Author Archives: Tony Dennis
MACH offers operators fast bucks thru fast rollout
Rating: Stop cash leakage in rapid time
Times are tight. So it’s not always easy for operators to calculate how much money they can potentially save and how quickly the benefits will flow. Recognising this quandry, revenue protection and anti-fraud specialst, MACH has just introduced fast-track versions of its proven and established solutions. This enables systems to be rolled out in weeks rather than months. Mobile and telecoms network operators can significantly reduce revenue leakage in just 8-10 weeks, and see a fast return on investment. The new modules Rapid-FAME and Rapid-CASHBACK can readily be upgraded to the full specs at a later point. Continue reading
EE promises to raise its 4G speeds to 20 Mbit/s
Rating Has Ofcom handed EE too big an advantage?
Less than six months after it launched the UK’s first 4G mobile service (using 1800 MHz), EE has announced that it intends to double the speed and capacity of its 4G network in Q2-Q3 2013. At present, the average download rate of EE’s 4G service is around 10Mbit/s. The average download rate will therefore rise to around 20Mbit/s in 10 UK cities, starting with Cardiff. Industry reaction to this move has been pretty positive. It does raise the question of why Ofcom gave permission to EE to go ahead with 4G over 18 MHz – handing the Franco/German operator a massive advantage over its Hong Kong; British and Spanish rivals. Continue reading
Plane finding AR app not banned in the USA after all
Rating: Our investigation reveals WP7 version the most expensive
There’s nothing like a little adverse publicity to aid your app sales, is there? Well, British software house Pinkfroot seems to have befitted from it in our case. The rumour going around was that its Plane Finder AR app had been banned in the USA. Chiefly because it could allegedly be used as a terrorist tool to shoot down aircraft. Actually, that suggestion was made back in 2010 and the app is very much available in the iTunes App Store now. To prove the point our investigator actually bought a copy of the app. What an effective sales tool that rumour was. Continue reading
Dinamotxt puts SMS/text onto Android tablets
Rating: More like BlackBerry Bridge than Facebook Home
When the folks at Dinamotxt first contacted us about their app, they made mention of a similarity with Facebook’s forthcoming app. It wasn’t until after Facebook had launched Home for Android that we made the connexion and understood what Dinamotxt was going on about. Their app is for texting from Android tablets. Dinamotxt claims the app(s) solve serious issues associated with other apps in the category. For example, the company believes it is the first to give users a PIN to protect text privacy because tablets are often family devices. Nonetheless, Dinamotxt offers none of the tight messaging integration that Facebook Home app will eventually provide. Continue reading
GoMo backs the wrong horse in Grand National
Rating: We investigate the Paddy Power Android betting app
There’s a long standing tradition here at GoMo News Towers that every year we try to place a bet on a horse running in the UK’s Grand National steeplechase. This year [2013] was no exception. And, before you ask, No we didn’t win. But it was an interesting experience – especially since it allowed us to test our newly loaned Motorola RAZR HD. It also showed how an event so popular as this horse race [in the UK at least] obviously put a strain on the mobile networks. Continue reading
Facebook opts for social media centric Android UI with Home
Rating: First showcase handset will be HTC First
Actually we think the latest move by social networking giant, Facebook, is rather clever. Rather than trying to entice cellular subscribers with a dedicated smartphone/tablet offering, with ‘Facebook Home’ the web giant has opted to offer a social media centric UI running on top of Google’s Android OS. Is there an element of irony here? Continue reading
Samsung & Nokia stronger brands than Apple in India
Rating: Upstreams data mines its report for GoMo News
With a large percentage of GoMo News‘ readers being based in India, we asked marketing technology company Upstream to mine the data in its recent report - The 2013 Emerging Markets Mobile Attitudes Report, purely to reflect the Indian market. The results show that whilst Nokia has lost popularity in the West (it was never that popular in the USA), the same doesn’t apply to India. More Indians aspire to owning a Nokia than those who would prefer to have an Apple smartphone. Continue reading
GoMo updates its Windows Phone 7.8 OS
Rating: Absolutely no idea what the benefits are
Here at GoMo Towers we just happened to pop a SIM card back into our Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone which we updated to Windows Phone 7.8 a while ago. This time we had the completely opposite experience to our earlier upgrade back in February [2013] see here ‘Nokia WP7.8 OTA upgrade notification fails.’ This time we had an OTA (Over-The-Air) notification that an upgrade was available if we plugged the handset into a computer (and used Zune). Continue reading
WOMAD Charlton Park
[ July 25, 2013 9:00 am to July 28, 2013 11:00 pm. ] Organisers: WOMAD
Venue: Charlton Park
Location: Malmesbury, UK
Web: www.womad.org
Tickets available from here.
Festival of WOrld Music Arts and Dance Continue reading
Apple may have to pull Pokerstars iOS app
Rating: Aussie report does features a Mr Xenophon. Hmmm
We’re pretty sure that this story isn’t intended as a joke but on April 1st it is hard to tell. Anyway, according to reports which first surfaced in the Canberra Times, an iOS poker app may be illegal in Australia. Called PokerStars, it appears to let players to bet real money. Its existence has angered one Australian senator, Richard di Natale, who is quoted as saying that Apple has “an obligation to take down apps that are against Australian law.” He also claimed that people in Australia are not allowed to lawfully play online poker under the Interactive Gambling Act. Continue reading
Hey, you get off of my iCloud
Rating: GoMo reader not too happy with male mail feature
The first must-have accessory for any keen iPhone user, it seems, is a personal computer. Have you ever tried to active an iPhone without one? Anyway, the second disadvantage to not possessing some kind of PC or Mac is personal data backup. One GoMo News reader has discovered this to his cost since he is in the habit of frequently losing his handset or dropping it into a sink (loo), etc. Which is a pain because he kept on losing all of his contacts and email. No problems, we told him. Just make sure you set up the iCloud on your smartphone next time you use it. Except we hadn’t realised just how useless the iCloud Mail feature is. Continue reading
Apple’s iWatch could face patent challenges
Rating: More than just a legal dispute over names
GoMo News has already speculated in a previous story – ‘Apple faces major challenges over iWatch‘, that the iconic US company (Apple) is facing seriously technological challenges. If it truly is determined to introduce a digital watch (iWatch. In our view the only real path to follow is to use low power Bluetooth between a watch and a mobile device – iPhone, iPod or iPad. What we hadn’t appreciated before, however, was just how far an Italian manufacturer of digital watches, i’m Watch has actually got. Continue reading
GoMo is media partner for Global AR Summit
Rating: Key event in Shanghai for augmented reality sector
Having been key followers of events surround Augmented Reality (AR), GoMo News is delighted to announce that this publication has become an official media partner of the Global AR Summit 2013. The event will take place between May 23rd – May 24th in Shanghai, China. The organisers, DEMAND-LED are promising a star-studded list of speakers from Big Names such as Google, Sony, Nokia and Huawei. To register go here. Continue reading
MNOs should fight back with their own VoIP & VoLTE services
Rating: Go with the flow and buy into ‘open’ ecosystem
It’s easy to forget that until very recently, voice was the key revenue generator for mobile network operators (MNOs). However, the voice call sector is now being fought over by numerous players, including OTT providers such as Skype and Viber. Plus Internet giants, Facebook, has just announced the availability of its VoIP application in the UK. However, there is an opportunity for MNOs to fight back by offering there own VoIP based services. Continue reading
Apple’s WifiSLAM purchase impacts LBS advertising
Rating: Wif-fi best for indoor location
It appears that the major players in the mobile sector have spotted something of a big flaw in the potential for location based advertising. Once you have enticed smartphone owners inside a mall, how do you deliver precision messages to them? After all, it’s extremely unlikely that the GPS receivers inside their phones have direct line of sight with a satellite. For some time now, there have been ‘intelligent’ versions of GPS technology such as A-GPS (Assisted GPS). But the real answer lies with w-i-fi top up which is why Apple has recently acquired the indoor-GPS company WifiSLAM. Continue reading
