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Infrastructure
LG readying mobile payment system in Europe
Opera Mini browser hits 80 million user benchmark
Smart Grid Service Revenues for Fixed and Wireless Network Operators to Reach $4.9 Billion by 2016
LTE Will Crush WiMAX. Eventually!
Mobile Display Marketing and Advertising Revenue Will Approach $1.5 Billion in 2016
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Curated Links
Nokia, RIM look for closer ties with operators - Thursday February 17 2011
Handset makers RIM and Nokia this week embarked on a charm offensive in a bid to win the hearts and minds of mobile operators, as the companies look to defend their positions against Apple and Google. RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie repeatedly emphasised the importance of providing new applications, services and devices in a "carrier-aligned way" during a keynote presentation at Mobile World Congress on Wednesday – a statement echoed by his counterpart at Nokia, and fellow Canadian, Stephen Elop. "Nokia has a shared philosophy with BlackBerry," said Elop. "Nokia has a high alignment with operators in its lineage," he said, commenting that he is confident that this alignment will continue once the company begins rolling out Windows smartphones. Nokia in particular has felt the impact on its market share from Apple and Google recently – the latest figures from research firm Gartner revealed Nokia's share of the handset market in 2010 declined to 28.9% from 36.4% in 2009. BlackBerry maker RIM saw its share of the handset market edge higher to 3% from 2.8%. Elop said that despite making good use of mobile networks, Apple and Google do not give enough back to operators.Video streaming service gives Korea's KT new way to charge for data - Thursday February 17 2011
South Korean telco launches interoperable mobile video-sharing service based on technology from Syniverse; vendor in talks with other potential operator partners. South Korean operator KT has rolled out a new mobile video broadcast service that enables users to share video, regardless of the device they are using or the connection type. But more than that, it also provides KT with a different way to charge for mobile data usage, according to Syniverse, which supplied the interoperability technology that powers the service. In addition to meeting consumer demand to be able to share video easily, “they are also using this as a way to change their business model,” said Tony Holcombe, president and CEO of Syniverse at Mobile World Congress this week. It enables KT to charge for the data as a value-added service, Holcombe explained. He did not have details of KT's pricing, but said the operator is billing for the data used, rather than offering the solution as a subscription service. “I'm curious to see if this takes hold,” Holcombe said.Chipmakers Spar Over Title Of ‘World’s First’ Quad-Core Mobile Processor - Thursday February 17 2011
In the race to build a faster smartphone, the ability to tap mobile processors that have multiple cores, much like PC processors, is paramount. The high stakes are pushing multiple companies, including Freescale, Nvidia and Qualcomm, to be first to debut a mobile processor with four CPU cores. The quest dominated chip news at Mobile World Congress, the big telecom trade show being held in Barcelona, Spain this week. Quad-core processors represent a technological leap over dual-core processors, which are the current gold standard in phone chips. Nvidia says its quad-core processor boasts five times the computing capability of its dual-core chip. That translates to twice-as-fast web browsing and three times the frame rate found in Nvidia’s speedy dual-core processor.T-Mobile USA offloads 5M Wi-Fi callers - Thursday February 17 2011
T-Mobile USA said 5 million of its 34 million subscribers route some of their cellular calls over a Wi-Fi network, and that around 1.25 million of those subscribers use the carrier's new Wi-Fi Calling Android application. Further, the carrier said its subscribers place around 40 million calls per month over Wi-Fi--a significant figure considering the world's wireless carriers continue to seek ways to reduce traffic on their wide-area cellular networks. T-Mobile in 2007 debuted its Hotspot@Home Wi-Fi calling service, which relied on technology from partner Kineto Wireless. The effort was intended to replace users' landline phones. Handsets supporting the service included select Nokia(NYSE:NOK) and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry gadgets. In the intervening years, however, T-Mobile adjusted the program from a landline replacement play into an offload and coverage enhancement technique. Late last year, the carrier introduced its Wi-Fi Calling application for Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android phones from Kineto, which allows Android phone users to route their calls and text messages through a Wi-Fi connection.LG readying mobile payment system in Europe - Wednesday February 02 2011
European consumers may finally be able to pay for items via their smartphones next year, through a system under development by LG Electronics. LG's system would use a combination of near-field communication (NFC) and cloud computing to allow certain retailers in Europe to accept payments from customers using NFC-equipped smartphones. Scheduled to launch sometime in 2012, the system would also find its way into interactive TVs and security products sold by LG, Reuters reported this week. "The point-of-sale technology, which will be targeted at small and medium-sized businesses..., is currently in beta testing," Jin-Yong Kim, vice president for business solutions at LG's Home Entertainment division, told Reuters. NFC technology lets different devices talk to each other over a very short distance. As a result, a consumer could pay for items at stores and restaurants by using a smartphone to send payment information from a bank account to a register or terminal.Half of Mobile Web Browsers Choose Wi-Fi - Wednesday February 02 2011
Bango Inc, the leading mobile analytics and payment company, reports that at the start of 2011 Wi-Fi accounts for over 50% of mobile user connections to the internet. These latest Wi-Fi stats announced by Bango follows a report they published in February 2010, which highlighted that at the time 23% of mobile website visits connected thru Wi-Fi. The new Bango stats are derived from an analysis of connection methods it tracks through its payment and analytics platform. Bango believes that growing consumption of streamed media is driving users to look for fast network connectivity from Wi-Fi, allied to greater certainty over data costs. The increased adoption of smartphone devices and the popularity of tablets are among the factors behind the surge in Wi-Fi usage. Bango measured different connection methods over the months of December 2010 and January 2011 using its mobile analytics technology. This month-by-month analysis showed a sharp increase in the number of people connecting via Wi-Fi in January, which coincides with increased smartphone sales over the Holiday period.
Now, nearly five years since mobile VoIP services were first introduced, it is on the cusp of moving beyond just an inexpensive alternative for making international calls to becoming an integrated component of unified social networking services, says In-Stat. The next several years are expected to be transformational as mobile operators and other associated players figure out how to respond to a forecast of nearly 139 million mobile VoIP users by 2014. "Mobile VoIP is gaining real market presence with usage rates climbing rapidly," says Amy Cravens, Market Analyst. "As it becomes further incorporated into other mobile apps, specifically social networking apps, the realm of potential use is expected to broaden. This has created a great deal of jockeying among mobile VoIP players trying to develop market share and mobile operators trying to determine the best response to this potentially disruptive service offering."
LG Jumps In Front Of Rivals To Claim World’s First 3D Smartphone - Tuesday February 01 2011
The wireless industry has been wondering for months which cellphone vendor would launch the first 3D smartphone. LG Electronics appears determined to grab that title for itself. In an email sent to reporters late Monday night, the Korean electronics giant announced that it would unveil a phone called the Optimus 3D at Mobile World Congress, a large wireless industry trade show held in Barcelona in mid-February. The phone, noted the press release, would be the world’s first “full 3D” smartphone, enabling users to both record and view video in 3D. This feature, says LG, will counteract the dearth of 3D content, which is often cited as the chief reason why consumers don’t purchase 3D-enabled devices. Unlike larger 3D gadgets, the Optimus 3D will not require special glasses for viewing 3D content. The phone will sport a dual-lens camera for 3D recording and multimedia connections including HDMI and DLNA that will let users stream 3D video to TV screens and computer monitors.NPD: Android soars to 53% of U.S. smartphone sales in Q4 - Tuesday February 01 2011
Devices running Google's Android mobile operating system encompassed more than half of all U.S. smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 according to market research firm NPD Group. Android increased its U.S. market share lead to 53 percent as 2010 closed, up 9 percentage points over Q3--Apple's iOS slipped 4 percentage points to account for 19 percent of sales, tied with Research In Motion's BlackBerry (down 2 percentage points). NPD notes that Microsoft's legacy Windows Mobile OS dropped 3 points to 4 percent of the U.S. market, while its new Windows Phone 7 debuted at 2 percent, deadlocked with Palm's webOS. The firm adds that Windows Phone 7 claimed a smaller market share at launch than either Android or webOS during their respective debuts. Apple's iPhone 4 was the best-selling mobile phone in the U.S. during the fourth quarter, followed in descending order by Motorola's Droid X, HTC's Evo 4G, the iPhone 3GS and Motorola's Droid 2. For the first time ever, NPD's quarterly Top Five sales chart did not include a feature phone device.Cisco Says Smartphones to Boost Mobile Web Use 26-Fold by 2015 - Tuesday February 01 2011
Cisco Systems Inc., the largest provider of computer networking gear, said that Internet traffic over mobile devices will increase 26-fold by 2015, driven by consumers watching video on smartphones and tablet computers. Connection speeds will rise 10-fold by that time from last year to keep up with the demand, the San Jose, California-based company said in a study released today. Consumers are increasingly surfing the Web and watching videos from Google Inc.’s YouTube and Netflix Inc. on their mobile devices, straining service providers’ abilities to transmit data quickly. The study aims to give Cisco customers, which include AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., a view of consumer trends while promoting the need for Cisco products, which handle the flow of Internet traffic.