Mobile data increased very much last year. I expect the growth to continue. If operators do not invest enough to their network and/or find suitable charging schemes the network can become more congested than before.
4G mobile device speeds becomes the new standard. As competition move to that end, there will be fast growth there. Shipments of ’4G’ LTE devices, that is handsets, dongles and tablets, reached almost 103 million units in 2012, according to figures published by ABI Research. It interesting that almost 95% of the devices shipped went to North America and the Asia-Pacific.
3G will become the low-cost option for those who think 4G option is too expensive. What is interesting to note is that not everyone who upgraded to an LTE-capable device last year took out an LTE subscription; in fact, only around half of LTE device owners also have an LTE subscription.
The shift to 4G can take many more than year to fully happen even in USA. ABI expects the rate at which 3G subscribers with LTE handsets upgrade to LTE connections will gather pace over the next two years. And even longer in Europe. Carriers should not be panicking. And 3G will live and expand besides 4G for quite a long time. For many of those living outside cities, 3G internet connections are still hard to come by.
Apple and Samsung will continue to make money this year as well as people rate Apple and Samsung more highly than ever. Accountant Deloitte predicts that Smartphone sales to hit 1bn a year for first time in 2013.
Samsung is currently the world’s leading seller of phones and televisions. Those leaders should be careful because competition is getting harder all the time. Samsung boss has given warning on this to employees. Remember what what happened to Nokia.
Android will dominate smart phone market even stronger than before. Digitimes Research: Android phones to account for 70% of global smartphone market in 2013.
Windows Phone 8 situation is a question mark. Digitimes predicts that Shipments of Windows Phones, including 7.x and 8.x models, will grow 150% on year to 52.5 million units in 2013 for a 6.1% share. There is one big force against Windows Phone: Google does not bother doing services for Windows Phone 8, Google’s sync changes are going to screw Gmail users on Windows Phone and there are issues with YouTube. Does Windows Phone even have a chance without Google? For active Google service users the changes are pretty that they get this phone.
Competition on smart phones gets harder. It seems that smart phone business have evolved to point where even relatively small companies can start to make their own phones. Forbes sees that Amazon, Microsoft, Google, will all introduce branded mobile phones.
Patent battles are far from over. We will see many new patent fights on smart phones and tablets.
Mobile phones still cause other devices to become redundant. Tietoviikko tells that last year mobile phone made redundant the following devices: small screen smart phones (4 inch or more now), music buying as individual tracks or discs, navigators (smart phone can do that) and a separate pocket size camera. Let’s see what becomes redundant this year.
Many things happens on Linux on mobile devices. Ubuntu now fits in your phone. Firefox OS phones from ZTE will come to some markets. ZTE plans to make Open webOS phone. Meego is not dead, it resurrects with new names: Samsung will release Tizen based phones. Jolla will release Sailfish phones.
Cars become more and more mobile communications devices. Car of the future is M2M-ready. Think a future car as a big smart phone moving on wheels.
Nokia seemed to be getting better on the end of 2012, but 2013 does not look too good for Nokia. Especially on smart phones if you believe Tomi T Ahonen analysis Picture Tells it Better – first in series of Nokia Strategy Analysis diagrams, how Nokia smartphone sales collapsed. Even if shipment of Windows Phone 8 devices increase as Digitimes predicts the year will be hard for Nokia. Tristan Louis expects in Forbes magazine that Nokia abandons the mobile business in 2013. I think that will happen this year, at least for whole mobile business. I have understood that basic phone and feature phone phone business part of Nokia is quite good condition. The problems are on smart phones. I expect that Windows Phone 8 will not sell as well as Nokia hopes.
Because Nokia is reducing number of workers in Finland, there are other companies that try to use the situation: Two new Finnish mobile startups and Samsung opens a research center in Espoo Finland.
Finnish mobile gaming industry has been doing well on 2012. Rovio has been growing for years on the success of Angry Birds that does not show slowing down. Supercell had also huge success. I expect those businesses to grow this year. Maybe some new Finnish mobiel game company finds their own recipe for success.
Late addition: Wireless charging of mobile devices is get getting some popularity. Wireless charging for Qi technology is becoming the industry standard as Nokia, HTC and some other companies use that. There is a competing AW4P wireless charging standard pushed by Samsung ja Qualcomm. Toyota’s car will get wireless mobile phone charger, and other car manufacturers might follow that if buyers start to want them. Wireless charge option has already been surprisingly common variety of devices: Nokia Lumia 920, Nexus 4, HT, etc. We have to wait for some time for situation to stabilize before we see public charging points in cafeterias.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones take lead with 55% of mobile phone sales
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57611723-94/smartphones-take-lead-with-55-of-mobile-phone-sales/
The global surge is being driven by the arrival of lower-priced smartphone models in China and other emerging markets, according to Ericsson.
The astronomic growth in the mobile arena has been due in large part to the increasing popularity of smartphones, new data from Ericsson reveals.
The communications technology company on Monday released mobile phone sales data for the third quarter, and revealed that smartphones accounted for 55 percent of all worldwide handset sales during the period, though they still represent just 25 percent to 30 percent of all mobile phone subscriptions. But by 2019, Ericsson said, 5.6 billion of the 9.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide (60 percent) will be for smartphones.
The trend is being driven by the arrival of lower-priced smartphone models in China and other emerging markets, according to Ericsson.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Files for Patent of Neck Tattoo with Built-In Microphone
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Files-for-Patent-of-Throat-Tattoo-With-Built-In-Microphone-399105.shtml
Well, another rather quirky patent from Google that has just been filed focuses on an electronic skin tattoo that connects to a mobile device and can even be used as a lie detector.
Don’t think of it as your regular tattoo, since this one is not permanent, but rather gets applied to the skin with a sticky substance.
The purpose of the device is to allow the wearer to communicate to someone without having to use their phone directly. Think of it as a James Bond-style secret gadget that lets the user discuss things undetected.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass Will Expand Its Features Into Music
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/business/media/google-glass-will-expand-its-features-into-music.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
To sell Glass, its augmented-reality form of eyewear, Google has already tried to make it a fashion accessory and a must-have video device for any parent or sky diver. Now it is also presenting this $1,500 piece of wearable technology as a way to interact with music.
On Tuesday, Google will unveil a set of features for Glass to search for songs, scan through saved playlists and listen to music in high fidelity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s an Active User worth?
http://www.asymco.com/2013/11/11/whats-an-active-user-worth/
Apple has sold 700 million iOS devices. Google claims one billion Android device activations. Microsoft has about 1.5 billion Windows users and Facebook about 1.19 billion. LinkedIn has 259 million users and Twitter has 232 million. Amazon has 215 active account holders and PayPal 137 million.
Markets place a value on these users implicitly when company shares are priced. For example, Twitter whose users are worth about $110 or FaceBook’s $98 and LinkedIn at $93.
The bottom line is that in the last 12 months the average iOS user contributed about $48/yr to the ecosystem via Apple’s own properties. They also bought the device and paid for cellular service in most cases. They may also have engaged in quite a bit of browsing and online purchases which fed other ecosystems. But as far as Apple is concerned, it transacted about $48 per user.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The mobile advantage – the strategy is missing
Nearly two in three companies all over the world believes in a mobile capacity-building is the best way to gain a competitive advantage.
Citrix doing this, “Mobility in Business’ results of the study show that the development of mobile capability risen rapidly in recent years a list of the top business priority.
Nevertheless, more than half of the respondents have no mobile strategy drawn, but the majority companies plan to have such plans.
Only eight percent of companies is not going to be any effort to mobile capability building.
Participants in the study of IT decision-makers identified three major development items when creating a mobile strategy.
These include the development of mobile applications, secure file sharing and collaboration methods, as well as the introduction of network performance and availability improvements.
Slightly more than half of the companies reported that they change up management processes to better respond to mobile workers and the needs of device independence.
The survey stated that half of them are taken with mobile devices supporting technologies, and file sharing, synchronization, and the recording was made possible with mobile devices 40 percent of the companies.
However, the study reveals that the BYOD attitudes have changed significantly: now their own equipment in order to allow and even encourage the vast majority, or 71 per cent of companies.
Own equipment, the use of the often proprietary applications (byoa). The survey found that for 29 percent of employees around the world to use their own choice of mobile applications to work.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/mobiilista+kilpailuetua++strategia+puuttuu/a946611
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones well on way to OUTNUMBERING HUMANS – Ericsson
Telecoms electronics biz can’t wait to talk about demand for telecoms electronics
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/12/ericsson_sees_bright_future_for_smartphone_adoption/
The growth in smartphone devices has now overtaken that of conventional handsets, accounting for 55 per cent of new mobile subscriptions in the first nine months of 2013. That’s according to a new study by telecoms hardware maker Ericsson.
Overall globally, the Swedish multinational reckons there were 4.5 billion people subscribed to a mobile plan during the first three quarters of the year – although, for example, one person counts as two subscribers if she has two separate subscription plans, which may explain the high number.
In the third quarter of 2013 alone, Ericsson estimates that 113 million new subscriptions were logged.
Additionally, the company estimates that some 150 million people signed up for a mobile broadband plan this year
Ericsson is painting a rosy picture for mobile high-speed internet as it expects the considerable uptake to continue. The telco supplier predicts that by 2019 some 9.3 billion mobile subscriptions will be active and 5.6 billion of those will be for smartphone handsets. Today, the population of the world is 7.1 billion.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Motorola Plans Low-Cost Phone; Sales of Moto X Disappoint
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/11/motorola-plans-low-cost-phone/
Google’s Motorola unit is set to introduce a relatively low-cost phone Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter, amid weak sales and a price cut of its flagship high-end model.
Meanwhile, Motorola on Monday cut the U.S. price of the high-end Moto X with a two-year carrier contract to $100 from $200, as sales of that device have proven disappointing.
According to research firm Strategy Analytics, roughly 500,000 Moto X phones were sold in the third quarter, after the phone was released in August. By comparison, Samsung said it sold more than 10 million Galaxy S4 phones within a month of its April release.
The Moto G would be priced between Samsung’s two-year-old Galaxy S2 and one-year-old Galaxy S3 devices, without contracts, according to analyst Neil Mawston at Strategy Analytics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart phones will soon be able to predict the user’s activities, estimates research firm Gartner.
Phone collect information about the user’s activities, her calendar, location data and personal information.
- They are able to wake the user in the past, for example, if the morning is like a traffic jam, or send apologies if he is to be late, she meets them, envisioned a research director Carolina Milanesi .
According to Milanesi, in 2017, smartphones are already smarter than the user.
Source: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/digi/art-1288619979354.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass prescription models coming in January, but not from Google
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/11/5090762/google-glass-prescription-frames-lenses-venture-glass-rochester-optical
Google has been saying for some time now that it would eventually bring prescription lens support to its Glass headsets, but so far, there hasn’t been any word as to when that might come. “Sergey [Brin] dropped this on us in 2012 at I/O,” Tim Moore, director of technology at Rochester Optical, tells The Verge. “It’s been 18 months later, and nothing’s really happened.” Moore says that Rochester Optical is trying to fill the gap that Google has so far been ignoring, and as an 80-year-old eyewear company, that shouldn’t be too hard for it to do.
Though a number of reports circulated last week that Rochester Optical and Google were working together to make this happen, that’s not the case. The company has four Explorer Edition headsets, but Google tells us that they have no sort of partnership.
Even without partnering, Moore says creating prescription frames for Glass will be doable — it’s just like creating normal glasses. “We have a full lab, our scientists are always looking for new vision opportunities,” Moore says. Though he won’t explain just yet how Rochester Optical’s frames will fit in with Glass, Moore says that the frames will be made to be wearable even when they aren’t attached to the headset. “They’re stylish, not cyborgish,” he says. Some designs will match the colors of Glass, but there’ll be other options too. “We’re gonna come up with some contrasting designs that are very fashionable and trendy.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pentagon Preparing for the End of the Blackberry Era
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2013/11/pentagon-preparing-end-blackberry-era/73598/?oref=d-interstitial-continue
The Defense Department, owner of 470,000 BlackBerrys, is distancing itself from the struggling vendor while moving ahead with construction of a departmentwide app store and a system for securing all mobile devices, including the latest iPhones, iPads, and Samsung smartphones and tablets.
Just two months ago, when BlackBerry announced the company would radically curtail commercial sales, Pentagon officials said their business partnership remained unaffected. At the time, Defense’s technology support agency was readying networks with software to handle tens of thousands of BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones.
Last week, BlackBerry called off a tentative buyout and fired Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins, heightening uncertainty about the future of the company
For now, Defense’s mobile security strategy primarily depends on BlackBerry. The Pentagon has granted only BlackBerry 10 phones and Playbook tablets an “authority to operate,” or ATO — not Android, Apple or any other device lines. Consumer smartphones and tablets must have an ATO to hook up to Defense networks.
But there is a contingency plan at the Pentagon, should BlackBerry phones go the way of Betamax VCRs.
A 2012 strategy to transition personnel from PCs to smartphones and tablets did not favor any one device maker, Defense officials noted on Thursday. “This multi-vendor, device-agnostic approach minimizes the impact of [a] single vendor to our current operations,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Want Google Glass? Sign Up At Google’s Glass Web Site To Be Added To The List
http://marketingland.com/want-google-glass-sign-up-at-googles-glass-web-site-to-be-added-to-the-list-64913
Are you itching to get Google Glass? Google has quietly launched a new form at google.com/glass/start/how-to-get-one to allow US resident to be notified when Google Glass invites open up.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Global Internet Phenomena
Your Gateway to the Evolution of Internet Traffic
https://www.sandvine.com/trends/global-internet-phenomena/
Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report shines a light on fixed, mobile and converged data networks around the world, identifying the facts, fads and future trends that will drive the evolution of network traffic and shape the future of the Internet as we know it.
Sneak peeks of the facts you will uncover include:
Average monthly mobile usage in Asia-Pacific now exceeds 1 gigabyte, driven by video, which accounts for 50% of peak downstream traffic. This is more than double the 443 megabyte monthly average in North America.
In Europe, Netflix, less than two years since launch, now accounts for over 20% of downstream traffic on certain fixed networks in the British Isles. It took almost four years for Netflix to achieve 20% of data traffic in the United States.
Netflix (31.6%) holds its ground as the leading downstream application in North America and together with YouTube (18.6%) accounts for over 50% of downstream traffic on fixed networks.
P2P Filesharing now accounts for less than 10% of total daily traffic in North America. Five years ago it accounted for over 31%.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone PIN revealed by camera and microphone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24897581
The PIN for a smartphone can be revealed by its camera and microphone, researchers have warned.
“We demonstrated that the camera, usually used for conferencing or face recognition, can be used maliciously,” say the report’s authors Prof Ross Anderson and Laurent Simon.
According to the research, the microphone is used to detect “touch-events” as a user enters their PIN. In effect, it can “hear” the clicks that the phone makes as a user presses the virtual number keys.
The camera then estimates the orientation of the phone as the user is doing this and “correlates it to the position of the digit tapped by the user”.
One suggestion to prevent a PIN being identified is to use a longer number but the researchers warn this affects “memorability and usability”.
“Randomising” the position of numbers on the keypad is also suggested but the researchers believe this would “cripple usability on phones”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Internet of things internet requires a lot of IT work
mart phones, Internet-connected cars and wearable technology to people’s lives. But so far, they cause IT sector still a lot of headaches.
This is what was in San Francisco on Tuesday met online experts. The experts’ view, the next few years can be expected major breakthroughs in mobile technology and the things on the internet.
However, many panel discussion participants said that it is very difficult to predict what the mobile business look ten years from now. Apple’s iPhone market financial results is after all only six years.
Moreover, the new consumer devices associated with the emergence of a lot of hype, which is counter to the customer horizons, Cio.com write .
“Consumer electronics is the ceiling. How many people want to own the device, so that they would fare in ordinary daily routines,”
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/asioiden+internet+vaatii+viela+paljon+tyota/a947025
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Things Needs a Lot of Work
Connected devices, homes and cars need a lot of work, a panel of mobile experts said
http://www.cio.com/article/743094/The_Internet_of_Things_Needs_a_Lot_of_Work
IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau) — Mobile connected devices may make life easier for consumers in the long run, but today they present a bundle of user headaches, a panel of industry leaders said Tuesday.
Smart homes, Internet-connected cars and wearable devices represent the next generation of mobile gear beyond smartphones. The new systems will coexist with phones for at least the next few years, though given the changes that have occurred since the iPhone’s introduction in 2007, it’s hard to predict what mobile will look like 10 years from now.
But beyond convenience and the cool factor, it’s still often a chore to live with these devices, and it doesn’t get easier as they proliferate, panelists at the Open Mobile Summit said.
“We’re about to hit the ceiling of what people are willing to babysit,” said Mark Rolston, chief creative officer at Frog Design. “How many devices do you want to try and keep alive and awake throughout the day?”
Managing devices is also the biggest worry for Ro McNally, vice president of device technology at Verizon Wireless. It’s a challenge both for systems engineering and for the subscriber’s experience, she said.
Between linking devices, entering passwords, managing home Wi-Fi and dealing with corporate IT departments at work, connected life is already hard for some consumers, Rolston said.
“They are network admins, by accident,” he said. That’s created a business opportunity for someone to take over those tasks as a virtual service, he said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android grabs 81 percent smartphone share while Blackberry sinks to 1.7 percent
Windows Phone grabs third place
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2306503/android-grabs-81-smartphone-share-while-blackberry-sinks-to-17-percent
RESEARCH OUTFIT International Data Corp (IDC) estimated that Google’s Android mobile operating system grabbed a record 81 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter, while Blackberry’s share slipped to just 1.7 percent.
In its latest roundup of smartphone rivalries, IDC said that Android smartphone shipments hit 211.6 million in the third quarter this year, driving the operating system’s marketshare to a record 81 percent – a climb of 51 percent year-on-year.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile operating system has thoroughly captured the number three spot. Sales of Windows Phone devices climbed to 156 percent year on year, giving Microsoft 3.6 percent of the global smartphone market.
Apple, on the other hand, saw its market share slip, with the firm’s 33.8 million iPhone shipments giving it a 12.9 percent share of the market in its third fiscal quarter, down from the 14.4 percent share it held this time last year.
Tomi says:
Nokia HERE Maps for Samsung’s Tizen operating system and Jolla phone
Tizen is at least initially, a small creek Nokia. More important is that it opens the door to Samsung, which sells 300 million smartphones per year and may want to reduce its dependence on Android and Google.
Also Jolla Sailfish operating system take advantage of Nokia HERE maps.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/nokian+herekartat+samsungin+tizenkayttojarjestelmaan+ja+jollaan/a946796
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mozilla: No Firefox phones in US
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57612197-92/mozilla-no-firefox-phones-in-us/
Mozilla’s Mitchell Baker stresses Firefox OS’s appeal to developing countries — and (pay attention, Apple and Google) the importance of price.
In talking about Firefox OS, Baker stressed the importance of the company’s strategy to market to developing countries. Something that the Apple and Google duopoly has missed, she said, is the importance of price.
“For most of the world, price is really important. But for us, a $500 phone, how many of us have one,” she asked rhetorically. “How many cents you can shave off the bottom of the phone is the driving factor,” she said.
Baker also emphasized that her belief, and the belief of Mozilla, is not that is there room in the mobile world for more than just Apple and Google, but that the very concept of mobile is “an anomaly.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nearly 1 In 4 Adults Surf the Web While Driving
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/13/11/13/1944237/nearly-1-in-4-adults-surf-the-web-while-driving
“A new survey out this week says that the number of motorists who surf the Web has nearly doubled over the past four years. In 2009, 13 percent of motorists admitted that they’d accessed the Internet while driving. In 2013, that figure had jumped to 24 percent. Smartphones are the primary culprit, making the unsafe task even easier.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
EASA allows use of Electronic Devices on board
http://www.easa.europa.eu/communications/press-releases/EASA-press-release.php?id=125
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will publish by the end of November 2013 guidance which will extend to all phases of flight the possibility to use personal electronic devices (PED) such as tablets, smartphones, e-readers and mp3 players as long as the devices are in ‘Flight Mode’ or ‘Airplane Mode’. Current EASA guidance allows the use of PED on aircraft, except during taxiing, take-off and landing. Bulky PED such as laptop computers will need to be stowed during taxiing, take-off and landing.
“This is a major step in the process of expanding the freedom to use personal electronic devices on-board aircraft without compromise in safety” said Patrick Ky, EASA Executive Director.
The changes above will be applicable to aircraft operated by European airlines. With the new guidance an airline, following its own assessment, will be able to allow passengers to use their PED in ‘Flight Mode’ during all phases of flight.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm’s Tricorder X-Prize: Mobile Redefining Medicine
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1320066&
Wearable medical sensors monitored with an app — including disposable smart patches applied like a Band-Aid — mark the beginning of the end for bulky, traditional medical instruments, Donald Jones, vice president of global strategy and market development at Qualcomm Life Inc., said at last week’s MEMS Executive Congress in Napa, Calif.
“We are starting to see the disappearance of the medical device,” Jones said. “The machine itself will be gone.”
In his presentation, “Mobile and the Future of Health and Wellness,” he described dozens of wearable accessories and instrumented patches that turn smartphones and tablets into medical diagnostic tools, with more on the way. He predicted that, by 2017, wearable sensors for health and wellness will surpass 170 million units per year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
6 Tips to Help CIOs Manage Shadow IT
http://www.cio.com/article/743114/6_Tips_to_Help_CIOs_Manage_Shadow_IT
IT, mobile and security experts offer advice on how to minimize the risks associated with third-party apps and services as well as with employees using their mobile devices in the workplace.
1. Monitor your network — to find out if or where you have a Shadow IT problem. “Regardless of whether employees use company-issued or personal (i.e., BYOD) hardware, organizations need to identify where all their data resides — [in house], in the data center, at the edge or in the cloud,”
2. Prioritize risk. “Not all software/services used outside of IT control is bad,”
3. Establish guidelines around BYOD and apps/cloud services.
4. Offer alternatives. “Today’s workers expect to be able to find, view and use their data across locations and devices,” says White. “If enterprises don’t provide a secure solution for access to corporate data remotely, employees will find their own ways to manage information to work efficiently by using consumer products that can put the organization at risk,” he says.
5. Restrict access to third-party apps. “Restrict your users’ access to applications such as Dropbox, SharePoint and SkyDrive among others,”
6. Offer amnesty on Shadow IT.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android powers four in every five smartphones thanks to growth in China
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/14/android-ios-market-share-gartner-q3-2013/
Gartner’s third-quarter smartphone research report is out, and on the surface it paints a very flattering portrait for Google. Mirroring Strategy Analytics’ report at the end of last month, Gartner also estimates that Android has crossed the symbolic 80 percent mark, reaching 81.9 percent of smartphone shipments in the last quarter, a 9.3 percent rise from last year.
Before we call off the smartphone battle and declare Google the winner (an 81.9 percent share is huge in any market), Gartner’s report does point to the key factors behind Android’s growth. China accounted for a massive 41 percent of all Android sales in the last quarter, up seven percent from a year ago, helped by sales of Coolpad and Xiaomi smartphones. Unfortunately for Google, the majority of Chinese Android devices do not utilize the Play Store and run customized builds of its open-source operating system.
Although Android is in no danger of losing its commanding market share (Samsung accounted for nearly one in every three smartphones sold globally), Apple’s iPhone release cycle weighs heavily on Gartner’s third-quarter report.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft working on own branded phone
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-microsoft-working-on-own-branded-phone-1918343
Two months after acquiring Finnish handset maker Nokia for $7.2 billion, US-based software giant, Microsoft, is planning to launch its own Microsoft-branded Windows phone soon.
Confirming speculation of Microsoft’s first handset launch, a Mircrosoft senior executive speaking on condition of anonymity said that this was part of the company’s strategy to become a devices and services company, from an erstwhile Rs only-software’ company, which it declared at the time of Nokia’s acquisition.
However, the date of launch was not yet confirmed, he said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The second operating system hiding in every mobile phone
http://www.osnews.com/story/27416/The_second_operating_system_hiding_in_every_mobile_phone
I’ve always known this, and I’m sure most of you do too, but we never really talk about it. Every smartphone or other device with mobile communications capability (e.g. 3G or LTE) actually runs not one, but two operating systems. Aside from the operating system that we as end-users see (Android, iOS, PalmOS), it also runs a small operating system that manages everything related to radio. Since this functionality is highly timing-dependent, a real-time operating system is required.
This operating system is stored in firmware, and runs on the baseband processor. As far as I know, this baseband RTOS is always entirely proprietary. For instance, the RTOS inside Qualcomm baseband processors (in this specific case, the MSM6280) is called AMSS, built upon their own proprietary REX kernel, and is made up of 69 concurrent tasks, handling everything from USB to GPS. It runs on an ARMv5 processor.
The problem here is clear: these baseband processors and the proprietary, closed software they run are poorly understood, as there’s no proper peer review. This is actually kind of weird, considering just how important these little bits of software are to the functioning of a modern communication device.
You may think these baseband RTOS’ are safe and secure, but that’s not exactly the case. You may have the most secure mobile operating system in the world, but you’re still running a second operating system that is poorly understood, poorly documented, proprietary, and all you have to go on are Qualcomm’s Infineon’s, and others’ blue eyes.
The insecurity of baseband software is not by error; it’s by design. The standards that govern how these baseband processors and radios work were designed in the ’80s, ending up with a complicated codebase written in the ’90s – complete with a ’90s attitude towards security. For instance, there is barely any exploit mitigation, so exploits are free to run amok. What makes it even worse, is that every baseband processor inherently trusts whatever data it receives from a base station (e.g. in a cell tower). Nothing is checked, everything is automatically trusted. Lastly, the baseband processor is usually the master processor, whereas the application processor (which runs the mobile operating system) is the slave.
So, we have a complete operating system, running on an ARM processor, without any exploit mitigation (or only very little of it), which automatically trusts every instruction, piece of code, or data it receives from the base station you’re connected to. What could possibly go wrong?
With this in mind, security researcher Ralf-Philipp Weinmann of the University of Luxembourg set out to reverse engineer the baseband processor software of both Qualcomm and Infineon, and he easily spotted loads and loads of bugs, scattered all over the place, each and every one of which could lead to exploits – crashing the device, and even allowing the attacker to remotely execute code. Remember: all over the air. One of the exploits he found required nothing more but a 73 byte message to get remote code execution. Over the air.
You can do some crazy things with these exploits. For instance, you can turn on auto-answer, using the Hayes command set.
This is a pretty serious issue, but one that you rarely hear about.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Baseband Hacking: A New Frontier for Smartphone Break-ins
http://readwrite.com/2011/01/18/baseband_hacking_a_new_frontier_for_smartphone_break_ins#awesm=~onavOrh5tvGfRh
Security researcher Ralf-Philipp Weinmann says he has found a new way to hack into mobile devices – by using a baseband hack that takes advantage of bugs found in the firmware on mobile phone chipsets sold by Qualcomm and Infineon Technologies. Weinmann will demonstrate the hack on both an iPhone and an Android device at this week’s Black Hat
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Tips $100 Million IoT Strategy
Apple’s Former Siri Director Developing SAMI
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1320045&
The former director of Apple’s Siri is taking Samsung’s version of the artificial intelligence system to the next level. Luc Julia, vice president and innovation fellow at Samsung’s Open Innovation Center in Menlo Park, Calif., demonstrated SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions), the Siri-like system central to Samsung’s Internet of Things (IoT) strategy, at the MEMS Executive Congress 2013 in Napa, Calif., Nov. 7-8.
“IoT is all about sensing and collecting the data — and then transporting it [to the cloud]. Once it’s there, it’s about massaging it and sending it back to the user,”
According to Julia, who left Apple last year, there are about 20 billion IoT devices out there today, but he predicts that number will grow to 1.5 trillion by 2020. Driving that growth will be what he calls the “explosion” of the smartphone, whereby the sensors inside it, and dozens more in dedicated IoT devices, explode like shrapnel that becomes embedded into wearable devices around the body.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New FCC chairman tells wireless carriers to unlock cell phones
Act now or we will regulate, Wheeler tells CTIA.
http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/11/new-fcc-chairman-tells-wireless-carriers-to-unlock-cell-phones/
In one of his first days on the job, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has asked the CTIA Wireless Association to move quickly toward unlocking phones for consumers.
When a phone is unlocked, it can be used with any wireless carrier. It became illegal for consumers to unlock phones on their own earlier this year because of a ruling by the Librarian of Congress, who is responsible for handing out exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
In practice, carriers are often willing to unlock phones, particularly when the customer has finished paying off his or her contract. But the ban potentially creates problems for customers when they want to travel overseas without paying huge roaming fees or if their carrier refuses to unlock their phone. Wheeler said in his confirmation hearing in June that he wants to end the ban.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG G Flex Self Healing & Durability
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fwNnF3FfjU
LG G Flex has a Self Healing cover that helps the device’s back recover from light scratches within minutes. Watch the video to find out how long it takes to heal itself
Tomi Engdahl says:
Europe allows in-flight 3G and 4G broadband
Passengers will get mobile Internet access, but they’ll have to pay roaming charges
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9244046/Europe_allows_in_flight_3G_and_4G_broadband
The European Commission gave airlines permission to offer their passengers Internet access via 3G and 4G connections so they can send emails and surf the Web while in flight.
“This means that from now onwards, spectrum for 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE) communications may be used above an altitude of 3,000 meters. Until now only 2G (GSM) has been permissible on-board aircraft flying in the E.U.,” the Commission said in a news release on Thursday. To enable this, new rules have been adopted for aircraft flying over the European Union.
The Commission’s announcement follows a decision by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which said on Wednesday that it will allow the use of personal electronics such as tablets, smartphones and e-readers during all phases of a flight. The rules will apply to all devices except bulky ones like laptops, which still need to be stowed during take-off, landing and taxiing, EASA said.
The agency will issue guidance on in-flight use of devices and the use of mobile broadband connections by the end of November.
The moves come in response to increasing demands from passengers, who have shown more interest in writing text messages and emails than in making voice calls, the Commission said, adding that the amount of data transmitted on board already exceeds voice traffic.
Airlines will remain in charge of the services they choose to offer on board, according to the Commission.
Tomi says:
Android mobes outsell iPhones, but Apple gets MORE PROFIT THAN ALL
Tim Cook: ‘We’re not in the junk business.’ The cash-gobbling business, however…
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/16/android_powers_7x_more_handsets_than_iphone_but_apple_bags_more/
Apple rakes in more profits from its iPhones than all Android phones combined, despite the fact that Android phones command an 81 per cent market share to Cupertino’s 12.1 per cent.
Earlier this week, IDC reported that Android was used in four out of five smartphones shipped during the third quarter of this year, with Apple, Windows Phone, and Blackberry far behind.
On Thursday, however, another report revealed that despite Android’s overwhelming market-share lead, Apple’s operating margin of 33 per cent enabled it to haul in 56 per cent of all handset profit.
Simple. Most of the competition – Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola, LG, and HTC – lost money during the quarter. The only other phone vendor surveyed who didn’t – Sony – simply broke even.
A hefty chunk of those Android phones are cheapo devices with razor-thin profit margins. As IDC pointed out this Tuesday, the average selling price for Android phones is steadily sinking, down 12.5 per cent in the third quarter of this year alone to an average of $317.
Prices that low – and that’s the average, remember – may grab a lot of market share, but it won’t make you a company with the world’s largest market capitalization.
Tomi says:
Schiller: ‘Almost everyone’ at Apple works on iPhones, not Macs or anything
Fruity company bet its bottom dollar on Jesus mobe
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/16/without_the_iphone_we_would_be_nothing_apple_confesses/
Apple’s head of marketing has told a court that the iPhone was a “bet-the-company product” which could have brought Cupertino crashing to the ground.
Appearing at a damages retrial against Samsung, Phil Schiller said the fruity firm had gambled everything on the iPhone. But after Steve Jobs rolled the dice, “almost everyone” at Apple is now working on the iPhone in some capacity, he said.
Tomi says:
Nathan Myhrvold’s $500 Cookbook Now an $80 iPhone App
Posted by timothy on Saturday November 16, 2013 @02:17PM
http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/11/16/1849201/nathan-myhrvolds-500-cookbook-now-an-80-iphone-app
“Nathan Myhrvold’s six-volume foodie encyclopedia, Modernist Cuisine, writes reader SmartAboutThings, is one of the most expensive cooking encyclopedias, the original six-volume version retailing for $500,”
“Now, Nathan and his team have transformed their huge food encyclopedia into an iPhone/iPad app. It’s not just a digital book, but rather an expensive $80 interactive app”
Tomi says:
Finnish Internet Users are Most Avid Consumers of Online News
http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2013/11/finnish-internet-users-are-most-avid-consumers-of-online-news/?utm_content=buffer81c4f&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer
News and information sites capture a large proportion of the European online audience with 8 in 10 internet users accessing one of these sites in September 2013. Across the 18 European markets measured by comScore, 338 million people visited a news or information website via a desktop or laptop during the month. The top 3 sites in that category were Yahoo! ABC News Network, BBC and Mail Online.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Share of smartphones of all telephone sales has risen to 55 per cent.
The market research company Gartner of the year in the third quarter were sold to a total of 455 million phones,
Smart phones were sold in July-September, 250 million, which represents a 45 percent increase over last year.
Samsung maintained its position as the clear market leader in 32 per cent. Second in the Apple’s share fell two percentage points to 12.
Best, followed by Lenovo , LG and Huawei . Nokia is still number eight.
Android phones accounted for 82 per cent.
When the examination is calculated for all phones, Nokia is in second place after Samsung. Nokia’s market share is, however, a year dropped from 19 to 14 per cent.
Gartner estimates the world sold this year, 1.8 billion phones.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/samsungeja+myydaan+kymmenen+kertaa+enemman+kuin+lumioita/a947520
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Dual-Screen YotaPhone Will Launch Internationally In December
http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/13/the-split-personality-yotaphone-will-launch-internationally-in-december/
Russia-based Yota Devices has been working on a curious beast called the YotaPhone for years now, and it’s gained quite a reputation for itself because of its split personality. While the front of the phone sports a traditional LCD screen, the back plays home to a power-sipping eInk display because… well, why not?
The launch date was one of the last big questions left unanswered, but that’s no longer the case: the company has just confirmed to us that the YotaPhone will launch internationally before Christmas.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android ROMs, the easy way: Testing the new CyanogenMod Installer
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/android-roms-the-easy-way-testing-the-new-cyanogenmod-installer/
CyanogenMod Inc.’s new installer makes trying out Android ROMs easier than ever.
CyanogenMod, the largest custom Android ROM, is looking to jump into the mainstream in a big way. The top members of the team responsible for the ROM recently received $7 million in funding to form CyanogenMod Inc. First up on the new company’s agenda is to turn CyanogenMod into something a normal person can use. This starts with revamping the install process. Typically, installing an Android ROM is a thousand-step process that involved lots of Googling, lots of command line work, and lots of downloading random bits of software from untrusted websites. For potential new customers, it’s a huge barrier to entry—and something CyanogenMod Inc. is hoping to fix with its new installer.
In order to fully appreciate what the CyanogenMod team has accomplished with their new installer, here’s a rough overview of what installing an Android ROM has typically been like in the past.
All of that is really hard. It’s confusing and error prone. It requires the user to make a lot of uninformed decisions. A new way was needed, so the team built CyanogenMod Installer. Instead of all that command line nonsense, just take a trip to the Play Store to download the Android app. It will walk you through the entire process, download everything, and automate things as much as Android will allow.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teardown: TechInsights Analyzes Smartphone Display Tech
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1320085&
Buyer behavior indicates that the visual impression and function of smartphones has been shown to heavily influence consumer purchase decisions. To remain successful in the competitive smartphone market, mobile phone companies invest heavily in display design and technology.
The continued integration of increased functionality into smartphones has put pressure on designers to find ways to use the available space more efficiently. As some of the largest electrical components in a phone or tablet, the display and touchscreen are now targets in the effort to reduce the overall device thickness while increasing the overall quality of the display.
Not surprisingly, we discovered that these phones contain three of the most popular display technologies found in the market today.
Thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT LCDs)
In-plane switching LCD (IPS LCD) Retina displays (and LCD with higher pixel density)
Active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays
The TechInsights teardown team compared power dissipation, display thickness, and pixel density versus cost to identify relationships between form factor and the costs different systems manufacturers incurred. We found that display pricing was far from elastic, and that a larger size or higher pixel density did not necessarily align with increased procurement costs.
LCD displays are considered a higher-power option than AMOLED displays, because LCDs use more power and thus have a negative correlation to battery life. Many users continue to base satisfaction on a combination of both display quality and the time between charging.
Poorer battery life for LCDs is often due the 8-12 LCD-backlight LEDs that are continuously on at various stages of brightness, compared with the million (or so) LEDs in AMOLED displays that are only on (also at various stages of brightness) when they are in use.
The selection of AMOLED by Samsung was also likely driven by a focus on durability and improved video and photo rendering.
TechInsights Teardown team found in our sample of high-end phones that there was almost a reverse correlation between panel thickness and module thickness.
TechInsights speculates that pixel density has reached a point where it is no longer a competitive differentiation from the perception of the end user. Therefore, the consideration is more about the durability and capabilities of the display to provide a better experience by maintaining durability and improving battery life through lower power consumption. In the case of Samsung, the focus on developing a AMOLED with lower pixel density is based on its focus on providing longer screen life and extend usage through better power management.
Though not yet in use in any of the above phones, we recently uncovered a new display technology entering the market — indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) — used in Sharp’s Aquos Zeta phone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch available December 2nd for $350
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/18/qualcomm-toq-december-2nd-launch-350-dollars/
Where mobile devices are concerned, Qualcomm’s normally a behind-the-scenes player, but that’s all set to change next month. The company has announced that its Toq smartwatch is coming to the market on December 2nd.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia shareholders approve Microsoft deal
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/19/5121278/nokia-shareholders-approve-microsoft-deal
Nokia shareholders have approved a deal allowing Microsoft to purchase the Finnish smartphone maker’s Devices and Services unit. 99.7 percent of shareholders who participated in the vote agreed with the Microsoft sale, representing around four-fifths of Nokia’s shares, according to the Financial Times.
Some shareholders were understandably upset over the sale of a Finnish national icon, but that hasn’t stopped the majority from approving a deal worth around $7.2 billion.
The acquisition will see former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop return to Microsoft early next year to run an expanded devices and services team at the software giant.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Elec says Gear smartwatch sales hit 800,000 in two months
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/us-samsung-gear-idUSBRE9AI0AU20131119
Samsung Electronics Co said on Tuesday its Galaxy Gear has become the world’s most popular smartwatch with sales reaching 800,000 since its debut two months ago, defying some market concerns the accessory would fail due to a lack of compelling features.
The South Korean firm said Gear sales have been better than its own expectations and it would expand sales promotions for the wearable device for the crucial year-end holiday sales.
Samsung has poured marketing resources into the Gear with heavy advertisements and collaborations with fashion shows to seize leadership in the wearable computer market after the device got off to a rocky start after being critically panned by reviewers.
Well-known tech reviewer David Pogue, who recently left the New York Times to start a new consumer-tech web site at Yahoo, described its design “inconsistent and frustrating” and recommended nobody buy it.
Market expectations on the device have been not so strong, as it has only around 70 dedicated applications.
“It’s the most sold wearable watch available in the market place…and we plan to expand its availability by expanding mobile devices that work with the Gear,” Samsung said in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cyanogen and Oppo team up to create the ‘perfect Android device’
Firms are plotting to ‘change the world of Android’
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2307710/cyanogen-and-oppo-team-up-to-create-the-perfect-android-device
EVIDENCE IS MOUNTING that newly incorporated modder Cyanogen Inc. is planning to open a hardware division and create phones and tablets of its own.
The news comes after it was revealed that Oppo VP Pete Lau has resigned from the main brand and will take a role working alongside Steve Kondik, aka Cyanogen, on a new project. Lau posted on Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo that together they are “plotting on something that may change the world of Android” and that the “perfect Android device” is in the works.
Cyanogen has been working with Oppo for some time with the N1 and Find 5 devices, both of which will be capable of dual booting to the custom ROM flavour following an upcoming update.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FreedomPop expanding free wireless plan to all Sprint smartphones, iPhones included
http://9to5mac.com/2013/11/19/freedompop-expanding-free-wireless-plan-to-all-sprint-devices-iphones-included/
FreedomPop, the wireless service provider offering free and cheap no-contract plans on Sprint’s network, today announced it’s now allowing customers to bring their old Sprint phones to activate on its $0/month wireless plans. We’ve confirmed with the company that will also soon include iPhones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Carriers Reject a ‘Kill Switch’ for Preventing Cellphone Theft
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/carriers-reject-a-kill-switch-for-preventing-cellphone-theft/?_r=0
Lawmakers in San Francisco and New York are pushing cellphone makers to adopt a so-called kill switch that would allow users to deactivate their phone remotely, discouraging criminals from stealing phones. But the cellphone carriers are not on board.
San Francisco’s district attorney, George Gascón, said he had been working on an agreement with Samsung Electronics to include antitheft software with all its phones sold in the United States. Preloading the software on Samsung’s phones would require approval from the carriers that service the phones. The carriers, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint, rejected the idea, he said.
Mr. Gascón said that, based on e-mails he had reviewed between a Samsung executive and a software developer, it appeared that the carriers were unwilling to allow Samsung to load the antitheft software. The emails, he said, suggest that the carriers are concerned that the software would eat into the profit they make from the insurance programs many consumers buy to cover lost or stolen phones.
“Corporate profits cannot be allowed to guide decisions that have life-or-death consequences,” Mr. Gascón said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/11/google-glass-sdk/
The promise of wearable computers is that the devices themselves will go away. They’ll melt into the background to deliver data as needed, all without your having to fetch or look anything up. Google announced a few new features to its Glass software developers kit on Tuesday that help its face computer both be there and go away. With a few simple third-party apps, the company showed (probably better than ever before) just how Glass will evolve into something that’s invisibly integrated into your day-to-day routine.
Glass’ new GDK — or Glassware development kit — makes it easier for application developers to tap into the hardware, even when its offline, to perform tasks in real-time without having to go back and forth to servers in the cloud. It opens new possibilities for developers to build tools that center around either immersive or ongoing tasks (as opposed to, say, simply notifications about things like new email, or the ability to upload a photo and share it online).
Tomi Engdahl says:
1.2% of apps on Google Play are repackaged to deliver ads, collect info
http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15976
Not a month goes by without security researchers finding new malicious apps on Google Play. According to BitDefender, more than one percent of 420,000+ analyzed apps offered on Google’s official Android store are repackaged versions of legitimate apps. In the long run, their existence hurts the users, the legitimate developers, and Google’s reputation in general.
Google Play has recently surpassed the one million mark when it comes to the apps it offers, and the researchers have analyzed a good chunk of the total in order to discover just how many are hiding their true nature.
“By design, Android applications can be disassembled, modified and reassembled to provide new functionalities. This way an attacker can easily rip an APK off the Play Store, turn it into program code, modify it and distribute it as its own,” explains Loredana Botezatu, communication specialist at Bitdefender. “Out of the 420,646 applications analyzed, more than 5077 APKs have been copies of other apps in Google Play.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone Data Consumption is 44 Percent Greater on Larger Screen Phones, According to NPD
https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/smartphone-data-consumption-is-44-percent-greater-on-larger-screen-phones-according-to-npd/
As consumers opt for smartphones with larger screens, they are increasing their usage and data consumption. According to the Connected Intelligence Smartphone Usage Report from The NPD Group, monthly Wi-Fi and cellular data consumption on smartphones with screens 4.5 inches and larger is 44 percent greater than it is on smartphones with screens under 4.5 inches, at 7.2GB and 5.0GB, respectively.
Smartphone penetration continues to grow as late adopters enter the market and the number of consumers opting for larger screens is growing. According to the Connected IntelligenceConnected Home Report, in Q3 2013, 61 percent of cell phone subscribers in the US used a smartphone.
“OEMs are poised to continue increasing the product assortment and availability of smartphones with larger screen sizes in the coming years,” said John Buffone, director, devices, Connected Intelligence. “Even though today larger screens represent a smaller part of the market, their relevance is increasing as consumers look for more ways to interact with content while on-the-go. This is a win, not only for the manufacturers, but also for the carriers as data consumption and usage will keep increasing.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Marissa Mayer opens up Yahoo’s mobile strategy
Internet company Yahoo has long been investigated for mobile device users in areas of interest. However, Marissa Mayer believes that mobile internet for the company as major strategic change that the search giant could almost re-invented.
“Voice calls and tekstivestien after the smartphone owners interested in weather forecasts, map services, or equity prices. Yahoo provides all of these services,” he describes the company’s new “mobile first” strategy.
According to Mayer’s Yahoolla are currently about 400 million mobile users every month.
“This is a great portable device user base to fill us with optimism. Our new products are perfect for the current format,” he enthuses.
All in all Yahoo has about 800 million users per month. The number has grown by 20 percent over the past 15 months
Before Mayer’s entry into the house of Yahoo’s mobile services was held in a fragmented activity, in which no one had responsibility for the entire mobile field.
“Mobile was the hobby, but not in anyone’s work,” Mayer commented on the matter.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/marissa+mayer+avaa+yahoon+mobiilia+strategiaa/a948676
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yahoo CEO Mayer talks mobile strategy, design approach
Marissa Mayer appeared with Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco
http://www.cio.com/article/743491/Yahoo_CEO_Mayer_talks_mobile_strategy_design_approach
IDG News Service (Boston Bureau) — Yahoo is taking a “mobile first” approach to its product strategy, to the point where mobility could reinvent the company, according to CEO Marissa Mayer.
The Internet giant has always offered services that correlate to what people like to do on their phones, Mayer said during an onstage interview Tuesday with Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Once you set aside voice and text messaging, phone users are looking up weather forecasts, peering at maps and checking their stock prices, all areas where Yahoo has had popular products, Mayer said.
Yahoo now has about 400 million mobile monthly users, according to Mayer.
“It makes me hugely optimistic,” she said. “It shows we fill a core need. The services we have are perfect for this format.”
Since coming aboard, Mayer has been focused on Yahoo’s product design philosophy as well.
“I think that if you look at the progress in design and the value that’s placed on design in our culture over the past five to 10 years, it’s really remarkable,” Mayer said. “In the past it was really an afterthought. Get it working and then make it pretty.”
“Companies can fall, quite frankly, too in love with design,” she said. Mayer related a story about a friend whose startup failed in the dot-com boom. The company’s employees wrote post-mortem white papers analyzing why the company had failed. Her friend’s was titled, “Usable versus useful,” she said.
“Bringing new product managers to come in and design products for the whole world is really daunting,” she said. Mayer has been traveling the globe to find out “what is the pulse and the vibe of digital” in various countries.
“If you want to do a protest you can do it outside, and it’s better if you split it up that way so when that group gets arrested the other one can start,” Benioff joked, comparing the strategy to the way software systems are made redundant for reliability in the event of a failure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why GPS eats so much battery power, explained by a Google engineer
Calling out to space for up to 12 minutes? Yeah, that’s pretty rough on juice.
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/379581/why-gps-eats-so-much-battery-power-explained-google-engineer
Love’s answer is only three succinct paragraphs, but here’s the even-shorter snipping:
GPS is expensive because it is a very slow communication channel—you need to communicate with three or four satellites for an extended duration at 50 bits per second … Mobile devices such as Android and the iPhone achieve their battery life largely because they can aggressively and quickly enter into and exit from sleep states. GPS prevents this.
And!
Even with (data-assisted satellite acquisition) A-GPS, using your GPS is a noticeable battery hog. … Compounding the cost, most mapping software is processor-intense. A well-designed app can make a significant difference here; Google Maps boasts several optimizations to reduce battery consumption from GPS usage.