Business News Holding

Category: smartphone

  • Next-Gen iPhone Will Be Modest Upgrade?


    Apple’s next-gen iPhone could be unchanged in physical design but include changes relating to speed, memory and the camera.

    At least that’s according an unnamed employee at Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn, who claims to have used prototypes of the handset.

    The main changes are increases in clock speed and memory: the roughly 400MHz Samsung ARM processor used in the current iPhone 3G will be upgraded to a 600MHz part, according to a post on a Chinese site

    Writing anonomously, the commentator also said that system RAM will be doubled to 256MB and the handset will ship in 16GB and 32GB configurations.

    It is also said to have a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus.

    While the information is unsubstantiated, if true there could be some disappointment.

    Among the improvements being sought are an improved battery, a better GPU, a more elegant housing and – ideally – an OLED display.

  • Vodafone Plans App Store For 289m Customers


    Vodafone is joining the increasingly busy application store game by launching its own venture in a number of European markets later this year.

    The mobile operator will take a 30 per cent share of all app revenue – mirroring Apple’s App Store.

    Interestingly for developers, Vodafone is to supply a program that allows software to run on any Vodafone device.

    Previously, developers had to configure their apps to each handset – a lengthy process and one that restricted uptake.

    The new program will simplify that and give apps access to the operator’s 289 million customer base.

    Vodafone is to handle the billing for the apps that will be charged directly to a customer’s telephone bill.

    This could be a major advantage for the operator. Earlier this month, Nokia announced that it would have to drop operator billing from its US Ovi Store – a set-back for the venture.

    Vodafone will also provide developers and partners with access to "network capabilities," including location awareness.

    This will allow them to create apps that take into account a user’s current position.

    What is certain is that consumers will soon be spoilt for choice – although there may also be confusion over where to go first for apps.

    Vodafone has, however, said that a user with a Nokia phones on its network can chose which app store they want to use.

    The success of the venture will also hinge on the quality of the apps – and that will be influenced by whether developers feel drawn to Vodafone – and are willing to hand over a 30 per cent share of their revenues.

    The first apps are to roll out at the end of the year in the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal and Ireland with more territories added later.

  • Apple Expected to Extend iPhone To Multiple Carriers


    Apple will almost certainly break with its exclusive AT&T agreement and allow other carriers to support the iPhone, according to analysts.

    Citigroup’s research firm say that while the arrangement with AT&T has benefitted Apple, the company is likely to open its smartphone to more US operators within the next two years.

    Analyst Richard Gardner cites a number of reasons for this, including the fact Apple is in a strong position and so can have its demands met by carriers.

    These extend to generous data plans, a lack of co-branding and an absence of revenue sharing at the App Store.

    What is also likely to be a major issue for Apple is the potentially dwindling pool of new iPhone users at AT&T.

    It is estimated that rivals Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile combined could offer a target market of up to 150 million subscribers by 2010 (although only around 20 per cent are likely to become iPhone owners).

    While it has been suggested that AT&T is interested in paying to extend exclusivity, the cost to do so might be prohibitive.

    As Gardner points it would need to be high since the revenues offered by going with multiple carriers are large.

  • PayPal App Introduced To Android


    Making payments just got a little easier for owners of an Android phone with the news that PayPal has introduced its app in the Android Market.

    The e-commerce business says that the app gives users easy access to many of its popular features.

    The eBay subsidiary also stresses that for those worried about security, it uses the same technology and safeguards that they have for the web client.

    Some of the features include:

    • Direct integration with the contact list – Users select a name from contacts to make a payment
    • Recent history – A smartphone can be used to look at transactions over the last couple of months
    • Balance checks – balances in any of the currencies held can be shown

  • HP and RIM Announce Strategic Alliance to Mobilize Business on BlackBerry


    RIM and HP are partnering together to offer Blackberry business users some features which they say will allow mobile workers to increase their productivity levels.

    Among the first applications and services for the smartphones is printing service that enables users to easily print to the nearest printer.

    Called CloudPrint for BlackBerry, it will allow users to store and print documents, photos and web pages while traveling using the smartphone.

    The service is printer-agnostic and driverless and requires simple Internet access.

    Another offering will allow the management of companies’ BlackBerry smartphone deployments to be outsourced.

    HP and RIM plan to design and launch other offerings targeted at the growing number of global mobile employees.

  • Customised Mobile Banking Key To Future Success

    Lukasz Michalkiewicz, from smartphone software developer eLeader, tells smartphone.biz-news about developments in mobile banking and the importance of tailoring applications to mobile platforms.

    The Polish company has developed the first mobile banking solution customised for specific mobile operating systems.

    Polish software developer eLeader isn’t the first to realise that the mobile world’s different operating systems make it advisable to develop applications tailored to each platform.

    It is, however, the first to develop a mobile banking solution that actually does just that. The user interface of its MobileBanking platform has been designed specifically for smartphones with Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry operating systems.

    The solution has just been deployed by Raiffeisen Bank Polska SA, a subsidiary of Raiffeisen International – making it the first time a tailored mobile banking app has been used in Europe.

    While the development hasn’t exactly sent shock-waves around the mobile world, it does point to the growing acceptance and increasing adoption of mobile banking.

    In the US, the majority of the major banks now offer mobile services, including Bank of America Corp., which has signed up 2.4 million mobile banking subscribers.

    It also highlights the importance of paying attention to user experience when devising potentially complex mobile applications.

    Mobile is Different

    Lukasz Michalkiewicz, account manager with eLeader, told smartphone.biz-news that too often developments for the mobile are treated in the same way as for the PC.

    He said the variations in operating systems, user interfaces, internet browsers, screens and methods of data entry all had to be taken into account.

    "In the PC world there is a dominant operating system and browsers, but in the mobile world it’s different," he said.

    "A really intuitive mobile experience comes from applications tailored to all the different operating systems, browsers and so on.

    "We see that as the way to ensure an intuitive and truly user-friendly mobile experience."

    eLeader plans to roll the solution out to the iPhone in the next few months.

    m-Banking’s Extended Functionality

    As well as improving the UI, the application gives users to access to services, such as being able to contact their financial adviser directly.

    Michalkiewicz said Raiffeisen Bank’s VIP Mobile mobile banking solution extends the scope of m-banking to include advanced functionalities once only found in internet banking applications.

    He said it allows the bank’s customers to conduct the full range of common financial operations via their mobile handset in a very intuitive way.

    "Everything you can do on your PC, you can do on your mobile," he said. "But functionality is extended because with a mobile you can do it anywhere."

    Raiffeisen Bank is a part of Raiffeisen International, a banking group operating in 17 markets of the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) and with 14.6 million customers.

    Mariusz Glinski, head of electronic banking at the bank, said it has developed its mobile channel over many years, initially offering simple SIM-based software and later Java-based applications.

    He said that if m-banking is to be taken seriously then it has to be accepted that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to mobile applications will only go so far in today’s market.

    "To create truly usable applications we must take into account the characteristics of each type of mobile device," he said.

    "This is the only way to provide successful solutions which consumers really want to use on their handsets."

    It certainly seems as though mobile banking is moving towards wider acceptance and uptake. Please let us know your thoughts on the technology and available solutions.

  • Blackberry Curve Overtakes iPhone To Be Q1 Best-Seller


    Helped in no small part by aggressive promotions, RIM’s Blackberry Curve became the best-selling US smartphone in the first quarter of 2009 – overtaking Apple’s iPhone.

    The Curve’s popularity helped increase RIM’s consumer smartphone market share by 15 per cent over the previous quarter to almost 50 per cent, according to market research firm NPD.

    Apple’s iPhone – the previous top-seller – and Palm each saw their market share slip by 10 per cent during the three-month period ended March.

    NPD’s director of industry analysis, Ross Rubin, attributed the changes to an aggressive "buy-one-get-one" promotion by Verizon Wireless.

    "The more familiar, and less expensive, Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major US national carriers," he said.

    The promotion also helped RIM secure two additional top five positions.

    In the third slot was the BlackBerry Storm, and the fourth was made up of all BlackBerry Pearl handsets with the exception of flip models.

    T-Mobile’s G1 handset running Google’s open Android software was the fifth most popular smartphone during the quarter.

    Based on US consumer sales of smartphone handsets in NPD’s Smartphone Market Update report, the first-quarter 2009 ranking of the top-five best-selling smartphones is as follows:

    1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
    2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
    3. RIM BlackBerry Storm
    4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
    5. T-Mobile G1

    Smartphones, which represented just 17 per cent of handset sales volume in Q1 2008, now make up 23 per cent of sales.

    Rubin said this showed that even in a challenging economy, consumers are migrating toward Web-capable handsets and their supporting data plans to access more information and entertainment on the go.

  • iPhone Beats Blackberry in Customer Satisfaction Survey


    The iPhone has come top of JD Power’s customer satisfaction study measuring consumer tastes.

    The Apple handset ranked highest among smartphone consumers judging five factors: ease of operation, operating system, features, physical design, and battery function.

    The only area where the iPhone didn’t score well was for battery life – an issue only too familiar with the devices’ owners.

    Overall the iPhone received 791 out of a 1,000-point scale, ahead of LG’s 772 points and Samsung’s 759 points. The trio were the only smartphone to rise above the industry average of 751 points.

    Those below the average were mainly companies making Windows Mobile devices, with HTC, Palm and Motorola earning scores of 744, 736 and 659 respectively.

    RIM’s BlackBerries also fared significantly lower than Apple with a 739 score.

    JD Power said that generally smartphone satisfaction has risen since its last survey in November 2008.

    Other findings include the fact that smartphone users send an average of 17 emails a day, and 82 per cent report that they use things like address books and to-do lists to stay organized.

    The survey included 2,648 smartphone users who owned their phone for less than two years.

  • Palm Preparing Second Pre-like Smartphone For 2009


    With a launch date for Palm’s much anticipated Pre still to be announced along comes news that Palm is preparing a second Pre-like handset for release this year.

    The smaller and slimmer device will be pitched at a different part of the smartphone market, according to Techcrunch.

    Palm is said to be "very far along" on its second Pre-like handset, which will run the new WebOS operating system.

    Spec details – such as whether it will have a touchscreen keyboard – are unknown.

    Equally unclear is what effect a second device, launched so soon after the Pre, will have on the flagship smartphone’s sales.

    Elsewhere, more information has been emerging on the Pre this week, with iSuppli estimating that the Palm smartphone costs around USD $170 to make.

    The calculation is based on the device’s hardware and manufacturing costs using second-quarter component and assembly pricing.

    The breakdown of the USD $170.02 consists of a hardware cost of USD $137.83, manufacturing and basic test costs of USD $9.58, and software and licensing costs of USD $22.61.

    The analysis does not include shipping, logistics, marketing and other channel costs.

    iSuppli expects Palm will try to sell the Pre to wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp for about USD $300.

    But the analysts said the actual cost to consumers will be around USD $200 due to an expected carrier subsidy.

    Just when the Pre will be released is still largely a mystery, although the latest projection is 7th June.

    An interesting choice, if correct, as this is the day before Apple holds its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).

    And that is where the next generation iPhone is widely believed to be set for release.

  • MACH Aims To Offset EU Mobile Roaming Charge Cap Losses


    MACH has announced a range of solutions designed to offset the impact on mobile operator roaming revenues of the recent European Union (EU) pricing regulations.

    The company says its EU Compliance Power Pack will immediately counter the forecast reduction in revenues by implementing smart rating and price optimisation.

    It says this allows mobile operators to reprice certain services such as voice and SMS in order to create new revenue streams offsetting the anticipated effects of the EU regulation.

    The measures introduced by European regulators impose wide-ranging pricing restrictions and administrative obligations on mobile operators.

    Voice, SMS and data service prices will be capped with effect from 1st July 2009, with further reductions in caps becoming effective in 2011.

    Operators will also be required to bill on a per second basis under the new regulations.

    The legislation also requires operators to notify subscribers of high usage to avoid so-called "bill shocks", requiring real-time usage reporting and notification processes.

    European officials said they will monitor changes to other operator charging structures to ensure that these are not increased to compensate for the impact of the new legislation.

    Lodewijk Cornelis, CMO at MACH

    Lodewijk Cornelis, CMO at MACH, said its Power Pack includes a solution to the "bill shock" problem, by triggering timely customer notification whenever a usage threshold is reached.

    He said this solution gives mobile operators the ability to provide customers with timely data usage information while roaming.

    "The regulations approved by the European Parliament, combined with increasing competition both from within the mobile industry and from alternative communications technologies, mean that operators have to continuously monitor and reassess retail and wholesale pricing strategies," he said.

    "MACH solutions turn, what seems at first sight to be, a huge obstacle to growth into an opportunity for operators to differentiate their offerings and reduce their operational costs."

    The EU is also preparing legislation to force carriers to allow VoIP to run on their cellular networks.

    Earlier this month, EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said that "action" should be taken against carriers that use their market power to block "innovative services".

    Cornelis said the new solutions allow operators to use sophisticated simulation techniques to optimise retail and wholesale pricing of non-EU roaming traffic, increasing revenues while at the same time maximising customer value.

    He said The Power Pack also handles the complex task of rating usage data in real time by reference to regulatory capping, and its applications process all of the administrative changes to inter-operator tariff structures to ensure accurate and timely settlement before and after the regulations come into effect.

    MACH clears two out of every three roaming calls on GSM and CDMA networks and settles more than 60 per cent of the inter-operator wholesale invoice amounts.