Author Archives: Tony Dennis
iPhone no longer the UI leader says On Device
Rating: Actually Motorola RAZR users are happier
Another clear sign that Apple is losing its way and that Android based handsets are winning out has been provided by On Device Research. It has mined data gathered from 320,000 mobile and tablet users across six countries to produce a user satisfaction table taken from 92, 825 mobile users in the USA. The report shows the iPhone coming in fifth place behind four Android based handset. Coming as no surprise to GoMobile News, the Motorola Droid RAZR M took second place behind the Motorola Atrix HD. Continue reading
Mysterious Dreameye finally lifts its skirt
Rating: Aussie mob ad company finally reveals location, etc
For a company which described itself as an “Australian based mobile advertising company with a focus on delivering rich media ads” back in 2008, Dreameye Media Pty Ltd really doesn’t seem to understand what GoMobile News does. It publishes the world’s leading directory to the mobile advertising world, for starters. Instead of helping us out by supplying information on how potential customers can contact Dreameye, head honcho Simon Hunt seems more keen on issuing thinly veiled threats. We’re flattered but Hunt appears to have created an entirely new (HTML) web site just to disparage us. Continue reading
Dreameye Media/Simon Hunt threatens GoMo News yet again
Rating: No attempt to refute allegations, of course
What a bizarre situation. A company which described itself back in 2008 as an “Australian based mobile advertising company” has once again issued thinly veiled threats against GoMo News. Its gripe is that we keep printing comments from readers about Dreameye and its owner/operator Simon Hunt in good faith. Most recently from ‘Adam’ who thanked us for alerting him to the company’s track record. See our story here. There has been little attempt by Hunt/Dreameye to refute any of the allegations, of course. It’s difficult to contact him anyway. There’s no www.dreameyemedia.com web site any more and its Skype profile only gives the one number +61468424783 which is some kind of Australian mobile phone number. Continue reading
BYOD application spotted @ pre-MWC gig
Rating: IT and cellular worlds collide again
And so to London’s Westminister for a pre-Mobile World Congress (MWC) event hosted by the UK’s Deptmant of Trade & Investment called the Smart UK Project. It’s intended as a showcase of the newest tech which good old Blighty will be offering to the mobile & cellular world @ Barcelona [2013]. The event did provide a good taste of current trends which are useful – like smartphone compatible stereo speakers which leave GoMobile News cold (sorry, Damson Audio). What rocked our boat was the collision between IT and mobile which BlackBelt smartphone defence represents. Its tech has massive implications for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Continue reading
Android extremely dominant in smartphone sales
Rating: Nokia still hanging on in there says Canalys
Mobile phone shipment tracker Canalys has just published figures for its estimates of shipments in 2012. Both the Android OS and Samsung (as a handset vendor) completely dominated in the phone market. Surprisingly however, Nokia still managed to cling on in third place. That’s because Canalys assembles these figures for the 50 plus countries that it tracks. Continue reading
Claimed Nokia N97 OS upgrade to Belle creates havoc
Rating: It’s just not possible, OK?
We were wondering why a number of readers were asking us about a possible OS upgrade for a legacy Nokia handset – the N97. Most readers want to know how they can install the latest version of Symbian – Belle, on this handset. The short answer is that you can’t. The N97 was running S60V5 – which translates roughly to Series 60 v5.0 in layman’s terms. So it simply can’t take an upgrade to either Anna or Belle. Why do people think it is possible, we wondered? Then we found a reference to it in a Nokia discussions forum here. Sadly, it is a spoof claim. Continue reading
WordStream comments on Google’s new Enhanced Campaigns
Rating: Mobile CPCs will soon be similar to desktop CPCs
It appears that Google has decided to soft launch major changes that will make mobile advertising exponentially simpler in AdWords via its blog. (See our earlier story here). According to mobile advertising specialist WordStream this move “represents the biggest single change in the past ten years to the basic structure of AdWords campaigns. Additionally, WordStream claims that this change will greatly simplify targeting and bidding for mobile advertising. According to WordStream CTO, Larry Kim, his company is one of only a few companies that have been working together with and advising Google on this change. Continue reading
Warply makes two strategic new hires – Kartik Ram & Sixto Arias
Rating: Mobile marketing startup plotting rapid international expansion
Mobile marketing startup, Warply, has hired two leading mobile industry figures – Kartik Ram and Sixto Arias. The new appointments come right at the conclusion of Warply’s first year of operation for and at a moment when an plan of international expansion is being implemented. Kartik Ram will join the company as director of sales for the United States and Asia and Sixto Arias has been appointed as a key advisor. Ram joins Warply from Adfonic, one of the world’s largest mobile advertising networks. Arias brings his wealth of experience to the company having founded the Mobile Marketing Association in Spain. Continue reading
GoMo discovers a NFC campaign that actually works
Rating: Tap4 Offers spotted on London overground train
Here at GoMobile Towers we were beginning to think that something was amiss with Motorola’s NFC [Near Field Communication] capability inside our loan RAZR I (the one with Intel inside). However, to our great delight, it worked perfectly with a service called Tap4 Offers which is apparently operated by KBH – an on-train media company. The campaign is particularly interesting because of its breadth. Not only can you ‘tap’ with an NFC enabled handset, alternatively you could scan in the QR code or text 0000 to the shortcode 78400. The campaign appears to be running in conjunction with London’s South West Trains overground rail company. Continue reading
Nokia WP7.8 OTA upgrade notification fails
Rating: Stealth release of the upgrade from W7 Mango
Here at GoMobile News we have been awaiting the upgrade to Windows Phone 7.8 (which replaces W7 Mango) with bated breath. Virtually every day since early January [2013] we have been going to the ‘phone update’ page within the handset hoping to see that the upgrade had finally been released. The screen kept saying “No updates found” – even though we had ticked the box which says, “Use my mobile data connection to check for updates.” Then on Friday [February 1st 2013] we needed to use Zune on a PC to check for a particular music track. Imagine our surprise when the screen suddenly asked if we wanted to upgrade. Windows Phone 7.8 (WP7.8) was suddenly there! Continue reading
RIM/BlackBerry may have ultimate BYOD killer app
Rating: Lost in the BB10 disappointment is BlackBerry Balance
Of course, it was about time that Research In Motion (RIM) finally got wise to the fact that in future we can finally refer to the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone as BlackBerry instead. Good move. Years too late, though. RIM displayed an obvious ignorance of the power of brands by not renaming beforehand, of course. Overall, the industry reaction to the new Z10 hasn’t been very positive. However, that’s probably because mobile generalists fail to appreciate what put the BlackBerry up the top in the first place. It is a corporate tool. And the introduction of the new BlackBerry Balance feature means that organisations will feel a lot safer about deploying these smartphones within their own BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) strategy. Continue reading
GoMo hadn’t bricked its iPhone after all
Rating: We triumph over obscurity in the end
They say that necessity is the Mother of Invention. Well needing to test an iOS app, we decided to have another go at reviving our broken handset. We can now happily report that the iphone is now successfully connected to O2 in the UK. It is all down to activation. Continue reading
RIM will struggle to serve its two masters with BB10
Rating: BB10 device needs to be priced as premium or mass market
Industry pundits are waiting with bated breath to see what RIM will actually do when it announces its long awaited BlackBerry 10 device or devices today [January 30th 2013]. However, Malik Saadi, a principal analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media believes that RIM will struggle to serve its two masters: – the developed countries in North America and Europe and the emerging markets. Saadi argues the BlackBerry Curve has enabled RIM to attract a large audience in the other regions, mainly young professionals and students. If RIM is to target the same audience in these emerging markets, the new BB10 device should not be priced higher than US$250, Saadi says. That, of course, is unlikely to happen if RIM is to rebuild its image as a supplier of premium smartphones. Continue reading
Get ready to switch to RIM’s BB10
Rating: GoMo’s Top Tips for migrating from an old Berry to the latest models
With RIM all set to launch the very latest version of its mobile OS – BlackBerry 10, tomorrow [January 30th 2013], it has drawn our attention to the process of migrating from one BlackBerry model to another. The need for backups is therefore a must. GoMobile News thought it might be useful to provide some Top Tips for doing so from our recent experience of migrating from an 8250 to a 9320. We don’t know how much easier it might be to migrate to a BB10 device yet but there’s no harm in being safe rather than sorry. Continue reading
Sun highlights need for real time fraud protection
Rating: Scare story could hinder sales of data roaming packages
Under the headline ‘Network cashing in on crime’, the British newspaper – the Sun on Sunday wrote an article which could seriously scare ordinary folk away from taking their mobile phone with them on holiday. Which could damage mobile operators’ efforts to sell custom data roaming packages to their subscribers – especially business folk. With MWC 2013 fast approaching, this story could also have implications for attendees too. The crux of the issue is that network operators continue to charge subscribers for calls made after a phone has been stolen and until the theft is reported. Continue reading
