Opinionated comments on mobile phone industry news
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All entries are written by Anders Borg, CEO and Consultant of Abiro, that has a long experience in strategic planning, developing embedded and Java software, usability aspects, and the mobile phone industry in general. You can also read the latest Mobile News entries on your phone via wap.abiro.com, and we provide many News Feeds from popular news services. For advertising and contribution queries, please use the feedback form. News feed (local) FeedBurner Feed
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Friday, March 31, 2006
FlexiSpy, Trojan or not, depending on who you ask
FlexiSpy's eavesdropping application for Series 60 phones that reports on user behavior has been stamped a Trojan by F-Secure.
Admittedly this is a suspicious application even though the intent might be just, as the ones getting it secretly installed on their phones would see it as a Trojan, and if they have the knowledge, would try to get rid of it ASAP.
Note the price for the application: $50! That's a lot for a mobile phone application.
Quote: "This application installs itself without any kind of indication as to what it is. And when it is installed on the phone it completely hides itself from the user," wrote F-Secure researcher Jarno Niemela on the company's blog.
Cell Phone Spy Actually Trojan - Yahoo! News
Software Company Argues Product Isn't a Trojan - Yahoo! News
Admittedly this is a suspicious application even though the intent might be just, as the ones getting it secretly installed on their phones would see it as a Trojan, and if they have the knowledge, would try to get rid of it ASAP.
Note the price for the application: $50! That's a lot for a mobile phone application.
Quote: "This application installs itself without any kind of indication as to what it is. And when it is installed on the phone it completely hides itself from the user," wrote F-Secure researcher Jarno Niemela on the company's blog.
Cell Phone Spy Actually Trojan - Yahoo! News
Software Company Argues Product Isn't a Trojan - Yahoo! News
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Business the new growth area in saturated markets
Interesting with the business sector is that it has a real need for lots of data and performance, either directly from phones or from notebooks via phones.
With Bluetooth it's a snap to use the phone the normal way and also as a modem for the notebook. Operators still promote dedicated PC cards, but I think/hope that will decrease when users/companies understand they only need the phone.
It also says there will be MVNOs dedicated to corporate customers. That's interesting, as otherwise the MVNO market is supposedly overcrowded.
Wireless Growth Seen Shifting From Consumer To Business - Yahoo! News: "Wireless Growth Seen Shifting From Consumer To Business"
With Bluetooth it's a snap to use the phone the normal way and also as a modem for the notebook. Operators still promote dedicated PC cards, but I think/hope that will decrease when users/companies understand they only need the phone.
It also says there will be MVNOs dedicated to corporate customers. That's interesting, as otherwise the MVNO market is supposedly overcrowded.
Wireless Growth Seen Shifting From Consumer To Business - Yahoo! News: "Wireless Growth Seen Shifting From Consumer To Business"
Nokia predicts better market development than previously expected
15% growth estimated this year, due to fast development of emerging markets. I haven't heard similar figures from analysts, but at least the stock market didn't care about that, raising Nokia's share by 5%.
Nokia more upbeat on global mobile phone market - Yahoo! News
Nokia more upbeat on global mobile phone market - Yahoo! News
Opera Mini makes service development less device dependent
I agree, as it uses de facto Web technologies (read HTTP and HTML) instead of telecom's own standards (read WAP).
Ironically though, part of the reason WAP 2.0 was developed was to get one consistent browser behavior across all phones, and adapted to the issues of small displays etc. In practice that hasn't happened and most services still check on the name of the phone rather than getting the detailed phone characteristics that's possible with WAP.
I would argue that web developers' complaint that WAP is different from what they are used to is a load a B.S., as it's just something new to learn, but if it's almost the same to develop for the "fixed" and the mobile Internet that's of course even better.
Mobile Development Made Simple(r) With Opera Mini at MobHappy
Ironically though, part of the reason WAP 2.0 was developed was to get one consistent browser behavior across all phones, and adapted to the issues of small displays etc. In practice that hasn't happened and most services still check on the name of the phone rather than getting the detailed phone characteristics that's possible with WAP.
I would argue that web developers' complaint that WAP is different from what they are used to is a load a B.S., as it's just something new to learn, but if it's almost the same to develop for the "fixed" and the mobile Internet that's of course even better.
Mobile Development Made Simple(r) With Opera Mini at MobHappy
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Bluetooth gets up to speed
Apart from being integrated in most phones sold now, there's also a major speed increase (up to 100 times) planned for the technology. This will of course require new devices, but at least the new technology will be backwards compatible. There are also talks about a broader use of Bluetooth, for e.g. audio and video streaming in the home.
Quote: Foley said the Bluetooth group believed the best way to achieve that (read: worldwide approval) would be to focus on the little-used band above 6 gigahertz. That would ease regulatory concerns but also reduce the range of the technology, as the signals can't penetrate walls.
That's no good. If you have an access point for media distribution in the home you want to access that media from other rooms as well.
IEEE 802.11 / WLAN / Wi-Fi is an existing family of technologies that could be used instead of Bluetooth for local media distribution. After all, it's already broadly deployed for home PC networking.
Bluetooth Adopts Faster Radio Technology - Yahoo! News
UWB Bluetooth Picked to Link Home Devices - Connected Home News - Designtechnica
Quote: Foley said the Bluetooth group believed the best way to achieve that (read: worldwide approval) would be to focus on the little-used band above 6 gigahertz. That would ease regulatory concerns but also reduce the range of the technology, as the signals can't penetrate walls.
That's no good. If you have an access point for media distribution in the home you want to access that media from other rooms as well.
IEEE 802.11 / WLAN / Wi-Fi is an existing family of technologies that could be used instead of Bluetooth for local media distribution. After all, it's already broadly deployed for home PC networking.
Bluetooth Adopts Faster Radio Technology - Yahoo! News
UWB Bluetooth Picked to Link Home Devices - Connected Home News - Designtechnica
Mobile music downloads on the rise
Supposedly it increased 20 times since last year. The article provides a number of criteria for succeeding with a music service: 3G network (and speed), an online store, operator/music company partnerships, DRM with flexibility (an oxymoron?) and lots of memory in the phone.
It doesn't say anything about the still very high fees for downloading via mobile networks.
Ringing in the Changes: ABI Research Tracks the Explosive Growth of Mobile Music Downloads
It doesn't say anything about the still very high fees for downloading via mobile networks.
Ringing in the Changes: ABI Research Tracks the Explosive Growth of Mobile Music Downloads
SMS 007, for secure SMS transmissions
CircleTech provides a service called SMS 007 that by using a Java application in the phone, a central service, and encryption over the mobile network, ensures that the transmission of SMSs can't be eavesdropped. You can also store a protected phonebook that requires logging in for access.
Maybe this is used by Agent 007. You never know.
SMS 007 Special
This comic explains why this service is interesting:
SMS 007 Special
Maybe this is used by Agent 007. You never know.
SMS 007 Special
This comic explains why this service is interesting:
SMS 007 Special
Software-based radio, 21st century edition
The chip industry has talked about and researched software-based radio for years, but for different reasons it's never been deployed in commercial devices (at least not to public knowledge). This technology potentially makes devices more long-lived than if using fixed hardware radio technologies, but they could also become more expensive in the short term due to more need for horse power. Also, arguably, it would make manufacturers sell less phones, which would affect their revenue. In the long run though I think/hope this will be used generally, as it e.g. enables easy upgrades of phone functionality (bugs and needs for other changes could appear also on the radio level as technologies get more and more advanced).
It's now dusted off by CTVR and will be tested in real use. This technology enables switching between e.g. 3G and Wi-Fi without having two radio units and two antennas in the device. The antenna part I don't quite understand, as 3G and Wi-Fi are in two different spectrums.
Worth watching - Yahoo! News
CTVR: Home
It's now dusted off by CTVR and will be tested in real use. This technology enables switching between e.g. 3G and Wi-Fi without having two radio units and two antennas in the device. The antenna part I don't quite understand, as 3G and Wi-Fi are in two different spectrums.
Worth watching - Yahoo! News
CTVR: Home
Sun offers mobile Java applications
Sun offers applications for download on its new distribution site. Third-party developers can sign up for distributing their free or commercial applications.
Abiro develops Java applications ... Sun offers application distribution. Hmm...
Digital Media Europe: News - Sun launches mobile Java website
Explore Java Technology - Mobile Applications
Abiro develops Java applications ... Sun offers application distribution. Hmm...
Digital Media Europe: News - Sun launches mobile Java website
Explore Java Technology - Mobile Applications
Find It! knows where you are, even when you don't
Considering it supposedly runs on any phone with Java/J2ME this can't be GPS-based. That precision would anyway be unnecessary for e.g. information about nearby shops etc.
Sprint Nextel launches "Find It!" location-based search - Engadget Mobile
Sprint Nextel launches "Find It!" location-based search - Engadget Mobile
Pod2Mob, podcasts on your phone
Spotted at Textually, this service enables you to listen to any (?) published podcast via your phone. As always I'm wondering how the service can be free, considering it won't show advertizing on the phone (hence, where does the revenue come from?). Users should rejoice though.
Pod2Mob.com - Mobile Podcasting
Pod2Mob.com - Mobile Podcasting
Most cameraphone users keep their photos on the phone
The article hints that most users don't upload or print their digital photos.
The printing issue shouldn't be surprising: Printing of photos is clearly on the way out, and also the vast majority of photos taken with dedicated digital cameras are never printed. Kodak is of course desperate to make more users print their photos, but it's simply a downwards trend.
I would also argue that nowadays, as the cost of taking a photo is in itself zero, people take more photos on chance, yet that doesn't fully explain why photos are not uploaded to a PC or a service. Actually, a photo album service would be more convenient than uploading to a PC, as uploading could then be done any time (and immediately after taking the photo). See e.g. Vizrea.
EETimes.com - Cell phones get image makeover
The printing issue shouldn't be surprising: Printing of photos is clearly on the way out, and also the vast majority of photos taken with dedicated digital cameras are never printed. Kodak is of course desperate to make more users print their photos, but it's simply a downwards trend.
I would also argue that nowadays, as the cost of taking a photo is in itself zero, people take more photos on chance, yet that doesn't fully explain why photos are not uploaded to a PC or a service. Actually, a photo album service would be more convenient than uploading to a PC, as uploading could then be done any time (and immediately after taking the photo). See e.g. Vizrea.
EETimes.com - Cell phones get image makeover
Monday, March 27, 2006
Mobile game market slowing down?
Researchers warn for stagnation in the mobile game market.
My recipe of making mobile games more successful:
* Focus on fewer games and make them better and easier to use.
* Promote those games actively (on the telly etc). That both drives the interest for those select games, but also mobile gaming in general.
* Even if you as a distributor has access to 100s of games, promote only a few of the best ones, and understand that preferences change.
* Focus on games that are suited for short time playing.
E.g. there's now a mobile version of The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. It's a magnificent game on PC and Xbox (I bought it this Friday, and I'm completely addicted already), but would you really play through a long dungeon session on a mobile? I doubt it. Games like Tetris, Pacman and the like are actually the most popular.
Surprisingly not even Jamba emphasizes games in their advertising (at least not in Sweden), and definitely not specific games.
textually.org: Troubled times for mobile game
My recipe of making mobile games more successful:
* Focus on fewer games and make them better and easier to use.
* Promote those games actively (on the telly etc). That both drives the interest for those select games, but also mobile gaming in general.
* Even if you as a distributor has access to 100s of games, promote only a few of the best ones, and understand that preferences change.
* Focus on games that are suited for short time playing.
E.g. there's now a mobile version of The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. It's a magnificent game on PC and Xbox (I bought it this Friday, and I'm completely addicted already), but would you really play through a long dungeon session on a mobile? I doubt it. Games like Tetris, Pacman and the like are actually the most popular.
Surprisingly not even Jamba emphasizes games in their advertising (at least not in Sweden), and definitely not specific games.
textually.org: Troubled times for mobile game
Lycos gets into the VoIP game
It's not hard to guess that all providers of large volume consumer-oriented online services will do so too, as it requires little new in terms of infrastructure, except of course for clients, authentication and address resolution and gateways to traditional phone networks across the world.
Skype alone is not that big of a threat to traditional telcos, but if there are maybe 10 big brands that fiercely fight for the VoIP market, with the very same services, telcos will be hit hard. The question is how long that will take.
Lycos Debuts VoIP Application - Connected Home News - Designtechnica
Skype alone is not that big of a threat to traditional telcos, but if there are maybe 10 big brands that fiercely fight for the VoIP market, with the very same services, telcos will be hit hard. The question is how long that will take.
Lycos Debuts VoIP Application - Connected Home News - Designtechnica
Sunday, March 26, 2006
IM popular in Taiwan
MSN Messenger dominates (77%), and IM is not surprisingly most popular among younger people. This is about IM from PCs, but should be possible to map over to the mobile market as well.
Xinhua - Instant messaging software popular in Taiwan: Poll
Xinhua - Instant messaging software popular in Taiwan: Poll
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Paypal goes mobile
Paypal Mobile service will enable you to make bids, transfer money, etc via SMS. There's some security involved: phone number registration and a PIN code. Otherwise I would suspect the number of "I just want to borrow your for phone for making a call" cons would increase dramatically.
Digital Media Europe: News - E-bay to offer mobile payment
PayPal Goes Mobile - Yahoo! News
PayPal to offer paying by text message - Yahoo! News
PayPal Mobile Launches, Mobile Payments Apocalypse Upon Us, etc etc at MobHappy
Paypal Mobile launches? - Engadget Mobile
Digital Media Europe: News - E-bay to offer mobile payment
PayPal Goes Mobile - Yahoo! News
PayPal to offer paying by text message - Yahoo! News
PayPal Mobile Launches, Mobile Payments Apocalypse Upon Us, etc etc at MobHappy
Paypal Mobile launches? - Engadget Mobile
Mobile music 10 times larger than iTunes
... according to this report, that's been out since November 2005.
Mobile music here means also all kinds of ringtones and not just realtones and full songs. Even so, the market is clearly key to the mobile industry. Maybe Apple should sell ringtones too?
Some interesting quotes:
Mobile operators will gradually move to “all you can eat” flat rate pricing to lift the ceiling from the data market. Operators stand to save $300 per user per year by using subscription based entertainment services to prevent churn.
Japan continues to lead the market, accounting for nearly 40% of the 5 billion ringtones downloaded globally in 2005.
DhaliwalBrown's Future of Mobile Music
Mobile music here means also all kinds of ringtones and not just realtones and full songs. Even so, the market is clearly key to the mobile industry. Maybe Apple should sell ringtones too?
Some interesting quotes:
Mobile operators will gradually move to “all you can eat” flat rate pricing to lift the ceiling from the data market. Operators stand to save $300 per user per year by using subscription based entertainment services to prevent churn.
Japan continues to lead the market, accounting for nearly 40% of the 5 billion ringtones downloaded globally in 2005.
DhaliwalBrown's Future of Mobile Music
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Lock the SIM card to one specific phone/device
This is an excellent service for securing that SIM cards don't start to wander off from telematics devices, and it can easily be worth 10 SEK ($1.30) a month, as the equipment involved is most likely worth much much more.
Digital Media Europe: News - Teliasonera Sweden steps up security in mobile alarm devices
Digital Media Europe: News - Teliasonera Sweden steps up security in mobile alarm devices
Many sites offering free SMSs
Spotted at textually.org, this service lists a lot of services providing free SMS sending.
I'm wondering how they tie in to the operators' networks without having to pay them. It seems unrealistic they can compensate that loss with advertizing. Anyone that knows?
Send free sms using 180 text messaging sites. Bulk sms marketing directory too...
I'm wondering how they tie in to the operators' networks without having to pay them. It seems unrealistic they can compensate that loss with advertizing. Anyone that knows?
Send free sms using 180 text messaging sites. Bulk sms marketing directory too...
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Grameenphone, another operator choosing Opera Mini
As you know Opera Mini is a Java application that you download to your phone and that provides browsing of normal web sites.
It's a very interesting phenomenon that operators choose to use downloaded applications instead of embedded ditto. Downloaded applications are of course much quicker to market, and can run on already sold phones, so it's definitely a good idea. Also, still most phones don't support browsing of the "normal" Web, which is though what everybody wants, so Opera Mini comes in handy.
Grameenphone Chooses Opera Mini Browser:WirelessInsight Asia
It's a very interesting phenomenon that operators choose to use downloaded applications instead of embedded ditto. Downloaded applications are of course much quicker to market, and can run on already sold phones, so it's definitely a good idea. Also, still most phones don't support browsing of the "normal" Web, which is though what everybody wants, so Opera Mini comes in handy.
Grameenphone Chooses Opera Mini Browser:WirelessInsight Asia
Corporate messaging, the options increase
Quote: In fact, the very lack of uptake in using business IM and text messaging, they conclude, stems from the fear of using these technologies incorrectly.
I agree with this on an inter-corporate level. E-mail is the main messaging method there, but in Sweden I see a very quick uptake for IM between colleagues, where MSN and Skype lead. SMS is also increasing quickly, as most employees have phones paid for by the company, so there's no personal cost for messaging. Again, mainly used between colleagues.
Survey sez: wage monkeys confused by email, IM, and SMS use at work - Engadget Mobile
I agree with this on an inter-corporate level. E-mail is the main messaging method there, but in Sweden I see a very quick uptake for IM between colleagues, where MSN and Skype lead. SMS is also increasing quickly, as most employees have phones paid for by the company, so there's no personal cost for messaging. Again, mainly used between colleagues.
Survey sez: wage monkeys confused by email, IM, and SMS use at work - Engadget Mobile
Phlash!, lighting for cameraphones
It's not a flash per se, but a stronger light than provided by most cameraphones. You manually turn it on before you take the picture.
Phlash! Universal Cameraphone Flash
Phlash! Universal Cameraphone Flash
Mobile game development, the fast lane approach
Writing a good mobile game in 24 hours seems impossible, but not for these contenders. The games were made in Game Maker and were tested on Nokia N70. Game Maker creates Flash, and N70 (consequently) supports Flash.
The winner: Moth centers around the goal of aiding a wayward moth back to its home -- the moon. The painterly graphics and unusual subject matter stood out in the judges' minds.
Flash games are getting popular on mobile phones. There's a range of such games at Mobile Fun.
Mobile Game Mosh: An Overnight Success
Mobile Game Mosh - Home
The winner: Moth centers around the goal of aiding a wayward moth back to its home -- the moon. The painterly graphics and unusual subject matter stood out in the judges' minds.
Flash games are getting popular on mobile phones. There's a range of such games at Mobile Fun.
Mobile Game Mosh: An Overnight Success
Mobile Game Mosh - Home
Monday, March 20, 2006
Vizrea Snap offers mobile photo publishing
Seemingly still a bit flawed, but if simple enough from a usage point-of-view this could become very popular when polished.
The client application is only available for Nokia Series 60. That's a big limitation, as younger people don't have S60 phones.
Quote: When I spoke to CEO Michael Toutonghi last month about his new service, he mentioned that hardly anyone ever gets their camera phone pictures off their phone. Now it’s easy, thanks to his service.
Vizrea Snap Review - Introduction - Cell Phones, PDAs, GPS - Cell Phone Software - Designtechnica Reviews - Designtechnica
The client application is only available for Nokia Series 60. That's a big limitation, as younger people don't have S60 phones.
Quote: When I spoke to CEO Michael Toutonghi last month about his new service, he mentioned that hardly anyone ever gets their camera phone pictures off their phone. Now it’s easy, thanks to his service.
Vizrea Snap Review - Introduction - Cell Phones, PDAs, GPS - Cell Phone Software - Designtechnica Reviews - Designtechnica
Verisign acquires mobile services company m-Qube
m-Qube offers billing and content delivery/provisioning.
This makes sense: Verisign acquired Jamba some time ago, but Jamba partners with mBlox to handle payments. With m-Qube under its wings Verisign suddenly owns more of the mobile content value chain. Will this lead to Jamba dropping mBlox? I think very likely.
VeriSign to buy mobile services company - Yahoo! News
This makes sense: Verisign acquired Jamba some time ago, but Jamba partners with mBlox to handle payments. With m-Qube under its wings Verisign suddenly owns more of the mobile content value chain. Will this lead to Jamba dropping mBlox? I think very likely.
VeriSign to buy mobile services company - Yahoo! News
Many consumers don't want to pay for multimedia services
KPMG has made a worldwide survey that claims many people don't want to pay extra for video and audio content.
The article hints that rather services could be a way to slow churn, but that's arguably provided they are free. I'm not sure how music services could be free, as the music industry wants its share in any case.
Quote: The study also found regional differences in the type of content people were already using and were likely to use, with the Asian market more interested in entertainment-type content and European and US users more interested in information services.
Survey reveals mobile phone revenue hurdle - Yahoo! News
The article hints that rather services could be a way to slow churn, but that's arguably provided they are free. I'm not sure how music services could be free, as the music industry wants its share in any case.
Quote: The study also found regional differences in the type of content people were already using and were likely to use, with the Asian market more interested in entertainment-type content and European and US users more interested in information services.
Survey reveals mobile phone revenue hurdle - Yahoo! News
3 will offer MSN email and chat
Update: I've got a confirmation from 3 that the application is Java-based, so it should work on all phones that 3 offers today.
Users in a few regions will get access to MSN via the browser or a downloaded application. This is certain to be rolled out broader later.
I get the feeling that 3 is more willing to support features users actually want than most other operators. I guess you've read about Skype via the 3 network earlier.
I've contacted 3 for more information.
3 - Company site - MICROSOFT AND 3 GROUP SIGN GLOBAL MOBILE SERVICES AGREEMENT
Users in a few regions will get access to MSN via the browser or a downloaded application. This is certain to be rolled out broader later.
I get the feeling that 3 is more willing to support features users actually want than most other operators. I guess you've read about Skype via the 3 network earlier.
I've contacted 3 for more information.
3 - Company site - MICROSOFT AND 3 GROUP SIGN GLOBAL MOBILE SERVICES AGREEMENT
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Teenagers dominate ringtone purchasing
More surprising is that as many as 42% are doing it at least once a month.
Quote: Companies have learned that advertising on TV shows and websites with large teen audiences can yield significantly better results than promoting to older users.
42% of Teens Frequently Download Mobile Ringtones » Telecommunications Industry News
Quote: Companies have learned that advertising on TV shows and websites with large teen audiences can yield significantly better results than promoting to older users.
42% of Teens Frequently Download Mobile Ringtones » Telecommunications Industry News
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Mobile shopping via Java
SifyMall is a new e-commerce service originating from India that uses a downloaded Java application for the product browsing and purchase interaction. Maybe most Indian phones have Java. Wouldn't be surprising, considering that most users must have very new phones.
EFYTimes.com - Latest technology news, india, international, electronics, IT and telecom news
EFYTimes.com - Latest technology news, india, international, electronics, IT and telecom news
The state of mobile web browsing
According to this article by Rudy De Waele the situation could be better, but I also think he completely misses the point by looking at the browser as the Holy Grail of service presentation. Note that we are talking commercial services here, not homegrown static web sites.
I'm convinced a local application is required to make a consumer or corporate service provide the level of interaction, phone feature deployment and quality of presentation that's needed to make a service compelling, except for very simple ones. You can't access many phone features from a browser today, e.g. you can't render scalable and dynamic vector graphics, access the camera, audio recording, PIM etc, and you can't store data locally. Ajax might provide that in the future, but we are certainly not there yet.
Rudy shows that for existing web sites there are now mobile browsers that can provide a decent presentation of the content (despite reductions and outright removals of parts of the content), but also that the understanding of what makes a service optimised for mobile use is little.
about context and the mobile web | gotomobile
I'm convinced a local application is required to make a consumer or corporate service provide the level of interaction, phone feature deployment and quality of presentation that's needed to make a service compelling, except for very simple ones. You can't access many phone features from a browser today, e.g. you can't render scalable and dynamic vector graphics, access the camera, audio recording, PIM etc, and you can't store data locally. Ajax might provide that in the future, but we are certainly not there yet.
Rudy shows that for existing web sites there are now mobile browsers that can provide a decent presentation of the content (despite reductions and outright removals of parts of the content), but also that the understanding of what makes a service optimised for mobile use is little.
about context and the mobile web | gotomobile
Mobile Wikipedia
Wikipedia is now more optimised for viewing on mobile phones. I tried it on a WAP 2.0 phone and it worked fine. The service seems to adapt to the capabilities of the specific phone.
Mobile Guru - Wikipedia
Mobile Guru - Wikipedia
Softbank acquires Vodafone KK for $15B
Vodafone KK is the Japanese branch that hasn't gone very well lately (or ever). They have 15M customers, which indicates the cost per customer is pretty high.
Is this a sign of overall problems within Vodafone? There are also rumours about selling off Vodafone Sweden.
Quote: Its (Softbank) business includes online gaming, electronic stock trading, Net broadcasting and an investment arm.
Softbank agrees to buy Vodafone's Japan mobile unit in $15 billion US deal - Yahoo! News
Is this a sign of overall problems within Vodafone? There are also rumours about selling off Vodafone Sweden.
Quote: Its (Softbank) business includes online gaming, electronic stock trading, Net broadcasting and an investment arm.
Softbank agrees to buy Vodafone's Japan mobile unit in $15 billion US deal - Yahoo! News
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Lucent claims HSUPA is needed for VoIP
I claim it's definitely not, provided the air-time cost becomes sensible on UMTS.
Quote: Increaseing (sic!) uplink speeds (read: HSUPA or EV-DO) is the key for VoIP on cell phones, according to Lucent Chief Marketing Officer John Giere
That's in my opinion a load of B.S. UMTS or cdma2000 1X are quite enough. GPRS admittedly is not. Note that we talk voice-over-IP, not video.
Is it just a way to convince operators to make another network upgrade?
What Lucent and operators don't seem to understand (or don't want to understand) is that traditional operators will not drive the VoIP development. If operators wait for the bleeding edge in technology, then third party service providers will just move in.
Operators can block VoIP traffic altogether or have higher fees on multimedia streaming (over RTP), but I don't think regulators would approve of that.
Daily Wireless - VoIP On Cell Phones - Wait a Year
Quote: Increaseing (sic!) uplink speeds (read: HSUPA or EV-DO) is the key for VoIP on cell phones, according to Lucent Chief Marketing Officer John Giere
That's in my opinion a load of B.S. UMTS or cdma2000 1X are quite enough. GPRS admittedly is not. Note that we talk voice-over-IP, not video.
Is it just a way to convince operators to make another network upgrade?
What Lucent and operators don't seem to understand (or don't want to understand) is that traditional operators will not drive the VoIP development. If operators wait for the bleeding edge in technology, then third party service providers will just move in.
Operators can block VoIP traffic altogether or have higher fees on multimedia streaming (over RTP), but I don't think regulators would approve of that.
Daily Wireless - VoIP On Cell Phones - Wait a Year
Wi-Fi coverage expected to grow rapidly
I'm sceptical towards this being built by Wi-Fi/WLAN. I believe more in wide-area unlicensed radio (read: WiMax) as that's much cheaper to deploy. Maybe ABI Research includes that in the outlook.
Metro Wi-Fi Networks To Grow 8,400% By 2010: Report - Yahoo! News
Metro Wi-Fi Networks To Grow 8,400% By 2010: Report - Yahoo! News
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
EQO provides mobile Skype chat
EQO Communications has upgraded its Mobile Internet Phone Service with support for Skype text chat. A J2ME application is installed on the handset to enable the functionality.
EQO Communications Announces Mobile Instant Messaging for Skype(TM): Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
EQO Communications Announces Mobile Instant Messaging for Skype(TM): Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
NewsGator extends its mobile RSS offerings
Now offering RSS readers for Windows Mobile and J2ME phones. They go for the same price: $30 per year. In my opinion that's way too expensive for the J2ME version, but if it catches on it would be a good indicator that also other applications (email, IM etc) could be sold for a similar price.
PRESS RELEASE NewsGator Extends RSS Leadership With New Mobile Applications
PRESS RELEASE NewsGator Extends RSS Leadership With New Mobile Applications
D-Link DPH-540, Wi-Fi/VoIP phone
Looks very much like a normal clamshell mobile phone. Supports the SIP protocol. D-Link is teaming with TelTel to offer telephony wherever there is a Wi-Fi hot spot.
D-Link Flips Open Wi-Fi Flip Phone - Mobile News - Designtechnica
D-Link Flips Open Wi-Fi Flip Phone - Mobile News - Designtechnica
SMS bigger than movies, music, gaming, software and laptop computers
Separately, mind you. Yet impressive, considering it's almost pure money for the operators. $75B in total.
Open Gardens: SMS bigger than movies, video and software
Open Gardens: SMS bigger than movies, video and software
BenQ-Siemens P51, smartphone with Windows Mobile and full keypad
It's designed a la Treo and Nokia E61, which is a popular form factor by now. The display is high rather than wide, which is an odd choice for multimedia and text/email reading etc. Needed by Windows Mobile?
Integrated GPS is an interesting choice. Also, it supports VoIP via WLAN/Wi-Fi. I figure it's using the MSN Messenger / SIP protocol then.
BenQ-Siemens P51 (MobileBurn)
Integrated GPS is an interesting choice. Also, it supports VoIP via WLAN/Wi-Fi. I figure it's using the MSN Messenger / SIP protocol then.
BenQ-Siemens P51 (MobileBurn)
Nero goes mobile
Nero is known for its CD/DVD burning software, that also bundles a lot of multimedia functionality, and they are now introducing a mobile media center that will stream multimedia to phones. UPnP is mentioned, but it doesn't say what protocol(s) is used for the streaming and over what. Bluetooth?
There's some irony here: Nero Mobile runs on Windows Mobile, Symbian OS and mobile Linux platforms.
OK, so what about mainstream phones then?
NeroPortal [Nero Previews Nero Mobile at CeBIT]
There's some irony here: Nero Mobile runs on Windows Mobile, Symbian OS and mobile Linux platforms.
OK, so what about mainstream phones then?
NeroPortal [Nero Previews Nero Mobile at CeBIT]
Talk to your rear-view mirror
This mirror works as a handsfree and also shows who's calling. Neater would be a sci-fi style heads-up display using laser to project information in front of you, but this is probably much easier to install. It uses Bluetooth, so there's no cable pulling involved, except for power of course.
ModooPlaza Products "MHF-R220BT ; Bluetooth"
ModooPlaza Products "MHF-R220BT ; Bluetooth"
Ringtones are (mostly) for young people
Not surprisingly Usable Products found in a survey that it's primarily young people that buy ringtones. Neither surprising is that they want to pay only once for a certain song, independent of what devices it may be used on. See my previous note about CDs vs downloads for an elaboration.
MediaPost Publications - Study: Four in 10 Teens Download Ring Tones - 03/13/2006
MediaPost Publications - Study: Four in 10 Teens Download Ring Tones - 03/13/2006
Monday, March 13, 2006
Samsung SPH-B5200, TV and gaming phone
Koreans seem to have all the fun.
This phone has support for 3D games and for that has 2 (!) game controls. It also sports DMB for digital TV reception. It looks fairly large and expensive, but it's not likely to be sold outside of Korea.
Akihabara News - SPH-B5200, the DMB and gaming phone
This phone has support for 3D games and for that has 2 (!) game controls. It also sports DMB for digital TV reception. It looks fairly large and expensive, but it's not likely to be sold outside of Korea.
Akihabara News - SPH-B5200, the DMB and gaming phone
Ogo goes to Europe
IXI Mobile offers Ogo which is a device that's optimised for messaging and that's had some success in the States, but reportedly not very much. Cingular dropped it, which might be for this reason.
It supports popular instant messaging and email services (including Internet standard email) as well as browsing and SMS.
1&1 in Germahy will the first European operator to bring the Ogo to market.
I think the price is right: $60 one-time and $12 per month.
Ogo Arrives in Germany - 3/9/2006 10:49:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6314565
IXI Mobile | Technology & Products
It supports popular instant messaging and email services (including Internet standard email) as well as browsing and SMS.
1&1 in Germahy will the first European operator to bring the Ogo to market.
I think the price is right: $60 one-time and $12 per month.
Ogo Arrives in Germany - 3/9/2006 10:49:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6314565
IXI Mobile | Technology & Products
Petition for cheaper SMS
If you are in the UK you can make your mark in this petition for a lower cost on SMSs. Calculations are based on 30 SMSs a day, which sounds much to me. Anyway, On 3 in Sweden I would pay £44 a month for the same amount, which is low compared to the listed services.
Make Texting Cheaper - show your support
Make Texting Cheaper - show your support
Moblogging, a new mobile trend
As the mobile industry realizes instant messaging and VoIP are becoming key business areas (and also threats in the latter case) it now also eyes mobile blogging. There are several sites and Java applications that provide moblogging, but that's no good for operators if they want to make some money out of it. Cingular now takes the crocodile by the snout and offers moblogging for $3 a month. The service also features localisation. It looks like a Cingular-specifc service rather than a gateway to Blogger etc.
If you don't want to wait, or are not a Cingular customer, you may download Abiro's own contribution to this trend Mobile Blogger.
Cingular Embraces Mobile Blogging - 3/9/2006 10:53:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6314573
If you don't want to wait, or are not a Cingular customer, you may download Abiro's own contribution to this trend Mobile Blogger.
Cingular Embraces Mobile Blogging - 3/9/2006 10:53:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6314573
Friday, March 10, 2006
BenQ DVB-H handset, looks like a TV
This is the first DVB-H phone I've seen that actually looks like a TV or Portable Media Player. It even has a table stand! It doesn't have a phone keypad though, so I guess the display is touch-sensitive. It runs Linux.
Live from CeBIT: Hands-on with BenQ-Siemens DVB-H handset - Engadget Mobile
Live from CeBIT: Hands-on with BenQ-Siemens DVB-H handset - Engadget Mobile
RIM adds instant messaging to its Enterprise Server
IM will be provided for Windows Messenger, Communications Server and Lotus Sametime. No mention of support for public services like Yahoo!, AOL etc, so the focus is internal corporate use.
Enterprise Server also gets better support for application development, simplifying integration with corporate systems like CRM etc.
This and the previous note indicates RIM has been very active during the NTP trial, and has just waited for a suitable time to launch new offerings.
CeBIT: RIM Adds Instant Messaging to BlackBerry Server - Yahoo! News
Enterprise Server also gets better support for application development, simplifying integration with corporate systems like CRM etc.
This and the previous note indicates RIM has been very active during the NTP trial, and has just waited for a suitable time to launch new offerings.
CeBIT: RIM Adds Instant Messaging to BlackBerry Server - Yahoo! News
RIM integrates Blackberry with corporate PBXs
By acquiring Ascendent System, RIM gets software for integrating Blackberries with corporate PBXs, providing PBX functionality to the mobile user.
Digital Media Europe: News - Blackberry to connect to corporate phone systems
Digital Media Europe: News - Blackberry to connect to corporate phone systems
Adobe will focus more on mobile phones
Adobe acquired Macromedia end of last year, which is a perfect match for Adobe, focusing on the graphics artist via Photoshop etc. Adding Director and Flash to its product portfolio is therefor logical.
Adobe has previously promoted SVG for mobile use, but due to the acquisition I believe they will drop that (more or less) and focus on better support for mobile Flash.
Adobe aims to grow Flash, Reader on mobiles - Yahoo! News
Adobe has previously promoted SVG for mobile use, but due to the acquisition I believe they will drop that (more or less) and focus on better support for mobile Flash.
Adobe aims to grow Flash, Reader on mobiles - Yahoo! News
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Samsung SCH-B600, 10 megapizel cameraphone
Impressively small, despite the 3x zoom lens. I haven't seen anyone mention list or street price, but it can't be cheap. Dedicated cameras with 10 megapixels are still quite expensive. They may have made tradeoffs in the lens quality, but if so you won't need 10 megapixels in the first place. In other words, this might be more of a competitive weapon (like often high-end smartphones are) than intended to sell profitably.
Live from CeBIT: Samsung's SCH-B600 10 megapixel cameraphone - Engadget
Live from CeBIT: Samsung's SCH-B600 10 megapixel cameraphone - Engadget
Mobile phone content still a fast growing market
Despite the hit subscription-based services must have gotten by now, the market is still going strong overall, expected to reach $43B by 2010 (with 42.5 annual growth rate).
Quote: Mobile music, led by ringtones and ringtunes, represents the largest and fastest-moving premium-content segment
Quote: revenues from mobile gaming increased by about 80% in 2005
Quote: nearly 400 million installed phones with music codecs
Mobile phone premium content market to top US$43 billion by 2010, says research firm
Quote: Mobile music, led by ringtones and ringtunes, represents the largest and fastest-moving premium-content segment
Quote: revenues from mobile gaming increased by about 80% in 2005
Quote: nearly 400 million installed phones with music codecs
Mobile phone premium content market to top US$43 billion by 2010, says research firm
If you know Visual Basic or C# you can make Java ME applications
That sounds like an oxymoron, but isn't. AppForge claims to support conversion of Visual Basic and C# to Java Micro Edition in its Crossfire tool.
If this works I'm impressed, as .NET is a much richer environment than ever Java ME is, for obvious reasons: .NET is running on a much more advanced system, and Java ME is intentionally limited to avoid device dependencies. I'm sure you can't convert any .NET application this way.
I don't quite understand the limitation to Blackberry devices, considering there are few Blackberries sold compared to phones in general with Java ME. Maybe because Crossfire addresses corporate developers. It might also ease the conversion, knowing exactly what Blackberries support.
AppForge Announces Release of Crossfire(R) Version 6.0
If this works I'm impressed, as .NET is a much richer environment than ever Java ME is, for obvious reasons: .NET is running on a much more advanced system, and Java ME is intentionally limited to avoid device dependencies. I'm sure you can't convert any .NET application this way.
I don't quite understand the limitation to Blackberry devices, considering there are few Blackberries sold compared to phones in general with Java ME. Maybe because Crossfire addresses corporate developers. It might also ease the conversion, knowing exactly what Blackberries support.
AppForge Announces Release of Crossfire(R) Version 6.0
How Opera will get revenue from Opera Mini
Now it starts to show: In this case Opera hosts the proxy/gateway for T-Mobile and T-Mobile bundles Opera Mini with a given range of phones. Whether T-Mobile pays for the hosting (which I'm sure they do) and/or the branded Opera Mini's (which I guess they also do) it doesn't say. In any case T-Mobile pays Opera for this.
If operators prefer this model there's less need for embedded web browsers in featurephones. There's still the issue that you can't download files via Opera Mini, but that's likely to be solved for phones that support file access via Java. There's also the issue of showing complex web pages in a PC-like way on high resolution displays. Opera Mini always shows web page data as a vertical row of text and pictures.
CeBIT: T-Mobile First to Launch Branded Opera Mini - Yahoo! News
If operators prefer this model there's less need for embedded web browsers in featurephones. There's still the issue that you can't download files via Opera Mini, but that's likely to be solved for phones that support file access via Java. There's also the issue of showing complex web pages in a PC-like way on high resolution displays. Opera Mini always shows web page data as a vertical row of text and pictures.
CeBIT: T-Mobile First to Launch Branded Opera Mini - Yahoo! News
Consumers want e-mail, music and TV
Results from a survey performed by Siemens.
Quote: An average 74 percent of those polled said they wanted to read and send e-mails
E-mail wouldn't require a new phone though, just new Java or Symbian OS software, even though an alphanumeric keypad would come in handy.
Quote: Siemens noted that the extra costs of such services made the option particularly attractive for companies.
I hope they don't include music and TV as something companies should pay for. E-mail on the other hand...
Mobile phone users want to add e-mail, music, TV: Siemens study - Yahoo! News
Quote: An average 74 percent of those polled said they wanted to read and send e-mails
E-mail wouldn't require a new phone though, just new Java or Symbian OS software, even though an alphanumeric keypad would come in handy.
Quote: Siemens noted that the extra costs of such services made the option particularly attractive for companies.
I hope they don't include music and TV as something companies should pay for. E-mail on the other hand...
Mobile phone users want to add e-mail, music, TV: Siemens study - Yahoo! News
Nokia LifeBlog in new version
LifeBlog enables photo-blogging, but the new version also supports audio-blogging. Another interesting new feature is location tagging, where the phone detects the rough location of the phone (no GPS is needed) and marks the photo with that info.
It's for some reason only supported by N-series phones from Nokia. If it's a Series 60 application it should support many more phones, yet still only from Nokia.
There's a special PC application for accessing LifeBlog. Smarter would be to have a web-only interface.
2006 can still be the year of mobile photo blogging, but I believe most users want to access public blog services, rather than phone manufacturer controlled ditto.
CeBIT: Nokia Updates Mobile Blogging App - Yahoo! News
It's for some reason only supported by N-series phones from Nokia. If it's a Series 60 application it should support many more phones, yet still only from Nokia.
There's a special PC application for accessing LifeBlog. Smarter would be to have a web-only interface.
2006 can still be the year of mobile photo blogging, but I believe most users want to access public blog services, rather than phone manufacturer controlled ditto.
CeBIT: Nokia Updates Mobile Blogging App - Yahoo! News
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
BenQ on release spree
Releasing 5 new phones: EL71, E61, C81, CL71, CF61, all being featurephones. Pictures, but no other details.
BenQ's announces EL71, E61, C81, CL71, CF61, Google deal - Engadget Mobile
BenQ's announces EL71, E61, C81, CL71, CF61, Google deal - Engadget Mobile
Nokia reports about DVB-H trials in Europe
The most interesting is the user feedback: 83 per cent of participants (in UK) were satisfied, with 76 per cent saying they would subscribe to the service within 12 months
Less in other test countries though. Big interest as it was free of charge?
Monthly subscription was preferred.
Digital Media Europe: News - Nokia announces mobile TV pilot results
Less in other test countries though. Big interest as it was free of charge?
Monthly subscription was preferred.
Digital Media Europe: News - Nokia announces mobile TV pilot results
India on the rise
39% increase to 135M, with a lot of further growth potential (12% penetration).
Indian phone subscriptions soar 39 percent in year ended February - Yahoo! News
Indian phone subscriptions soar 39 percent in year ended February - Yahoo! News
Qualcomm benefits from 3G uptake
Qualcomm is the worldwide dominating 3G chipset provider, and even though users haven't quite adopted 3G yet, more and more phones come with 3G. The latter is what counts for Qualcomm. Interestingly Qualcomm is also strong on WCDMA IPR, which