Month: May 2010

Samsung Wave coming soon

Days after our piece on Bada and the Samsung Wave Vodafone has launched it’s dedicated Samsung Wave site http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/samsung-wave for pre-orders for the Samsung Wave. There’s a full list of the Wave features and some pictures and it seems to be growing on us. To register for information on the Wave on Vodafone register here

Trustive launches worldwide 3G Wifi package

Working on the move using a 3G dongle has become a way of life for many people, and for most the service works really well. But, where it tends to screw up is when you go abroad. A SIM for every country and an account with every Wifi cloud provider is something only the well-heeled…

Amazon on iPad

Amazon has launched an iPad shopping application but unfortunately as yet it’s only available in the US and it’s not a world shattering app. Disappointingly the app is a just a redesigned version of its existing iPhone shopping application but adjusted for the larger screen rather than anything big and new. As with the iPhone…

Would you buy a Google Pad?

It seems that Google has decided to get in to the iPad/slate market, and who can blame them? The Nexus wasn’t exactly a huge seller, but according to Google it has made a positive contribution to their sales, which in our book is a success, and the encouraging sales for the iPad makes a move…

Bing it’s Samsung Bada SDK v1

Samsung has launched v1.0.0b2 of it’s new Bada platform and phew luckily there’s a real life phone to try it out on the Samsung Wave which doesn’t look like the most stylish phone on the block, we don’t think it’s as nice as most of the Android phones out there. However the spec for the…

Nokia makes a massive restructure

Nokia has made a massive restructure of its entire organisation, and has separated the business into three units; Mobile Solutions, Mobile Phones and Markets. Is this really going to help? Usually there’s only one reason for doing this sort of thing, and that’s to sell off the bad wood and keep the good. So bye…

Android overtakes iPhone

The figures are out for smartphone sales and Android based smartphones are doing incredibly well in the US, while Nokia continues to dominate worldwide. According to analysts NPD Group Android is now number two position in the US on consumer smartphone sales with 28%, behind RIM (36%) and ahead of the iPhone (21%). “As in…

Vodafone changes their fair usage policy

The definition of  “Fair usage” in Wickedpedia (if it doesn’t already exist,  please could someone build it now)  is; “A bunch of meaningless weasel words designed to screw punters out of their hard-earned cash.” Nobody likes the phrase, it doesn’t do the telecoms businesses any good, and users find it confusing. So it’s good that…

Vodafone iPad data prices now confirmed

Vodafone has now confirmed it’s dedicated iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G data plans, as mentioned in our last post http://www.bmob.co.uk/2010/05/10/ipad-data-plan-prices/ They’ve also added roaming costs which are fairly steep, but they’re not off the map for roaming. iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G Plans: 1GB  – £10 per 30 days 5GB – £25 per 30 days…

iPad data plan prices

Hot on the heels of the iPad UK pricing comes the data plan pricing and quick off the mark we have O2, and rumours from Vodafone and Orange and a spat from BT. O2 On O2 all iPad data tariffs will be available without a long contract and include unlimited access to BT Openzone and…

The state of the 2009 handset market

The figures are in and the numbers have been totalled up, and the winners is – Mobile.  (shouldn’t that be the Liberals?-ED) ABI have launched their totals for handsets delivered in 2009 and it’s a staggering figure. In 2009 global mobile handset shipments totalled approximately 1.15 billion , with enhanced phones and smartphones capturing approximately 81%…

iPhone? yes that’ll do nicely

According to a leaked press release Apple iPhone users will soon be able to use their app-tastic iPhones for contactless payment. Web site NFC World spotted the release from Visa and DeviceFidelity on the MarketWatch website, which revealed that the companies have developed a protective iPhone case that will allow users to pay for goods and…

Google boggles with Google goggles

The newest version of mobile application Google Goggles (image recognition technology) enables automatic text translation using the phone’s camera. From translating street signs to navigating foreign menus, people can now use their Android mobile devices for easy on-the-spot translation using the technology of Google Goggles plus the engine behind Google Translate. Here’s how it works:…

App downloads expected to peak at seven billion by 2013

According to ABI Research’s new “Mobile Application Storefronts” report, consumers downloaded some 2.4 billion applications from the combined worldwide apps stores, and the number is set to increase until 2013 when apps will peak at just below seven billion. The bad news is that ABI expect the number downloaded from app stores to drop after…

Mobile handset sales to hit 1.3bn in 2010

It’s very easy to forget just how small Apple’s mobile market share actually is. The hype is so big for Apple that everything just seems to get lost in a snowstorm of words and we’re just as guilty as the next party. However when you look at charts like the one below you realise just…

Mobile Payments Market to Quadruple by 2014 to £418bn

The Mobile Payments Markets: Strategies & Forecasts 2010-2014 from Juniper Research predicts that the value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions will reach almost £418bn by 2014, up from £113bn in 2010. With the top three regions for mobile payments (Far East & China, W.…

30 billion reasons to say mobile

In a recent post on the Nielsen Wire blog the senior VP for Research and insights, Telecom Practice, Roger Entner takes a very good stab at why Google Apple etc are after the mobile marketing market. The reasons are clear to Entner, it’s the – as yet – hugely untapped revenue that exists in mobile.…

iPad sales to top 10 million in 2010?

Encouraging analyst figures, and the crack-like desire that seems to come over people on first seeing and touching an iPad, can only mean one thing, huge sales for the iPad in 2010. The only question we’re asking is not how many millions will it sell, but will it sell in to the double million figures…