Smartphone sales are expected to hit 54 percent of all cell phone sales by 2013, according to new projections from IHS. That is two years faster than previous projections and shows just how big the market is becoming thanks to low-cost handsets and more smartphone adoption. Read more »
Blaast, which puts a subscription spin on the provision of key apps to low-end phones, has signed up more carrier partners in Asia and is planning a data-frugal app for Android users in developing markets Read more »
Eric Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures is leading a $2 million Series A round in biNu, an Australian startup that enables feature phones to run cloud-based smartphone apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and Google. BiNu highlights the opportunity in developing markets where smartphone penetration is low. Read more »
Text messaging. It’s one of the few functions of a feature phone that graduated to today’s smartphones and continues to be used heavily by people all around the world. Now, in three African countries, it can even be used for Gmail at no extra charge. Read more »
Twitter wants a taste of the success Facebook is experiencing globally. For that to happen it needs to embed itself in the feature phone, the primary device used in developing markets to access the internet. So Twitter is following in Facebook’s footsteps by partnering with MediaTek. Read more »
Adding smartphones to the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s review of cell phone makers this year revealed that customers who buy plain old feature phones for calling and texting are generally happier with the product than their smartphone-owning counterparts. Apple is an exception. Read more »
Cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT combine to create another force that overwhelms IT departments: complexity, including complexity of devices and applications, physical and virtual computing environments, and related challenges for IT staff. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT are changing the game for IT departments. Section one of our three-part report describes and quantifies each of these trends, demonstrating that they are real now, growing rapidly and perilous to ignore. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The U.S. is now a smartphone nation, with 53 percent of all adult cell phone owners claiming ownership of a smartphone, according to a new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Smartphone ownership is most represented among college grads, younger and more affluent adults. Read more »
Mobile deals combine location-aware discounts with mobile marketing campaigns. What are the largest pitfalls in this promising space, though? Privacy and security issues must be addressed to assure consumers their purchases are secure and their location is being closely guarded. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Mobile World Congress is this month in Barcelona. How has the mobile ad market done since last year’s MWC? In the 12-month span, Mobile app monetization exchange inneractive, has seen more than 700 percent jump in clicks and nearly the same in ad requests. Read more »
Last week’s news of a potential Facebook phone built by HTC certainly got people talking. Regardless of who builds it and when that happens, the real question without an answer is: Do we really need a Facebook phone? We sound off in a GigaOM debate! Read more »
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
China Telecom is moving ahead with plans to pursue an MVNO service in the U.S. starting next year. A China Telecom executive said the branded cellular service will start early next year and will target tourists and travelers who fly between China and the U.S. frequently. Read more »
Hundreds of millions of handset owners worldwide without data plans have a new way to access Facebook while mobile thanks to Gemalto. The Amsterdam-based company has a SIM card that uses SMS to provide Facebook access for Personal Argentina’s 17.4 million customers; no data plan required. Read more »
With Intel (NSDQ: INTC) now focused on Tizen, a new Linux effort with Samsung and the Limo Foundation; and no concrete signs of further hand… Read more at paidContent »
Looks like another tipping point in mobile progress was reached in Q2 this year: IDC says that shipments of smartphones outstripped those of… Read more at paidContent »
In acquiring Israeli mobile app developer Snaptu, Facebook gained three things: a strong feature phone development platform, a presence in the white-hot Israeli startup scene and a team who’s development philosophy mirrors Facebook’s own. Read more »
Smartphones aren’t the sole domain of push notifications: the new Nimbuzz Ping feature shoots an SMS to feature phones when a contact wants to get in touch. Although smartphone sales are rising, the majority of global handsets are still feature phones, allowing for plenty of opportunities. Read more »
Facebook recently joined other high-profile brands in releasing a new app for feature phones. The move suggests a wealth of expanded opportunity for distributing products and extending their reach, but should developers target feature phones in addition to smartphones running newer, more powerful platforms? Maybe. Read more »
Predicting what not to expect in mobile next year is a lot easier than predicting what will happen. You can be sure, for instance, that consumers won’t pay for on-the-go TV next year any more than they have in the past, and that carriers won’t embrace ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Qualcomm Innovation Center today announced it has purchased iSkoot, a San Francisco-based startup that offers mobile application services primarily to feature phones. With the acquisition, Qualcomm can feed feature phones with data-friendly proxy services, RSS, email, VoIP functions, real-time notifications and social networking software. Read more »
Verizon is today enhancing online management functions to give customers a single portal for checking email, managing account information and remotely programming a FiOS DVR from a web-connected computer or mobile phone. The portal brings advanced account functionality to feature phones that don’t support mobile applications. Read more »
Although feature phones still outsell smartphones, a greater number of smartphone users accessed mobile content in apps and browsers than consumers with feature phones for the first time ever in the U.S., says comScore. But the app economy is helping feature phones too, says one company. Read more »
While Nokia is the undisputed king of feature phones, it doesn’t take a fortune teller to read the handwriting on the wall — smartphones will eventually replace feature phones. A shortcut to success for the company would be to stop fighting the same old battle and ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
AT&T and Verizon Wireless have thus far been able to stay far above the brutal battleground that is the prepaid space. That will change, though, as smartphone sales continue to ramp up and mobile data traffic ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Feature phones – you know, those passé, non-OS handsets that account for a whopping 83 percent of the U.S. handset market – are set to join their higher-end counterparts as viable vehicles for mobile applications. Read more »
The mobile industry has gathered in Las Vegas for CTIA, its annual dog-and-pony show featuring the latest handsets and technology. This year’s show is all about the mobile operating system, as evidenced by the first wave of announcements out this morning. Here’s what they mean. Read more »
