Mobile devices

Sector Roadmap

Sector Roadmap: Enterprise MBaaS platforms

Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS) bridges traditional application platforms and mobile applications, allowing developers to rapidly build new mobile apps and mobile-enable legacy enterprise applications.

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Outlook: Mobile in 2015

Health and fitness apps, the future of mobile payments, and the future of the mobile enterprise will dominate discussion in 2015.

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Small cells: hurdles and potential

As mobile data demands grow, carriers, municipalities, and businesses are looking to small cells where legacy macrocell networks fail, but growth inhibitors could derail mass adoption.

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Quarterly Wrap-up

Mobile second-quarter 2014: analysis and outlook

Health and fitness emerged as the newest major platforms in the mobile industry during the second quarter of 2014. The flurry of activity illustrates how quickly the mobile-health industry is maturing beyond a concept into a market teeming with potential.

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Microsoft layoffs: 18K jobs to be cut

Wow. Just wow. The long-reported Microsoft job cuts are here and they are deeper than expected. Microsoft will eliminate 18,000 jobs over the next year and consolidate its phone efforts.

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A market overview of the mobile content management landscape

Many acknowledge the need to manage mobile content, but there is currently no consensus on how to do so. Enter the mobile content management software market, which holds a number of strategies and tactical approaches for vendors with important go-to-market decisions.

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Building brand engagement through in-app communication

While a mobile app must fulfill its core function, it must also continue a dialog with its users to remain relevant. Doing so requires ongoing, intelligent, targeted outreach to customers and an extension of customer-service strategy into the app itself.

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Sector Roadmap

Sector RoadMap: managed mobility services

Today’s mobility management services market is wide, varied, and confusing. For businesses wanting to employ a strategy here, what matters most is finding a clearly defined strategy, the right partners, and a host of other interdependent aspects.

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Mesh networks could bridge the gap between internet capacity and demand

Internet providers are about to face a connectivity crisis. Micha Benoliel, CEO of Open Garden, says software-based mesh networking is the solution. According to Benoliel, soon every smartphone, tablet, computer and wearable device will become a node in the global internet.

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How M2M is changing the mobile economy

The M2M market is growing rapidly and has enhanced the disruptive capabilities of enterprises by equipping them with the tools to better optimize costs and grow revenues.

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Sizing the EU app economy

Will the emerging app economy reboot a struggling Europe, jump-starting job growth and infusing European Union countries with startup energy? Signs are promising.

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Quarterly Wrap-up

Mobile fourth-quarter analysis and outlook

T-Mobile became the focal point of acquisition rumors, Android grew its massive market share, and Windows Phone overtook BlackBerry as the third-largest mobile operating system worldwide.

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Sector Roadmap: hardware design innovation

Many believe in the idea that physical shape and interface of a device are the disruptive elements of design. In reality, the integration of hardware, software, service, and connection will shape the future of design.

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Sector Roadmap

Sector RoadMap: Enterprise mobility management

Enterprise mobility management is the collection of tools that allow businesses to deploy, secure, and manage policies, devices, and applications for a mobile workforce. The next 24 months will see its popularity increased, as well as new partnerships and consolidation.

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What to know when choosing database as a service

IT decision makers today must manage data of varying volumes, velocity, and variety from one end of the enterprise to the other. For now at least, that requires several types of databases, and understanding exactly how each works.

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The internet of things: a market landscape

What can we expect the IoT landscape to look like, and how will its impact be felt? And is the attention being given by governments, manufacturers, and industry players merited, or is this just a fad? In this paper we look at the trends leading the growth of the internet of things, its components, and its characteristics. We examine the scale of the different opportunities and early examples of use cases. Finally, we look at potential inhibitors to adoption and potential challenges, notably around security, privacy, and system failure.

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Analyst

Phil Hendrix

Dr. Hendrix is an Analyst for Gigaom Research and the head of the Institute for Mobile Markets Research (immr), a research organization…

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How to manage mobile expenses in a BYOD world

For bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies (and mobile devices in general), enterprises have focused on resolving issues related to the security and control of corporate resources loaded onto personal devices. What is not talked about often is expense management — a crucial component for implementing successful policies.

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Planning a BYOD strategy on the move

How does a business go about implementing a new BYOD strategy when the wheels are already turning? However you slice it, hitting a moving target is more work than starting from square one, but you can maximize return by locking down three key steps.

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Here’s how it looks when big data goes mobile-first

Zoomdata has a plan for business intelligence that involves tacking the difficult problem of streaming data, and doing so with a mobile-device-first mindset. The result is pretty and compelling in theory, but it’s technologically challenging and will face tough competition from new and old vendors alike.

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YouTube wants to double down on mobile music videos

YouTube wants to give mobile phone users a chance to find music video content by artist, discography and genre, with the goal of bringing music content to hundreds of millions of its users. These plans could be an answer to Vevo’s mobile music initiatives.

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How WebRTC will upend the mobile world

What this proposed new standard could do for or to the mobile industry is nothing short of monumental, says Erik Lagerway, cofounder of Hookflash. In the wake of WebRTC, the usual suspects will struggle to find a lifeboat while some faster-movers will rise to the occasion. ?

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Why the government needs to free up more spectrum for wireless companies

The wireless industry has been racing to keep up with consumers’ ever-increasing reliance on mobile technologies. Jonathan Spalter, chairman of Mobile Future, argues that it’s now time for the government to respond with the same sense of urgency.

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The rise of M2M security challenges

There will be over 700 million cellular-enabled machine-to-machine (M2M) device adoption and system deployments in the U.S. by 2017. As the volume of M2M devices and associated data increases, so too will the probability of hackers and malware writers targeting these systems to exploit networks, steal data, hijack systems, and compromise workflows. Security specialists recognize the potential risks and are already developing technologies and methodologies for hardening M2M systems from attack. This report examines some common M2M attack vectors and provides solutions for safeguarding against them.

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Accel pumps $50M into Tenable Network Security

Some of the largest companies in the world use Tenable Network Security’s vulnerability-management software, and now the company has a $50 million investment from Accel Partners. Between its voluminous vulnerability database and its ability to track mobile devices, Tenable thinks it’s poised to grow even more.

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How Placed maps mobile app usage down to the store

Hey, mobile developers, have you ever wondered where users are when they interact with your apps — like down to the level of whether they’re in a Starbucks or the McDonald’s right across the street? A startup called Placed can tell you so you can act accordingly.

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Why Mike Daisey isn’t done apologizing for his lies

Nine days after monologist Mike Daisey was exposed as a fabulist, a man who manufactured personal stories about Apple’s supply chain in China in hopes of selling a message and theater tickets, he finally apologized for his actions. He once again left out a key detail.

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How Al Jazeera wants to bring Twitter to the world

Al Jazeera has just launched a multi-lingual educational campaign about social media, with YouTube videos explaining how to use Twitter, Facebook and other online platforms. The goal is to make people more media-savvy and, in the long run, raise a new generation of citizen journalists.

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Apple iPad event live blog

Join us Wednesday morning as we live blog Apple’s iPad event in San Francisco starting at 10 a.m. We will kick things off here at around 9:30 a.m. PT, so be sure to bookmark this page and come back then.

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4 iPad apps to help wrangle data

In 2012, the next big thing will be what we do with the millions of iPhones and iPads that have infiltrated the office. When it comes to the iPad specifically, one of the most useful ways to incorporate the touchscreen device into your workflow is as a tool to visualize and manipulate data. That is why it is so exciting that there are a growing number of apps that give us new ways to gather, absorb and manipulate data necessary to get our jobs done. Here are a few of the more interesting ones out there that take advantage of Apple’s tablet.

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Parsing the latest rumor about Apple’s TV plans

The New York Post claims that Apple plans to launch a new streaming TV service this year. But take a closer look at the supporting evidence, and it doesn’t seem like Apple is actually trying to create its own bundle of video channels at all.

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6 features that make Windows 8 a tablet contender

Microsoft debuted its Windows 8 Consumer Preview on Wednesday at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Although people think “desktop” when they hear Windows, there are several mobile features to be found in Windows 8 that will get Microsoft back in the tablet game.

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Clear(ly), it’s time to say bye-bye to buttons

With its new iOS app, Clear, Realmac Software has taken the “less is more” axiom to its ultimate conclusion. Fjord’s Alfred Lui and Aynne Valencia explain why we’ll soon see more of this stripped-down approach to interface design, thanks to three big industry trends.

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Phones vs tablets question: One hand or two?

It’s no secret I like large-screened phones and 7-inch tablets. Although I own an iPhone, I use my 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus far more often. The same goes for my Galaxy Tab 7.7 as compared to my iPad 2. Why? I’m a two-handed phone user. Are you?

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LinkedIn: Mobile growing fast in everything but revenue

Mobile usage is the fastest-growing part of LinkedIn’s business, but it’s not a big revenue driver — yet. That could soon change, as LinkedIn plans to test out advertising across mobile devices, now that it has gotten the product and user experience right on those platforms.

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Wireless shoves PCs aside in 2011 chip spending

The biggest manufacturers of electronic devices spent more in total on wireless chips than on standard computer chips last year, according to a new report. Device makers spent $58.6 billion on chips for wireless devices, compared to $53.7 billion on chips for desktops and notebook PCs.

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Spool’s next bet is on collaborative curation

Today Spool is mostly being used to bookmark and sync content that you want to consume later across multiple devices. But there is an opportunity for it to go beyond managing interesting content and enable its users to share content with relevant groups.

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Polar Mobile bets on HTML5 with new $6M funding round

Toronto-based Polar Mobile, which provides a digital media distribution platform powering the apps of some of the biggest media companies in the world, including Conde Nast, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal, announced a new $6 million funding round on Monday.

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Tablets: the perfect shopping device

In just a short time, modern tablets have become potent shopping tools that generate an outsize effect on online commerce. 2011 was the year that the tablet became an online retailer’s best friend as it emerged as the preferred device for many shoppers to make purchases.

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Facebook code reappears in iOS beta: here’s hoping it sticks around

Apple has apparently re-introduced code references to Facebook integration to the most recent iOS 5.1 beta that were once present in pre-release software but later removed. It doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily see Apple include Facebook sign-in at the system level, like it’s done with Twitter, but it definitely makes it more likely than before.

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Kickstarter effort turns netbooks into robots!

Got an old netbook? For a $225 Kickstarter pledge, you can turn a netbook into a telepresence robot, remotely controlling it over from a web browser or a smartphone. Over a web connection, you could even use the Oculus robot to speak with remote workers.

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Uh-oh, PC: Half of computing device sales are mobile

Is the PC “dead”? Of course not, but if you don’t see the trend moving away from local / desktop computing and towards mobile / cloud computing, you’re missing the sales figures for each market: Nearly 50 percent of recent device sales are mobile.

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Mobile virtualization: Another nail in the PC coffin

There’s a trend building, and it’s not good for the PC industry. It’s not tablet and smartphone growth — although that’s part of the trend — but virtualization on mobile devices. This allows remote PC access from a tablet, for example, and could hurt already slowing PC sales.

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Apple going greener thanks to change in cable production

Apple’s drive to put out greener products will cost suppliers cash in the short term but will result in big long-term environmental advantages. Volex, which makes power and USB cables for the Mac maker’s mobile devices, will switch to halogen-free designs during the coming year.

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CES Video: Intel impresses in Android 4.0 tablet

Just like every prior CES in the past few years, Intel is touting how its chips are ready for mobiles. The only difference in 2012 is that I’m starting to believe the company after seeing Intel’s Medfield chip power an Android tablet that runs all day.

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Apple confirms acquisition of Israel’s Anobit

Apple has finally confirmed its purchase of Israel-based Anobit, a company that makes digital signal processing tech to improve the performance of NAND flash used in the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air among other devices. It could help Apple extend its NAND flash empire further still.

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Qualcomm at CES: Emerging markets by the numbers

Qualcomm CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs shared his mobile vision at CES Tuesday, with much of the focus on emerging markets. With half of all smartphones expected to be sold in emerging markets by 2015, it’s no wonder the chipmaker is looking to innovate beyond traditional borders.

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Givit brings private video sharing app to Android devices

Just about a month after going live with its iPhone app, Givit has dramatically increased the number of mobile devices that support its private video sharing service, with the rollout of an application for Android. Users can now upload, manage and view videos from Android phones.

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At CES, Samsung plans content for every screen

Samsung spent most of its CES press event explaining how it will expand its app and media ecosystem to every screen in the house and going out the door. Perhaps that’s why Samsung has a smartphone or tablet available in practically every possible screen size.

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Magisto: An iOS app that makes home videos cool

Although devices that shoot high-definition video are cheaper and more ubiquitous than ever, amateur videos themselves have not gotten any better to watch. That’s where a new iPhone app called Magisto comes in: It turns any simple iPhone video into a fully edited movie in minutes.

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It’s becoming a mobile-first world

Increasingly, websites and services are getting a bigger chunk of their traffic through mobile with some pushing past the 50 percent mark. That’s setting up a world in which developers and publishers have to think mobile first as consumption shifts to smaller devices.

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For Evernote, 2011 was a year to remember

2011 has been all about personalized mobile apps, and Evernote has benefited handsomely: In the past 12 months, the personal note-taking software company grew its user base from 6 million to 20 million. GigaOM talked to CEO Phil Libin about the growth and Evernote’s 2012 outlook.

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Infographic: Are mobile devices destroying your body?

Connected mobile devices make life easier, but are our bodies paying too high a price? Eyewear retailer Mezzmer culled a number of datapoints in an infrographic that gives a glimpse into the health complications brought by small screens, speakers and the ergonomics of using handheld computers.

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Samsung Galaxy S and Tab may yet get Android 4.0

Samsung is reportedly in discussions to offer Android 4.0 software upgrades to its Galaxy S smartphones and Galaxy Tab slates. Perhaps Samsung’s TouchWiz software is slimmed down or eliminated, which may not be a problem. Getting carriers to support such an upgrade, however, may be.

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Samsung, you’re doing it wrong with Android 4.0

The Samsung Galaxy S smartphone and Tab slate won’t see an upgrade to Android 4.0, leaving owners to decide between buying a newer device, sticking with Android 2.3 or installing a custom build of Google’s latest mobile operating system. Here’s a suggestion to make everyone happy.

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Why Samsung just entered the dual-SIM smartphone game

Samsung introduced its first dual-SIM smartphones on Thursday, the Galaxy Y Duos and Galaxy Y Pro Duos. The Android 2.3 smartphones are aimed at emerging markets, but if they’re successful, Samsung could migrate the solution up the Galaxy line for the bring your own device crowd.

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A visual history of mobiles: Past, present and future

This infographic, courtesy of Savings.com, brings together historical datapoints showing the decreasing cost and size of mobile devices, in conjunction with more capable hardware and services. Can you imagine (or remember) buying a phone for $4,000 in 1982 just for a few voice calls?

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GoCharge tops up your phone while you down a drink

Mobile device owners in New York City have 50 bar locations to freely charge their smartphones, thanks to a deal between Patrón Sprits and goCharge, which makes device-charging kiosks. Batteries can be topped off in 10 minutes: just enough time for some cheesy pickup lines.

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Mobile devices help front-load online holiday sales

One of the interesting shopping trends this year the emergence of mobile devices helping front-load more online holiday sales, as shoppers aren’t waiting for those two days to kick off their spending. It’s another way in which mobile is redefining holiday shopping.

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Jack Dorsey: Technology like Twitter makes us more human

In the super connected world in which we live now, people often lament about the downfall of old-fashioned face-to-face interaction. But according to Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and Square, technology done right can actually make us more human and empathetic, not less.

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‘App gap’ emerges highlighting savvy mobile children

You’ve heard of the digital divide, but how about the app gap? A new study found there is a growing rift between the children from wealthier families who spend more time involved in mobile apps designed for children and lower income children who watch more TV.

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Siri: Say hello to the coming “invisible interface”

What’s selling many people on Apple’s latest handset isn’t the impressive hardware: It’s the promise of an “invisible interface” through Siri, the iPhone’s personal assistant software. Siri is arguably the first working example of how everyday people will interact with connected devices in the near future. The ability to speak to our phones, televisions or homes and have them respond or take action is no longer a far-fetched concept.

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Dropbox CEO: We’ll integrate with everything

Cloud-storage startup Dropbox has its eyes set on being the foundation of a future where we’re never without our data. Phone, tablet, TV, car, you name it. Dropbox wants integration into everything, with its icon becoming to file access what Facebook’s icon is to sharing.

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The future of mobile health, 2011–2016

Mobile health — the use of wireless devices to manage health conditions, collect health data, monitor vital signs, provide clinical decision support and access health information — is in its relatively early stages. Nonetheless, the field has witnessed accelerating growth since 2010 in the U.S. and has become a truly global marketplace. Rising health care costs, the proliferation of mobile devices, affordable sensor technologies and regulatory issues are all factors driving this growth. This research note examines each of those in detail and provides an outlook of the mobile health space over the next five years, including services and players to watch. Companies mentioned in this report include Epocrates, GenoMed and Mobisante. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.

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VMware wants hypervisor hooked into Android kernel

At Mobilize, VMware CTO Steve Herrod laid out a mobile plan that reeks of success on par with what VMware has achieved in server virtualization. The trick to accomplishing that might be VMware’s quest to make its hypervisor technology a part of the core Android kernel.

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Dashlane raises $5M to simplify online data input

Dashlane, a stealth start-up, is still a few weeks away from unveiling its product but the company announced today that it has raised $10 million. It is trying to tackle the problem of inputting information, passwords and payment data into websites from desktop and mobile devices.

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How far can consumerization go for enterprise apps?

During VMworld this week, VMware introduced a new Dropbox-like application called Project Octopus that will let users safely store, access and share corporate documents. It all so sounded so promising, and then someone asked me whether it will actually get used.

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VMware’s Maritz: No more putting lipstick on legacy apps

Speaking to a jam-packed room of thousands, VMware CEO Paul Maritz kicked off today’s VMworld conference by declaring, once again, the advent of the cloud era. If you don’t believe him, just look at the number of virtual machines deployed. But cloud is more than virtualization.

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Supporting Millennials in the enterprise

We surveyed 400 of the newest generation, the Millennials, ages 20 through 29, on their attitudes and behavior around at-work technology and tech support, communications preferences and problem-solving styles. Here are the trends IT needs to address to make these workers productive and avoid potential problems.

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HTC sues Apple over everything

HTC says nearly all Apple product lines infringe on patents it owns, and it wants compensation. On Tuesday, the Taiwan-based Android smartphone maker filed a lawsuit against Apple, saying that Macs, iPads, iPhones, iPods, AirPort, Time Capsule and Apple TV infringe on three patents it owns.

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Forget 4G and GPS; future phones could have airbags!

I’m not sure if Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been sniffing too much eInk from Kindles, but he has a patent for smartphones with airbags and springs. Ridiculous! Anyone who has dropped buttered toast knows a falling smartphone with airbags will land on the non-protected side.

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Is a tablet with a keyboard really a tablet?

After debuting at January’s Consumer Electronics Show, the ASUS Eee Pad Slider is nearing a release. An Australian blogger has one of the first units and shares his impressions. I’m not sold that many folks will want the extra weight and bulk of an integrated keyboard.

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When it comes to hot spots, LTE is sizzling hot

Novatel’s second quarter results Thursday included a 50 percent rise in overall revenue and showed off the tight relationship between better mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and consumers toting multiple broadband-enabled devices. But how will carriers and customers react to downloading more content at faster speeds?

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Google not falling for Microsoft’s patent sale trick

Google and Microsoft traded more barbs today in their patent squabble. Google said Microsoft’s offer to jointly bid on the Novell patents was a trick. Microsoft said today Google is only interested in using patents against others. The rhetoric, however, doesn’t improve Google’s fighting position.

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How much do you love your phone?

A new survey by GPS mobile apps developer TeleNav tries to gauge the American mobile obsession, especially among iPhone users. Findings of that survey are fun and somewhat surprising and have been summed up in this nifty infographic that is good for a giggle.

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Pre-paid, wholesale subs keep Sprint afloat ahead of LTE

Sprint reported record low churn rates and its highest average revenue per user yet, but lost $847 million. Why? Although 1.1 million new subscribers were added, all were from wholesale and pre-paid customers. Postpaid subscriber numbers may turn around in the future though, thanks to LTE.

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It’s not your imagination; smartphones really are everywhere

Our collective addiction to smartphones translates into some big money for the consumer electronics industry. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry is on track to surpass $190 billion in overall shipment revenues this year, and a primary driver of that growth will be smartphones.

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Could Apple divorce Samsung for iPhone chips?

Apple may rely less on Samsung as an iOS hardware partner, as TSMC is reportedly testing new chips it’s building for future Apple mobile products. This could be due to the current lawsuit between Apple and Samsung, but even if not, it simply makes sense.

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Mobile devices overtake computers on Wi-Fi networks

Mobile devices, led by the iPad and Android phones and tablets, have overtaken computers on Wi-Fi networks, according to a new report. It’s another sign that when it comes to getting connected, people are leaving the laptop closed and reaching for their pockets.

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Just How Big Is Apple’s Cash Pile?

Apple huge cash pile got bigger as of its last fiscal quarter, bringing its total liquid assets to around $65.8 billion. Market intelligence firm Asymco Tuesday provided some insight regarding what that number actually means in the context of Apple and its market position.

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Samsung Countersues Apple for Patent Infringement

Samsung said it would answer Apple’s recent patent suit “actively,” using “appropriate legal measures” and it has made good on that promise. The South Korean electronics manufacturer filed suit in multiple cities. The complaints allege that Apple infringed on mobile communications tech patents held by Samsung.

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Intel Buys SoC Startup to Boost Atom’s Mobile Appeal

Intel has bought Netherlands-based, system-on-chip startup Silicon Hive in an attempt to make Intel’s low-power Atom processor more appealing across a variety of devices. The most important market will be mobile devices, but it looks like the embedded processor and server markets could be potential targets.

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Bluetooth to Feel Blue as Personal Area Network Battles Loom

Our phones will soon become a means of connecting the analog to the digital world of the web, and the way your wireless headset communicates with your phone, or the way your Nike shoes talk to your iPod, is shaping up to be the next standards fight for chip and device makers. But before smartphones can make the leap as our analog-to-digital converters, they need a means to transmit data from sensors to the phone. That means wireless protocols like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, ANT and other proprietary flavors of networks will be the players in the big wireless standards war of 2011.

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Evil Downside of Better Mobile Devices: More to Carry & Choose

Mobile devices are surely improving. Cameras in phones are replacing point and shoots, while small tablets offer features that once were the realm of laptops. While that sounds great, am I the only one getting weighed down with more mobile gadgets, defeating the purpose of mobility?

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Report: The Rise of Mobile Health Apps

The recent release of the iPad is also beginning to make waves in the medical arena as the high-resolution screen enables medical imaging applications. Stanford University School of Medicine, for instance, is now using the iPad for instruction with first-year medical students.

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Generate YouTube Playlists on the Fly With Listandplay.com

Google Instant-like search interfaces are all the rage with YouTube mash-up developers right now: First, there was YTinstant.com, and now there is Listandplay.com – a site that makes it possible to instantly search for clips, compile them to a playlist and share it with your networks.

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Mobile Connections: Over 5 Billion Served

More than 5 billion devices are connected around the world now, just 18 months after passing the 4 billion threshold. Most of the growth is coming from highly populous areas such as China and India, but emerging markets are adding to the connected device total.

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For Phones, the Future Is Multiple Cores

Intel said on Tuesday night that it would release a dual-core Atom chip during the second quarter. Adding more cores to the Atom chip should boost the chip’s performance and make the chipmaker better able to compete with ARM-based processors already inside handsets, which have already begun closing the performance gap between their processors and Intel’s Atom chips. Of course, the race for better performance isn’t just about beating the competition; it’s also about the ever-increasing compute and performance demands placed on mobile devices. Many chip firms believe tomorrow’s phones will be powered by multicore processors that deliver the performance the consumer wants without destroying the lengthy battery life such devices need.

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How Microsoft Can Win Back the Tablet Market

It’s the year of the tablet — again. But this time, there’s a good chance it’s true, no thanks to the segment’s long-time champion, Microsoft. Bill Gates demonstrated the first-ever Tablet PC prototypes, built by Acer, Fujitsu, Compaq and Toshiba, at the 2001 Comdex show. But nine years on, the year of the tablet still hasn’t arrived. Here’s a look at why Microsoft has failed where Apple appears poised to succeed, and what it can do to get back in the game.

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Multiple Mobile Devices = Increased Spending

If your desk drawer — or, more appropriately, your purse — is overflowing with wireless gadgets, you aren’t alone: North American consumers…

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How Speech Technologies Will Transform Mobile Use

Mobile is enjoying what may be called a virtuous spiral, driven by compelling new devices, innovative new applications and faster networks that are making mobile broadband a reality. At the center of this phenomenon are user-friendly interfaces, especially the touch screen, which have fueled adoption and use of mobile apps. While much improved, mobile use still demands considerable attention — for example, viewing displays, entering text, navigating through the UI, etc. Advances in speech technologies will fundamentally alter the way in which users experience mobile devices and apps: devices secured with voice authentication; individuals — including the sighted and visually impaired — enjoying mobile content and apps without ever having to touch or view a device; new applications, from search to language translation and others, enabled by speech recognition; and in many other ways. Despite these advances, no OEM or operator to date has delivered a functional, easy-to-use, well-integrated speech solution, or ensured that users are aware of, understand how to use, and benefit from speech functionality; current devices are merely “speech equipped.” This briefing describes these important developments and outlines opportunities for operators and developers to introduce and capitalize on innovative new, speech-optimized solutions.

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How Ford Sync Could Teach Cars to Talk to the Grid

All-electric vehicles that help store renewable energy for the smart grid may be the end-game envisioned by many automakers, battery companies, utilities, policymakers and “smart charging” startups, but we’re far from having a large-scale system of plug-in car batteries storing renewable energy for the grid and helping to level the load for utilities. When it comes to deploying this “vehicle-to-grid” system, “everyone thinks it’s tomorrow,” Nancy Gioia, the director of Ford Motor’s sustainable mobility technologies and hybrid programs, told us in an interview recently. But Gioia says 2020 and beyond is a more realistic time frame.

Today, “most cars have more computing power than most people ever realize,” Gioia said, mainly for controls and automated safety features we never see as drivers. While that intelligence is a far from a silver bullet for reducing vehicle emissions, it could help pave the way to cleaner transportation as we move toward vehicle-to-grid capability. The idea is to basically harness technology to help drivers change their behavior — similar to the way new devices like Google’s PowerMeter and Microsoft’s Hohm are meant to help consumers better manage their energy consumption at home — and at the same time build critical connections for the plug-in vehicle ecosystem.

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Enabling the Web Work Revolution

Since the ’80s, telecommuting has been championed as a better way of working. The phenomenon, which has been somewhat slow to catch on, is called by many names: remote working, telecommuting, teleworking, web working and open working (to name a few), but it’s increasingly being adopted by companies all over the world. Globally, there will be a mammoth 46 million telecommuters by 2011, according to Gartner.

What’s happened to push web working into the mainstream enterprise? In part, its the recession. Companies are realizing that implementing flexible working policies can mean a reduction in real estate costs and overheads. But it’s not just the recession. With the explosion of high-speed broadband, mobile devices and online tools, the technology exists to actually make it happen for a large percentage of the workforce.

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As Devices Converge, Chip Vendors Girding For a Fight

The computing world is undergoing a significant shift as consumers and businesses access and store more of their information in web-based applications, get their software delivered as a service or even download music and movies to their PCs on demand. ome people refer to this shift as everything moving to the cloud, but whatever you call it, the trend of digitizing music, presentations and even books has made information portable and ephemeral enough that it’s rocking the world of chipmakers, device vendors and even server makers, whose products ground the cloud. This article looks at the effects of the cloud on the consumer and corporate client devices.

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Electric Vehicles Give “Mobility as a Service” a Jumpstart

As automakers struggle to reinvent themselves amid falling demand, shifting regulations and, in the case of Detroit’s Big Three, decades of accumulated overhead, we’re seeing old lines between industries redrawn. In fact, it’s a web of alliances among automakers, utilities, insurers and nimble technology companies that may define our future mobility — how we get around and how we pay for it — as a set of services. Those who successfully package and sell these services could win big, as electric vehicles and the smart grid move toward the mainstream.

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How Low Can Moto Go?

Motorola continues to lose market share and more importantly money in its handset business. And the way things are going, it might never be able to spin off the division that has bled over $2.6 billion in last seven quarters with no end in sight.

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