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  • Sony Xperia acro S – Water and Scratch Resistant Smartphone

    Sony Xperia acro S joins the Xperia line of smartphones, coming with a high quality screen and a camera of high performance, housed in a casing that provides protection in using conditions adverse for the conventional electronic equipments.

    Xperia acro S is equipped with a 4.3-inch full HD Reality screen that supports a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. Protected by a shield made of mineral glass resistant to scratch and chipping, the screen equipped with wet finger tracking technology allows the use of the touch interface even with wet fingers – like its “little brother” Sony Ericsson Xperia Active.

    The casing is built according to the IP57 and IP55 specifications, meeting strict requirements regarding the protection provided against dust and moisture. Thus, Sony Xperia acro S can be sunk in water up to 1 meter, where it will resist up to 30 minutes without risking permanent damages.

    In hardware, Xperia acro S is based on a 1.5 GHz dual-core chipset powered by Snapdragon, backed up by 1GB RAM. Its internal memory totals 16GB, of which about 11GB are available for the user. The specs list also includes a GLONASS-compatible GPS, NFC for electronic payments and an HDMI output.

    In terms of multimedia, Sony Xperia acro S has to offer a 12-megapixel camera with Exmor R sensor and lens with F2.4 aperture. Apart from taking photos, the camera supports shootings at 1080p. For video calls and for the Face Unlock feature, we also have a 1.3-megapixel frontal camera, which supports video capture at 720p.

    Sony Xperia acro S will run Google’s Android Gingerbread OS and it seems to be the equivalent of Xperia HD – already launched in Japan. The smartphone is being offered in pink, black and white. Unfortunately, the purchase price has not been revealed yet.

  • Nokia Launches Three New Phones: Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311

    Nokia expands its Asha range with three new models: Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306 and Nokia Asha 311, phones with touchscreen that try to get closer as much as possible of the smartphone experience, while keeping a price as low as possible.

    The Asha range, launched in October 2011, gets to 10 phone models, available in over 130 countries.

    Nokia Asha 311

    Colorful and compact, weighing 95 grams, Asha 311 offers a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a 1 GHz processor, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

    In terms of software, users will enjoy the Nokia Browser 2.0, which promises fast loading websites, Nokia Maps, WhatsApp Messenger, client for Facebook and Twitter, and a lot of games preinstalled, including Angry Birds plus 40 free games from Electronic Arts. The operating system is S40 Asha.

    Asha Nokia 311 will cost about € 92.

    Nokia Asha 305 and 306

    Asha 305 is a dual-SIM phone with Easy Swap function, 3-inch WQVGA resistive display, touch sensitive, 2-megapixel camera and Bluetooth and Dual Band connections. Colorful and compact, Nokia Asha 305, as the 311 model, features Nokia Maps, Nokia Browser and free games from EA.

    Asha 305’s big brother, Nokia Asha 306, additionally offers a WLAN connection, as well as the possibility to make video streaming through GPRS or WLAN.

    Nokia Asha 305 will cost about € 63, while Nokia Asha 306 will be priced around € 68. Both arrive in the third quarter of this year.

  • Mobile Payments: Increasingly Popular!

    Total value of mobile payment transaction will exceed $171.5 billion worldwide in 2012, meaning an increase of 61.9% compared to 2011, according to the latest figures provided by the consulting company Gartner.

    Total value of payments made with mobile devices will amount to $105.9 billion, while the number of users will reach to 212,200,000 in 2012 from 160,500,000 users in 2011.

    Company specialists expect the overall volume of mobile transactions and the average annual growth to be around 42 percent between 2011 and 2016, estimating a market worth $ 617 billion, with 448 million users by 2016. Sandy Shen, Research Director at Gartner, says that this growth will bring new opportunities for service and solutions providers that will have to respond to local requests to customize their offers.

    Mobile payment market will experience different fragmented services and solutions for the next two years. Technology providers will have to adjust their solutions for the local markets using different access technologies, business models and partnerships, under different regulatory conditions.

    The SMS remains the dominant technology access in developing markets because of constraints on different types of mobile and the easiness in using SMS.

    Web / WAP access is the preferred technology for North America and Western Europe as mobile Internet is commonly available and enabled on users’ devices. Gartner expects that by 2016 account access by Web / WAP to be active for about 88% of transactions in North America and 80 percent in Western Europe.

    Near Field Communication (NFC) transactions will remain relatively low until 2015, although the growth level will begin to increase starting from 2016.

  • Top 10 Activities of the New Smartphone Users

    A recent study by Ericsson ConsumerLab points out 10 of the most common activities of a new smartphone user.

    In the order of popularity, the new smartphone users inaugurate the device by installing check-in applications like Foursquare, in order to let friends know their location. The next activity is installing navigation applications that provide maps and traffic information, applications that enable them to watch TV on the Internet, watch movies, or play online.

    On the sixth place are ranked the applications that allow users to watch videos live on the Internet, followed by applications that enable them to access social networking games, to use Twitter and read or write on blogs.

    In addition, 69% of respondents recognized that use applications to access the Internet on a daily basis, and 20% of them use every day large data traffic services, such as video and TV applications, maps and navigation.

    The study was conducted on markets in India, Brazil and Russia, where the use of applications is different from the model seen on developed markets. For example, two out of five users are visiting rarely or never the official platforms that markets applications and download, instead, applications from third party websites or forums. Almost half of users have firstly downloaded applications on computer and then transferred them to the smartphone.

    "These figures reveal strong interest in apps that enable consumers to deal with daily challenges and interact with people, places and things in their urban surroundings. We believe that, "Smartphones and apps will be key in transforming everyday life for people in high growth markets going forward into the Networked Society", said Jasmeet Singh Sethi, Senior Specialist at Ericsson ConsumerLab.

  • Nokia Prepares New PureView Smartphones

    Nokia 808 PureView is just the beginning: the Finnish manufacturer making plans for an entire range of PureView smartphones with various forms of design and prices, all recommended by the camera’s excellent performances.

    As always, future models of Nokia PureView will have high-resolution image sensors, optical ensemble of high performance with Carl Zeiss and hardware and software adaptations for processing photos at the highest quality standards. The difference is that the new smartphones will incorporate these features into a more flexible housing, thus entering in line with the competition, which currently promotes slim phones – highly appreciated by customers, despite the poorer performance in terms of autonomy.

    Unfortunately, as regards the new Nokia PureView smartphones, for a more flexible housing we will have to accept not only reduced battery autonomy, but also the use of image sensors inferior to the 41-megapixel currently installed on the 808 PureView model. Even so, the new technologies developed by Nokia will help maintain pictures at a high enough level of quality that the PureView series to not lose its main advantage over the competition.

    Given the incorporation of technologies under development for several years, Nokia 808 PureView comes equipped with Symbian Belle OS. The WP version has been excluded so far, because the PureView technologies need to be adapted to the new software platform – time and resource consuming operation. However, it is possible that at least one part of the future Nokia PureView models to be delivered with the operating system developed by Microsoft – Windows Phone.

  • Sonetel to Give All Customers iNum Numbers From Voxbone

    Voxbone announced today that Sonetel, a Swedish VoIP provider with users in more than 200 countries, has begun giving all of its subscribers free iNum numbers from Voxbone. The agreement to provide iNums expands Sonetel's relationship with Voxbone, which has provided the certified reseller more than 17,000 geographical phone numbers since 2010.

    iNums are global phone numbers that Voxbone launched in 2008 to support IP communications. Using the international number range of +883 5100 assigned to Voxbone, iNums enable a customer to establish a local presence in new locations with a single, portable number. By providing every customer an iNum, Sonetel will extend the subscriber's range of free calling to include communications with all other iNum users, anywhere in the world.

    Sonetel offers a free hosted PBX solution that is particularly popular with small and medium businesses (SMBs) in price-sensitive regions, such as Africa and Asia. The company then upsells those customers on call termination and Voxbone-provided premium origination services. Together, Sonetel and Voxbone help business owners cost-effectively add local phone numbers, as well as launch virtual offices in any country where they see a market opportunity.

    Sonetel has begun providing iNums to its more than 40,000 existing users and will assign them to the 200 to 300 customers that sign up for service each day. In the process, Sonetel is helping enhance the value of iNums by expanding the number of businesses and other organizations worldwide that can be reached for free via iNums.

    iNums are distributed and routed by a growing list of service providers. Where not routed by a local provider, iNums also can be reached by the iNum initiative's local access numbers in 45 countries.

    "Sonetel's decision to provide free iNums to all of its customers is the latest example of increasing adoption of these flexible, global numbers that support IP communications features," said Voxbone CEO Rod Ullens. "The addition of iNums to Sonetel's innovative freemium PBX solution will enable a business to create a professional, global presence quickly and cost-effectively."

    "The iNum concept is ideally suited to the needs of our SMB customers and a natural complement to our existing offerings," said Sonetel CEO Henrik Thomé. "Providing free iNums will add value to our solution, making it easier for our customers to drive global growth."

  • Microsoft Compels You to Update – Windows Phone 7.5 Will No Longer Be Optional

    Microsoft makes final preparations prior to compel its users to switch from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 7.5.

    Shortly, Windows Phone 7.5 will not be optional. If you have a smartphone running WP 7 and refuse to make the update to WP 7.5, you will lose the possibility to buy new apps from the Marketplace. Moreover, you will risk being unable to update the ones that you already have. Although this information has been circulated in the past, a new blog post on WindowsTeam confirms the proximity of the event.

    The update does not come without problems. Although some users have had the opportunity to update the operating system for the smartphones with WP, many users have knowingly avoided the upgrade to Windows Phone 7.5. The reason?

    Many of those who have installed the update complained that their virtual keyboard disappears. A user said on one of the Microsoft forums that the problem with the keyboard that disappears is absurd.

    Microsoft partners are also guilty for this issue. After being notified for the first time about the virtual keyboard problem, Microsoft has tried to be operative and worked on an update. Unfortunately, the 8107 update from Microsoft had to go through the mobile operators before reaching the terminal, which is why there have been recorded terrible delays. The AT&T users of Windows Phone 7.5 – the most important mobile operator partner with Microsoft in the U.S. – even today, after 3-4 months after the event have not received the patch.

    On Apple’s terminals this thing would not happen, thanks to the centralized system of updates, which is delivered to the iOS users on the entire planet in one day.

    Ultimately, is worth to note that there will be a prior notice a few days before the “D-Day”, announced on the same WindowsTeamBlog.

  • Lenovo to Invest $800 Million in Mobile Devices

    Lenovo has big ambitions for mobile devices and puts on the line not less than $800 million to be invested in a new facility whose purpose is research and development in mobile phones, tablets and other gadgets.

    The new facility located in Whuan, China, in the coming years will produce tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices addressed to local and global markets. Lenovo’s ambitions aim to achieve a sales figure of $ 1.59 billion by 2014 and five times more in the next five years.

    In other words, Lenovo intends to secure its place among the major mobile devices manufacturers and in order to achieve this, the company’s leaders are willing to invest significant amounts, designed to accelerate the company’s ascent.

    Lenovo products that will come up from the new factory will be built on the foundations of some very promising models such as the laptop IdeaPad Yoga, the ThinkPad range of laptops and the IdeaPad tablets or LePhone S2 – an interesting Android smartphone.

    We must not forget about the agreement reached with Intel, according to which Lenovo can use Intel’s Medfield-core Atom processors for the future range of smartphones.

    As for the company’s current presence in the smartphone market, Lenovo occupies an important position on the Chinese market, but it’s a name almost anonymously in Europe or North America. The situation could change dramatically in the near future if the company’s engineers manage to prove imagination and vision in designing new models of smartphones and tablets.

  • Vonage Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

    Vonage announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012. Reflecting the company's previously stated plans to increase investment in its strategic growth initiatives, Vonage reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $32 million which includes $7 million in growth initiative funding.

    Adjusted EBITDA is down from $40 million sequentially and $43 million in the year ago quarter. Similarly, income from operations was $21 million, a decrease from $28 million sequentially and $30 million in the year ago quarter.

    Net income was $19 million or $0.08 per share excluding adjustments(1), a decline from $26 million or $0.11 per share sequentially, and a decline from $23 million or $0.10 per share in the year ago quarter.

    GAAP net income was $14 million or $0.06 per share, down from $350 million or $1.55 per share sequentially due to a one-time non-cash income tax benefit recognized in the fourth quarter, and down from $21 million or $0.10 per share a year ago.

    Revenue totaled $216 million, flat sequentially and down from $220 million the prior year.

    Marc Lefar, Vonage Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our financial results were consistent with previous guidance as we increased investment in our strategic growth initiatives. Our core business is stable and generated EBITDA which was in line with recent quarters."

    Vonage also announced its first international partnership with Globe in the Philippines. The partnership marks a significant milestone in Vonage's strategy to expand its services beyond North America and the United Kingdom. The company remains actively involved in discussions with several prospective partners and expects to announce additional alliances before the end of this year.

    On April 18, 2012, Vonage announced key milestones for its Vonage Mobile and Extensions products. Launched in February 2012, the Vonage Mobile app surpassed one million downloads in approximately eight weeks, with usage now approaching 10 million minutes per month. Since launch, the company has steadily updated the app to enhance ease of use and performance and has implemented new releases for iOS and Android addressing top priorities including connection quality, latency load times when opening the app and battery life. Most recently, the company yesterday updated the app to enhance its messaging capability to allow photo and location sharing and sharing of the app with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

  • Attendee List Announced for the 3rd Annual Location Business Summit

    The attendee list for the 3rd annual Location Business Summit has just been announced. 120+ senior-level location and mobile business professionals are meeting in Amsterdam (May 22-23rd) to analyse business strategies, discuss the SoLoMo revolution and identify the winning revenue streams for 2012. 

    View it here: https://bit.ly/AttendeeList

    At present, the location industry giants have a firm grip on the market space. However, with the influx of start-ups and innovative companies coming to the fore, a key thought on their minds is how to establish a successful strategy for survival. This is clearly an issue which needs addressing, alongside whether or not LBS service providers are really answering the needs of advertisers and brands.

    Business models and revenue streams might be the most important issue right now, but at The Location Business Summit, over 120 senior executives will be examining all of the trends which are set to revolutionise the mobile and location industry.  From indoor location to social location and mobile marketing, they’ll be revealing how to monetize location and provide a crucial strategy to win the campaigns of global brands.

    VP of North America and Europe for TheWhereBusiness, Naomi Hands commented, ‘This year we have seen a huge shift in focus towards geo-targeted marketing and location based advertising. With a massive uptake in global brands utilising these services in their marketing efforts, without a doubt this is the year that we should be excited about.’

    The high level of attendees include CEO’s, CMO’s, Head of Mobile and Directors of Marketing for some of the world leading companies putting their effort into LBS and Mobile strategies.
    Companies include the likes of Google, TripAdvisor, Nokia, TomTom, Sygic, PayPal, Orange, Everything Everywhere, T-Mobile, YOOSE, AKQA, Ogilvy and many many more.

    Naomi also commented ‘This year the LBS Summit is here to bring together likeminded professionals in the perfect, intimate environment for making those business deals happen. With support from the MMA, OGC, LBMA and many more industry associations; it’s one that’s not to be missed’.

    The attendee list has been announced and you can access it here: https://bit.ly/AttendeeList

    Contact
    Naomi Hands
    VP North America & Europe
    TheWhereBusiness
    Tel: +44 (0) 207 375 7513
    Toll Free: +1 800 814 3456 ext. 7513
    [email protected]
    https://bit.ly/AttendeeList

    About TheWhereBusiness:
    TheWhereBusiness publishes news and events for those involved in the navigation and location ecosystem. Through high-end B2B conferences, we connect people across the industry, provide market leading intelligence and enable companies to capitalise on emerging business opportunities in location-based services, navigation, geo-web, tracking and mobile advertising; basically, anything that involves location, context or maps! Through continuous independent research with hundreds of companies and dedicated journalists, our news portal keeps you one step ahead of an industry in flux, and our events provide key networking forums for the industry.