Analysts Disagree Over iPad 2 Supply Status

By Electronista, 
Two analysts are providing conflicting reports over whether or not there will be enough iPad 2 tablets for buyers at launch. Goldman Sachs said the new displays would see a bottleneck, or “yield difficulties”, but that’s par for course, as they say “almost all of Apple’s new iOS products start out with limited volumes”. They say the problem is process-related and will be fixed in due course, but FBR Capital’s Craig Berger was even more optimistic; he upped his expected iPad shipments this quarter to 5.5 million from 5.1, a solid 2 million of which would be the new iPad 2 (previously forecasted at 300,000). FBR estimates the second quarter will see 7.2 million Apple tablet shipments, the majority being the iPad 2.
The iPad 2 is going to be announced in a few short days, and though I’m expecting a modest iterative upgrade, the solid app market, the inclusion of a long-awaited camera, and Apple’s agressive marketing will likely hold the line against the onslaught of Android tablets coming down the pipe. We’re not quite sure what the specs will be like, but more RAM and a faster processor are both likely, and there’s the possibility of NFC support, but no SD card slot or Retina display as previously speculated.

Google CEO: Mobile Growing Faster Than “All Our Predictions”

By Mashable,


Mobile use is growing faster than all of Google’s internal predictions, with YouTube seeing 200 million mobile playbacks a day, CEO Eric Schmidt said in his keynote at the Internet Advertising Bureau’s Annual Leadership meeting keynote.
As proof of mobile’s growth, Schmidt cited some statistics related to this year’s Super Bowl advertisers. The number of mobile searches for Chrysler, for instance, jumped 102 times during the game, compared to only 48 times for desktop searches, Schmidt said. And the number of mobile searches for GoDaddy jumped 315 times, compared to 38 times on desktops.
Schmidt, who spoke Sunday at the IAB event in Palm Springs, California, also said that 78% of smartphone owners use their phones while they shop. “This is the future and everyone will adapt,” said Schmidt. “Because people are fundamentally better off with a better and smarter and more empowered, if you will, customer.”
Mobile growth is occurring at a quicker rate than anyone expected, Schmidt said. “We look at the charts internally and it’s happening faster than all of our predictions,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt, who will leave his post as Google CEO on April 4, used those stats to make a case for linking display advertising and mobile. “The technology has finally caught up with the promises we talked about for so long,” said Schmidt. He predicted that display advertising could hit $200 billion business, though he declined to say when that milestone would be reached. Display is currently a $17 billion business globally. Google’s share of that is about $2.5 billion a year.

Report Finds Daily Mobile Internet Usage for One in Five Americans

By Mobile Marketing Watch,



According to the findings of the 2011 Mobile Internet Attitudes Report from Antenna Software, one in five American mobile phone owners now use the mobile Internet every day of their lives.
The survey – conducted by YouGov – measured the “attitudes, preferences and behaviors” of adult consumers in the United States and United Kingdom. The poll took aim at the views and practices of a representative sample of 2,296 consumers, aged 18 and over in the UK and another 2,079 consumers in the US.
As expected, a large percentage (roughly half) of respondents admitted to using social networking platforms over the mobile Internet to stay connected with friends, family members, co-workers, and others.

Mobile Internet usage continues to climb in large part as a function of the growth in popularity of social media and related networking tools.
Many feature-phone users, however, say that poor user experience remains a “barrier to further adoption.” As well, the survey found that despite the promotion of flat-rate data packages, cost persists as another significant barrier to greater mobile Internet usage.
“The mobile Internet has become an important part of daily life for consumers on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Jim Hemmer, President and CEO of Antenna Software. “The desire for convenience and advancements in technology mean more people than ever before can enjoy good mobile Internet experiences regardless of their handset. However, as results of the 2011 Mobile Internet Attitudes Report indicate, there’s still much improvement to be made by operators and enterprises.”

Apple iPad 2 Event Confirmed for March 2

By Mashable,



Reports circulated Tuesday that Apple would be holding an event on March 2, 2011, to unveil the iPad 2; now it’s official. Apple has issued an invitation to members of the press today for its upcoming event.
Any doubts about the nature of the event should be assuaged by the graphic accompanying the invitation.
The text accompanying the image reads:

Please join us for an invitation-only event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco on March 2 at 10:00 a.m. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. Please arrive early. RSVP to rsvp_media@apple.com.

You’ve got to love the double-meaning of the number “2.” The actual details concerning the iPad 2 are still under wraps, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from cranking into overdrive. You can read some of the latest rumors in our iPad 2 rumor guide.
Now that we know the date of the big event, we can all settle in and enjoy “stage 5″ in the Apple rumor cycle, “the silence before the storm.”

Google Adds New Filtering Options to Mobile Places Search

By Mashable,
Google has introduced several new features to its mobile search for iPhone and Android, including the ability to filter results by star rating, distance and businesses that are open.
For example, you might only look for restaurants that are open right now, within a two-mile radius of your current location, that have a rating of four or more stars.
As I’ve recently learned, searching for nearby restaurants or other points of interests on your mobile phone can be a slow and painful experience, and this feature could speed it up considerably.
Other new features include review images in search results and small design changes such as bigger buttons for viewing a map and the ability to call a business.
To try out Google’s mobile Places search, open www.google.com on your mobile browser and click on the Places link at the top of the page. The new features also work when you do a search for businesses on Google Maps on an Android device.

Mobile Music Revenues to reach $5.5 billion by 2015

A new report published today by Juniper Research forecasts that music consumed on mobile handsets will generate $5.5 billion annually in 2015, a rise of $3.1 billion from 2010. The report finds that mobile music is becoming an increasingly important part of the digital music sector, which is propping up a failing industry hit by over a decade of widespread online piracy.
Since the popularisation of P2P file sharing at the end of the last century, the music industry’s sales have gone into free fall, as consumers rejected the physical distribution of music in favour of easier, but illegal means of acquiring it. The industry response was initially slow, but legal digital distribution services, such as Apple’s iTunes are now blossoming, and mobile handsets are increasingly becoming the key platform for them.
Mobile Music Opportunities report author Daniel Ashdown argues: “Initially, PC downloading and sideloading to MP3 players was the only way to go; but the development of mobile devices has now reached the point where they match the technical specs of dedicated MP3 players. Add in connectivity – just one click to buy and download – along with all the other smartphone features, and there is no competition between the two. This is why sales of Apple’s iPhone are going to outstrip its iPod in the not too distant future.”
However, the report warns that piracy still remains a significant threat – both online and on the mobile. Juniper Research finds that P2P file sharing is slowly migrating to the mobile, with BitTorrent applications now available on Android Market, for example. With the rollout of 4G networks about to increase, the report recommends that the graduate response – enacted by legislation in many countries – be strongly enforced and expanded to mobile networks.
The Mobile Music whitepaper, ‘Mobile music hits the right note’ and further details of the study ‘Mobile Music Opportunities: Market Size, Strategic Analysis & Forecasts 2011-2015’ are available to download at www.juniperresearch.com.

NYC Building Permits Are Getting QR Codes

By Mashable
This is to understand how smart phone is expanding its share in everyday life.
A new plan unveiled by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday will put QR codes on all NYC building permits by 2013.

New Yorkers who scan the codes will be able to learn details about ongoing projects, read complaints and violations related to the location, or click on a link to easily make complaints of their own.
According to a statement from the mayor’s office, the codes will link to a mobile version of the Department of Buildings Information System. As existing permits at 975,000 building and construction sites in New York City expire, the codes will be added to the new permits that replace them. Codes will also be added to after-hours variances and Place of Assembly certificates of operation.
While other governments have run campaigns using QR codes, New York City seems to have taken a particular liking to the barcode-like graphics. The codes are already in use on Department of Sanitation vehicles (they link to a public service announcement about recycling), and the city covered Times Square with them in June to celebrate Internet week and promote select agencies.

Android’s Popularity Could Boost New NFC Smart Phone Software

By Digital Transactions

The rocketing popularity of Google Inc.’s Android operating system for smart phones could also propel near-field communication (NFC) technology for mobile financial services now that NXP Semiconductor and Giesecke & Devrient have introduced NFC software for Android phones. The open-source code, announced this week at a major telecom conference in Barcelona, represents the first product allowing smart phones to read and write to NFC tags, conduct phone-to-phone data swapping, and run payment and payment-related transactions, according to Henri Ardevol, vice president and general manager for secure transactions at NXP.
The significance of the new software lies in the rapid rise of the Android OS for smart phones. From a 4% U.S. adoption rate in July 2009, Android had leapfrogged to a 27% share by the end of 2010, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based firm that follows the payments market.  At the same time, by the end of November, some 61.5 million U.S. consumers owned a smart phone, according to Chicago-based researcher comScore Inc. By tying their software to Android, NXP and G&D figure that NFC-capable devices will skyrocket, reaching 70 million phones this year worldwide, up from a few million at the end of 2010.
With NFC capability, Android phones will be capable of a broad range of interactions, including coupons and ticketing, even if the acceptance infrastructure for NFC payments in the U.S. remains sparse. By creating their software with open-source code, NXP and G&D hope to encourage software developers to create applications. “It’s a bold move,” says Ardevol. “We put all the software we had in open source. That’s quite an unusual move for a semiconductor company.” But the move, he adds, could have a big payoff. “We’re starting to see a lot of innovation,” he says. “We’re pretty stoked about this.”
Todd Ablowitz, a Centennial, Colo.-based consultant who follows mobile payments, says the new software could lend impetus to NFC, a technology that has suffered from business disputes between banks and carriers and a paucity of handsets incorporating NFC chips.  “This …is another very important milestone towards mass adoption,” he says in an e-mail message. “Think of it this way… the harder it is and the more development is needed to get an NFC chip to integrate into the day to day operations of the world’s stakeholders (carriers, issuers, card brands, etc), the longer it will be until the market takes off.”
The software comes from one company, NXP, that helped invent NFC early in the last decade (when it was known as Philips Semiconductor) and provides NFC chipsets. G&D, a smart card manufacturer, also makes SIM cards for mobile phones. The newly announced software includes an application programming interface (API) allowing the NFC chipset to communicate with the SIM card, which some mobile carriers prefer to use as the so-called secure element housing virtual payment cards and other media.
That interaction with the secure element, says Ardevol, enables what the industry calls card emulation, the function that allows users to make contactless payments by waving or tapping their phones on or near an NFC reader

Apple iPhone and iPad See Increase in Mobile Ad Impressions

By PadGadget

While Android has recently been taking a larger chunk of ad impressions across Millennial Media’s network, Apple’s iOS device ecosystem saw the largest month-over-month growth this past month.  According to Millennial Media’s January report,  iOS outpaced all other mobile operating systems and experienced a 47% increase month-over-month.  Google’s Android OS saw a 32% jump in ad impressions served, the second largest growth among mobile OSs.
In Millennial Media’s report, Apple devices continued to hold three of the top 10 mobile device spots with the iPhone once again leading the pack. The iPhone held 15% of the ad impression market share, a slight increase over the previous month. Apple’s iPod Touch was able to regain the number two spot with just over 8% of all ads served on Millennial’s network. HTC’s Nexus One edged out the Blackberry Curve to earn the third spot with 7.8% of all ad impressions.
Among mobile device makers, Apple continues to lead with over a quarter of all ads served. HTC and Samsung were the big winners this past month, the two Asian manufacturers unseated Motorola and RIM from the number two and three spots in Millennial Media’s January report.
While Apple was able to maintain the top spot among device manufacturers, Android continues to make its way on to more mobile devices.  Over 50% of the phones on Millenial’s Top 30 mobile devices list run Google’s Android OS.  Android devices made up 54% of all ad impressions on Millenial’s network versus a total of 28% for Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Mobile device owners research and shop online more than most consumers

By InternetRetailer.com 

Half of U.S. adults who own a smartphone or tablet computer like to research products and shop online and via mobile, a new survey by BIGresearch finds.
According to the survey of 20,000 U.S. adults, four types of mobile devices are most popular: 13.2% of adults own a BlackBerry device, 11.3% own an iPhone, 9.3% own a device running Google Inc.’s Android operating system and 5.2% own an iPad. Some consumers may own more than one device, for example, an iPhone and an iPad.
Of all U.S. adults, 40.7% say they regularly shop when online, BIGresearch finds. Mobile device owners like to shop even more. 49.1% of BlackBerry owners, 49.6% of iPhone owners, 47.9% of Android users and 49.7% of iPad owners say they shop online regularly, whether they shop on a desktop PC, smartphone or tablet.
What’s more, mobile device owners are more inclined to research products online or via mobile before making a purchase. The top three product categories researched are electronics, apparel and CDs/DVDs/Books. 48.7% of all U.S. adults researched an electronics product online or via mobile before buying it in person in the last 90 days, BIGresearch finds. 58.6% of BlackBerry owners, 61.2% of iPhone owners, 65.9% of Android users and 66.4% of iPad owners did the same.
38.1% of all U.S. adults researched an apparel product online or via mobile before buying it in person in the last 90 days, BIGresearch says. 50.0% of BlackBerry owners, 48.7% of iPhone owners,45.5% of Android users and 48.1% of iPad owners did the same.
33.9% of all U.S. adults researched a CD, DVD or book online or via mobile before buying it in person in the last 90 days, BIGresearch finds. 41.2% of BlackBerry owners, 43.5% of iPhone owners, 42.6% of Android users and 48.1% of iPad owners did the same.
“Mobile device owners are not only looking up product information before they purchase; they can also compare prices directly at the point of sale. Going a step further, with mobile Internet access, these device owners can instantly share their research findings with friends and family via electronic word of mouth,” says Gary Drenik, president and CEO of BIGresearch. “Retailers need to be sure their online presence meets the expectations of mobile device owners, who will be searching for reliable, quick information in order to make an informed purchase decision. Retailers should also make it easy for mobile device owners to share product information and promotions with others through social media—especially since mobile device owners are more likely than average consumers to give and seek advice on products and services.”
Overall, smartphone and tablet owners love to use the mobile web. 88% of Android users, 86.9% of iPhone owners, 84.9% of iPad owners and 80.2% of BlackBerry owners regularly or occasionally browse the web on their devices, BIGresearch finds.

US smartphone ownership to rise by 43% in 2015

By InfoGrok

Most mobile owners in the US still have only a feature phone, but eMarketer predicts smartphone ownership will rise from 31 percent of the mobile population in 2011 to 43 percent by 2015.
Nearly 110 million Americans will have a smartphone by the end of that year.
Momentum in the mobile device market has swung in favor of smartphones, led by the allure of Apple’s iPhone and the legion of now-viable competitors it has spawned.
As of the end of 2010, eMarketer estimates 30 percent of smartphone users in the US had a BlackBerry and 28 percent had an iPhone, the top two operating systems. But Android’s share of the market is rising quickly.
Nielsen tracking surveys found Android pulling ahead among recent smartphone purchasers, and eMarketer predicts that by 2012 Android will be the no.1 mobile OS in the country.
The changing device landscape is encouraging changing usage patterns. eMarketer estimates that time spent with mobile devices is rising faster than for any other medium, up 28.2 percent in 2010. Smartphone owners, more active with every type of mobile content than feature phone owners, are likely on the leading edge of this trend.
Noah Elkin, principal analyst and author of the new report at eMarketer, said: “Smartphone owners already command the majority of marketers’ attention. Smart and Getting Smarter: Key Mobile Device Trends for Marketers.
“And the simple reason is: They do more of everything than their counterparts with feature phones: messaging, gaming, listening to music, watching videos, social networking, shopping, using apps and browsing the web.
“Marketers need to pay attention to these trends as they project budgets and develop marketing strategies. Mobile devices will claim more and more media time per day, while TV, print and radio will slowly lose ground to digital media. For marketers, half the battle of staying relevant is showing up in the right place and on the right platform.”

Clinical Research Academy of America (CRAA) Launches Mobile Application for its Existing and Prospective Students

By Benzinga

Clinical Research Academy of America (CRAA), one of the fast growing healthcare education institutes in clinical research and allied healthcare, has launched a new mobile application for its current and prospective students. The application will be currently available to android users for free and CRAA plans to launch similar applications for iPhone and Blackberry users as well.
“The new android application of CRAA will provide tremendous value to our students. As all companies, CRAA recognizes the importance of mobile marketing and social media in transforming people's habits and preferences. We intend to remain at the forefront of all such changes with the end benefits to our students,” said Siba Padhi, the Director of CRAA.
The new android application, called "CRAA Connect" will be one of the first mobile learning platforms for clinical research, clinical data management and Oracle Clinical. It is first-of-its-kind all-in-one application through which students can login to the Learning Management System of CRAA to access their study materials and submit their assignments while on the go. The application provides practical functionality to the users like searching jobs in clinical research industry, learn about the clinical research industry and latest trends through "Fun Facts", help students refine their resumes through "Resume-Writing Tips" etc. These features make it attractive even for anyone who's interested to pursue a career in clinical research, whether a student of CRAA or experienced professionals like Clinical Research Associates (CRA), Clinical Research Coordinators (CRC), Clinical Data Managers etc.

Smartphone users not aware of mobile security risks

By Help Net Security

More than a third of surveyed smartphone users are not aware of the increasing security risks associated with using their phones for financial purposes and to store personal data, revealed a new survey by AVG and the Ponemon Institute.

The study also showed that just 29 percent of surveyed smartphone owners have considered downloading free or paid anti-virus software to help protect their most personal devices.

The survey targeted 734 U.S. consumers over age-18 who own a smartphone such as an iPhone, Blackberry or Android device.

Surveyed consumers also expressed a lack of awareness in respect to a number of key security issues faced by smartphone users, including:

• Thirteen percent of surveyed smartphone users said location data had been unknowingly embedded on their handset enabling others to track their location. Only 21 percent of respondents were aware this could happen.
• Six percent of respondents said that mobile applications had transmitted confidential payment information such as credit card details without the users’ knowledge or consent. Only 11 percent of respondents were aware this was possible.
• Eight percent of surveyed smartphone users said their handset had been infected by malware called “diallerware” that enables criminals to make use of premium services or phone numbers resulting in unexpected monthly charges. Only 10 percent of respondents were aware of this risk.

Apple making a shrunken iPhone? That would be tricky

By Cnet.com

Is there a way to take away features from the iPhone and still make a product people want to buy?
Word is that Apple has already or is currently considering this question. Rumors are swirling that a smaller and cheaper version of the iPhone to go on sale later this year.
Should we believe these reports? Probably. The big mobile tech event Mobile World Congress just kicked off in Barcelona. Apple's not there, but the company does make a habit of trying to steal the thunder from big trade shows, like it did when it sent invitations to reporters during the Consumer Electronics Show that everyone assumed rightly was the announcement of the long-awaited Verizon iPhone. Like CES, the MWC is big on Android and Windows announcements, so it makes sense for Apple to want to make a little noise. Of course, the leaked reports could just be a trial balloon to gauge consumer reaction, but Apple isn't exactly known for taking a poll before it does something.
So what would this mini-iPhone be like? Let's look at what the folks in Cupertino have done before with downsizing of existing, popular devices.
It's not out of character for Apple to take a well-received yet pricey product and make smaller versions that are more palatable to price-conscious customers. We saw it with the iPod, and we see it with MacBook models. But the same idea does not easily translate to a cell phone that also functions as a photo and video display device and mini computer.
Apple is adept at introducing a product people want, slapping a fairly high price tag on it, establishing a market for it, watching it become popular, and later introducing models that are scaled down in price and features that end up bringing in the most mainstream consumers.
The iPod Nano is the classic example. Apple took its extremely popular original iPod, which had a large hard drive for storing thousands of songs, scaled down the storage size and screen size, and knocked the price tag down to first make the iPod Mini.

45% active users want to pay for goods, services through mobile

By Mydigitalfc.com

Nearly half (45 per cent) of the most active mobile device users would welcome the opportunity to pay for goods and services using their mobile phone, despite the fact that 73 per cent expressed significant privacy and identity theft concerns, research conducted by Accenture shows.
The research was done on ‘tech forward’ consumers from 11 countries including India – early adopters of digital devices that connect to the internet – who use at least four internet-connected devices and at least four Internet services.
Consumers in Asia were the most enthusiastic about mobile commerce. Overall, 69 per cent of survey respondents in Asia indicated they favored using mobile phones for most payments, led by Chinese consumers (76 per cent) and India (75 per cent.
When survey participants were asked if they had used a mobile phone to make purchases in the past six months, nearly half (47 per cent) of tech forward consumers in China indicated they had, followed by Korea (42 per cent) and Japan (33 per cent).
Depending on the geography, tech forwards are also in the early stages of using barcode or near field communications (NFC) technology to interact with their shopping environment.
In Asia, 38 per cent of consumers surveyed had scanned a product’s barcode while shopping to get additional information; 36 per cent had displayed a ‘digital ticket’ for admission to an event or to board a flight; and, 31 per cent had purchased an item or received a coupon from a ‘smart poster’ containing an electronic tag or barcode.
Seventy per cent said that mobile phone payments increase the risk of identity theft and fraud.
“Mobile commerce —which encompasses mobile banking, such as checking balances or paying bills over a mobile phone, plus coupons, promotions, redeemable gift cards, loyalty points, and more — is poised to drive huge changes in the way we shop and pay for goods and services,” said Andy Zimmerman, director, mobility services, Accenture.

Apple rolls out App Store subscription plans

By Fierce mobile
Apple  launched a new subscription service for all content-based apps in its popular App Store application storefront, enabling publishers to establish recurring payment plans for apps. However, Apple is mandating that if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same or better offer be made inside the app. The new service applies to "magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc."
The concept is similar to how Apple manages in-app purchases and uses the same App Store billing model. Publishers will set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly) and then customers will click on that and be charged accordingly. Apple said that it will get a 30 percent revenue cut, just as it does for in-app purchases.
In addition to newspapers and magazines, the subscription service seems to apply to video services like Netflix and music services like Rhapsody and Spotify. According to AllThingsD, there is also a June 30 deadline for publishers to comply with he new guidelines. "For existing apps already in the App Store, we are providing a grace period to bring your app into compliance with this guideline," according to a memo sent to publishers earlier this year. "To ensure your app remains on the App Store, please submit an update that uses the In App Purchase API for purchasing content, by June 30, 2011."
"Our philosophy is simple--when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers."
Apple said publishers will be able to sell digital subscriptions outside of apps on their websites, or can choose to provide free access to existing subscribers. The company said that since it is not involved in these transactions, there is no revenue sharing or exchange of customer information with Apple. Apple is requiring, however, that publishers provide their own authentication process inside the app for subscribers who have signed up outside of the app. Additionally, Apple said publishers may no longer provide links in their apps (to a website, for example) which allow the customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the app.
Apple also said customers purchasing a subscription through the App Store will be given the option of providing the publisher with their name, email address and zip code when they subscribe, but that the use of that information will be governed by the publisher's privacy policy rather than Apple's. Publishers may seek additional demographic information from customers as long as they are given a clear choice, and are informed that any additional information will be handled under the publisher's privacy policy rather than Apple's policy.

Majority of smartphone users have bought physical goods via mobile

By Mobile commerce daily
A majority of the respondents to an Adobe survey – 62 percent – said that they have bought physical goods from their smartphone devices in the last six months.
The greatest number of respondents – 45 percent – spent $249 or less over the last 12 months. By comparison, the average annual online spend per shopper in 2010 is estimated at $1,139, per Adobe. Of those who have purchased from their mobile devices, a majority report spending more than an hour a week mobile shopping, on both mobile Web sites and downloadable applications.

Everything Everywhere to introduce mobile payments

By Tech reader

Everything Everywhere, also known as Orange and T-Mobile, is planning to roll out a mobile payment scheme later in the year, in partnership with Barclaycard.
As the BBC reports, you’ll be able to pop into a Little Chef and pay for your Olympic breakfast simply by using your mobile phone, as many people already do over in Japan.
The technology used to achieve this is NFC or Near Field Communications, which is already supported by handsets such as Google’s latest darling, the Nexus S. The next iPhone is also thought to be ready to carry NFC.
NFC means customers will be able to swipe their mobile to pay for something, effectively replacing their credit card with their sim card.
The Beeb notes that businesses which have the necessary “contactless technology” include the likes of Little Chef, Pret a Manger, and the National Trust. More services are expected to roll out, particularly in London on the run up to the Olympics, such as Transport for London using NFC payments.
Eventually, you really will be able to pay for everything, everywhere, in all likelihood. Although currently, contactless payments can only be used for transactions of less than £15 (and multiple transactions in a short space of time may require a PIN, as a security measure).
Jason Rees, Head of m-payments at Everything Everywhere, told the BBC: “Studies show that people are more likely to forget their wallets than their mobile phones. Trials have proved that customers love it, they love the simplicity of having their wallet all in one place and it means there is no more need to carry cash.”

 

Everything Everywhere to introduce mobile payments

By Tech reader

Everything Everywhere, also known as Orange and T-Mobile, is planning to roll out a mobile payment scheme later in the year, in partnership with Barclaycard.
As the BBC reports, you’ll be able to pop into a Little Chef and pay for your Olympic breakfast simply by using your mobile phone, as many people already do over in Japan.
The technology used to achieve this is NFC or Near Field Communications, which is already supported by handsets such as Google’s latest darling, the Nexus S. The next iPhone is also thought to be ready to carry NFC.
NFC means customers will be able to swipe their mobile to pay for something, effectively replacing their credit card with their sim card.
The Beeb notes that businesses which have the necessary “contactless technology” include the likes of Little Chef, Pret a Manger, and the National Trust. More services are expected to roll out, particularly in London on the run up to the Olympics, such as Transport for London using NFC payments.
Eventually, you really will be able to pay for everything, everywhere, in all likelihood. Although currently, contactless payments can only be used for transactions of less than £15 (and multiple transactions in a short space of time may require a PIN, as a security measure).
Jason Rees, Head of m-payments at Everything Everywhere, told the BBC: “Studies show that people are more likely to forget their wallets than their mobile phones. Trials have proved that customers love it, they love the simplicity of having their wallet all in one place and it means there is no more need to carry cash.”

 

swipe smartphone to pay shopping bills

By Times of india

Technology will now enable people to make purchases by swiping their mobile phone across a till scanner-to be rolled out this summer.
Consumers will be able to buy cinema tickets, a sandwich or cup of coffee without the need for a card or cash.
Barclaycard and the Britain's biggest mobile phone network, Everything Everywhere, which includes Orange and T-mobile, have signed a partnership to bring the system to 40,000 tills.
The two claim it will be the biggest revolution in payments since credit cards were introduced in this country more than 40 years ago.
Chief Development Officer of Everything Everywhere Gerry McQuade said: "This is the beginning of a revolution in how we pay for things," the Daily Mail reports.
"It's a cultural shift that is as important as the launch of the personal credit card or cash machines," he adds.
Initially, there will be a cap of 15 pounds per transaction, however, the banking industry expects this to rise, allowing virtually any purchase to be authorised with a swipe of a handset.
Bank and mobile phone networks are in talks with handset manufacturers, including Apple, Blackberry and Nokia, on including the technology in their devices.
The system works by installing a tiny chip and antenna in the phone, which ties the handset to the owner and their credit card or bank account.
The antennae sends a radio signal to a till scanner, which recognises the handset, authorises the payment and then deducts the money from the owner's account.

 

Smartphone Shipments Surpass PCs for First Time

By PCMag

With more and more consumers trading in their old feature phones for smartphones, the smartphone market actually eclipsed the PC market during the last quarter for the first time, according to data from IDC.
Vendors shipped 100.9 million smartphones during the fourth quarter, according to Monday data, while IDC logged 92.1 million PC shipments during the same time period, according to IDC numbers from January.
The milestone was first noted by Fortune, which said that smartphones surpassed PC shipments much faster than expected. A Morgan Stanley analyst predicted it might happen in 2012.
In a Tuesday phone interview, Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team, said smartphone vs. PC shipments are a valid comparison because most people – particularly those in western countries – currently own a computer and a smartphone.
Helping those smartphone sales rates, however, is the fact that smartphones have a much faster replacement rate than PCs, he said. Also, the PC market is "pretty saturated" worldwide, while "you're still seeing tremendous growth" around smartphones.
As a result, we'll likely see a "ping pong effect" over the next several quarters when it comes to smartphone vs. PC shipments sales, Llamas said. By 2012 and 2013, however, we could see a "breaking away for smartphone shipments."
The PC sales numbers did not include tablets. Llamas said tablets are an "interesting phenomenon" but he did not see the devices overtaking smartphones anytime soon, primarily due to their size. "You can't stuff a tablet in your back pocket," he said.
At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, however, he did note many people toting tablets instead of laptops. "They're smaller [than laptops], lightweight, and can do a lot," Llamas said. As a result, tablets will likely take more from the PC market than the smartphones, he predicted.
When asked if PC makers should be concerned about the growth of smartphones (and tablets), Llamas said "concerned is too strong a word." The fact of the matter is, most major PC makers – like Dell and HP – are well-aware of the smartphone potential, and are moving into that area themselves.
PC makers "don't just look to rely on PCs," he said. "Yes, they'll be there in some way, shape, or form, but for smartphones, the market is growing and a lot of competitors are getting into it bigger and bigger."
HP will likely make headway in that area with its Palm acquisition, Llamas said. HP is actually hosting an event on Wednesday in San Francisco where it promised "an exciting WebOS announcement," which many believe will include the introduction of new smartphones and possibly a tablet.
The key thing going forward, Llamas said, is that companies that have not traditionally made phones which are getting into the smartphone market will have to figure out ways to distinguish themselves. Garmin tried with its GPS phone, but that wasn't a huge hit because most smartphones have built-in navigation apps.

soon,you cloud 'swipe' your iPhone instead of a credit card!

By Inditiatimes.com

This is the beginning of a revolution in how we pay for things. It's a cultural shift that is as important as the launch of the personal credit card or cash machines," the Daily Mail quoted Chief development officer for Everything Everywhere, Gerry McQuade, as saying.
He added, "We're making something that's been talked about for many years a reality and, very soon, using your mobile to buy a sandwich, a cinema ticket or, in time, even something bigger like a computer will simply be the norm."
This is how it works: there's a tiny chip and an antenna installed in the phone, which ties the handset to the owner and their credit card or bank account.
The antennae sends a radio signal to a till scanner which recognises the handset, authorises the payment and then deducts the money from the owner's account.
Of course, there are drawbacks - the more frequent the transactions the more are the interest charges. People will also be suspicions about the security of the technology, given the recent history of bank innovations. Another worry is the phone getting lost.
But Orange has insisted the system is secure.
A spokesperson said customers would be able to use a single contact number to cancel their phone and 'mobile wallet', meaning no transactions could be carried out.
Chief executive of Barclaycard Consumer Europe , David Chan, insisted the new regime is secure.
"I believe that future generations will find it surprising that early this century we were still carrying separate items to buy goods and to communicate with each other," he said.
"As payment experts, our role is to make it easier, more convenient and incredibly secure for people to make purchases and manage their money while on the move.

88% will use various mobile marketing techniques this year, new survey finds.

By internetretailer.
88% of marketers at large retailers and consumer brand manufacturers say they will use mobile marketing this year; what’s more, 75% of those already marketing to mobile consumers plan to increase their spending by an average of 59% compared with 2010, according to a new survey from the Association of National Advertisers and the Mobile Marketing Association.
Survey respondents cite two companies as being particularly successful with mobile marketing: Coca-Cola, for its mobile advertising, and Target Corp. 21 Target Corp. Mass Merchant Online Sales:$1,209,208,320 (IR estimate) Growth:0.0% See More , for its integration of mobile web, rewards and wish-list registry. However, most respondents are less enthusiastic about their own mobile initiatives. Only 25% rate their efforts as “extremely” or “very” successful, while 53% say their efforts have been only “somewhat” successful. 22% responded "not very" successful or "don't know."
More than a dozen distinct interactive mobile platforms are currently being used by marketers, according to survey findings. The five with the highest adoption levels—at least by one-half of the companies surveyed—are:

• Mobile web sites
• Mobile apps
• Text messaging
• Mobile display ads
• Mobile search ads

“Mobile is clearly a fast-growing platform for marketers, but it has yet to attain its full potential,” says Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers. “With the anticipated increase in adoption this year, we expect to see fresh, innovative approaches, increased brand-building success, and better accountability for this exciting channel.”
The research finds barriers to the adoption of mobile marketing by more marketers, including:

• Lack of metrics to properly allocate mobile marketing within the overall marketing mix
• Inability to prove return on investment
• Lack of mobile marketing understanding by key people at the company

71% of companies have assigned responsibility for mobile marketing to an existing internal group, the survey finds. Only 19% of respondents say their companies have created a new internal group to manage the mobile marketing function. In most cases this group reports to the digital marketing team. 10% reported don't know, other or outsourced to external resources.

U.S. mobile marketing investments will surpass $1 billion in 2011, Forrester predicts

A new report from research and advisory firm Forrester Research Inc. says mobile marketing  investments will surpass $1 billion this year as marketers begin to see returns on their investments from consumers buying more via mobile.
The report, “Mobile Trends 2011,” also predicts mobile will combine with social and local services through programs like Facebook Places to gain significant traction over standalone location-based services. However, it says that ad revenue from such services will be cut short because of privacy concerns.
The report, written by Forrester analysts Thomas Husson and Julie Ask, also predicts companies planning to reach large audiences via mobile apps will continue to face a fragmented market with a wide variety of mobile devices, operating systems and screen sizes.
The report also forecasts:

• The term mobile will mean a lot more than mobile phones. Tablets such as Apple Inc.’s iPad will emerge as a category of their own in the years to come. However, the report says only mobile phones will sell in the hundreds of millions and are truly “pocketable,” providing anywhere/anytime connectivity. 
• 2011 will be the year of “the dumb smartphone user.” Because of deep discounts, smartphones will be available to the masses. That, Forrester says, means new smartphone owners will be less engaged and active than earlier Android and iPhone owners. However, thanks to customer education and the convenience that such sophisticated devices offer, even so-called “dumb smartphone users” will consume massive amounts of mobile media and data. 
• NFC, augmented reality and Quick Response, or QR, two-dimensional bar codes will finally reach their tipping points. Technologies such as QR codes and mobile augmented reality, which uses the capabilities of a mobile phone to enhance a presentation, such as using the smartphone’s GPS to identify a consumer’s location and then displaying through the device’s camera view a coupon to a nearby store, are already helping bridge the real and digital worlds via mobile devices, Forrester says. And the report predicts 2011 will finally be the year that Near Field Communication (NFC) begins to matter for mobile. The market will start to move away from the pilot stage in regions where NFC infrastructure is in place, Forrester says. "There is already quite a bit of this happening in Japan," says Ask. "More of it will occur with education with consumers in the U.S. and Europe. We’re at the very, very beginning of consumers beginning to understand these use cases with their customers." NFC is a technology that enables phones (or other items, such as credit cards) to interact with objects—such as posters and payment terminals—over a distance of a few inches.

Several media outlets last week reported that Apple is working on adding NFC mobile payment capabilities to the forthcoming iPhone 5. Companies such as Isis have launched over the past year aiming to enable shoppers to use NFC technology to pay with their phones in stores. Isis is backed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, which together provide wireless services to more than 200 million U.S. consumers.

Iphone Controls Over 40% of Smartphone Sales

By climbthenet.com

Apple is continuing to grow in the smartphone world. According to Mike Walkley and analyst for Canaccord Genuity, Apple now maintains over forty one percent of smartphone profits across the market. Apple only had about thirty one percent of the market in 2009.
Even thought Apple has such a stronghold in the U.S. they only account for a little less than four percent in the global smart phone market.
Apple still has to keep their guard up because Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop recently stated that they are coming up with a new smartphone strategy to hopefully generate a large share of the smartphone market. Many believe that Nokia will adopt the Google Android or the Windows 7 system for their new smartphones.
According to Mike Walkley Apple is in a great position in this market due to the iphone 4 and Verizon partnership and the upcoming 5th generation iphone and is considered a great buy.

Android could cause problems in the enterprise

By Fiercecio

Much has been said about the havoc that workers can bring to the corporate IT environment when they insist on using iPhones, iPads and other devices designed for consumers. Less has been said about the impact of Android devices, but Tom Kaneshige at CIO magazine cautions that these devices could blindside CIOs if they're not prepared.
The greatest difficulty will result from the fragmented nature of Android, Kaneshige warns. There are myriad Android devices using different versions of the operating system, making it complicated to support the technology. Different versions present different capabilities for managing devices, and manufacturers have been developing different user interfaces.
"An Android HTC Evo phone might be running the latest version of Android OS, but other HTC devices are stuck on earlier OS versions," he writes. "HTC's graphical user interface, called Sense, has different versions as well. Samsung has its own interface, called TouchWiz."
Carriers aren't making things easier by introducing their own changes. Kaneshige notes that AT&T doesn't allow users to load apps apart from the Android Market, and if you're using the Samsung Fascinate on Verizon's network you have Bing as the default search engine. "The combination of configurations is mindboggling," he writes.
While Apple devices present a total of nine software/hardware configurations for now, Android devices may present approximately 900. That could keep a help desk very busy for some time.

26% of Mobile Apps Are Opened Only Once

By Mashable
With 300,000 iPhone apps and 200,000 Android apps available for download, consumers aren’t willing to tolerate apps that at first sight don’t meet their standards.
Twenty-six percent of apps are only opened once after download, according to a study by software company Localytics.
Using its real-time app analytics tool, Localytics compiled data in 2010 about new users of thousands of Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 apps.
If these users did not open the apps a second time before January 26, 2011, they were counted as one-time users. (This partially explains why more one-time uses were reported in the last quarter of 2010 than the first quarter; the first-quarter group had more time to open the app again.)
Besides emphasizing how important it is for developers to avoid pitfalls that are likely to turn off fickle app users, the data also points out the inaccuracy of using the number of people who download an app as the sole measure of its success.