Mobile & Wireless
18 December 2012
US Judge Denies Apple Request to Ban Samsung Phones New York Times
A federal judge late Monday rejected Apple Inc.'s demands that its chief rival in the more than $100 billion global smartphone market cease selling models a jury recently found illegally used Apple technology.
15 December 2012
Google Introduces a New Mobile Ad to Combat Fat Fingers New York Times
The "fat finger effect" -- the theory that people accidentally click on mobile ads because cellphone screens are so small -- is one reason mobile ads generally earn less money than ads shown on desktop computers.
14 December 2012
Nokia Maps digitises streets to battle Google's threat BBC News
Nokia smells an opportunity. Maps have become one of the most closely-watched battlegrounds in tech after a user-backlash led Apple to apologise for the quality of its iOS6 Maps update.
10 December 2012
Browser Wars Flare Again, on Little Screens New York Times
When Google took a video camera to Times Square in 2009 and asked passers-by what a browser is, most of the answers were hilariously incorrect, from "a search engine" to "broadband" to "Yahoo."
07 December 2012
Apple v Samsung patent verdict reconsidered in court BBC News
Apple and Samsung return to a San Jose, California court later so a judge can review a jury's decision to award Apple $1.05bn (£652m) in damages.
05 December 2012
Apps Redirect Text Messages, and Profits, From Mobile Providers New York Times
For a long time, opening a cellphone bill was scary for the parents of teenagers. Charges for texting could reach hundreds of dollars a month, prompting many families to sign up for unlimited plans. But at perhaps $20 a month for each family member, that quickly added up, too.
Facebook turns Messenger into a text message killer The Guardian
The text message might be 20 years old - but Facebook is now looking to hurry it into the grave. The giant social network, which has now passed a billion users, has just announced that it is updating its "Messenger" app for Android so that anyone can sign up using just their name and phone number, and then send messages to Facebook contacts via their data plan, rather than as texts.
03 December 2012
Text messaging turns 20 – but is it past its peak? The Guardian
It has saved lives and ruined marriages, created a whole new dialect and made billions in profits for phone companies. But as the humble text message celebrates its 20th birthday, some wonder how much longer it will survive in a world of smartphones and all-you-can-eat data.
29 November 2012
Nokia seeks Blackberry sales bans after patent dispute BBC News
Nokia has asked courts in the US, UK and Canada to block sales of rival Blackberry smartphones.
28 November 2012
In China, 25 Million People Use Only Their Mobile Phones to Read Books The Atlantic
On vacation in China earlier this month, I stopped by Shanghai's seven-story downtown "Book City," bustling with activity on a weekday afternoon that, as a publisher, I found exceptionally gratifying. Perusing the ground floor front tables I saw stacks of copies in Chinese reflecting the multiple interests Chinese readers have in American themes. Days after the U.S. elections, books about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were featured.
Samsung unearths illegal work practices at Chinese suppliers The Guardian
Samsung Electronics admits it has found illegal work practices in an audit of 105 of its Chinese suppliers - but it has given the companies two more years to eliminate it. The audit of 65,000 employees follows accusations by China Labor Watch, an independent labour rights group based in New York, which alleged in August that Samsung suppliers hired children and used "inhumane" working conditions, and in September that there was illegal discrimination in hiring polices at some Samsung suppliers.
27 November 2012
US Study Finds Rise in Texting Even as Revenue Drops New York Times
A new report finds that certain activities that people do on a cellphone, like taking a picture and shooting video, have increased significantly in the last few years. Texting, in particular, has grown considerably -- but not texting in the traditional sense.
26 November 2012
Why Mobile Phones Make Economies Grow Faster Mashable
Studies have shown again and again that mobile-phone networks help economies grow. And it's not just because people need to be employed to build the networks and sell the phones. By increasing the flow of information, mobile phones improve productivity and efficiency, and open up new markets and new kinds of business all across the economy.
25 November 2012
Mobile Phones Reshape Prostitution in India, and Complicate Efforts to Prevent AIDS New York Times
Millions once bought sex in the narrow alleys of Kamathipura, a vast red-light district here. But prostitutes with inexpensive mobile phones are luring customers elsewhere, and that is endangering the astonishing progress India has made against AIDS.
24 November 2012
Pakistan suspends mobile networks over fears of attacks BBC News
Pakistan's authorities are suspending mobile phone services in major cities to prevent sectarian violence during key Shia Muslim commemorations.
22 November 2012
Apple and the Desire for Control New York Times
Apple did not invent the notion of using cellphones to play games and carry out small tasks, but it certainly made the concept its own. Its app store is the one all developers want to get into, despite the much larger market share claimed by Google's Android. There are so many competing devices using Android that developers say they have a hard time optimizing their app for that system. Besides, customers are used to spending money for Apple apps, but they tend to want Android apps for free.
21 November 2012
Microsoft vs. Google trial over patents finishes up Reuters
A Google expert witness testified on Tuesday that Microsoft will make roughly $94 billion in revenue through 2017 from its Xbox game console and Surface tablet that use Google's patented wireless technology.
19 November 2012
As Boom Lures App Creators, Tough Part Is Making a Living New York Times
... The couple's chosen field is so new it did not even exist a few years ago: writing software applications for mobile devices like the iPhone or iPad. Even as unemployment remained stubbornly high and the economy struggled to emerge from the recession's shadow, the ranks of computer software engineers, including app writers, increased nearly 8 percent in 2010 to more than a million, according to the latest available government data for that category. These software engineers now outnumber farmers and have almost caught up with lawyers.
17 November 2012
Data jam threat to UK mobile networks BBC News
Steps need to be taken now to head off a looming "capacity crunch" on the UK's mobile networks, says regulator Ofcom.
16 November 2012
Mozilla: The problem is mobile, not money CNET
With more than 400 million Firefox users, Mozilla doesn't have a problem with relevance. And with today's disclosure that organization's revenue grew 33 percent to $163.5 million in 2011, the nonprofit organization doesn't have a problem with money.
15 November 2012
Samsung will not settle patent suits with Apple Daily Telegraph [UK]
Samsung will not follow HTC's lead and settle its patent lawsuits with Apple, the company has said.
13 November 2012
Text Messaging Declines in U.S. for First Time, Report Says New York Times
In countries around the world, text-message traffic has been shrinking because Internet-powered alternatives are becoming so widely used. American carriers have fought off the decline -- until now.
Microsoft, Google to do battle over patent royalty rates Computerworld
Microsoft and Motorola Mobility will face off in court on Tuesday for the start of a patent trial that could help establish how royalty rates are calculated for standards-essential patents.
12 November 2012
Apple, HTC Resolve Patent Disputes That Threatened Shipments Bloomberg
Apple Inc. and HTC Corp. have settled all global lawsuits and signed a 10-year licensing agreement, ending a dispute that threatened their shipments of mobile devices.
09 November 2012
Privacy, Spectrum Among Top US Mobile Issues Tech Daily Dose
Mobile industry policy experts on Thursday said cybersecurity, privacy, and spectrum would be among the top issues facing the mobile industry in 2013.
