sees dive in handset sales
Seoul sad to see you go
A couple of years ago Korean manufacturer LG Electronics vowed to overtake Samsung to become the world’s second-biggest mobile phone maker (after Nokia). But that was before it was displaced in 2011 by Apple as the world’s No.3 mobile phone maker (according to IDC). Making it the fourth largest. Now, if the firm’s latest figures are anything to go by, its phone sales are well on the slippery slope and LG may even be forced to pull out of the US market. Continue reading
Mindshare UK selects Celtra as rich media mobile advertising provider
Exclusive relationship will drive mobile advertising adoption by leading brands
Press release
July 25th 2012. Celtra, the industry leader for rich media advertising and analytics across mobile devices, has announced that it has become the exclusive rich media mobile advertising partner for Mindshare UK, the global media network, with a who’s who client list of top global brands including Unilever, Hutchison 3, Landrover, Nestlé and Mazda. Mindshare UK selected Celtra after an exhaustive pitch process to help deliver highly innovative and award-winning mobile advertising executions. Continue reading
