Mobile & Wireless
11 February 2013
Samsung Emerges as a Potent Rival to Apple's Cool New York Times
Apple, for the first time in years, is hearing footsteps. The maker of iPhones, iPads and iPods has never faced a challenger able to make a truly popular and profitable smartphone or tablet -- not Dell, not Hewlett-Packard, not Nokia, not BlackBerry -- until Samsung Electronics.
OECD: Mobile broadband subscriptions near 700 million in the OECD area OECD
The OECD has just released an update on broadband penetration rates as of June 2012. It finds that mobile broadband subscriptions have reached nearly 700 million in OECD countries. Switzerland and Korea continue to top the OECD ranking for fixed and wireless broadband respectively.
08 February 2013
Mobile internet devices 'will outnumber humans this year' The Guardian
There will be more internet-connected mobile devices such as smartphones and 3G tablets than people in the world before the end of the year, according to new research.
07 February 2013
Mobile Internet data traffic to grow 13-fold by 2017, says Cisco CNET
There are a number of different predictions floating around about how many Internet-connected devices there will be worldwide within the next few years. But regardless of those numbers, we can all be sure that mobile Internet data traffic is going to explode exponentially as well.
06 February 2013
Apple to lose iPhone trademark in Brazil Reuters
Brazil's copyright regulator will strip Apple Inc of the right to use its iPhone trademark in Latin America's biggest market and granted the trademark to a local company that registered it first, a source familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.
02 February 2013
F.T.C. Suggests Privacy Guidelines for Mobile Apps New York Times
In a strong move to protect the privacy of Americans as they use the Internet on their smartphones and tablets, the Federal Trade Commission on Friday said the mobile industry should include a do-not-track feature in software and apps and take other steps to safeguard personal information.
30 January 2013
Google iPhone tracking: more than 70 users contact British lawyers The Guardian
More than 70 Apple iPhone users in the UK have joined a landmark privacy action against Google over the way it tracked their online habits, and another 30 have expressed interest, lawyers said on Tuesday.
28 January 2013
Google faces legal action over alleged secret iPhone tracking The Guardian
Google is facing a fresh privacy battle in the UK over its alleged secret tracking of the internet habits of millions of iPhone users.
23 January 2013
LTE users to hit 1 billion by 2016, says report CNET
The number of global 4G LTE wireless subscribers has skyrocketed from thousands to millions in just three years, and research firm iSuppli predicts that rate of growth will only speed up.
20 January 2013
Mobile money - All together now The Economist
In Kenya mobile money has become central to the country's economy. M-PESA, a service that allows money to be sent and received using mobile phones, has now been adopted by 70% of the adult population and is a conduit for 25% of Kenya's GNP. Yet elsewhere such services have had limited success, even though there is no lack of demand. In India, for instance, only an estimated 30,000 of the 600,000 villages in the country have bank branches. Little wonder that 700m Indians, or nearly two-thirds of the population, don't have accounts.
19 January 2013
Nokia backs 3D printing for mobile phone cases BBC News
Nokia is releasing design files that will let owners use 3D printers to make their own cases for its Lumia phones
16 January 2013
Payments by text message service to launch in UK in Spring 2014 BBC News
UK mobile users will be able to send and receive money by sharing only their phone number by Spring 2014, the Payments Council has said.
14 January 2013
Google Gains From Creating Apps for the Opposition New York Times
For many people, smartphone shopping comes down to a choice of Apple's iPhone or one powered by Google's Android software.
11 January 2013
Japan's Philanderers Stay Faithful to Their 'Infidelity Phones': Cads Attracted to How Outdated Device Hides Calls, Texts; Juggling Three Girlfriends Wall Street Journal
Over the past few years, as many people rushed to trade in their old phones for smartphones, Japan's philanderers have remained faithful to one particular brand: Fujitsu Ltd.'s older "F-Series" phones, which feature some attractive stealth privacy features.
09 January 2013
Smartphone cyberattacks to grow this year CNN
A significant rise in smartphone attacks is predicted every year, and it hasn't happened yet. But that isn't stopping major security firms from saying this will be the year that phones will finally emerge as a major target for cybercriminals.
08 January 2013
Mobile Apps Drive Rapid Change in Searches New York Times
When the Federal Trade Commission decided last week to close its antitrust investigation of Google without charges, one important factor, though hardly mentioned, was just beneath the surface: the mobile revolution.
07 January 2013
Global gadget spending projected to hit $1.1 trillion in 2013 Los Angeles Times
Global spending on consumer electronic devices is projected to hit $1.1 trillion in 2013, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn.
Smartphone sales to hit 1bn a year for first time in 2013 The Guardian
The smartphone is predicted to become a mass market phenomenon this year, with annual shipments soaring to 1bn globally for the first time, although a fifth of the devices will rarely be used to go online.
01 January 2013
Silencing the Smartphone New York Times
Resolutions to change behavior are common at this time of year, but they usually involve exercising more or smoking less. Now, some companies are adopting policies aimed at weaning employees from their electronic devices.
28 December 2012
VMK launch 'first African-designed' smartphone and tablet BBC News
A smartphone and tablet said to be the first designed by an African company have been launched.
27 December 2012
Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China New York Times
One day last summer, Pu Xiaolan was halfway through a shift inspecting iPad cases when she received a beige wooden chair with white stripes and a high, sturdy back.
Apple and Google still in the hunt for control of mobile market The Guardian
In one noisy corner is Google, claiming victory for its strategy of free, ubiquitous software, while in the other, there are Apple's eye-watering profits as the world's most valuable company. This is the titanic battle to control the future of the tablet and smartphone market - and with it, the way that more than a billion people with the devices access information.
26 December 2012
Editorial: Sneaky Apps That Track Mobile Phones New York Times
A perversion of smartphone technology called "stalking apps" -- precise, secretive trackings of the movements of cellphone users -- is increasingly a matter of national concern, particularly for domestic abuse victims. No less threatening is the routine monitoring of children's locales and phone habits for commercial purposes while parents are kept in the dark. Stealth apps even stoop to cyber-leering through the now notorious app called Girls Around Me, which allows men to search out women, unbeknown to them, by cross-matching GPS technology with information and photo sites like Facebook.
24 December 2012
Apps to Regulate Apps by Tim Wu New York Times
Nobody ever said that big cities make for easy living. The apps of the moment, Uber and Airbnb, try to mitigate matters by letting you book a car ride or rent someone's apartment using your smartphone or computer. They are beloved by those contemplating scarce taxis or $500 hotel rooms. But they're considerably less popular among city regulators, whose reactions recall Ned Ludd's response to the automated loom.
19 December 2012
Samsung drops Apple sales ban attempts after EC investigation The Guardian
Samsung has stopped seeking sales bans for Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad in lawsuits in five European countries, apparently after being warned by the European Commission against abusing its ownership of patents essential for standards such as 3G networking.
