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Tag: iphone

  • Increase Revenue Share – Or Games Developers May Exit Java


    Games publishers and developers will give up on Java unless operators follow Apple’s lead in offering more appealing revenue shares.

    That’s according to a report by analyst Windsor Holden, of Juniper Research, who warns that as well as being a lost opportunity for developers it would seriously reduce the variety of games for players.

    In his report Holden shows that the value of the global mobile games market is expected to rise from USD $5.4 billion this year to more than USD $10 billion in 2013.

    However, he says the volume of paid mobile game downloads has stagnated across North America and Western Europe.

    This is despite the positive response from mobile games publishers and developers to Apple’s iPhone.

    Developers and gamers have reacted strongly to the possibilities handsets such as Apple’s offer for sophisticated games that were previously only possible on consoles.

    Holden believes growth is being hindered by a combination of limited on-portal revenue share for publishers, causing some to leave the market, and poor marketing of games.

    The report author said that the revenue share offered by Apple to games publishers is incredibly attractive.

    “The danger is that if operators do not respond with a similar business model, publishers faced with low margins may simply exit Java completely, thereby reducing consumer choice in the longer term,” he said.

    The report also found that ad-funded downloads have become increasingly popular, but that revenues generated from that model are not likely to provide developers and operators with a sufficient primary revenue stream.

  • Nokia Remains Dominant As Smartphone Market Slows


    Growth in the global smartphone market dipped to 11.5 per cent in the third quarter year-on-year, the slowest rate of growth since it started tracking smartphone sales, according to research firm Gartner.

    Some 36.5 million smartphones were sold globally in the July-September quarter.

    Despite all vendors seeking a larger slice of the smartphone market, the growth rate is expected to continue slowing.

    Gartner also painted a fairly gloomy picture for the handset market generally, something announcements by the likes of Nokia and RIM over the past few days have done nothing to dispel.

    Not surprisingly, it blamed the current economic climate for "negatively impacting" on sales of high-end devices.

    Nokia maintained its No.1 position with 42.4 per cent market share in the third quarter of 2008, but for the first time it recorded a decline in sales of 3 per cent year-on-year.
    Gartner attributed the drop to increased competition in the consumer smartphone market.

    Sales of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones increased 81.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2008.

    Apple regained its No.3 position in the global smartphone market and improved its market share to 12.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2008.

  • Linux Successfully Ported To iPhone


    The open-source OS Linux has been ported to the iPhone and iPod for the first time.

    A member of the iPhone Dev Team – going by the screen name Planetbeing – has managed to load Linux 2.6’s kernel to the 2G and 3G iPhone, as well as the first generation iPod Touch.

    Although many drivers are missing, this first attempt offers support for the framebuffer driver, serial driver, and serial over USB driver.

    Certainly enough to announce that the iPhone is running an alternative OS.

    The dev team is still working on issues such as enabling write support for the NAND, Wireless networking, Touchscreen support, Sound, Accelerometer and Baseband support.

    It would appear there’s still much to be done, but it’s a big step forward for those desperate to have the iPhone able to boot an alternative OS such as Android.

  • Firmware Update May Limit Blackberry Storms


    A security issue could lead to shortages of Verizon’s Blackberry Storm on its US launch day today.

    The last minute hitch has forced both maker RIM and exclusive operator Verizon to update the firmware and reduce supplies of phones, according to a report on BGR.

    It says that one Verizon store due to receive 100 units is now to get only 40.

    While supplies are expected to be distributed nationwide, there will be less of them and shortages are expected in some areas.

    Third-party retailers, such as Best Buy, are now being given second priority and could have their in-store dates pushed back to reduce shortage problems at carrier stores.

    The hitch is hardly the start RIM would have wanted for its first touchscreen Blackberry – and now main rival contender to Apple’s iPhone.

    Apple racked up a million sales if its 3G handset worldwide in its first weekend alone.

    Aside from supply difficulties, advance reviews of the Storm have generally been very favorable.

    Aspects where the handset has advantages over the iPhone include features such cut-and-paste text, a "clickable" capacitive touchscreen, full turn-by-turn GPS navigation and removables such as the battery and microSDHC memory cards.

    The lack of WiFi is seen as a big disadvantage, as is the dearth of apps available compared to what is offered by Apple’s App Store.

    With both smartphones priced similarly – around USD $200 and USD $70 per month for service – price isn’t going to be a determining factor.

    If you’re heading out today to get your hands on a Bold, please let us know of any shortages you come across.

  • DeFi To Offer Global VoIP For iPhone


    DeFi Mobile is to make its Global Access VoIP service available to iPhone owners – possibly by the new year.

    Users will have access to unlimited global calling, roaming, and long distance for a monthly subscription fee.

    While calls will require a WiFi connection, DeFi says it has struck global partnerships that ensure an extensive network of private and commercial connections.

    The service will also offer voice-to-email, caller-ID, call-forwarding, call-hold, and call-transfer.

    Customers will be given a choice of countries from which their DeFi contact number will originate from.

    With packages starting from USD $40 per month there will also be the option to add three contact numbers from different countries for USD $10.

    DeFi claims its Global Access is superior to standard mobile VoIP solutions in several significant ways.

    Among them is the fact that calls are routed over its managed network, which is says delivers superior call quality by eliminating the “jitter” and dropped calls synonymous with other VoIP operators.

  • Threat To Gaming If Operators Don't Follow Apple's Lead


    Mobile game sales are "flatlining" across North America and Western Europe despite increased interest from consumers, according to a report from Juniper Research.

    It says that unless more operators adopt an Apple-like approach to rewarding games publishers, they will be driven away from the sector – and the number and variety of games available will decline.

    The report highlights the "universally positive" response with which mobile games publishers and developers greeted the arrival of the iPhone, but adds that the volume of paid-for mobile game downloads has nonetheless levelled off across North America and Western Europe.

    It found that although the retail value of the global mobile games market is expected to rise from USD $5.4bn in 2008 to more than $10bn in 2013, the potential for growth in many key markets is being dampened.

    This is attributed to a combination of limited on-portal revenue share for publishers – meaning that some are exiting the mobile games industry – and poor games marketing.

    According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, the revenue share offered by Apple to games publishers is incredibly attractive.

    "The danger is that if operators do not respond with a similar business model, publishers faced with low margins may simply exit Java completely, thereby reducing consumer choice in the longer term," he said.

    The report also found that while ad-funded downloads have increased markedly in popularity, the revenues accrued from advertising are unlikely to be sufficient to provide developers or operators with a primary revenue stream.

    It argued that, with cost per mille (CPM) rates likely to fall in the face of pressures on advertising budgets, advertising would be largely employed by most publishers as a means of monetising older content.

    On a more positive note, the Juniper study remained optimistic about prospects for growth in regions such as the Indian Sub Continent, Africa/Middle East and South America.

    It reports that in those regions, the combination of increased mobile adoption and low levels of penetration of both games consoles and fixed Internet means that the mobile handset has already become the de facto gaming device.

    Other findings from the Juniper report include:

    • China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile games throughout the period covered by the report.
    • Global revenues from in-game advertising will rise significantly from 2008 to 2013.
    • Operators need to reduce data charges further for out of bundle customers to encourage casual mobile Internet usage and thereby stimulate the mobile entertainment market

  • Web Conferencing Coming To Smartphones


    PhoneTopp has announced an online conference and collaboration tool for use with smartphones – initially only for the iPhone and the Blackberry Bold.

    Intended to allow desktop conferencing on high end handset, PhoneTopp currently has an alpha product available and will be releasing a public beta in Q1 2009.

    The company plans to charge subscriptions fees, estimated at USD $8 per month.

    Tom Barsi, CEO of PhoneTopp, said that until now, only people sitting at their computer in a pre-arranged meeting could participate in a web conference.

    "Holding back expansion of web conferencing is tying the user to the desk,” he said “The proliferation of smart phones capable of running web conferencing allows PhoneTopp to lead an opportunity that will dramatically change business communication – enabling true ‘adhoc’ mobile collaboration.”

    Gartner estimates the web/audio collaboration market to be USD $5 billion today.

    In 2010, the consultants forecasts web conferencing will be available to 75 per cent of corporate users as standard facility alongside email, presence and calendaring.

    The PhoneTopp system software runs a thin client-computing model, hosted by the company on the Amazon EC2 cloud.

    The architecture off-loads computer intensive tasks to the datacenter, saving on power dissipation and network traffic.

    PhoneTopp said its patent work around adaptive virtualization protocol (PAV) reduces “over the air” latency to an estimated 5 seconds.

    The protocol takes on the difficult task of managing multiple streams to the smartphone while dynamically adapting and optimizing how the content gets pushed based on the available bandwidth.

    From now through the end of 2008, PhoneTopp is encouraging early beta sign-ups with an incentive of three months free service when launched.

    Interested parties should go to www.phonetopp.com and input their email address for follow-up.

    The hope is to also have support for more smartphones by next year, possibly including Google’s Android platform.

    When commercially launched, PhoneTopp will first allow users to host or participate in a web meeting directly from their smartphone, through a simple click-to-collaborate approach that includes the ability to:

    • accept an invitation via text message to join a web conference
    • answer a phone call that launches an application to participate in the meeting, with no phone numbers or passwords to remember
    • navigate and zoom natively with integrated tools, including a PhoneTopp-developed “mobile rewind” capability that allows users to independently go back within the presentation if they missed a slide.

  • iPhone Ousts Razr As Smartphones Dominate US


    Apple’s iPhone has overtaken Motorola’s Razr to become the best-selling consumer cellphone in the US in the third quarter of 2008.

    Results from research firm NPD show the Razr, which has been the top-selling phone for the last 3 years, now sits second, with RIM’s BlackBerry Curve in third place, followed by two LG phones, which rounded out the top five.

    NPD’s report doesn’t include sales figures, but Apple’s exclusive US carrier partner AT&T said it activated 2.4 million iPhones in Q3. Motorola said it shipped more than 3 million Razrs worldwide in Q3, but didn’t specify its US sales.

    The iPhone’s success is all the more impressive considering it costs upwards of USD $199, while the RAZR has been virtually free with a signed contract for the past few years.

    It’s US achievements follow recent reports that Apple has overtaken RIM as the number two smartphone vendor globally.

    The success of smartphones – four of the top five are high-end handsets – also underlines the trend in the US market towards more powerful, full-featured devices.

    Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD, said: "The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality."

    Overall domestic handset purchases by adult consumers declined 15 per cent year-over-year in Q3 to 32 million units.

    Consumer handset sales revenue fell 10 per cent to USD $2.9 billion, even as the average selling price rose 6 per cent to USD $88.

    NPD consumer cellphone ranking for 3rd Quarter 2008:

    1. Apple iPhone 3G
    2. Motorola RAZR V3 (all models)
    3. RIM Blackberry Curve (all models)
    4. LG Rumor
    5. LG enV2

  • Wow-factor Converting New Fans To Mobile Gaming


    Show most non-gamers an iPhone running the 3D fighting game Kroll and the reaction is usually some variation of "wow".

    What surprises them is that a game of such quality and with such stunning graphics is on a handheld device.

    That’s an experience Xavier Carrillo, CEO and founder of Digital Legends Entertaiment (DLE), the games and technology developers that created Kroll, is getting used to.

    He told smartphone.biz-news.com that the technology available on today’s handsets means sophisticated games previously only possible on consoles are now feasible on smartphones.

    The proof of that has been people’s reaction to Kroll ever since it was announced at the Worldwide Developer Conference by Apple earlier this year.

    "People are not aware what you can do on a mobile – what’s possible and how capable it is," he said. "It’s an eye-opener and it will attract a lot of people."

    Head-quartered in Barcelona, Spain, DLE has served as a Nokia N-Gage First Party Developer since 2004 and began publishing games for Apple’s this year.

    Kroll was specifically designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

    Content Is King


    With the latest smartphones now capable of running such advanced games, Carrillo said having excellent content was essential.

    He believes this will drive the sale of handsets as consumers seek out everything from games and music to maps.

    "People will buy a handset because of the game in much the same way as someone will buy a laptop for gaming," he said.

    In the case of the iPhone, Carrillo said the big publishers were now treating it as a console-standard gaming device.

    This means they can cross-market big movie releases – as they did with Indiana Jones – along with games for the PS3, the Xbox 360 and mobile devices.

    "We believe it’s going to be a huge opportunity," he said.

    Interestingly, smartphones have become such attractive platforms for gaming almost as a by-product of the drive to create multi-media handsets.

    The demand for more megapixels on cameras led to more RAM, the popularity of mobiles as music players required more storage capacity and the addition of TV functionality led to improved hardware accelerators.

    For gamers, Carrillo said it means someone playing a game on a smartphone on the train to work can now expect a quality similar to that on their PS3 at home.

    And while he doesn’t believe mobile gaming will replace consoles such as the PS3, it’s opening the whole gaming world up to a new market.

    "The mobile consumer audience is much wider – and it’s a different consumer," he said. "People that have never played games are discovering them now."

    The appeal to the mainstream was borne out in a recent Newsweek article.

    It compared the quality of games from Apple’s App Store more than favorably to desktop PC or console games and claimed the iPhone and iPod Touch were well on their way to becoming important forces in handheld gaming.

    Price A Factor

    That success will possibly owe a great deal to the price of games as well as their quality, according to Carrillo.

    He said experience in the PC gaming market had shown that several "micro" payments are a better pricing strategy than a higher one-off purchase price.

    Charging just a few dollars a time to download games from the Apple app store ensures people aren’t put off and make them more likely to take a chance on a game.

    Where developers can increase revenue is by offering extra content – often in the form of additional characters, weapons or scenarios – that players can buy separately.

    "People prefer games with less content that they can then add to," he said. "They can play the game and if they like it, they can pay more. If they don’t, then they don’t have to.

    "So it’s much better for them to spend a small amount several times than one large amount."

    Carrillo said mobile gaming will evolve in tandem with technological advances. So features such as touchscreens, accelerators and GPSs are being incorporated in developing location-based and community-oriented games as well as music and head-to-head games.

    But he said games developed for consoles can not just be copied over to a mobile platform.

    Aside from the hardware differences, PC games are played in very different settings to mobile games and that requires the content and controls to be adapted to that environment.

    DLE seem have got that right with the graphically-stunning Kroll – so expect to see a lot more people glued to their handsets.

  • Will Apple Challenge iPhone Clone?


    Meizu is planning to launch its M8 smartphone in various markets around the world before Christmas.

    The Chinese-made touchscreen handset bears a striking resemblance to the iPhone.

    Quite what Apple’s response will be is uncertain.

    So far, the US company hasn’t acted against perceived copyright violations in China.

    It has, however, frequently filed lawsuits and tried to prevent sales of companies with imitative designs in countries with stricter copyright laws.

    Meizu is now saying it will launch its device in China before the end of the month before rolling it out to India and then Europe, Hong Kong and the US, possibly by Christmas.

    According to Meizu CEO, J.Wong, the company is waiting for a license for the phone from the Chinese government but will release a test version to users there even if the license isn’t issued by the end of the month.

    The M8 is based on a heavily modified Windows Mobile interface with numerous references to Apple’s cellphone, including a Safari-like web browser front end, an iPod-like media player and a similar overall look.

    Where it differs is the three-megapixel camera and FM radio at the expense of 3G data, using EDGE instead when away from Wi-Fi.

    Prices for the M8 have been reported as USD $348 for an 8GB version without subsidies and USD $421 for a 16GB model.