MOBILE.BLORGE

Smartphone sales on the up

John Lister — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:47:04 +0000

Despite the troubled economy, sales of smartphones rose four percent over the past year. Nokia retained its number one slot, but RIM was the biggest winner.

Figures from research firm IDC show that 43.3 million “converged mobile devices” were sold in [...]

T-Mobile to bill direct for app sales

John Lister — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:52:56 +0000

T-Mobile is to have its own channel for customers using the Android app store. It’s also allowing any purchases from the store to simply be added on to the monthly bill rather than having to pay via credit card.

At the moment, users [...]

Verizon doubles early cancellation fees

John Lister — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:05:52 +0000

Verizon is to double the fee it charges customers to cancel their service contract. The change may be designed to deter buyers from getting a subsidized phone upon release and then selling it at a profit.

At the moment, a customer who wants to cancel their [...]

Verizon downplays business concerns over Droid

John Lister — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:03:34 +0000

Verizon says it isn’t worried by claims that additional costs for using Microsoft Exchange will put business users off the forthcoming Motorola Droid handset. It notes the policy applies to all handsets and says the Droid is “primarily a consumer phone.”

The issue arose in an InfoWorld story which [...]

UK gets iPhone “competition” but no price war

John Lister — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:01:51 +0000

The iPhone will launch on a second British network next week, but with little in the way of price competition. It could be an indicator of what competition for AT&T could mean in the much larger U.S. market.

The launch of the iPhone [...]

Is Android a GPS killer?

John Lister — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:43:03 +0000

If the stock market is any indicator, Google’s announcement that the next edition of the Android system will include navigation tools is seriously bad news for traditional satellite navigation manufacturers. But there’s some debate about whether that doom is too imminent to escape.

As we

Google Voice blocking fewer numbers

John Lister — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:29:20 +0000

Google has cut the list of blocked numbers on its Voice service to under 100. But that’s unlikely to satisfy critics who argue that blocking even one number breaches regulations.

As we reported earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission began an investigation into the [...]

Droid phone uses Google for GPS apps

John Lister — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:58:43 +0000

The forthcoming Motorola Droid handset will be the first to feature GPS tools based on Google technology. The handset will launch on Verizon on Nov. 6.

As we speculated, the Droid will go for $199 with a two-year service contract (after a mail-in [...]

Google Voice now available without changing numbers

John Lister — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:33:45 +0000

Until now, Google Voice’s biggest drawback has been the need to learn and pass round a new phone number. That’s about to change with the introduction of tools allowing users to tie an account to their existing number, though with some limitations.

People signing [...]

T-Mobile brings cheap plans both with and without contract

John Lister — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:38:34 +0000

T-Mobile is bidding to increase its disappointing market share with a new range of cheap service plans. They include a full range of plans for people who don’t want to sign a contract.

The deals are titled Even More and Even More [...]