Category Archives: Mobile OS
BBC’s Watchdog on Samsung S4 sparks interest in bloatware
Luckily GoMo News knew about it over three years ago
After Samsung’s latest flagship handset, the Galaxy S4, featured in a recent episode of the BBC’s Watchdog TV programme, the term ‘bloatware’ has suddenly become extremely newsworthy. Handy for GoMo News since we’ve been reporting on it for years. The problem derives from the way Samsung describes its models. Quite correctly. its best selling model is described as a 16 GB version. It genuinely does have 16 GB of onboard memory. Only problem? When the latest version of the Android OS and all of Samsung’s sophisticated UI ( including eye-tracking) are loaded, you are left with a handset that only has around 9 GB of free memory space. Continue reading
Asha 501 should prove Nokia isn’t a spent force
Handset has strong appeal in markets like India
Hot on the heels of Nokia’s launch of the Asha 501, GoMo News has been deluged with observers proclaiming that handsets such as this should help to prove Nokia isn’t a spent force in emerging markets – and India in particular. A typical example comes from Marco Veremis CEO of Upstream, whose recent research into mobile attitudes in emerging markets indicates that the Nokia brand is far from dead on a global basis. Continue reading
1 in 6 shipped BlackBerries was BB10
Rating: Subscriber base staple at around 76 million users
In its fourth quarter results announced today [March 28th 2013], BlackBerry revealed modest figures for its latest BB10 handset. It revealed that one in six of all BlackBerry handsets shipped had, in fact, been a Z10. It had also shipped around 370,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks (tablets). BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins, appeared happy at the strength of support BB10 had been getting from developers and partners worldwide. Continue reading
Famous no-shows at MWC 2013 – a Sailfish powered handset from Jolla
Rating: CEO talks a lot but no handset materialises
Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments for us here @ GoMobile Towers was the fact that whilst Mozilla’s Firefox benefitted from Samsung and Telefonica’s announcements @ MWC, no such luck for Sailfish fans. All the company behind Sailfish, Jolla, did was to announce the availability of the first Sailfish OS Software Development Kit (SDK). However, Jolla’s CEO, Marc Dillon, did a lot of prominent speaking. He should have given a keynote speech on the topic of Mobile as a Platform for Innovation today [February 28th 2013]. Continue reading
Net-m shows off complete white lable mobile OS
Rating: And it is aimed at European operators
It just goes to show when wandering around an exhibition as vast as MWC 2013 it is actually worth taking the fliers. Incidentally, MWC now reminds GoMobile News of CeBIT Hanover rather than a cosy GSM show that used to be held in Cannes. Anyway, on a small leaflet from Germany’s net-m (Net Mobile) was the sentence, “net-m OS is a new white label operating system based on open standards and based on core web technologies.” Oh No, we thought. Not another mobile OS to compete against Android and iOS. However, net-m’s Dr Hermann Simon Lichte revealed that his company actually builds on top of the Mozilla Firefox OS in order to create a white label OS aimed at operators. And European operators not just those in developing markets. Continue reading
ZTE throws weight behind Firefox OS
Rating: Bringing smartphones to the masses
ZTE used its Press conference at MWC 2013 to throw its weight fully behind the Firefox OS from Mozilla. The clear intention is to flog [sell] smartphones to those who currently can’t afford them – especially in developing countries. The move was introduced by He Shiyou, head of the mobile devices division with Chinese telecoms manufacturer. The first example will be the ZTE Open which will also be the first handset to support the Mozilla Firefox mobile OS and is backed by Tier One MNO, Telefonica. Continue reading
Mixed reaction to the HTC One launch
Rating: Camera, Blink Feed, aluminium casing all mentioned
There has been a bit of a mixed reaction to the introduction yesterday [February 19th 2013] of HTC‘s Samsung S3 and Apple iPHone5 killer smartphone – the One. Vodafone seems to view it as just another smartphone in its 4G ready range. Ernest Doku, an expert with uSwitch.com, likes its camera the best. Research analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media, Julian Jest, has gone heavy on the One’s UI which he reckons makes it WP8-like. Meanwhile, UK High Street retailer, Phones 4u, was most impressed by the “beautifully crafted, full aluminium metal body with zero gap construction that took 12 years to perfect.” It did like Blink Feed function too as well as the camera. It looks like things could go either way for the Taiwanese handset manufacturer, though. Continue reading
A possible problem with WP7.x apps running on the Lumia 820
Rating: Or it could just be a problem with the Register’s news app
Now they say that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones (and more on this later) but … a GoMobile News reader contacted us yesterday to complain that he had loaded an app onto his spanking new Nokia Lumia 820 smartphone and it wouldn’t work. Initially we suspected that it could well be a problem that apps designed for earlier Windows Phone handsets – running Windows Mango W7 or even version 7.8, could encounter problem when run under Windows Phone 8. Now we are not so sure. It could be that the app in question – UK news site, The Register, has problems with all of its apps not just Windows Phone. Continue reading
Guest Post: The new Z10 – will it knock the competition into touch?
by Tim Douthwaite, head of mobile sales with Ardencom
So what does can we make of the newly launched BB10 powered BlackBerry Z10? I’d summarise my verdict into three sections: – the handset; functionality; and cost.
The handset
I’d say that from a distance, lying on the desk, the handset could easily be mistaken for an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S2. 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
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 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
2012′s Top Stories: Nokia N73 Software Update
Rating: Hundreds of responses from the Indian sub-continent
Although the original story was posted as long ago as May 23rd 2008, the story ‘Nokia update N73 Software‘ continues to haunt us here at GoMobile News Towers. That story merely reported that in Europe, Nokia has released a newer version of the OS for the N73. The benefits of the upgrade included support for mobile TV (but only when used with the Nokia SU-33W receiver) and plus an Express Mail client. That story has now generated an astonishing 103 responses. Most of these comments are simply a plea for help but not one of the readers we have written back to via email have ever replied. So the saga continues. Continue reading
Two new mobile OS – Tizen and Sailfish might showcase @MWC 2013
Rating: Tizen could even be found inside the Samsung Galaxy S4
Following up on our Samsung Tizen announcement story here here, we noticed a massive rumour about the next version of Samsung’s highly successful Galaxy S range. According to a report in the Daily Bhaskar here, Samsung its readying the Galaxy S4 for a February 2013 release. Now we all know what takes place in February each year – yes, the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) show. And MWC is the favourite place for the shakers and movers in the cellular world (sorry CTIA Las Vegas) to launch new products. Continue reading
