The worldwide converged mobile device (commonly referred to as a smartphone) market continued to weather the economic recession and reached a new record for shipments during a single quarter. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 43.3 million units during the third quarter of 2009 (3Q09), up 4.2% from the 41.5 million units shipped in 3Q08, and up 3.2% from shipments of 41.9 million units in 2Q09.
"Demand for converged mobile devices has remained strong all year," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "These devices provide more utility and entertainment than traditional mobile phones. Moreover, users have plenty of devices from which to choose, whether it be a multimedia powerhouse, a messaging machine, or a social networking tool. As users expect greater functionality from their devices beyond telephony, we believe the converged mobile device market will continue to grow faster than the overall mobile phone market."
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Jitterbug today announced that the company has acquired MobiWatch, a company focused on developing Mobile Personal Emergency Response Services (M-PERS). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The acquisition will provide Jitterbug customers with personal safety services that are intuitive, reliable and delivered through the easy-to-use Jitterbug cell phone. These new services will further differentiate Jitterbug as the complete service experience and will continue to enhance the lives of American consumers by providing safety, security and the ability to stay connected with family and friends while on the go.
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Strategy Analytics has found that almost one-in-five users in the US and Western Europe now accesses the internet from their cellphone at least once a week. In, “Smartphone Owners Lead Rise in Mobile Internet Usage,” Strategy Analytics predicts that in 2013, Smartphones will account for 60% of all mobile internet users in the US. This report examines the behavior of existing mobile internet users in the US and Western Europe, including:
- how often they use mobile internet;
- the duration of mobile internet sessions; and
- which sites they visit.
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A new report from Juniper Research, forecasts that consumer usage of mobile coupons will generate close to $6 billion globally in retail redemption value by 2014.
Juniper Research’s new report - ‘Mobile Coupons & NFC Smart Posters: Strategies, Applications & Forecasts 2009-2014’ cautions that user apathy amongst the wider public, as well as lack of willingness to change and learn a new method of making financial transactions are potential stumbling blocks. This is despite NFC trial results which show very high levels of user acceptance.
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The GSMA, the body that represents the worldwide mobile communications industry, today unveiled a European Mobile Manifesto which sets out how the mobile industry will help achieve key European Union objectives to boost economic performance, improve efficiencies, protect consumers and increase the use of green technology. To do this, the mobile industry has undertaken to work more closely with governments, education and health authorities and technology manufacturers. The mobile industry is also calling upon the EU to provide a number of measures to support the initiative.
Through the Mobile Manifesto, the mobile industry outlines its goals to:
- Increase internet connectivity and drive productivity through widespread mobile broadband access – on the move and at home, in cities and in rural areas
- Engage consumers and improve efficiency by enabling the "mobilisation" of commercial and public services particularly eCommerce, eLearning, eHealth and eGovernment
- Build a greener mobile planet by reducing Europe's carbon footprint through M2M technologies
- Empower users and maintain consumer trust by providing mobile privacy tools
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AdMob, the world’s largest mobile advertising platform, examined the rapid and global growth of mobile Web and application usage over the past two years in their September 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report. This month marks the second anniversary of the Mobile Metrics Report and the growth in traffic since September 2007 demonstrates that mobile data usage is a truly global phenomenon. In September 2009 AdMob received more than 100 million ad requests from 14 countries, and more than 10 million ad requests from 64 countries.
The report also highlights the rapid growth in usage of mobile Web sites and applications on new devices in the past year. In September 2008, the Motorola RAZR was the top device in the US, and the iPhone was the only touchscreen device in the Top 10. In September 2009, the list of the top 10 devices includes five with touchscreens, six with Wi-Fi capabilities, and six with application stores. | |
Smartphone prices are falling as shipment volumes increase, and a new study from ABI Research finds that while in 2007 only 18% of smartphones on offer cost under $200 retail, that percentage has already grown to 27% this year. By 2014, say the firm’s forecasts, 45% of the smartphones shipped that year will be priced below $200.
These numbers highlight a rapid change in many consumers’ attitudes about smartphones, and a corresponding shift in vendors’ and mobile operators’ sales and marketing strategies.
The result: more and more smartphones and conventional phones are priced in similar ranges. Handset makers’ and carriers’ marketing strategies must accommodate both groups of consumers: those who want a basic replacement phone, and those who care about what the OS can do for them. In some markets, these strategies are further complicated by the heavy subsidies that mobile operators may offer. | |
According to a report in the LA Times, men who wear their cell phones on their belt for many years "may" have decreased bone density in the pelvic area. This is according to a new study published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.
The study on bone weakening caused by cell phones is hardly convincing because the difference in bone density when comparing both sides of the pelvic area is statistically insignificant.
The study was conducted by researchers in Turkey who examined the bone density in the upper rims of the pelvis of 150 men who wore their cell pones on a belt. The men carried their cell phones for about 15 hours per day for about 6 years.
There have been many studies that try to link cell phone use to health problems and they have not been conclusive.
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According to a new report from Juniper Research, the volume of green application downloads to mobile handsets could exceed 400m by 2014. The report suggests that one of the key drivers would be high-profile “ecozones”, areas dedicated to green-themed mobile content and apps, within operator and OEM application stores.
The green handsets report utilised scenario-based models to derive estimates of green app downloads, handset recycling rates, no-load energy emissions from handset chargers and green handset shipments. The incremental model anticipates relatively low-key promotion of environmentally sustainable products and services by handset vendors and operators, and a consequently lower level of awareness of such products by end-users. Under this model, adoption and download levels were considerably lower, reaching 192m by 2014. |
According to new analysis from Juniper Research, consumer demand for environmentally sustainable mobile devices will be the primary driver behind the growth of green handsets, which could see global shipments grow to 485 million units by 2014.
The scenario-based forecasts within Juniper Research’s new report - ‘Green Mobile Handsets & Applications: Strategies, Scenarios & Forecasts 2009-2014’ - also suggest that even with an incremental attitude shift by consumers, numbers will still grow from a quarter of million shipments in 2009 to over 105 million by 2014. |
ABI Research expects the Ultra Mobile Device (UMD) market; that is, the shipments of UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs), netbooks, MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and mobile consumer electronics devices combined – to achieve a 385 million unit size in 2014. The diversity of form factors and device types we see today will likely continue as vendors look to meet each audience’s unique preferences.
“Consumers and business buyers are only recently accustomed to the netbook feature set,” says senior analyst Jeff Orr. “Regardless of vendor, the majority of today’s netbooks ship with Intel processors and Windows XP into developed markets.” As uptake continues, developing markets will become the larger opportunity leveraging both ARM-based processors and Linux operating systems. | |
ABI Research has reported that in a cross-country comparison of mobile data pricing, France and Singapore to have among the lowest prices for mobile broadband plans. In France, an unlimited download plan costs just over US$15 per month.
“ABI Research expects the price of mobile data to fall in emerging regions where network capacity is still under-used,” says ABI Research analyst Bhavya Khanna. “However, in developed markets with high levels of smartphone penetration, operators will have to rethink their current pricing strategies of high or unlimited data download plans, as data usage has grown exponentially.” | |
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Mobile Adult Content: The US Carriers' Secret Garden" report to their offering.
This report ranks the top four U.S. carriers for under-aged user protection for mobile adult content. The report predicts an exponential rise in mobile adult content given the increasing openness in mobile networks, the growing popularity of sexting and off-deck content, and the expected rise in all-inclusive data plans offered by the carriers. The research shows that some U.S. carriers appear to do a better job than others when it comes to implementing solutions to protect under aged users toward mobile adult content. | |
According to new analysis from Juniper Research, consumer demand for mobile money transfer services will see users exceed 500 million globally by 2014, principally in developing countries.
Juniper Research's new report - 'Mobile Money Transfer & Remittances: Markets, Forecasts & Strategies 2009-2014 ' - also suggests, however, that the many new mobile money services being announced will face political, regulatory or commercial challenges as they bring their services to market.
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Consumer Cellular, a nationwide provider of cellular phones and services, is expanding its product line to include two senior-friendly cell phones designed by Doro, an award-winning Swedish company with more than 30 years of product design experience. With enlarged, raised buttons and easy-to-read display text, the Doro PhoneEasy 345 and 410 cell phones offered exclusively by Consumer Cellular make dialing and text messaging simple for all users.
The Doro PhoneEasy models offer a loud and vibrating ringer, soft-touch surfaces for better grip and Bluetooth technology for operation with wireless headsets and neck loops, as well as advanced hearing aids. Doro develops features that make using phones simpler, like large, contoured separated buttons for easier dialing. While well-suited for those with special needs, the Doro PhoneEasy 345 and 410 are also more contemporary and stylish than other models on the market. The phones also feature an alarm clock, FM radio, calculator, flashlight and games, which can be turned off for a simpler menu. |
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Ontela, Inc., provider of award-winning imaging services for wireless carriers, released survey results today that indicate the imminent death of the traditional film camera amongst U.S. consumers. The results further indicate that cell phone data and messaging plans are still on the rise, and that people are having more difficulty than ever getting pictures off their camera phones despite a strong desire to save their pictures to a wide variety of destinations. The survey data was restricted to U.S. residents only and had 414 respondents.
The last three years of data have shown a steady decline in people who report owning a traditional film camera, decreasing from 67% in 2007, to 61% in 2008, and dropping all the way to 48% in 2009. Conversely, camera phones continue to grow in ubiquity, going from just 70% reporting that they owned a phone with a camera in 2007, to 78% in 2008 and 87% in 2009. | 
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| Today mOcean Mobile, the mobile advertising platform recently launched by Mojiva Inc., announced that it has created a free mobile ad serving platform for iPhone and other smartphone application developers called mOcean for Apps. The ad management tool will be the first and only tool to enable developers to monetize their apps by selling and managing their own mobile ad space, and increase downloads by using a portion of their ad revenue to promote their applications. mOcean for Apps has an expected release date of November 2009. The mOcean for Apps platform will allow mobile application developers to manage their own ad inventories with a full suite of features, including targeting, analytics, reporting, and yield optimization. Developers will also be able to use part of their ad revenue to push promotions for their own applications back out to smartphone users, with the help of aggressive marketing incentives from mOcean Mobile, in order to drive inbound traffic and downloads for their app. |
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President Obama has issued an executive order banning Federal employees from sending text messages while driving government vehicles or when driving their own cars and using cell phones paid for by the government. The executive order also bans federal employees from using their personal hand-held devices from sending text messages while driving on government business.
The federal government plans to ban text messaging by truckers who travel across state lines and bus drivers and may also ban them from using cell phones while driving, except in cases of emergency.
The executive order was issued after a two-day conference held in Washington that included policy makers, legislators, 300 academics, law-enforcement officials, telecommunications and automobile industry representatives, as well as families of people killed by motorists talking on cell phones or text messaging.
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Peter Svensson of the Associated Press has 10 ways to save on calling cost. They include:
- Vontage $25 per month plan. Free calls to over 60 countries.
- Ooma similar to Vontage but better call quality.
- MagicJack $40 first year, $20 per year after. Poor call quality.
- Skype $60 per year for phone number receiving calls. Free computer-to-computer voice and video chatting
- T-Mobile USA $40 "AtHome" Internet router or adapter to connect a home phone. Unlimited domestic calls is $10 per month.
- Tracfone prepaid phone service with calls costing $0.15 to $0.30 per month. Has plan for as little as $10 per month.
- T-Mobile prepaid phone service "Pay As You Go" costs as little as $0.10 per minute.
- MetroPCS prepaid unlimited plans costing less than $50 per month
- Google Voice offers cheap international rates and free text messaging.
- Rebtel provides cheap international calls (like Google Voice). Easier to use and requires no Web browsers.
Read entire article here.
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Below is a very interesting video by The Economist magazine of how cell phones, social media, the Internet, and technology has changed our lives. Wonder what the next 10 to 20 years will bring! |
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