Apple’s operating profit growth could take a 30 percent hit by 2015, owing to the rise of HTML5, according to Bernstein Research Analyst Toni Sacconaghi Jr. But industry watchers should be wary of underestimating the continued appeal of the native iOS app for two big reasons. Read more »
In the mobile browser world, one Apple’s mobile Safari is unmatched in terms of reach. New data shows the iOS version of Safari as easily beating out even the closest competition by a wide margin in terms of mobile browser usage share. Read more »
Mobile payments — payments initiated by a phone for a transaction at a physical point of sale or online — will total over $750 billion worldwide by 2015, and many predict they will soon begin to replace a typical credit card transaction. This report analyzes and forecasts the mobile payments industry, from its current technologies to the companies implementing them and the trends we can expect in the coming months. Much of the near-term growth of mobile payments will be driven by near-field communication (NFC) technology, but QR and 2D bar codes, mobile POS systems and SMS transactions are also important platforms for companies to consider when creating business models and strategies. Meanwhile, services from the likes of MasterCard, Nokia, Amazon and Google offer examples for others to follow and clues into the future of the industry. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Research in Motion, T-Mobile, Zong and Groupon. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The emerging web-sharing movement, which includes startups like Airbnb, RelayRides, and ThredUP, has its roots in the maturing way that people use the Internet and cell phones, and its future economy will rise around location, niche groups and capital-intensive, under-utilized and time-sensitive objects. For entrepreneurs looking ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
High consumer expectations for the mobile web aren’t yet being met, with 71 percent expecting sites to load on smartphones as quickly as they load on desktop computers. Dual-core smartphones and 4G networks will help, but businesses have to find ways to optimize their sites. Read more »
LinkedIn is enjoying a banner year, but unlike Twitter and Facebook the social network doesn’t enjoy much mobile traffic. It has a chance to be a major player in the booming mobile industry, though, if it pursues a few ambitious goals. Read more »
Facebook is reportedly planning on launching an HTML5-based web app platform codenamed Project Spartan in order to take on Apple in the mobile app market. It’s the obvious play for a company that lives on the web, but here’s why it won’t work for mobile users. Read more »
Lookout, a mobile security company, today added a new feature to its security software that protects web users from visiting malicious sites on their Google Android smartphones. As consumers turn to the mobile web and apps for services, the need for such protection may increase. Read more »
Voice recognition has long failed to gain much traction in mobile thanks to technology that was overhyped and underwhelming. But Apple could once again change the way we interact with our phones by integrating the technology with its upcoming iOS 5. Read more »
The debate over whether the future of mobile data lies in native applications vs. Web-based offerings is often depicted as a Darwinian contest where only one will survive. But the truth is much more complex than some pundits would have you believe. Read more »
Twitter for Mac may have all the attention lately, but it pales in comparison with the new mobile web version of Twitter. The company recently released the new version that is is simply wonderful and a great showcase for the potential of HTML5 technologies. Read more »
Most people’s attention might be on the iPad 2 launching tomorrow, but iOS 4.3 brought some impressive improvements to existing hardware, too. I ran the original iPad and the iPhone 4 through a series of tests to see how performance is affected by the update. Read more »
Opera’s latest report indicates that mobile page views are up more than 4,900 percent in Sudan, while growth in mobile web users has risen 1,179 percent in Zimbabwe. If I were a mobile web service provider, I’d pack for a safari quickly head to Africa. Read more »
Once an isolated world dominated by network operators and their manufacturer partners, mobile is now a space where “outsiders” are some of the most powerful players. In 2010, companies like Google, Apple, MetroPCS, Huawei and Foursquare were among those who made the most impact in mobile ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 always-unpredictable mobile space enters 2011 at a particularly dynamic time. Carriers are now bringing 4G networks online, even as their definitions of “4G” vary. Meanwhile, mobile data consumption is exploding and the FCC trying to settle on policies both to regulate the industry and to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Mobile will play a bigger role than ever during the U.S. holiday season, according to IDC, helping to drive $127 billion in sales. So it’s crucial that retailers tackle a few key challenges to effectively target consumers on their ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
For the most part, as soon as I lose connectivity, my mobile apps are mostly broken. Musing over to my most-used apps — Gmail, Facebook and Twitter — only gets me error messages and frustration. And even Angry Birds and Word Warp are handicapped when they’re offline. 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 »
Yesterday Apple announced the arrival date of its much-ballyhooed tablet, the iPad. It will have a staggered release throughout April, beginning on the 3rd in the U.S. Once it does arrive, we’ll see what effect it has on the mobile landscape. But right now, Apple has […] Read more »
More than 81,000 mobile touch web sites exist for shopping and services, according to mobile search firm Taptu, a figure that underscores the importance of addressing touchscreen devices as you take your content to the mobile web. Read more »
It’s time developers stop viewing mobile as an afterthought and start building mobile apps for less robust wireless connections and a variety of platforms. Programmers should stop trying to force design principals and habits learned on the PC-focused wired web into a mobile world. Read more »
SkyFire is joining the WebKit bandwagon with the acquisition of kolbysoft, which makes the Android Steel browser. The company may be able to build a better mousetrap, but convincing Android users to download an additional browser will be a tough sell. Read more »
Ground Truth, a startup, has emerged from stealth mode, armed with a plan to use data from mobile carriers and infrastructure vendors to measure traffic on the wireless web. It’s a move that could go a long way toward boosting ad revenues in the space. Read more »
Crisp Wireless this morning unveiled a new technology that delivers ads that remain on screen as users scroll down through pages on the wireless web. While those ads may prove effective, they may also give users one more reason to avoid the mobile Internet. Read more »
Apple’s iPhone dominates mobile Internet traffic in Western markets, according to new figures from AdMob, while Symbian maintains its edge in Africa and Asia. But the iPhone is closing the gap on Nokia’s OS in some emerging markets. Meanwhile, Android’s momentum continues to build. Read more »
Verizon Wireless will reportedly require a data plan with the purchase of some new feature phones. The move could be a sign of how the carrier plans to charge for usage on its upcoming LTE network. Read more »
If you live in the U.S. and own a mobile phone, it’s most likely an iPhone, according to a new study conducted by Nielsen. From January through October of this year, Apple’s little wonder device was the most popular phone in the country. Read more »
Google last week began taking on Yelp, Urban Spoon and other crowdsourcing-based offerings that deliver information about local businesses and points of interest. And the move is about to give QR, or quick response, codes — those odd-looking mobile barcodes that resemble a kind of tiled ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
There are countless mobile sites and apps designed to help users spend their money this holiday season. To help save you time, we’ve rounded up some of the more notable ones. Read more »
Adobe today released developer betas of Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0 and said it plans to extend full Flash support to mobile devices next year. It’s a move that could go a long way toward improving the user experience on the wireless web. Read more »
We’d like to thank this week’s NewTeeVee sponsors: thePlatform: What’s Your TV Everywhere Strategy? Server Beach: Save 30% by switching to dedicated hosting by Server Beach Read more »
Opera again showcased the growth of the mobile web with today’s installment of its monthly report of Opera Mini usage, but in a world where web-friendly smartphones are gaining traction its data may be getting stale. While there’s no doubt that Opera Mini has amassed a […] Read more »
[qi:004] Disappointment in the user experience on the mobile web is ramping up nearly as quickly as traffic itself, according to an Equation Research study that will be released Monday. The survey — which was commissioned by Gomez, a developer of software for Internet publishers and […] Read more »
