Category Archives: mobile news
New pressure on Vodafone to sell stake in joint US venture
Partner Verizon says deal could be structured to avoid huge tax bill
The cat-and-mouse game between Vodafone and Verizon Communications over their joint US venture has taken another twist, with claims that the British operator will not suffer a huge tax bill if it did sell off its 45 per cent stake. For months speculation has been rife that Vodafone was about to dispose of its lucrative share in Verizon Wireless (VZW), sending the UK firm’s share price soaring. But Vodafone’s CEO, Vittorio Colao, has sought to play down the suggestions that he needs the money to expand elsewhere, claiming that his company has a healthy balance sheet and could invest where and when it wants to. Continue reading
Nokia Q1 sales on the up, predict analysts, but cash disappearing fast
Nokia is on target to ship 5.6 million Lumia handsets this quarter, up from 4.4 million in Q4, as it also trims its losses.
That’s the view of analysts in a poll conducted by the news agency Reuters. It says that though the Finnish maker’s Lumia handsets running Microsoft’s Windows software have yet to make any real dent in the duopoly of Samsung and Apple, they’re at least helping the company to stop hemorrhaging cash as losses drop to around €0.04 per share from €0.08 a year earlier, if predictions are correct. Continue reading
Yahoo puts mobile in fast track as earnings disappoint
Managing the shift to mobile has been given a top priority by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, after the search provider yesterday [16th April 2013] revealed slower-than-expected revenue growth.
Though Yahoo has still to announce any specific mobile apps or services it has in mind, it has already made some headway with active mobile users passing the 300 million mark for the first time, up from 200 million as disclosed in its last earnings update in January. Continue reading
Web site discovers UK babies now using mobiles
Rating: 1 in 7 parents say baby using phone or tablet for 4+ hours
New evidence suggests that parents are pushing smart devices onto their babies despite concerns over the potential consequences.
Users of this baby site have responded to a poll on how much they allow their babies to play with their smartphone or tablet device. More than half of parents admitted that they allow their baby to play with their phone or tablet device and one in seven parents confessed to doing so for more than four hours every day. Continue reading
Chrome may come to dominate mobile browsers
Rating: We may be witnessing the rise of Chrome as the mobile Browser
According to mobile data analysis experts, 51degrees.mobi, over the last six months, Google’s Chrome mobile has started to take chunks out of the native Android browser’s user base. With Google announcing its new rendering engine Blink l earlier this week, the company’s ‘Chart of the [...]
Foxconn ratchets up Chinese assembly lines ahead of new ‘new iPhone’
Cheaper Apple phone could also be on way to counter Samsung range
Just four days after Foxconn revealed that it Q1 sales were a fifth lower due to weak demand for Apple’s iPhone, the Taiwanese manufacturer has resumed hiring assembly-line workers in China – prompting fierce speculation that the iPhone’s successor is on its way. Foxconn, listed as Hon Hai Precision Industry, today [April 15th 2013] revealed that since the end of last month it had added about 10,000 workers to its payroll in Zhengzhou, its major production facility for iPhones. Continue reading
New Facebook ‘super app’ leaves users under-whelmed
Clutters up other mobile functions, it’s claimed
Facebook‘s recently launched ‘super app’ for mobile devices has so far proved to be a resounding flop, with fewer than 100,000 people installing it and around half of those giving it the worst possible rating. The social networking site’s app, Facebook Home, was hailed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg as “the best version of Facebook there is” when it was launched last week, but within hours of its release it was hit with a torrent of negative reviews. It replaces the home screen on certain Android devices with its own home screen in which pictures and messages from friends appear. It is also intended to make other aspects of Facebook quicker and easier to locate. Continue reading
BlackBerry demands probe into ‘misleading claims’ over Z10 customer returns
Lack of apps and poor user interface cited for returns
Claims that some retailers are finding more customers are returning their BlackBerry Z10 phones than the outlets are actually selling has prompted demands by the manufacturer for an investigation into the research company involved. The troubled Canadian firm is to ask the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ontario Securities Commission to probe what it says is “a false and misleading report” about retail return rates. The report, by Boston-based Detwiler Fenton, initially sparked a fall in the value of BlackBerry shares, though at close on Nasdaq last night the price had recovered slightly to $13.64 – albeit still well below its January peak of $18.32. Continue reading
UK goes mad over Ding Dong! Witch is Dead
Rating: Don’t bother trying to download dedicated ringtone
In good old Blighty we always try to things in style. And the death of a ‘wartime’ Prime Minister is no exception. There are plenty of Brits who don’t agree that Margaret Thatcher was a good thing for the country. So they are voting against her. By purchasing the track – Ding Dong the Witch is Dead, sung by Judy Garland as a protest. The consequence is that this track will become Number One in the Official UK singles chart on Sunday [April 14th 2013]. But if you want the Witch is Dead as your ringtone, it isn’t going to be that easy. Continue reading
In-app fleecing threatens m-commerce
Rating: Stop fleecing youngsters with in-app purchases says OFT
The practice of raising money from games old ‘free’ through in-app purchasing has come under close scrutiny from the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Whilst consumers pay nothing to download and install the app, the makers generate funds by charging for extras through in-app purchasing. This practice of ‘in-app fleecing’ is particularly deplored when incorporated into games aimed at the young - especially for the Apple iPad tablet. The OFT found that Single purchases of virtual currency typically range from a few pence to £70 or more.As part of its investigation, the OFT is asking for information from key players in the sector, including games developers and games hosting services, as well as consumer and parenting groups. Continue reading
Wolfson shares surge on news of Samsung deal
Korean giant takes up slack caused by loss of Apple contract
Shares in tiny Edinburgh firm Wolfson Microelectronics jumped a further 5 per cent in early trading today after news it had signed a deal with Samsung allowing its audio technology to be used in the Korean giant’s smartphones and tablets. The deal will see Samsung, the world’s biggest seller of smartphones, work with Wolfson as a “primary partner” to develop audio chips for devices including the soon to be released Galaxy S4, dubbed the iPhone killer. Today’s [April 12th 2013] rise in Wolfson’s shares follows a similar leap yesterday when they also soared by more than five per cent. Continue reading
UK watchdog cracks down on pay-to-play apps
Makers exhorting kids to buy costly downloads risk big fines, even prison
Concerns that youngsters are being aggressively targeted by makers of mobile games apps are to be investigated by Britain’s watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It’s claimed that children are lured into downloading the free games onto their phones or tablets, but it’s the parents who pick up the tab when the youngsters also download expensive add-ons. The OFT argues there is a fine line between advertising the apps to children and exhorting them to add new features under pay-to-play, a concept that has risen in popularity in recent years. The OFT believes exhortation, even if the children have their parents’ permission to use their credit car password for the downloads, could still break consumer credit laws. Continue reading
Possible hint that BlackBerry Q10 release is imminent
Rating: UK PT team just sends us Q10 details
Well, this is strange. We all know that Blackberry is planning to launch the QWRTY version of its BB10 handset – the Q10, any time now. The smart money has so far been on April 30th [2013]. But, for no apparent reason, the company’s UK PR team decided to remind us just how desirable this handset will be. We’re fans. We’ve checked and apparently some Canadian web sites are already letting BlackBedrry junkies pre-order this handset. So just in case the launch is more imminent we’ve republished the Q10 promo blurb below. Continue reading
Foxconn sales drop casts shadow over iPhone
Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturer and major supplier of iPhones, has revealed that 2013 Q1 sales have fallen by almost a fifth due to weaker than expected demand for Apple’s flagship device. The company, listed as Hon Hai Precision Industry, relies on Apple for 60 to 70 per cent of its revenues but has been hit by disappointing sales for the latest iPhone. It says revenues are 19 per cent down year-on-year to 808.97 billion Taiwanese dollars (£17.6 billion) in the three-month period. Continue reading
UK mobile ad spending doubles in 2012
Smartphones, tablets and 4G driving growth of richer mobile content
New research from PriceWaterhouse Coopers reveals that spending on digital advertising in the UK rose by more than 12 per cent last year, fuelled by the growth of smartphones. According to PWC, digital advert sales hit £5.42 billion in 2012, up £607 million on 2011. Mobile adverts proved to be the biggest area of spending, more than doubling to £526 million. It now makes up 10 per cent of digital advertising spend, against just 1.1 per cent three years previously, as increasing numbers of mobile users tune into video sharing hosts such as YouTube and social networking sites, especially Facebook and Twitter. Continue reading
