As most people who are interested in mobile technology probably already know, the annual Mobile World Congress 2012 is gearing up to start on the 27th. The event is one of the most important in the mobile industry and will run through 1 March in Barcelona, Spain.
Whist the Consumer Electronics Show is the highlight of the electronics showcases, the Mobile World Congress spotlights just mobile technology, accessories, apps and programs.
In years prior, mobile phone manufacturers, app developers and service providers held press conferences, held and attended lectures and symposiums and rolled out the red carpet on opening day. That day, the 27th of February still has those events, but more attendees hold major press conferences on the 26th instead of waiting until the 27th and losing half the press crowds.
Samsung, HTC, Huawei and a few other major players have already scheduled their ‘media events’ and sent invitations for their press conferences on the eve of the MWC.
At least once each day, there is a keynote speech, and those presentations are given by trend-setters, establish leaders of the mobile industry. To date, here are only a few of the scheduled speakers and topics to which we can look forward to hearing.
Warren East, CEO of ARM, will be speaking, as will Franco Bernabe, Chairman and CEO of Telecom Italia Group and Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, AT&T. Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy, and many others will be joining them.
App contest are many during the Mobile World Congress. Established developers compete against each other, and laymen developers can submit their concept apps in competition with each other and consideration for purchase by the Big Dogs.
And lest we forget, mobile phone and tablet makers often introduce major products in and around MWC time, and that’s when we have the most fun. We’re looking forward to getting our hands on some of those new mobiles and tablets we’ve been writing about and getting a much closer look at them beyond the showcase information we’ve gotten.
What mobile phone or tablet are you looking forward to seeing in stores and online soon?
Virgin Media experienced a trend reversal in 2011 that was somewhat unexpected. The telecom company usually has a broader PayGo customer base than it does a contracted customer base but not for last year.
Virgin’s contracted customer base grew over 25 percent during 2011, ending with 1.52 million customers. Virgin set this company record by increasing their contracted base by doubling the year-on figures to 102,500 newly-contracted subscribers.
In comparison, Virgin Media lost around 19 percent of its PayGo customers last year, closing at 1.50 million PayGo customers.
Neil Berkett, Virgin Media’s chief executive officer, stated:
“We are successfully building contract mobile sales into cable homes, and Virgin Media Business ended the year strongly as an increasingly important and growing contributor to the group.”
Virgin Media ended 2011 with approximately 697,000 quad-service customers – those who had all three of Virgin’s cable products and at least one mobile phone under service within a single household. Lesser-degree of saturation, but still with a minimum of one mobile phone included, merely adds to that total.
Even having reached that new benchmark, Virgin Media’s annual revenue of £552.9 million for 2011 was still 1.3 percent less than it earned in 2010.
On the Other Hand
Apple earned 20 percent of every dollar, pound, euro, etc., spent during the winter holiday. Its share price has been reported to have broken the 0 market. People are already speculating that Apple, Inc., is on its way to becoming a 0 trillion company.
HTC’s 2011 earnings fell to 1.42 billion, reflecting a reduction of almost .5 billion from 2010.
Samsung reported 2011 revenue as billion, .7 billion in the last quarter, which some credit directly to the success of the Samsung Galaxy S II. Samsung’s year earnings reflects a .8 percent increase on-year but also reflects its non-mobile device divisions, such as its semi-conductors or television sets.
Some contribute a fair amount of the financial success to Apple’s strategy of marketing only a few products each year. Other mobile technology companies seem to be following that trend with prior announcements that they will start limiting their releases, effective 2012.
Whose mobile phone or tablet do you want in 2012?
Adults today spend nearly half of their time on using a mobile phone. While texts and social media are popular uses for mobiles, more and more people are using their devices to get ahead in the workplace. Companies can increase workplace productivity by as much as 50 percent by implementing the use of mobiles. Business applications for mobile technology are growing at a rapid rate, and many companies are picking up momentum by taking advantage of mobile functionality.
Smartphones are now considered by many to be an essential business tool. Their success can be attributed to the way mobiles allow work to transition seamlessly from the office to the coffee shop to the home. They allow users to keep in contact with their clients and access a mobile office system that contains pertinent business information. Documents, spreadsheets, financial reports, email messages and more can be viewed, manipulated and stored at the touch of a screen from anywhere in the world. These features keep business owners and employees connected at any time and greatly reduce the risk of a lost opportunity. Many business people keep their mobiles within immediate reach for up to 17 hours each day, often sleeping next to the phone in bed. All of these increase productivity for businesses, making them more marketable to clientèle because their service is not tied or restricted to one geographical location.
Because competition in the business world is extremely fierce in today’s economy, clients and customers are increasingly motivated by quality service. Rather than loyalty to brand and tradition, consumers are flocking to whichever company can provide the fastest, most reliable experience to meet their needs. Mobile technology can help ensure that businesses stay ahead of their competition by allowing them to meet the increasing demands of their customers, no matter when they arise. In addition, customers want to socially connect with the companies that they use. Mobiles give businesses instant access to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more, where they can connect with existing customers and attract new ones.
OfCom reports suggest that 27 percent of adults have a smartphone. This number is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, especially with the shift in business usage. Land line office telephones have fallen in number by five percent. Time spent talking on the business phone is up 350 percent, but it is clear that most of this talk time comes from mobile users. This indicates a serious migration to mobile plans. With most major providers catering to businesses with affordable multi-line plans, the traditional telephone system may soon be eclipsed.
Mobile phones increase business flexibility and provide a useful tool for owners and employees alike. Their functions continue to grow: From simple applications like email and voice calls to complex features like video conferences, and credit card processing, smartphones can be a valuable player on a business team. Whether the business is large or small, accounting service or medical service, there are plenty of ways to put a mobile to work.
In today’s Mobile News, we highlight a reading app, Swype ICS and a few other sundry tidbits. Read on for details.
Reading Rainbow App
Levar Burton, a very talented actor, hosted a US Public Broadcast Service (PBS) television show that encouraged kids to read. He hosted the show for an amazing 23 years, from 1983 to 2006 when PBS cancelled it.
Whilst Burton was unable to launch his ‘webisode’ plan, he has brought Reading Rainbow to app form. Kids will be able to stream classic episodes and DVDs. The app will feature hundreds of books with
“Reading Rainbow-like”
…experience. There’s no definite word on when the app will be available, but stay tuned. If we hear a date, we’ll let you know, along with compatible platforms.
Swype ICS
Whilst the update is late in coming, it seems that the dual update for Swype capability in ICS and the update to fix the screen display in the Galaxy Nexus is just around the corner. Hopefully, it will be out and well-distributed before MWC on the 27th.
MotoLUXE to UK
The Motorola MotoLUXE heads to the UK this month, although the exact retailers haven’t been publicly announced yet.
Some online retailers, however, show a pre-order price close to £260; hopefully, that will come down a bit with Valentine’s Day sales encouragement. Probably not, though, with the press release noting late February. Heavy sigh.
T-Mobile’s V-Day Sale
Speaking of sales, T-Mobile has announced free smartphones with select plans on Valentine’s Day. Check their website for info on deals and plans.
Path App Violates User Privacy
A developer attempted to hack the Path app to gain compatibility with a Mac system and discovered that the social network app sneaked access to the user’s contact list – without the user’s knowledge.
Path CEO Dave Morin responded to the privacy violation allegations, stating the access was merely to help users find their friends.
The unauthorized, undeclared, and no-option access is a blatant violation of Apple’s policies, and while other apps send user info back to the developers or a website, the Path app is being removed until the sneak violation is eliminated.
Nottinghamshire Police has saved over £1m and increased front-line policing since launching a programme to give police officers mobile devices to connect with back-office systems.
ComputerWeekly: IT hardware
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