Mobile & Wireless
20 August 2009
European Regulators Examine Reports of Exploding iPhones New York Times
The European Commission said Tuesday that it was examining the safety of Apple iPhones and iPods, after news reports said that several of the devices had exploded.
19 August 2009
Mobile data show friend networks BBC News
Friendships can be inferred with 95% accuracy from call records and the proximity of users, says a new report.
Apple online App Store faces competition scrutiny in US The Times
Apple, the darling of the consumer electronics industry and self-styled underdog fighting the all-powerful Microsoft, is -- for the first time -- facing regulatory scrutiny for alleged monopolistic practices.
18 August 2009
Cutting the cord : America loses its landlines The Economist
Much has been made of the precipitous decline of America's newspapers. According to one much-cited calculation, the country's last printed newspaper will land on a doorstep sometime in the first quarter of 2043. That is a positively healthy outlook, however, compared with another staple of American life: the home telephone. Telecoms operators are seeing customers abandon landlines at a rate of 700,000 per month. Some analysts now estimate that 25% of households in America rely entirely on mobile phones (or cellphones, as Americans call them) -- a share that could double within the next three years. If the decline of the landline continues at its current rate, the last cord will be cut sometime in 2025.
14 August 2009
Mobile-phone group seals deal to be bank for millions in Africa The Guardian
Mobile-phone banking group Monitise has signed a deal that will bring financial services to millions of people in Africa for the first time.
13 August 2009
Australia the pricey country for mobile broadband: OECD Computerworld
Mobile broadband users in Australia pay more than in any other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country according to a new report released by the organisation.
Microsoft-Nokia Alliance: An Assault on the BlackBerry, Possible End for Windows Mobile New York Times
Top executives from Microsoft and Nokia elaborated on their new alliance in a conference call this morning.
Mobile Phones Largely Immune to Viruses, for Now New York Times
It has been great using smartphones as de facto computers. You don't have to buy antivirus software or worry about the devices going haywire every time some Ukrainian crime ring finds a new way to steal data from the cloud.
06 August 2009
In France, 92 percent of residents use a mobile: report Reuters
The number of mobile users continues to rise in France with 91.8 percent of residents subscribing to wireless services as of end-June, up from 88.1 percent a year ago, the telecoms regulator said on Wednesday.
05 August 2009
Rivalry Between Apple and Palm Intensifies New York Times
The Palm Pre has a large touch screen, slide-out keyboard and fast Web browsing. Palm also likes to point out that another selling point is the smartphone's ability to link to iTunes, Apple's popular software for managing music and other media on a computer.
04 August 2009
FTC says Google, Apple probe still on as spotlight shifts Computerworld
Just hours after Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's board of directors, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it will continue its antitrust investigation.
30 July 2009
Even Google Is Blocked With Apps for iPhone New York Times
Google might power the world's most popular search engine, but its clout goes only so far. When it comes to getting one of its applications onto the iPhone, it seems Google has to wait in line for Apple's approval like everyone else -- and face the risk of rejection.
29 July 2009
Fixing Nokia: How the handset maker can avoid Motorola's fate Forbes
No one at Nokia is sleeping easily these days. While reporting a second-quarter sales drop of 25% and a profit dive of 66% earlier this month, the mobile phone giant admitted that it had to "develop new skill sets." And how.
28 July 2009
In Study, Texting Lifts Crash Risk by Large Margin New York Times
The first study of drivers texting inside their vehicles shows that the risk sharply exceeds previous estimates based on laboratory research -- and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions.
27 July 2009
Skype singled out as threat to Russia's security Reuters
Russia's most powerful business lobby moved to clamp down on Skype and its peers this week, telling lawmakers that the Internet phone services are a threat to Russian businesses and to national security.
Final Frontier for Wireless Hard to Break Through New York Times
With a vast, unserved population, Africa used to be a no-lose proposition for mobile phone operators looking for new customers. But after a wave of investment, the wireless industry's final frontier is showing signs of age.
25 July 2009
The man who is allergic to Wi-Fi Daily Telegraph (UK)
A club DJ, Steve Miller, has revealed he has been forced into exile by a powerful allergy to Wi-Fi internet waves which leaves him feeling dizzy, sick and disorientated.
23 July 2009
Phone gadget to diagnose disease BBC News
Researchers have developed an add-on to a mobile phone that can take detailed images and analyse them to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis.
Mideast, Africa mobile broadband to explode: report Reuters
Mobile broadband in the Middle East and Africa will expand to $6 billion (£243 billion) in the next two years from the current $1 billion, spurred by an expanding network and falling prices, a telecoms advisory firm has said.
U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving New York Times
In 2003, researchers at a federal agency proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to assess the safety risk posed by cellphone use behind the wheel.
Growing Mobile Internet Use Shrinks America's Digital Divide: Pew Report New York Times
... The survey, conducted in April by interviewing 2,253 Americans, found that while accessing the Internet via a mobile phone was increasing, the swell was reflected most sharply among African-Americans.
20 July 2009
Why Japan's Mobile Phones Haven't Gone Global New York Times
At first glance, Japanese cellphones are a gadget lover's dream: ready for Internet and e-mail, they double as credit cards, boarding passes and even body-fat calculators. But it is hard to find anyone in Chicago or London using a Japanese phone like a Panasonic, a Sharp or an NEC. Despite years of dabbling in overseas markets, Japan's handset makers have little presence beyond the country's shores.
Mobile apps 'to be bigger than internet' BBC News
The market for mobile applications, or apps, will become "as big as the internet", peaking at 10 million apps in 2020, a leading storefront believes.
EU battles industry plans to restrict Skype on mobile phones EurActiv
The European Commission is threatening to brandish the new roaming regulation or antitrust rules in order to block plans by major EU telecoms operators to restrict the use of Internet calling services like Skype via their mobile networks.
17 July 2009
Nokia warns against growth expectations for handsets The Guardian
Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, has warned that it will not increase its share of the handset market this year because of fierce competition. The Finnish technology company also said its profit margins will continue to come under pressure as it battles the impact of the global recession.
