Mobile

Amazon Mints Coins and Makes Deposits in All Kindle Fires
May 13, 2013

Amazon Kindle owners have a new way to pay for games, apps and in-app purchases -- Amazon Coins. Amazon released its virtual currency Monday, and to kick off the new feature the company deposited 500 free Coins into the accounts of every Kindle Fire owner. Since each Coin equals a penny, the gift amounts to $5 for each user.

Xperia ZR Takes the Plunge for Underwater Photos, HD Video
May 13, 2013

Sony on Monday announced the Xperia ZR, which can take photos and full HD videos underwater -- well, in 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, anyway. The device is also dust-resistant. The Xperia ZR will be available in black, white, pink and mint, and will be rolled out in Q2, but Sony did not give details on release date or price.

Samsung to Blaze 5G Wireless Trail by 2020
May 13, 2013

Samsung announced Monday that it has made a breakthrough in developing technology for a fifth-generation mobile network. It has found a way to use higher frequency millimeter-wave Ka bands, allowing massive amounts of data to be transmitted at faster speeds. Samsung has developed the world's first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the Ka bands, it claimed.

ESPN May Give Its Wireless Users an Assist
May 13, 2013

ESPN is reportedly in talks with at least one wireless carrier to help subsidize data usage for customers who stream sports video content on their smartphones and tablets. News of the possible deal comes as more mobile device users are turning to their smartphones for data-intensive activities like playing games and watching videos.

How to Muff a Mobile Marketing Campaign, Part 2
May 13, 2013

You wouldn't think it was easy to bungle a mobile marketing campaign -- but it definitely is doable. Six in 10 decision makers planned to increase their companies' mobile marketing budgets in 2013, Forrester said earlier this year, reporting on a survey conducted for Acquent. However, 42 percent of those respondents were worried about achieving ROI. They have good reason to be.

FCC Plan to Boost Inflight WiFi Takes Off With Turbulence
May 11, 2013

As more airlines begin to offer WiFi, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is proposing to increase the bandwidth available for inflight wireless broadband. The FCC is essentially basing its proposal on Qualcomm's submission to the government from July 2011. This raises the question of whether the FCC is perhaps too closely tied to one company in this area.

Facebook's Road Trip May Include a Stop to Buy Waze
May 10, 2013

Rumors that Facebook is deep into the process of purchasing Waze -- maker of a mobile satellite navigation app that leverages crowdsourced mapping and traffic tips -- are making the rounds. Facebook has apparently signed the terms and is conducting due diligence after six months of negotiations.

Groupon Regroups With Q1 Revenue Gains, Mobile Growth
May 09, 2013

Groupon reported a better than expected first quarter thanks to strong North American revenue growth and an uptick in mobile customers. That helped send the daily deal website's stock soaring Wednesday. The company reported revenue of $601.4 million, an 8 percent jump from the $559.3 million during the same time last year.

Tech Offers Web of Support for Stroke Survivors
May 09, 2013

May is National Stroke Awareness month. I like to follow the technology advancements for stroke prevention and treatment -- and the companies making them -- because I have been a stroke survivor for nine years. We don't realize it on a daily basis, but things advance as quickly in the medical and health industries as in wireless and communications.

T-Mobile Enjoys Strong but Limited iPhone 5 Q1 Bounce
May 08, 2013

T-Mobile sold approximately 500,000 iPhone 5 handsets since their April 12 launch with the carrier, the company announced Tuesday during its Q1 earnings report. T-Mobile -- the last of the major carriers to offer Apple's smartphone -- attributed those sales to a combination of new and existing customers.

EC Objects to Motorola Following Letter of German Law
May 07, 2013

The European Commission has lodged a statement of objections against Motorola Mobility, the first formal step in an antitrust action. The EC is objecting to Motorola's attempt to enforce an injunction it won against Apple in Germany over use of its standard-essential patents. The EC contends that Motorola Mobility is harming consumers with its injunction.

Federal Workers Lead Telecommuting Upsurge
May 07, 2013

U.S. government employees led a big jump in the use of technology to work from home or other locations, instead of their normal offices, during an annual telecommuting exercise in March. For employers and vendors, the message seems clear that the market for telework and mobile workplace equipment and software has only one way to go -- up.

Apple Paces Healthy Q1 Smartphone Sales
May 06, 2013

Smartphone usage is up in the U.S., with Apple and Android the preferred brands for the first three months of 2013, according to a recent report from comScore. Apple's iPhone accounted for 39 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, a 2.7 increase in market share from the previous three-month period.

Nook Users Get to Come Out and Play
May 03, 2013

Barnes & Noble on Friday announced a software update enabling its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices to access content at the Google Play store. This opens the Nook to more than 700,000 Android apps and games, as well as millions of songs. Nook users will also get Google services with the update, including the Chrome browser, Gmail, YouTube, Google Search and Google Maps with the update.

LinkedIn's Bright Q1 Dimmed by Weaker Forecast
May 03, 2013

Despite revenue gains that beat expectations for LinkedIn's quarterly earnings report Thursday, investors sent the company's stock falling when the company forecast lower-than-expected guidance. LinkedIn reported revenue of $324.7 million for its most recent quarter, a 72 percent jump from the 188.5 million it brought in a year earlier.

Mobile Industry Castigated for Limp Response to Cellphone Theft
May 03, 2013

The mobile industry isn't doing enough to prevent cellphone theft or to help its victims, critics allege. Theft of mobile devices is on the rise. In some cities, notably Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, it represents a significant portion of all robberies. Device manufacturers could offer tech solutions to help quickly trace devices or disable them once they are reported stolen.

Facebook Revs Its Mobile Ad Engine in Q1
May 02, 2013

Facebook on Wednesday beat analyst expectations for revenue in its first quarter earnings and showed slight growth in the increasingly important mobile advertising space. The world's largest social network reported revenue of $1.46 billion, a 38 percent bump from the same time a year ago. Net income jumped to $219 million, a 6.8 percent increase.

Forgetting Today's Users May Be BlackBerry's Folly
May 02, 2013

BlackBerry, formerly Research In Motion, is under a lot of scrutiny as it pursues its comeback strategy. An interesting question recently came up having to do with that effort: Is BlackBerry so busy focusing on growth and the future that it has forgotten about taking care of customer needs in the present? I'll address this both as a technology industry analyst and a long time BlackBerry fan.

Wall Street Gives New T-Mobile Thumbs-up
May 01, 2013

T-Mobile on Wednesday announced that it had completed its merger with MetroPCS. The new company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "TMUS," ringing in a new start for the No. 4 U.S. mobile carrier. The merger gives T-Mobile an additional 9 million subscribers, for a total of 43 million.

BlackBerry's Heins Gives Tablets 5 Years to Live
April 30, 2013

BlackBerry CEO Thorstein Heins made some bold claims on Monday. For one, he predicted a big turnaround for the company, suggesting that BlackBerry could once again become the absolute leader in mobile computing. What raised more eyebrows, though, was Heins' prediction that in five years, tablets might be out.