qrcodepress.com - As consumers become more integrated in mobile technology, commerce is beginning to change. Consumers are beginning to favor using their mobile devices to shop and purchase products, which has lead to the emergence of mobile commerce. This is a broad term that does not only refer to mobile payments, of course. Mobile commerce also encompasses the use of financial services being offered by banks that cater to mobile users. Such services may soon revolutionize the way people use ATMs around the world.
Diebold creates new ATM-like cash system
Diebold, a security firm based in the U.S., has developed a new touchscreen ATM that is designed with mobile technology in mind. The system is very similar to any conventional ATM, but leverages facial recognition technology and QR codes to authenticate users. Using these tools, consumers can access their funds in a way that is typical of most ATMs. The key difference, of course, is that Diebold designed the system to look like and behave like a smartphone.
ATM mobile commerce paymentsSystem leverages power of QR codes and facial recognition
In to use the system, a consumer must first scan an on-screen QR code. This allows the system to synch with a consumer's mobile device through a cloud-based service. This system is used to verify the consumer's identity and the legitimacy of their financial information. To conduct a transaction, the consumer must input a one-time code that will finalize the transaction. The facial recognition technology of the system can be used in much the same way.
Security remains a challenge for mobile commerce space
There are concerns regarding the security of the system that Diebold has created. Diebold has taken steps to ensure that the system is as possible, even including cameras that show consumers who is standing behind them while they use the system. Security is a major issue when it comes to mobile commerce and the issue has been problematic enough to keep many consumers from embracing mobile commerce in any significant way.

telegraphindia.com - Corporations worldwide continue to invest in global mobility programs despite increasing regulatory and compliance challenges, according to the results of the 2013 Global Assignment Policies and Practices (GAPP) survey, conducted by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.
The KPMG survey, which polled more than 600 human resource (HR) executives, suggests a strong outlook on the future organizational use of international assignees, particularly in European-headquartered and energy sector companies, where 90 percent and 93 percent of respondents, respectively, said they expect continued or increased use of assignees. Overall, 86 percent of the HR executives surveyed expect use of international assignees to remain the same or increase over the next five years.
"In an increasingly competitive economic environment, companies are expanding business operations around the world and need a globally mobile workforce to execute their objectives," said Achim Mossmann, principal of Global Mobility Advisory Services in KPMG LLP's International Executive Services (IES) practice. "Respondents to our GAPP survey say that despite several major tax and compliance challenges related to international employment, they continue to believe the programs are worthwhile."
Global mobility programs remain popular among employees, largely due to the flexibility and adaptability they offer through a variety of assignment types. Of the HR executives surveyed, 81 percent reported that their companies offer short-term assignments, 96 percent offer long-term assignments and 47 percent offer permanent transfer or indefinite-length assignments.

mobileworldlive.com - LG Electronics said it shipped 12.1 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2013, a new quarterly unit sales record for the company.
The company made a similar claim for the first quarter, when it shipped 10.3 million smartphones, indicating that it is seeing some positive momentum in the market.
But it was not all good news for the company, as its profit declined from the previous sequential quarter on weaker demand in the Korean market, lower average selling prices due to increased competition, and higher marketing investments.
It said that moving forwards, shipments of mass-market smartphone models such as the L-Series II and F-Series are expected to drive sales growth, while high-end products such as G Pro and the anticipated G2 "should increase the company's product competitiveness".
It also expects the market size to grow, especially for LTE phones, but competition to intensify for market share gains.
For the quarter, the company's handset unit saw an operating income of KRW61 billion ($54.8 million), compared with a loss of KRW30 billion in the prior-year quarter, on revenue of KRW3.12 trillion, up 37 per cent from KRW2.29 trillion.
It is the third consecutive quarter of profit for the recovering handset business.

mobileworldlive.com - US number one operator Verizon Wireless updated its Droid-brand smartphone line, with the addition of three new devices from Motorola Mobility, powered by a new processor platform from the company.
The three are Droid Mini, a compact device with 4.3-inch display; Droid Ultra (pictured), said to be the thinnest LTE smartphone available at 7.2mm deep, with a 5-inch screen; and Droid Maxx, which has a high-capacity 3500mAh battery to be "the longest lasting 4G LTE smartphone available".
The new devices feature the Droid Command Center, an exclusive homescreen widget to provide users with access to notifications for text messages, missed calls, battery level and weather. It also provides access to features including the wireless sharing of content to a compatible HDTV.
It also said that the devices feature a 10-megapixel camera, and support hands-free operation.
According to Engadget, Droid Maxx has a 1.7GHz dual-core processor a 2GB of RAM, with 32GB of storage.
Verizon launched its first Droid device in November 2009, at a point where it needed a smartphone proposition to rival the iPhone - at that time an AT&T exclusive in the US.
Motorola is not the only vendor to have offered Droid-branded devices, with Samsung and HTC also having contributed to the range.
The three new aditions to the range will be made available in the coming weeks. Droid Mini will cost $99.99, Droid Ultra $199.99 and Droid Maxx $299.99, in each case with a new two-year contract.

mobileworldlive.com - Google announced the latest version of its Android platform, Android 4.3, as well as the first device to be powered by the updated OS - a new version of the Nexus 7 tablet.
The new Android release introduces restricted profiles, which enables owners to limit access to apps and content. For example, this can be used to prevent children from accessing "mature content", and can also be used in retail applications - for example to enable tablets to be used as point of sale systems.
It also adds support for Bluetooth Smart, which provides connectivity to accessories such as fitness sensors, which can then be used in conjunction with apps running on the smart device.
The platform is being rolled out to Nexus-branded devices imminently. Its availability for smartphones and tablets from other vendors is likely to vary considerably.
Google is again working with ASUS for the Nexus 7, stating that a new screen with 323 pixels per inch makes it "the world's highest resolution 7-inch tablet". It is also said to be "lighter than ever", and includes stereo speakers and virtual surround sound from Fraunhofer ("the inventors of the MP3 format").
It will be available with optional LTE support alongside Wi-Fi, and come in 16GB and 32GB versions. Prices start at $229, with US availability next week. Google said that more countries are "coming soon".

businessinsider.com - Mobile devices are edging closer to fulfilling their long-delayed promise as digital wallets.
Consumers are beginning to see the advantage of channeling offline payments through their mobile devices, rather than carrying around clunky coins and cash - even debit and credit cards. Consumers are primed to go wallet-free and begin paying for goods and services via their mobile devices, and as a result, mobile payments are set to explode.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we explain the main reasons why mobile payments are poised for takeoff, provide proprietary estimates for the growth and size of the mobile payments market in the years to come, and analyze the specific trends that will help shape the growth in mobile payments, including user concerns around security, the demographic and geographic nature of the consumers who will drive the growth, merchant side adoption, and the mobile payments solutions that will lead the charge.

businessinsider.com - BlackBerry fired 250 employees from is Waterloo, Ontario headquarters today.
BlackBerry confirmed the layoffs to Bloomberg and several other outlets, saying the cuts were in the company's research and development and manufacturing departments. The layoffs are part of the company's turnaround efforts.
BlackBerry reported disappointing earnings for last quarter. It lost $84 million and reported poor sales of its smartphones running its newest BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system.
Are you a former BlackBerry employee? Want to chat? Email skovach@businessinsider.com.

businessinsider.com - A new Apple patent application reveals an innovative way to stretch your iPhone's battery life.
Instead of increasing battery capacity Apple wants to use software to intelligently get you more time unplugged.
The patent takes advantage of a user's location and usage of apps like GPS, games, watching videos, and other tasks. The patent describes a way in which the device will be able to power down certain components of your phone depending your you location and habits.
If Apple has its way, devices will be able to estimate how long a user will spend on their device with battery reserves. It will then determine whether the device has enough power to last for that period. If the battery does not have enough power, the system will adjust "one or more characteristics" to save battery life.
The technology will essentially be able to turn hardware off (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc.) or close running apps to get you more time on your battery.
We're not sure if this technology will make its way into the next line of Apple devices but it is still a step in the right direction to help a huge iPhone issue.
We first noticed this patent application via AppleInsider.

mobileworldlive.com - BT is launching a mobile app management product for its enterprise customers based on technology provided by Apperian.
BT Mobile Application Management powered by Apperian is part of the company's Enterprise Mobility Portfolio, as it launches its campaign around bring your own device (BYOD).
Enterprises can use the technology to authenticate, secure, manage and deploy enterprise apps in corporate and employee-owned mobile devices.
Employees can find and access apps through private and enterprise-branded app store interfaces, with enterprise security authentication meaning employees can only access apps they have been given permission to use.
The technology doesn't require intrusive technology to be installed on devices, making it suitable for use by companies adopting BYOD.
"Demand for enterprise apps is growing. By adding mobile application management from Apperian into our portfolio, we can help our customers take full advantage of the benefits that mobile apps can provide to workers," said Jonathan Brasnett, head of global mobility capability at BT Global Services.

guardianlv.com - Remember back in the day when mobile carriers had a limited inventory of 10 phones? It seemed like a lot to review and consider, but the options were pretty much based on branding, so you selected what made sense. In the growing assortment of phones, some carriers hold an inventory of over 50 different options and customers are confused. Why are there a few Apple selections and a plethora of Android? What makes Android and Apple a good choice? The innovative concepts of both have not been missed by the public.
Android
In 2005 this small company called 'Google' wanted to change the landscape of mobile devices. They acquired another company known as Android Inc. Working with the Linux kernel, Google was able to format an 'Open Handset Alliance' to deliver a mobile genius in a frame. In addition, someone had a sweet tooth, because every one of Android's updated operating systems (OS) were named in sweet treat formation; Cupcake, Donut, Eclair to the current Ice-cream Sandwich and Jellybean.
When Cupcake was released on the 'HTC Hero' fans rushed to purchase the now archaic phone. Many reveled in the open-source ecosystem Google promised to deliver. The latest update is the Jelly Bean; the leaps and bounds it has taken from Cupcake are spectacular. Now the OS has updated apps, faster devices and provides a user-friendly, seamless experience. The Android OS can be found on dozens of phones ranging from HTC, Samsung, Pantech, LG, NEC, Nexus and so many more.
Developer support continues to grow for the powerhouse and the amount of apps on the Android Market with Google Play continuing to rise, slowly reaching the seven figure target. In addition to universal chargers, varying keyboards, apps like Google Now and the growth of near field communications (NFC), Android has risen from the beginning to become a leader in the technological field.
Apple
Without going way back to Macs, 2007 is a good year to review the iPhone. It was introduced by Apple and created a wave in the new mobile industry. After its thriving and continued success from the iPod, Apple knew a mobile device with similar features would take off. Steve Jobs called the first generation iPhone:
"a wide-screen iPod with hand controls... a revolutionary mobile phone... [and] a breakthrough Internet communications device."
A breakhrough it was! The single touch button managed the apps, scrolled to Safari and had apps like YouTube, Google Maps and common tools like a calculator and calendar. AT&T snatched the revolutionary phone from Apple and it was sold exclusively through the world's largest telecommunications carrier. At the time, it had 4GB of memory, a 2MP camera and a max resolution of 480×320 with 128MB in RAM.
In its most recent release, the iPhone 5 specs have made considerable jumps from its great, great + grandparent. 'Phonescoop' lists the iPhone 5 as an "update to the iPhone 4S. It adds 4G LTE high-speed data and bumps up the display size and processor performance, plus myriad other minor improvements. Other key features include Siri voice assistant, AirPlay media streaming, 8-megapixel main camera plus HD front camera, and up to 64 GB of storage."
From a phone that championed an iPod, to a device that now has a voice assistant, Apple needs no introduction to the revolutionary steps taken to create a fine tuned mobile device.

mobilebloom.com - As a groundbreaking device delivering incredible new mobile technology, the Galaxy S4 4G Android smartphone is an undeniable success. The GS4 delivers an infrared sensor which allows you to control your home stereo and television set, it offers hands-free and voice-free operation as well as next generation eyeball tracking technology, and does all this in a slim and light package on one of the largest and highest resolution displays ever designed for a smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 White Frost is available for a reduced sale price now starting at .
Analysts praised the device before it was ever released, and customers have shown up in droves in virtual and physical retail outlets to purchase the Galaxy S4. As a matter of fact, reaching 20 million sales globally in less than its first two months of existence, the handset has shattered all previous sales records posted by any Android smartphone in the past. And some new data just released seems to back up the popular Samsung handset's successful performance in the mobile marketplace.
"We Are Social" is a social media agency based in the United Kingdom which conducted a study about the popularity and customer satisfaction levels of current best-selling smartphones. The company used social networking information from Twitter and multiple mobile marketplace forums and blogs online immediately following the launches of the Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 920, BlackBerry Z10 and iPhone 5 smartphones. And some of the data they uncovered is rather revealing.
For instance, one in five (20%) of every single post regarding the Apple iPhone 5 was a complaint. Close behind in the whining statistic were BlackBerry Z10 customers, who complained 18% of the time about that handset. The Nokia Lumia 920 was praised for its PureView camera technology, but its smartphone owners found something to gripe about 15% of the time. And with only about half the complainers of the iPhone 5, the Galaxy S4 was far and away the "most loved smartphone" out-of-the-box, with its customers only upset approximately 11% of the time.
This is just one survey of data, but more than 2 million social media conversations were reviewed to reach this info. That is no small number, and the plain fact that the Galaxy S4 received basically half as many complaints on average as did the iPhone 5 has to make Samsung happy. Their number one competitor is the Cupertino-based smartphone manufacturer, who they passed at the beginning of the year as the global leader in smartphone sales for the first time ever. The major complaint about the Apple iPhone 5 that was discovered by We Are Social is a lack of innovation, while the Galaxy S4 was praised for its new cutting edge applications and features.

zeenews.india.com - Shanghai: As people across the world get used to the fourth generation (4G) mobile technology, Chinese equipment maker Huawei Technologies has said it is working on the fifth generation (5G), which is likely to be available for use by 2020.
The company said presently 200 people are working on the project and it has earmarked a specified amount for the research and development of the technology. It, however, refused to share details about the amount to be spent for the development of the technology.
Huawei Technologies official Wen Tong said that by 2020, there will be billions of connections and 5G can provide massive connectivity. The technology will enable people to have a fibre network like user experience on a wireless connection.
It can provide speed of 10 GBps, which is 100 times faster than the mobile technology used these days, Tong added.
South Korean giant Samsung has also announced that it has successfully tested 5G technology and it will be ready for commercial roll-out by 2020.
Mobile operators across the world have started moving towards the high-speed long term evolution (LTE) or 4G networks and Huawei provides equipment to 85 such networks.
The company is also undertaking a trial run to test the speed on its 4G technology on high speed MagLev train in Shanghai.
Huawei has deployed an LTE network to support wireless connectivity on the train, which runs between the centre of the Shanghai district to the International Airport. The total length of the track is 31 km and the train achieves a speed of up to 431 km per hour.
The company said on that speed, its 4G technology can provide a download speed of up to 50 MBps.

informationweek.in - The first two things the IT & Legal function think of when they consider allowing employee owned devices into the enterprise (BYOD) are security and compliance. After taking a decision, they start looking at tools to protect the information and the network. Most people think of MDM (Mobile Device Management) as the first and the only step. People are still unaware on the limitations of MDM in providing a 360-degree security and compliance needs of a mobile enterprise. You need a Mobile Network Access Control to provide security offerings at the network layer to complement the security offerings of MDM at the device level. The mobile device management tools mainly come from the perspective of managing your device, its integrity and also the data protection at the device level. Their most requested features include enforcement of a complex passcode on the device, remote wipe-out of the content on the device (when an employee loses the device or when employment is terminated). Without exception (including those who claim to do this on the cloud), most firms install an agent on your device to implement these controls. Today's corporate world works in a very dynamic environment with a growing number of different kinds of mobile devices, and different set of people with different set of devices - employees, outside contractors, vendors, partners and visitors that all will need access at different levels. Not just different set of people but also different set of groups asking for different access rules based on device, be it HR or Legal or even different Lines of Business (LoBs) and even different branch offices depending on their function and location. Not just "allow" or "not allow" as done by MDMs, but a very granular access based on attributes of the device OS (like say, the iPhone can access only e-mails or iPads can access e-mails and CRM but not legal documents). For security reasons, you need Mobile Network Access Controls. Today, an average employee is much smarter and knows how to bypass traditional controls. No wonder Gartner said "Enterprise clients are freaking out about the use of unauthorized mobile devices. Employees are getting really good at getting around whatever the company policy is". Mobile Network Access Controls can address these issues easily but MDMs will monitor only the managed devices. One popular survey by Aberdeen group said that only 27 percent devices are authorized and rest are not even noticed by the IT and there are many other surveys pointing out this gap between what are managed versus what IT has no clue. Not just that, you can't provide a device based differential access into corporate assets. Today, malware has become so complex and intelligent that your end point solutions cannot even detect them. You can detect them only via their behavior (anomaly detection) and not by their presence (detection by signature).

wallstcheatsheet.com - The growing consumer shift from desktop PCs to mobile devices became painfully apparent to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) investors last week when the company announced earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations. "[O]ur fourth quarter results were impacted by the decline in the PC market," noted Microsoft CFO Amy Hood.
Sales of tablets, smartphones, and ultramobiles have grown over the past several years as PC sales have simultaneously plummeted. Global PC shipments declined by almost 11 percent in the second quarter of 2013 according to statistics released by market research firm Gartner. Meanwhile, Microsoft's struggling Surface RT tablet incurred the company a $900 million writedown.
Respected Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) analyst Horace Dediu at Asymco has created a chart that outlines the stark differences between sales of iOS and Android mobile devices compared to PCs. He notes that, "Even excluding Android devices which don't register with Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play Store (and excluding Windows Phone devices), mobile ARM devices are selling at 2.6 times the rate of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)-powered devices. Put another way, since the birth of Android nearly as many iOS and Android devices have been sold as PCs."
Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi observed via MacDailyNews that, "Consumers want anytime-anywhere computing that allows them to consume and create content with ease, but also share and access that content from a different portfolio of products. Mobility is paramount in both mature and emerging markets."
Although Microsoft's Windows operating system dominates the PC market and Google's Android dominates the mobile phone market, Gartner's Milanesi noted that Apple may actually have the best overall market position. "Apple is currently the more homogeneous presence across all device segments, while 90 percent of Android sales are currently in the mobile phone market and 85 percent of Microsoft sales are in the PC market," said Milanesi.

omaha.com - Now is a good time to launch a small business and, in order to succeed, there are a number of technology trends small businesses should know about. Management author, columnist and consultant Gene Marks offered his ideas on tech trends to watch during the second half of 2013:
Mobile technology. Consumers want to be able to search for services and products on their phones and tablets. Having a mobile plan is a small business must-have this year. The plan should include ensuring consumers can find your business and allow the small-business owners to be able to connect with consumers on a mobile device.
Mobile payments. Consumers also want to make payments using their mobile devices. They want to complete transactions faster and more efficiently and that means doing them on their smartphones and tablets anytime and anywhere. The key for small businesses is trying to get the consumer's money upfront instead of waiting 30 days or more. He expects credit cards to eventually be eliminated and replaced by mobile payment systems.
Corporations helping small businesses. A number of corporations are holding contests to help spur small business. One is the America's Backbone Contest in which U.S. Cellular is giving away $25,000 in free advertising, $5,000 in cash and free mobile services and devices to a small business. It's a win-win because small businesses get a boost and corporations get their brand out as a friend of small business.
Electronic document management. Services like EchoSign and DocuSign allow small businesses to create their quotes, proposals and invoices in their own word processors and then upload them for customers to log in and sign. It makes business - particularly industries like real estate - more efficient. Document management is one area that always seems to slow down business, but electronic services can help and lead to more business.
Outsourcing. You'll continue to see small businesses in one part of the country take advantage of employees elsewhere fairly seamlessly because of technology. If you live in Omaha and need a really good developer but can't find one locally, you don't have to move your business to find one. You can use services like Skype and document-based sharing systems to communicate.

businessinsider.com - Hopstop, the transit navigation app that Apple recently bought, is no longer available for Windows Phones.
Even those who had already downloaded HopStop for Windows Phone are out of luck, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD reports. When you open up the app, it reads "HopStop no longer supports the Windows platform."
Apple is remaining tight-lipped about the situation. But it doesn't seem that Apple is totally cutting off competing smartphone platforms, given that HopStop is still available for Android.
It's not entirely clear as to why Apple would do this, but some people are speculating in the reviews section of the app online.
"I'm not surprised that (cr)Apple has deactivated this app," user Phil writes. "They know that the only advantage they have over Windows Phone is in the number of apps they have in their app store. They will do anything they can to lower our app count because if (and when) the Windows Phone store catches up to Apple's app store, some of their customers may actually start choosing phones based on hardware quality."
Apple likely bought HopStop to use the service's data to improve its own mapping application for iPhones and iPads. Apple's Maps app does not have public transportation data, so the HopStop acquisition will likely help Apple add that functionality later.

talkandroid.com - The Moto X is one of those devices that you just can't figure out. On one hand, the specs seem so yesteryear, but on the other hand, you know Google and Motorola must be up to something. I guess we won't know anything for sure until August 1st, but we do have a good idea of what the specs are going to be. Most of these have already been reported, but here we go. Images of the AT&T version, also known as the "ghost" version leaked. It has a model number of XT1058.
The display is 4.7-inches and has a resolution of 720p (1184 x 720). The CPU is a Qualcomm S4 Pro MSM8960DT clocked at 1.7GHz and the GPU is an Adreno 320. You can expect to see 2GB of RAM, a 10.5MP rear camera, and a 2.1MP front camera. There is 16GB of internal storage on the leaked device, but we don't know what other options they might offer. It doesn't look like there will be an SD slot, which isn't a surprise since there is a heavy influence from Google. The battery is expected to be 2,200mAh and non-removable, which isn't all that big when you consider what Motorola has achieved with the RAZR line. As to WiFi, you can expect 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and NFC will be onboard. The test unit is running Android 4.2.2.
As to benchmarks, the AnTuTu came in at 18,753 which is much lower than recent smartphones such as the Galaxy S 4 and the HTC One. That's not surprising when you consider it's a dual core vs quad-core. However, when comparing it to the Nexus 4 and Optimus G Pro, it scores very well. Both of those phones are quad-core. We also have a score on the 3D Mark Ice Storm Extreme, which is 7,143, and better than all major phones.
The Moto X definitely has me intrigued, how about you guys?

bgr.com - A new report claims that shipments of smartphones could grow substantially over the next few years. According to IHS, per CNET, worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.5 billion units by 2017. Earlier reports had suggested that Android shipments would account for 1 billion units in the same year. The research firm estimates that worldwide smartphone shipments will reach nearly 900 million units by the end of 2013, with Apple accounting for 150 million units, a slight increase from 134 million in 2012. IHS senior analyst Wayne Lam noted that the "possible slowing growth of the iPhone," along with "the rapid pace of competitive smartphone releases speak to the ferocious nature of the handset business." He added that while the market used to be dominated by lower-end feature phones, it is becoming "increasingly smartphone-centric."

bloomberg.com - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell the most in more than four years after fourth-quarter profit missed analysts' projections by the biggest margin in at least a decade as demand weakens for personal computers running Windows.
Results also were hurt by a $900 million writedown of Surface tablet inventory, shaving 7 cents a share from earnings. Excluding that, profit was 66 cents a share, Microsoft said yesterday, trailing analysts' 75 cent prediction. The shares plunged as much as 10 percent.
Stung by a Surface device that few consumers want, the company faces a shift by consumers to mobile gadgets that offer many of the same features as laptops and desktops at lower prices. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer's effort to focus the company on devices and services may reduce profit as both areas carry thinner margins than traditional software.
"PCs were just uglier than people thought they would be, and people also had more Surface sales in there than there were," said Mark Moerdler, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York, who rates Microsoft shares outperform.
Microsoft fell 11 percent to $31.40 at the close in New York, the most since January 2009. The stock has gained 18 percent this year, compared with a 19 percent increase in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

venturebeat.com - Verizon Wireless debuted three refreshed Motorola Droid smartphones, including a new Droid Maxx it claims has a battery life of 48 hours.
A lot of the smartphone buzz as of late has been focused on the Google's Moto X phone, which observers expect to be revealed soon. But it appears Google and Motorola are still committed to making some other interesting, powerful devices. The Droid brand is well known and helped initially bring Android to the world, so Verizon is still tapping that brand to help sell phones.
Among the three new Droid phones in the lineup, the Maxx is the most exciting because it has some of the best battery life we've ever seen advertised. But it needs thorough testing before we truly believe those claims. Verizon claims that 85 percent of Maxx owners will hit 48 hours of battery life with "mixed usage." The last version of the Maxx had a touted battery life of 32 hours.

talkandroid.com - HTC finally pulled the wraps off HTC One mini today. As expected it has all the great features found on the HTC One with lower specs and a smaller package. It has a 4.3-inch 720p (1280 x 720) display at 341 ppi, a 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 CPU, Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 4MP UltraPixel front camera (BSI, f/2.0, 1/3" sensor size), a 1.6MP front camera, BoomSound, Bluetooth 4.0, 1,800mAh battery, and Android 4.2.2 along with Sense 5.0.
Two things worth noting is there is no NFC on this device and no image stabilization. The body is aluminum, but the side and front edges are polycarbonate. As far as software goes, you will have all the same features found on the HTC One such as BlinkFeed, Zoe, and Video Highlights. It will become available in some regions this August with a global rollout slated for September. Full presser after the break.
THE HTC ONE GOES COMPACT WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE HTC ONE MINI
HTC's ultimate 4.3" smartphone complete with HTC BlinkFeed, HTC UltraPixel Camera and HTC BoomSound
London, July 18, 2013 - HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced the HTC One mini, a compact version of the award winning HTC One, which has redefined the smartphone experience with revolutionary technologies including HTC BlinkFeed, HTC UltraPixel Camera and HTC BoomSound.
Available in 181 countries and across more than 583 networks worldwide, the HTC One has proven to be an unprecedented success across the globe, receiving multiple industry accolades since launch and increasing the company's brand awareness with young consumers to an all-time high of 87%

fiercemobileit.com - Outsourced support for mobile end user devices is forecast to see strong growth through 2017 due to increased enterprise adoption of mobile devices, according to the latest stats from Gartner.
The mobile segment is expected to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise sluggish IT outsourcing market. Gartner has lowered its growth projection for IT spending on outsourcing to 2.8 percent year-over-year, reaching $288 billion in 2013.
"We continue to see overall market growth being constrained by near-term market factors, such as evolving ITO delivery models, economic, political and labor conditions, and service provider financial performance. Mature Asia-Pacific and Western Europe are the regions where the outlook is most tempered, partly due to currency but also reflective of our view that 2013 is likely to be similar to 2012 in these regions," said Bryan Britz, research vice president at Gartner.
At the same time, Gartner's forecast does include slight upward revisions for both custom application outsourcing and infrastructure utility services for 2014 through 2017.
In the mature North American market, Gartner forecasts that buyers will seek to transition more IT work to annuity-managed service relationships for cost takeout and more predictability in IT costs. This is expected to keep IT outsourcing growing in the region through 2016.
"Historically, 'run the business' costs have been less impacted by economic challenges than has discretionary spending on new projects. Nevertheless, increased client adoption of pricing models that create volume variability is causing the ITO market to exhibit more cyclical patterns. This shift will continue as clients seek to reduce the nearly two-thirds of IT budgets devoted to operations, while shifting the expense from capital expenditure to operating expenditure through the consumption of ITO service lines," commented Britz.

cloudpro.co.uk - Survey suggests cloud is less of an investment priority for firms than mobility products
Channel firms expect to see more growth from mobility products and services than the cloud, according to a new report from CA Technologies.
The software vendor's Channel Index 2013 report suggests 84 per cent of the firm's channel partners are anticipating increased spending in enterprise mobility over the coming year, while just 69 per cent expect to see a similar increase in cloud.
Almost all (94 per cent) of the respondents said the rapid adoption of mobility has created opportunities to grow their business.
The survey found cloud was still one of the biggest trends in the market, and was flagged by the firm's partners as the second biggest IT investment priority for their customers after mobility.
While private cloud is the most popular deployment model today (65 per cent of partners have customers who are using it), the use of hybrid cloud is increasing quickly, with 34 per cent using it now and 26 per cent planning to within the next twelve months.
The survey also found that that 60 per cent of partners have started to become full MSPs, while 26 per cent said they would consider adopting the MSP business model.
The MSP model is allowing channel players to build cloud-based service offerings that meet their customers' business needs in a flexible and cost-efficient way. Partners are also pushing for innovation, with 71 per cent offering services above and beyond basic IT, the report found.
"IT projects are being driven by the need for businesses to innovate for growth, while creating new ways to serve customers. And today's IT director is expected to be the driver of these efforts," said David Bradley, senior vice president of global partner sales at CA Technologies.
"The Channel Index 2013 shows just how far IT departments and channel partners have come on this journey."

appstechnews.com - "Consumer is king and they are driving a new era of enterprise mobility."
Modern technology has changed the way of thinking and the way we work. With greater access to cost effective technology, consumers are now using their own mobile devices in their offices.
Bring your own device (BYOD) has diverse connotations in terms of how the overall industry recognises it in their operation. The time has come when you have to think about the revamp of your mobility strategy that ultimately influences your business.
Those organisations, which equip themselves with a mobility journey now, will be in a position to take advantage of the seismic shift transforming the way enterprises do their business. In this cut throat competition IT innovation is in great demand as it reduces the cost of the operation and enhances productivity.
"Enterprise mobility has changed the expectation of employees as they want to use their own device in their organization." Is your business ready for this challenge?
Today's employees can work remotely but freedom of location is just the tip of the iceberg. That's the reason mobile technology is helping organisations to improve their work performance and get improved relationships with their patrons, employees, and customers. The most vital aspects of enterprise mobility are to connect suppliers, assets, partners, employee, and consumers digitally to build a business platform.
What are the mobility myths? What are their implications and how will companies cope with this challenge?
Through the power of mobile devices, many businesses are looking to improve their efficiencies and most of the enterprises are embracing mobility face a wealth of technical, organizational, and process-based challenges. Amid this maelstrom of Mobile transformation, eleven common myths tend to confuse enterprise in decision-making. Enterprises have to do extraordinary tasks to tackle the upcoming challenges and equip them with the latest technologies and skilled labor.
Let's take a look at 11 enterprise mobility myths:

dailyfinance.com - A recent survey conducted by Intermec (NYS: IN) revealed that transport and logistics companies could save approximately $459,0001 per annum as a result of process re-engineering and the implementation of mobile technology across workflows, but a significant proportion of companies may be missing out on these potential savings.
The survey reveals that more than one in three (39%) companies have not initiated re-engineering efforts in the past year, and of these companies, nearly three quarters (72%) have not evaluated their existing processes for at least two years.
With customers demanding same-day delivery services2, transport and logistics managers have identified operational efficiency as their number one area needing improvement this year3, and 44% of companies believe reviewing current workflows and technologies (process re-engineering) is the most effective means of achieving that.
Key to improving operations is the deployment of mobile, location-based technology, an area where managers believe savings of more than $282,000 can be achieved in the next 12 months. However, almost a quarter (23%) of the companies surveyed have yet to deploy location-based technology, citing a number of barriers including lack of need and cost, which is preventing them from capitalizing on these benefits.
"Deploying mobile technology for pick-ups and deliveries has long been seen as a way to improve efficiency and reduce costs, and these findings prove that point emphatically. Ignoring process change simply isn't a long term option," said Jeff Sibio, Intermec Industry Director for Transport and Logistics.

phonesreview.co.uk - There's always a lot of excitement in the mobile device world when upgraded operating systems are on the way. Both the Google Android and Apple iOS platforms currently have updates in development, Android 4.3 Jellly Bean and iOS 7 respectively. Today we want to look at some Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 vs. iPhone 5 iOS 7 Beta 3 speed tests.
We've been giving readers plenty of information on these two upcoming operating system upgrades so feel free to check out more on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and iOS 7 at the links. We don't think it will be too much longer until Android 4.3 makes a public release, as it is already available for developer editions of some phones. iOS 7 on the other hand, is due in fall and the iPhone 5S is very likely to release running it.
We have two YouTube videos to show you that give an idea of speed performances of Android 4.3 and iOS 7 beta 3. The first is a 5-minute showing of the Galaxy S4 with Android 4.3 and the iPhone 5 on iOS 7 beta 3 in an Internet speed test comparison. Before the Speedtest it's expected that the speeds of both will be pretty similar but in the download and upload speed tests the Galaxy S4 on Android 4.3 comes out top. However, we should point out that iOS 7 is still in the beta stages, so you might want to take that into consideration.
The next video is an 11-minute look at the Galaxy S4 with Android 4.3 against the iPhone 5 with iOS 7 beta 3 in a browser speed comparison performance review. It looks at some of the latest additions to iOS 7 before going on to show the Google Chrome and Safari browsers in some detail. The video goes on to compare the performances with most things seeming to load slightly faster on the iPhone 5.
For the full demonstrations and conclusions you can see both of the videos below this story. Are you eagerly waiting for Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or iOS 7? Let us know with your comments.

latinospost.com - The shipments of mobile phones, PCs, and tablets are projected to reach a new record of 2.3 billion units in 2013, according to figures released by Gartner.
Representing an increase of 5.8 percent from 2012, this year's worldwide device shipments are expected to be 2.35 billion units. While tablets and mobile phone units increase during 2013, PC sales are expected to slide by 10.6 percent in comparison to last year. Tablets, however, are expected to grow an outstanding 67.9 percent, accounting for 202 million units in 2013. The mobile phone market is expected to garner 1.8 billion units, an increase of 4.3 percent.
"Consumers want anytime-anywhere computing that allows them to consume and create content with ease, but also share and access that content from a different portfolio of products. Mobility is paramount in both mature and emerging markets," said Gartner Research Vice President Carolina Milanesi.
Google's Android operating system is expected to take advantage of the increasing demand of "anytime-anywhere" devices, especially in 2014 projections.
According to Gartner, by 2014, the Android platform will be present in 42 percent of worldwide devices, which is commanding lead against its rivals. In second place, Microsoft's Windows narrowly edges Apple's combination of iOS and OS X operating systems. Windows conquers second place with 15 percent, ahead of Apple's 14 percent. Reseach In Motion, otherwise known as BlackBerry, accounted for one percent.
"Although the numbers seem to paint a clear picture of who the winner will be when it comes to operating systems (OS) in the device market the reality is that today ecosystem owners are challenged in having the same relevance in all segments," added Milanesi. "Apple is currently the more homogeneous presence across all device segments, while 90 percent of Android sales are currently in the mobile phone market and 85 percent of Microsoft sales are in the PC market."

connectionsplus.ca - TIDC Canada contends that ever-increasing commute times, a growing desire for work-life balance, the proliferation of mobile devices and cloud computing, as well as the overall improvement in network speeds all serve to contribute to Canada's burgeoning mobile workforce.
The research firm explored the nature of Canada's mobile workforce in a new report entitled Canadian Mobile Worker 2012-2016 Forecast, which defined the various types of mobile workers and breaks down population and shares for 2012.
"With the growth of tablets and smartphones, improved network connectivity, and employee demand for greater work-life balance, Canadians are increasingly empowered with the tools to enable productive mobile work," said Krista Napier, a senior analyst with IDC.
"We expect to see healthy growth in the number of mobile workers in Canada over the forecast period, with the Canadian mobile worker population expected to increase from 68.9% in 2012 to 73% by 2016.

wired.com - By now, most everyone is familiar with AT&T's "It's not complicated" television ad campaign, which features a group of kids explaining in creative and humorous ways why more is better.
The kids are right, for the most part: more is better. For example, today workforces are benefitting from more mobile device options, more applications, more bandwidth, and more locations from which they can access advanced communications and collaboration services. More options are great for end-users, but can lead to more complexities for enterprises seeking to manage and stay ahead of this communications avalanche.
The number of anytime, anywhere information workers - those who use three or more devices, work from multiple locations, and use many apps - has risen from 23% of the global workforce in 2011 to 29% in 2012, according to a Forrester Research report, "2013 Mobile Workforce Adoption Trends." The report finds that 37% of employees now work from multiple locations; 82% use "many" apps; and more than half (53%) use multiple devices.
For CIOs and other decision makers, this communications diversity can drive up costs and the complexities of managing mobility. It is not simply a matter of addressing more devices and services, but also the fact that enterprises must account for employer-owned smartphones, tablets and PCs, and the influx of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) into the enterprise. A global survey of CIOs by Gartner, Inc. estimates that 38 percent of companies expect to stop providing devices to workers by 2016 - which means that businesses are running out of time to develop a strategy that accelerates, rather than inhibits, the type of anytime, anywhere communications that employees now demand.
Enabling 'The New Mobile Enterprise'
To reap the full benefits of the new mobile enterprise requires that CIOs and other organizational decision makers address the perceived costs and complexity inherent to trying to manage both mobile and fixed-line subscriptions for each employee - as well as identifying the most cost-effective and seamless path to extending Unified Communications (UC) services, including videoconferencing, web collaboration, instant messaging and presence, to mobile devices. This can be achieved through Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), which allows enterprises to realize the full potential of UC by seamlessly integrating services, devices and the individuals who are communicating and collaborating.

mobileworldlive.com - Bangladesh has ten times the population of the average European country, while the average citizen's monthly income is less than one thousandth of the European equivalent. Yet the Asian country is one of the largest and fastest growing mobile markets in the world, and retains high-growth potential; currently only two out of five people have subscribed to a mobile service.
The country is home to 154 million people - falling somewhere between Russia (142 million) and Brazil (200 million) - with over 70% of the population living in rural areas on $2 per day or less. Bangladesh is the ninth-largest market worldwide in terms of mobile subscribers in Q1 2013 with 62 million 'unique' subscribers (i.e. people) actively using 112 million mobile connections (i.e. SIM cards). Market penetration based on subscribers stands at just 40%, compared to 72% in Russia and 56% in Brazil. This shows tremendous room for growth, and explains why the country ranked 46th worldwide in terms of annual connections growth in Q1 2013 is posting double-digit growth while Russia (183rd) and Brazil (111th) both recorded low single-digit growth.
Bangladesh is one of the few countries in Asia where the nationwide deployment of high-speed mobile networks has yet to be realised (Pakistan is another). Over the past decade, the top four mobile operators (Airtel, banglalink, Grameenphone and Robi) - which between them make up 97% of the country's mobile connections market - have been offering data services solely on 2G-GSM networks. The regulator is expected to auction 3G spectrum in the 2100 MHz band in early September this year.
The introduction of mobile broadband networks is expected to positively impact the country's socio-economic development. According to a Deloitte/GSMA study, for a given level of total mobile penetration, a 10% substitution from 2G to 3G penetration increases GDP per capita growth by 0.15%. In addition, the World Bank estimates that mobile broadband has a higher positive economic impact than fixed-line broadband, particularly in emerging markets.

businessinsider.com - There were several signs today that Google will announce its newest tablet, an update to the current Nexus 7, next week.
Google sent a few members of the press an invitation to have a breakfast meeting with newly-minted Android boss Sundar Pichai in San Francisco on June 24. (We're stuck in New York that day, so we had to politely decline the invitation. Sorry, Sundar!)
But those invitations also hit press inboxes as leaks began swirling on a few Android tech blogs about a new Nexus 7 tablet.
Android Central has the best leak of them all, with some photos and video of the purported device. It looks like Google and its hardware partner Asus added a rear-facing camera this time around, which was absent in the original Nexus 7.
The 7-inch tablet also looks a bit slimmer than the original and has a rubbery backing.

diginomica.com - Since I last wrote about the struggle of enterprise mobile storefronts, I've continued to grapple with the confusing state of enterprise mobility. Meantime, Dennis Howlett and I completed the next phase in our video series on SAP startups, many of which are either mobile-focused, or consider mobile deployments central to their strategy.
Although some enterprise mobility startups are a bit, shall we say, UI challenged, for the most part I've been very impressed by their ability to apply mobile solutions to industry pain points and re-imagine processes for on-the-go workers.
But the startups have struggled with pure mobile apps plays, largely because of difficulties around enterprise mobile storefronts and pricing. On the pricing side, you can imagine per user pricing for high caliber industry functionality that would blow the mind of the typical App Store shopper.
But that pricing hasn't sorted itself, perhaps because consumer apps habits have conditioned buyers to think about apps with modest pricing for scale. The short-term result? The most successful enterprise mobile apps tend to be cross-industry workflow and approval types that can be priced for the enterprise masses.
That doesn't help startups embedding deep industry know-how into their apps while they pursue viable pricing models and apps marketplaces. Another challenge? To attract developers, enterprise mobility must demonstrate broad apps demand. To get some perspective, I went on the hunt for mobility studies that might make sense of the contradictions.
The Good Technology Mobility Index Report Q1 2013 (PDF link - June 5, 2013) predicts that mobile devices used within the enterprise will continue to diversify and grow throughout 2013. The report concludes that adoption will 'start to more closely align with consumer trends, as businesses continue to realize the productivity gains as well as top and bottom line increases.' However, the report stops short of directly addressing the health of the enterprise app space.
Good Technology's report uses data from more than 5,000 different companies, all drawn from their own mobile security customer base, a typical limitation of these kinds of surveys. But with half of the Fortune 100 companies in its stable,Good's take on device trends does have some enterprise credibility.

information-management.com - A pragmatic plan for the new wave of handheld capabilities is necessary in the process of bringing new mobile devices to business users, according to an outline of best practices delivery this week by analysts at Gartner Research.

informationweek.com - App developers pushed out scores of updates to their applications this week. Smartphone and tablet owners can now do more with apps including Chrome, Facebook, Maps, Skype, Twitter, Vine and Yahoo Mail. Here's what's new.
Chrome: Google offered an update to its popular Android browser that adds full-screen browsing to tablets. Chrome now lets users hide the toolbar so Web pages will fill the entire display. The app added support for Google Translate, which will translate Web pages from one language to another. Last, Google Chrome for Android added a right-to-left viewing option to support languages such as Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew.
Facebook: Facebook was updated this week for both the Android and iOS platforms. For Android, Facebook gained the ability to share news stories privately, a new swipe-left-to-open messages gesture, the ability to store and run the app from microSD cards, and drag-and-drop folder support for Facebook Home. For iOS, Facebook added support for verified accounts, which lets iPhone and iPad owners stalk, er, search for and follow celebrities and other high-profile users. The app also made it easier to edit Places within Facebook.
Google Maps: Google rolled out a huge update to Google Maps. The update hit Android devices this week and will reach iOS devices soon. The new Google Maps makes it easier to search for nearby places with an Explore feature, and also added the ability to automatically alert drivers to changing road conditions ahead. Even better, Google is going to offer a version of Maps specifically for tablets.
Skype: Microsoft gave Windows Phone devices some love with a new version of Skype. Skype 2.8 for Windows Phone 8 makes significant improvements to the app's start-and-resume performance. Essentially, users who've multitasked away from Skype will see much faster resume behavior when they return to the app. Skype also makes changes to how it tallies unread conversations on the Live Tile and made the app available in South Korea.
Twitter: Twitter revised its application for Android and iOS devices, as well as its dedicated Mac desktop application. The most significant new feature in this version of Twitter is that it will sync direct message status across devices. One of Twitter's most nagging problems has been its inability to mark-as-read DMs between devices. Now, when a Twitter DM is read on one device, such as an Apple computer, it will be marked read on mobile devices as well. Twitter also refreshed the search tool, which provides more user details in results, and made it easier to join ongoing conversations.
Vine: Vine, Twitter's video-sharing social network, added tons of features to its Android app that should make users happy. The update gave Android devices a new quick-capture widget that can be put on the home screen and used to jump straight to recording a video. The app added 15 new channels through which users can browse for videos, and added the ability to share videos, which Vine calls re-Vining, with others. It also gained a new mute button and performance improvements.
Yahoo Mail: Yahoo updated its email app for both Android and iOS devices. Yahoo Mail for Android devices added integration with Dropbox. That means Yahoo Mail users can access and share their Dropbox files from within the email program. The app also now lets users swipe from message to message, and adds support for business mail accounts. The iOS version of Yahoo Mail gets business mail support, too, and throws in support for multiple accounts for good measure.

bostonglobe.com - Want to check your balance, transfer money between accounts, or locate the nearest bank branch? There's an app for that.
But when it comes to making more complex banking transactions over smartphones - from depositing checks to transferring money to a friend's account - many banks are not offering mobile technology as fast as their customers are ready to adopt it. Demands for new options are growing so quickly that by the time a bank upgrades its software, customers are already asking for the next new function.
Customers, in fact, are embracing mobile banking faster than they did ATMs after they were introduced in the 1980s, according to bank officials.
Sovereign Bank, for example, recently offered its first mobile banking app, which it designed based on surveys that showed few customers wanted to make mobile deposits. Not long after the app was released in May, customers raved about the ability to check balances and accurately find ATMs, but said they wanted more - particularly the ability to deposit checks via smartphone.
Laurie Spitz, 46, who owns Smileboston Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry with her husband, is a frequent user of the Citizens Bank app for both her personal and business accounts. It's great for checking balances and transferring money, Spitz said, but she has routinely asked her branch representatives when the company will introduce a smartphone check deposit function.
"The banking app has been really good until you realize what other apps have," said Spitz, who lives in Needham.
Nearly half of all smartphone owners have used mobile banking in the past year, according to a study the Federal Reserve released in March. That's up from 42 percent from the previous year in what the central bank calls the "rapidly evolving use of mobile financial services."
Almost every financial institution seems to have a mobile banking app, but many banks haven't made the leap to the more advanced capabilities, said Mary Monahan, the executive vice president and research director for Javelin Strategy & Research, a California company that rates banks on their mobile apps. Many customers still can't open accounts via smartphone, make payments, or deposit checks by snapping photos of them.
Monahan compared current mobile application technology to when banks started using the Internet to promote their services, doing little more than posting a photocopy of a brochure online.
"We have to bring out added functionality," Monahan said. "It's getting better. But there's a long way to go."
As a sign of improvement, she points out that 16 of the top 25 banks in the United States allow customers to deposit checks remotely this year, up from six in 2011. Customers of Bank of America, Chase, and Rockland Trust, the second-largest community bank in the Boston area, have been able to snap photos of their checks and send the images to the bank for deposit for more than a year now. Bank of America said that more than 100,000 checks are deposited through its mobile app every day.
Some banks are going even further. USAA Federal Savings Bank, a San Antonio-based online bank, added voice command technology to its mobile options in June, allowing customers to check balances and make transfers by speaking to the app. US Bank, based in Minneapolis, is also experimenting with voice recognition technology while trying another innovation that might get more banks to offer mobile deposits: charging 50 cents to deposit checks via smartphone.
Banks recognize that mobile banking apps are crucial to their future, because they save money by requiring fewer employees to handle transactions. Processing a check through a teller costs a bank on average $4.25, compared to 10 cents via a mobile app, according to Javelin.
Mobile apps also build customer loyalty and allow banks to sell customers on other products and services, such as loans, said Ed O'Brien, the director of banking channels at Mercator Advisory Group, a Maynard consulting and research firm.
"The point is to be so joined at the hip with the customer, they wouldn't think of leaving the bank," O'Brien said.
Considering what customers can already do with apps on their phones - organize their schedule, make a dentist appointment, buy coffee, and download their favorite music - traditional banking functions still lag.
Banks have been slower to establish a robust presence in mobile world because of older computer systems throughout the industry and concerns about security, analysts and banking officials said.
"Having your bank account hacked is a lot more impactful than having your Facebook account hacked," said Alex Jimenez, Rockland Trust's director of digital channel management. "It isn't like other industry, Money is so important that people aren't willing to do anything with it."
Additionally, the technology that supports traditional banking activities wasn't designed for real-time transactions, Jimenez said. For example, banks collect checks during the day, then transmit them in batches to other banks for payment at the close of business, a process that takes time.
But banks, having addressed security concerns, are now investing in mobile technologies more aggressively, said Bruce Spitzer, a spokesman of the Massachusetts Bankers Association.
For example, both Sovereign and Citizens Bank officials said that they are considering check deposit technology, along with other features, when they upgrade their apps, although the timing of those releases was uncertain.
There is a danger for banks that don't keep up. While consumers are still generally satisfied with their banking apps, that percentage has dropped, according the Federal Reserve. In December 2011, 62 percent of mobile banking users were very satisfied with their experiences; a year later, that number dropped to 52 percent.
"Our financial institutions were slow to move into this technology," Spitzer said, but now it's viewed as a necessity.
"They need to keep up with customers," Spitzer said. "And the customers are driving this."

clarionledger.com - I've heaped praise on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One, the hot-to-trot flagship smartphones from rival Asian handset heavyweights. These are stud devices packed with clever features. Clever, that is, to a point. For many people, piling on excess gee-wizardry feels over the top, leading to bloat and confusion. Still, these are solid phones that arguably represent the best of Android.
Or do they?
This week, Google began shipping the Google Play editions of the Galaxy S4 and HTC One. Yes I'm speaking of the same slab of hardware you get by purchasing these handsets from a wireless carrier. Only ...

cmo.com.au - Okay, so you're a forward thinking IT manager. You're not fazed by everyone from the CEO downwards demanding to be able to use their favourite mobile devices to access corporate IT networks. You've put in place your security policies and deployed a mobile device management solution like 3CX Mobile Device Manager and you're confident that the corporate information is protected. But there's one thing you might have forgotten: bandwidth.
Left unchecked, all those mobile devices in employees' hands are not just being used for corporate purposes. They're being used to stream music and videos, update Facebook, play online games, send/view tweets and goodness knows what else. Leaving aside the issue that people should be doing what they are paid to do, all those apps chew up your bandwidth to no end. When your employees are out on the road using the mobile data plan that might not be a problem, unless the company is paying for the plan, but if they're in the office using the corporate Wi-Fi network, it can be a huge problem.
Many wireless local area network vendors offer identity management products that enable IT managers to set policies on what devices and users are allowed on the network. It is also possible to set priorities for certain users and certain types of traffic, to ensure that unimportant traffic does not hog the available bandwidth and disrupt important users and important applications.
Some popular mobile apps are notorious bandwidth hogs, especially free games that come with lots of ads - some in the form of video - and they are also extremely 'chatty', sending lots of short messages back and forth.
All this can soak up the capacity of the corporate Wi-Fi network eating up bandwidth that's usually reserved for legitimate applications and, in the worst case, requiring investment in an upgrade.
The solution is simple: use a mobile device management solution like 3CX Mobile Device Manager to limit and control what applications users can download. With 3CX Mobile Device Manager you can create a blacklist of apps that cannot be installed on any managed device and a whitelist of approved apps. You can create a separate blacklist or whitelist for each group within your team.
3CX MDM also allows IT administrators to remotely setup and manage the corporate Wi-Fi network. Click here to view the 3CX MDM Wi-Fi guide.
The key to a successful BYOD deployment is being able to successfully manage the devices themselves using a product like 3CX Mobile Device Manager, which greatly increases your management and monitoring of the corporate Wi-Fi networks.
3CX MDM is already helping thousands of businesses worldwide remotely manage and configure their Wi-Fi setup. Get your free 5 device account and gain some peace of mind.

mobileworldlive.com - The Chinese government will accelerate the allocation of 4G licences to ensure the process is completed by the end of 2013, reports China Daily.
A statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang revealed plans to speed up work to issue 4G licences as well as accelerate the development of broadband access.
The government is also planning to encourage upgrades to the coverage and quality of 3G services and encourage private capital to enter the market by partnering with state-owned organisations.
China Mobile is already building trial TD-LTE networks (based on unpaired spectrum) in a number of cities and last month launched a tender for suppliers to build out its commercial network, including the provision of equipment for 207,000 base stations in 31 provinces.
According to China Daily, there is speculation about whether rivals China Unicom and China Telecom could adopt the FDD version of LTE technology (based on paired spectrum), or develop networks that converge the two LTE standards (FDD and TDD).
In March, Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, said that the authorities will put policies in place to support the development of 4G "at an appropriate time to guide the construction and development of the 4G network".
While China has made "breakthroughs in R&D of 4G technologies", Miao Wei noted that operators are "still facing restrictions in commercial use".

talkandroid.com - We've gone over some tips for improving the battery life on your Android device before, but sometimes you might just need to analyze your battery to see exactly what's causing a problem before you can fix it. Here are a handful of apps that do an excellent job of analyzing your app and battery usage for you.
Battery Drain Analyzer is a sophisticated app that tracks your battery and power usage behind-the-scenes to give you an idea of what's using the most juice. Think of it as Android's built-in battery usage app on steroids; it offers tons of statistics and numbers that should satisfy even the most demanding power user.
As the name implies, the app will analyze app and power usage and let you know which apps are draining the most power, or if it's even an app that's causing battery drain. The Analyzer screen shows what percentage of app drain is caused by what system activity, whether that's your screen, applications, phone idling, WiFi or Bluetooth radios, etc. Below that, it shows which applications are consuming the most battery, including the infamous Android OS battery drain, rated by percentages. If Facebook is using 65% of the battery drain caused by apps, for example, you've got a pretty good idea of what's causing your power usage.
Aside from the basic analyzing, the app also offers a handful of numbers and graphs that can be extremely helpful. There are several graphs that show a history of your battery life, like how long your battery lasted every day for the past two weeks. For example, you can see that you managed to go 30 hours on a single charge on Wednesday but only 20 on Thursday, so whatever you were doing on Wednesday was easy on your battery. Information like that is extremely handy for adjusting your usage habits to maximize battery life.
Another really great feature is the battery life estimation the app will display. It takes into account your usage habits and the current running apps and active radios and gives you a rough estimate of how long your battery will last and how quickly it's discharging. This can be handy to see if your battery is going to last you until the end of the day or if you're going to need to find a wall outlet in the next few hours. It also offers profile switching which will control certain radios, like Bluetooth or WiFi or cell radios, and application syncing depending on which profile is selected. A day profile may sync less often but keep Bluetooth on for connecting to a headset, for example, to conserve battery.
Overall, it's an excellent, fully-featured app that's great for any power-user's toolbox.

itweb.co.za - Disruptive technology trends such as enterprise mobility, cloud computing and ICT outsourcing are changing the way organisations deliver and consume ICT services. Consequently, the architecture of the communications network as we know it will need to undergo a facelift to accommodate these changes. And while it will be a necessary and radical adjustment, it won't happen overnight.
This is one of the trends highlighted in the 2013 Network Barometer Report, released by Dimension Data. First published in 2009, the report draws on data from Dimension Data's proprietary Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) Assessment completed for over 1 200 organisations of all sizes from all industry sectors, and across all geographies, over the past five years.
"Last year, we predicted rapid network architecture adjustment in support of growing bring your own device (BYOD) and enterprise mobility demands. Dimension Data still holds the view that enterprise mobility will dramatically change the structure of networks," says Michael Abendanon, Dimension Data South Africa General Manager for Network Integration.
"Most campus networks consist of approximately 80% wired ports serving individual users, and 20% wireless LAN (WLAN) ports supporting multiple users. However, today, users don't want to be tethered to their desks and, as a result, are putting pressure on organisations to facilitate enterprise mobility. In addition to this pressure from end-users, networks that are 80% wireless will cost far less to roll out than traditional, predominantly wired networks. The good news is they will also create a strong foundation for lower operational costs because they'll be easier to manage, provide unified access, and require less power and cooling. We predict the combination of these factors will eventually turn the 80:20 ratio on its head so that future networks will be 80% wireless and 20% wired," he says.
Abendanon points out that, from an architectural perspective, networks of the future won't be able to function optimally if most of its wired ports - perhaps every port - can't support power-over-Ethernet and handle gigabit Ethernet.
"According to our data, only one third of all access switches support power-over-Ethernet, while a little under half support gigabit Ethernet. The 80:20 to 20:80 flip will also impact on the uplink environment. Since fewer access switches will serve end-users, more bandwidth will be required from the access switch into the core network. Today, the great majority of access switches have one-gigabit uplinks into the core, while only 13% of the access switches we counted support ten-gigabit uplinks. This is another factor that will compel clients to accelerate the refresh of their networks' access layers. And this is where today's networks appear to be slow on the uptake," he says.
"We're seeing organisations refreshing their networks sooner than in the past, but they don't seem to be doing so uniformly across the network architecture. Combined with the lag in refresh we see in the access layer, the networks of today are not yet prepared to become the networks of tomorrow," Abendanon adds.
Other key findings of the 2013 Network Barometer Report include:
* For the third year in a row, the percentage of devices past end-of-sale (EoS) has increased to the highest levels since 2009 when Dimension Data published the first Network Barometer Report. Organisations are also 'selectively sweating' more of these devices to reach riskier, 'older' life cycle stages.
* For the third year in a row, the most common PSIRT was 109444 (an identified software vulnerability). It was present in 66% of all devices in 2010, dropped to 47% in 2011, and rose again to 62% in 2012.

tnooz.com - Browsing from mobile devices continues to grow rapidly according to a study which shows a 56% increase year-on-year. The Wave 5 Nucleus Mobile Web Browsing Survey shows mobile browsing is now 32% of all web traffic, a five percentage point rise on January. The study estimates the figure will hit 40% by December. The research, carried out in June, also shows iOS dominates, with an 84% share of mobile web operating systems although Android has shown the highest growth, 11% of share, because of the popularity of Samsung Galaxy devices. iPhone browsing is now growing faster than iPad compared with February last year when browsing from tablet devices saw a 12% surge. Meanwhile, in February this year, iPad accounted for 62% of web browsing possibly linked to the launch of the iPad mini.

insidermonkey.com - There is no question that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has long been established as the 800-pound gorilla of the personal and laptop computer industry. There is also no question that they were horribly slow in recognizing the need to gain entry into the mobile device market and have since struggled to gain momentum and market share in that space. With a new CEO committed to bold and decisive action, will Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) continue its attempts to develop its own innovative product line for this market segment -- or speed up the process and simply buy one?
The future is upon us
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)'s new CEO, Brian Krzanich, has created a new division in the company to focus on the rapidly changing and fast growing market for mobile devices. His views would appear to leave the door open to reach his objectives through acquisitions. A purchase of the right company, coupled with Intel's financial resources, could create a new powerhouse in the supply chain for mobile device chips.Given the time and cost of developing new technologies from scratch, it makes sense for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) to pursue acquisitions that will allow them to achieve their objectives faster and cheaper.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) spent a total of $10.15 billion on R&D in 2012, and at the end of the March quarter of 2013, it had a total of $10 billion in cash and short-term investments. This provides it with wide latitude when seeking opportunities to buy instant entry into the mobile device market. Acquiring an existing product line with ongoing R&D would allow Intel to enter this rapidly evolving market with existing products and replacements in the pipeline. This combination would have the potential to turn a competitive business into a dominant one very quickly. It would also virtually eliminate the problem of gaining market acceptance of new and unproven products.
Potential acquisition targets
Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) is a fabless designer and developer of analog and mixed signal circuits for both consumer and commercial markets. The term "fabless" in this industry means that it does not own the manufacturing facilities where its chips are produced. Cirrus is estimated to depend on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for approximately 82% of its sales and its share price has been crushed over the past year.
Those holding shares of Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) from its September 2012 high of $45.49 through its June 2013 low of $16.46 would find little to smile about. A business like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), looking for instant credibility in the mobile device market, should be licking its lips over the enticing snack an acquisition of Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) could provide.
The fact that Cirrus is a supplier to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the mobile device market establishes its capability for high-end innovative technology development. The fact that it is a fabless developer is attractive in that it would provide product designs that could be integrated into Intel's fabrication capabilities and absorb existing excess capacity.

itbusiness.ca - Businesses looking to jump into the mobile space, take note - more and more often, customers are checking out websites through tablets, instead of desktops, laptops, or even smartphones.
More and more often, the consumer's mobile device of choice is the tablet, with mobile users viewing 70 per cent more pages per visit on tablets than on smartphones, according to the annual mobile consumer survey from Adobe Systems Inc.
Released at the end of June, the survey polled more than 3,000 mobile users in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to find out what they wanted from their mobile experiences. The survey found that, while the smartphone is still the primary mobile device among 77 per cent of users, the tablet is only expected to gain more traction as consumers seem to prefer bigger screen sizes when browsing the Web.
And if the rush of users adopting tablets as their go-to web browsing devices isn't enough to convince businesses to adopt a mobile-first approach, the Adobe survey also found tablet users were more likely to spend money while viewing web pages than smartphone users. A solid 71 per cent of iPad users and 62 per cent of Android tablet users said they spent more than $250 while using their devices in the past year. About 59 per cent of iPhone users and 53 per cent of Android smartphone users spent within that range when using their phones.
Tablets now account for about 62.5 per cent of mobile sales, the report added, with about half of that going to products such as clothing, shoes, and jewellery.

talkandroid.com - Samsung is fond of producing several different versions of their devices to reach different market segments. The pending release of the Samsung Galaxy Note III could represent a significant change in how Samsung goes about doing this though. According to reports from Korean web site ET News, Samsung is preparing to release four different versions of the Galaxy Note III at the same time. Unlike other smartphone models, the different devices will not have different names to distinguish them like the Samsung Galaxy S 4 versus Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini versus Samsung Galaxy S 4 Activ. All of the devices will be Galaxy Note III models and they will all be released at the same time. The differences in the models will be in items like screen sizes, types of screens, camera hardware or the chassis material. Core components like the processor or amount of memory included will be consistent throughout all of the devices.

infoworld.com - BYOD becomes a bit more complicated when you work in an environment that requires stronger forms of authentication than a username and password combination. A close inspection of the iPhone or iPad reveals neither a fingerprint sensor nor a smart card reader, for example. Fortunately, vendors such as Thursby Software and Precise Biometrics have rushed in to fill the void.
Thursby Software's PKard Reader and Precise Biometrics' Tactivo support the major standard smart card formats including the CAC (Common Access Card) used by the U.S. military and DOD (Department of Defense). I tested the products by using an iPhone 4S and an iPad 2, both running iOS 6.1, to access a number of military and DOD websites that require CAC authentication.
Until the PKard Reader and Tactivo devices arrived for the iPhone and iPad, military and DOD personnel had to use either a PC or Mac to remotely access CAC-secured sites, even for Webmail, travel, and unclassified administrative tasks. As prices fall, these workers will be sorely tempted to buy one of these readers -- and so will many iPhone and iPad users in private sector companies that require smart card authentication.
Common capabilities and limitations
Thursby's PKard Reader and Precise Biometrics' Tactivo worked as advertised, allowing me to successfully check email on both the Navy Marine Corps Email and the Army Email AKO sites.
Note, however, that the Safari browser on the iPhone and iPad does not support smart card authentication. In order to facilitate browsing of websites that authenticate using smart cards or CACs, Thursby's PKard Reader and Precise Biometrics' Tactivo both include Thursby's free PKard Reader app. (Military and DOD and government personnel will like that the PKard Reader app lets you bookmark commonly used CAC-required sites, organized in service favorite folders such as Navy Sites, Army Sites, Air Force Sites, DOD Sites, Marine Corps Sites, Coast Guard, and Federal Government.)

online.wsj.com - The MEF today announces that FIBRENOIRE, a telecommunications company specializing exclusively in fiber optic connectivity services for businesses in Quebec and Ontario, has become the first Canadian Telecoms Provider to achieve CE 2.0 certification.
CE 2.0 certification ensures FIBRENOIRE'S customers that its network is compliant with the industry's highest standards. "We believe that standardization of Carrier Ethernet Services will accelerate demand both at the retail and wholesale level as more customers will be looking into certified Carrier Ethernet networks in the future," said Jean-François Lévesque, CTO of FIBRENOIRE.
FIBRENOIRE joins 8 other carriers, such as Comcast, TW Telecom and Telecom Italia that have obtained MEF CE 2.0 certification since May 2012, rapidly speeding up the adoption of the new standard.
"Carrier Ethernet has become the industry's biggest success story of the past decade. A milestone was reached this year when for the first time Carrier Ethernet services share of bandwidth exceeded the sum total of all legacy telecoms services across the world, making it the dominant technology in the carrier space. Last year over 1.2 billion new Ethernet ports were shipped (400 million wired and 800 million wireless) according to IDC, and Frost & Sullivan, Vertical Systems and Infonetics predict a near $48 billion services market by 2015," concludes Nan Chen, President, MEF
About MEF
The MEF is a global industry alliance comprising more than 200 organizations including telecommunications service providers, cable MSOs, network equipment/software manufacturers, semiconductors vendors and testing organizations. The MEF's mission is to accelerate the worldwide adoption of Carrier-class Ethernet networks and services. The MEF develops Carrier Ethernet technical specifications and implementation agreements to promote interoperability and deployment of Carrier Ethernet worldwide.

itproportal.com - There is little doubt mobile devices have profoundly transformed today's business world, with organisations now commonly making line-of-business applications accessible to their increasingly mobile workforce.
Once mostly prohibited by IT, smartphones and tablets are being used by hundreds of millions of employees worldwide to access, transmit and store corporate information in today's 24/7 business environment. This 'extended enterprise' introduces new challenges and complexities for IT. Not surprisingly, security has emerged as the number one challenge posed by the BYOD (bring your own device) trend. IT organisations are concerned with device loss, data leakage and unauthorised access to corporate resources, as well as the growing use of 'guest access' to corporate networks.
In response to these perceived risks, organisations have begun implementing a range of data security measures. Traditional approaches involve perimeter-based security controls such as firewalls and smart screen filters. But no amount of perimeter defence can protect data accessed by, and subsequently stored and transmitted by smartphones and tablets, especially outside of enterprise control.

thedrum.com - Tablets and smartphones are the "most undervalued commercially" of all media platforms, according to a UK media owner study commissioned by Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG).
The What UK Media Owners Say...study, conducted by Human Experience Company on behalf of SMG, polled 150 UK media owners ahead of its annual, summer media owner event on Friday 12 July.
A large proportion (40 per cent) of media owners believe that commercial partners undervalue tablets, while 37 per cent believe smartphones are undervalued.
Over a quarter of respondents cited magazines as undervalued mediums, after smartphones, while outdoor advertising received roughly the same response.
When asked how they would rectify this 75 per cent of respondents said they would place more importance on collaboration between themselves and agencies, while 73 per cent said they would encourage more experimentation with new advertising solutions.
Smartphones, tablets and social media channels were cited as the top three platforms causing the most radical changes in how people consume media, according to the study.
Two thirds of respondents said smartphones are triggering the biggest changes in behvaviour, while 66 per cent cited tablets and 53 per cent said social media channels.
Meanwhile the majority (85 per cent) of media owners expect the volume of media content consumption by the average UK consumer to rise in the coming year.
This will be driven by social networks, particularly Twitter, with 45 per cent of respondents citing it as a major driver in the overall upping of content consumption, according to the study.
Starcom MediaVest Group CEO, Stewart Easterbrook said: "Our study was designed to dig into the viewpoint of business leaders across the UK media on how the consumer relationship with media is changing in these dynamic times.
"The results are in tune with our on-going strategy of mobility and getting closer to people and their decisions at every point in the human experience journey. We recognise the importance of partnerships to help us achieve this strategic goal.
"Even greater collaboration between agencies and media owners will enhance digital experiences for consumers and provide the opportunity for brands to optimise consumer engagement."
Meanwhile the current, biggest opportunities available are rich media devices, closely followed by an increasing number of ways to reach consumers, and a growth in analytics to prove ad effectiveness.
David Sear, CEO of mobile marketing and wallet joint venture Weve, believes mobile is the first screen, not TV.

v3.co.uk - Rugged tablet maker Xplore Technologies has introduced its first Android device, offering mobile professionals working in the field a sturdy device that weighs less than 1kg.
Available now through Xplore's channel partners, the RangerX is a 10.1in tablet running the Android 4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich platform and meeting both IP65 and MIL-STD-810G environmental standards. Pricing for the Xplore RangerX starts at £905, with optional accessories including a shoulder strap and vehicle dock available.
Aimed at mobile workers in industries such as utilities, energy, warehousing, logistics, transportation or even the military, the RangerX is designed to look and feel more like a contemporary tablet than a traditional rugged device, according to the firm.
Weighing in at 0.99Kg, the RangerX has a claimed battery life of 10 hours and features a 1366x768 IPS backlit LCD optimised for outdoor viewing, the firm said.
It is based on a 1.5GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor backed by 1GB of memory and 32GB of flash storage. It can be optionally configured with an extra internal 128GB micro SD card, while an external micro SD slot allows the user to add storage cards up to 32GB.
The RangerX has 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth as standard, with 4G LTE mobile broadband and Gigabit Ethernet hardware optional.
It features integrated RFID and NFC capabilities to support warehousing and logistical applications, plus an integrated smartcard reader and a 5MP rear camera in addition to a 1MP front-facing camera. It is also compatible with all major USB barcode scanners.
Xplore president and chief operating officer Mark Holleran said the company has demonstrated its ability to bring proven technology to the rugged space. "We're adding to that legacy with the RangerX, the most durable Android tablet available," he added.

businessinsider.com - When you think of Sony, the first things that probably come to mind are TVs, home theater systems, and Blu-Ray players.
Not tablets or Ultrabooks. And definitely not smartphones.
That's Sony's biggest challenge right now. Its major competitors like Apple and Samsung have been pushing out smartphones and tablets that people are buying by the tens of millions each quarter. But so far, Sony has failed to come up with a smartphone that resonates.
Sony's latest attempt is the Xperia Z, an Android phone with one key distinguishing feature: it's water resistant, meaning it won't get damaged even if it's completely submerged for a few minutes. The phone was one of the darlings of the Consumer Electronics Show, where it was first announced in January, but it's taken a good six months for Sony to finally bring it to the US.
T-Mobile is the only carrier that will sell the Xperia Z (for now), and you can get it for $100 down plus $20 per month for 24 months. The phone launches July 17.

businessinsider.com - Samsung has notched up another milestone in its battle for mobile supremacy with Apple and Nokia after it leapfrogged both its arch-rivals in terms of mobile web use for the first time.
Web analytics firm StatCounter reports that the South Korean giant now accounts for a quarter of all mobile web browsing at 25.47 per cent; marginally ahead of Apple on 25.09 per cent and much better than Nokia which fell below 22 per cent.
Just one year ago Nokia had led the field thanks to its stock of older devices still in use.
Samsung didn't have things entirely its own way however, in the most developed markets such as the US and UK Apple retains a clear lead, growing to account for 54.84 per cent of the market across the pond.
Samsung, by contrast, managed just 18.3 per cent - although this was a significant jump from 12.65 per cent last year.
In its report StatCounter said: "It has been a fascinating 12 months in terms of internet usage and the battle to dominate the mobile landscape. [It has included] the rise of Samsung to overtake Apple globally for the first time, albeit by a very small margin. Casualties along the way have included Nokia, plus BlackBerry, which declined despite efforts to reinvent itself."
Aodhen Cullen, Statcounter's chief executive, added: "There is a battle royal under way between the providers of browsers, mobile devices, search engines and social media. What makes the battle fascinating is that many of the big beasts of today's technology age, including Google, Microsoft and Apple are going head to head."

mobileworldlive.com - Mobile users in many countries in the Middle East are beginning to embrace mobile broadband services, yet a number of markets in the region still lag behind the global average in terms of 3G penetration, according to data from GSMA Intelligence.
While annual growth in mobile broadband1 connections in the region fell from 101% in 2011 to 61% in 2012, levels of mobile broadband penetration (as a percentage of total connections) in some Middle Eastern countries are now eclipsing their Western counterparts. Furthermore, the region now has 17 LTE networks spread across eight countries.
The most advanced markets in the region are Israel, where mobile broadband networks account for 63% of total mobile connections (as of Q2 2013), Turkey (59%), United Arab Emirates (55%) and Saudi Arabia (54%). In contrast, the average for Southern Europe stands at just 45%, while Western Europe has about half its connections on mobile broadband networks and in Northern Europe around three in five connections are mobile broadband.
Turkey has been one of the main mobile broadband growth engines in the region and all three operators in the country benefitted from significant data revenue growth in the year to Q1 2013. Turkcell has been particularly active in marketing data services, with its own-branded range of low-priced smartphones (the "T" series) contributing to a smartphone penetration of 22% at the end of Q1 - some 6.9 million devices. The operator has recently introduced a Turkcell-branded tablet, and is also offering innovative speed-based and shared data plans to further boost data consumption. Subsequently, Turkcell's data revenue was up some 65% year-on-year to reach $778 million in FY2012-13.
Rival Avea (Turk Telecom) is pursuing a similar strategy. On its Q1 2013 Investor Call the operator's Chief Marketing Officer Dehsan Erturk stated that "...mobile data revenue is the backbone of our revenue growth. Data revenue now constitutes 14% of total service revenues with a (traffic) growth of 55% on year-over-year basis thanks to smartphone campaigns and unique internet packages, addressing different customer segment user, various device types and data bundles." The operator ran 40 separate smartphone marketing campaigns during 2012, and had 12 smartphones in its portfolio that were exclusive to Avea, including its own-branded Android handset, the 'inTouch'. As a result Avea has the highest level of smartphone penetration in the country with 27% in Q1 2013. On the back of this, data revenue increased by some 79% annually to hit $348 million in FY2012-13.
Saudi Arabia is another country in the region that has witnessed rapid growth in data consumption in recent quarters. Second-largest operator Mobily (Etihad Etisalat) announced in January that the volume of mobile data traffic over its network reached 750 TB per day in Q4 2012, compared to 163 TB per day in 2011 and just 85 TB per day in 2010. This is due in large part to the development of its 4G-LTE network, which covered 4,500 sites at the end of last year. Significantly, of the 750 TB average daily data volume carried by Mobily during Q1 2013, more than half (400 TB) went via the 4G network. Data revenue for the operator was up 48% year-on-year in FY2012-13 at $1.85 billion, although this growth was surpassed by market leader STC (Saudi Telecom), which in Q1 2013 reported a 74% increase in data revenue over the year-earlier period. STC also reported that data traffic for Q1 2013 was up 176% year-on-year as a result of the launch of its '4G SPEED' tariffs in the second half of 2012.
But many countries in the region have relatively low mobile broadband penetration, despite having some of the highest levels of overall mobile penetration in the world. In Qatar and Jordan, for example, mobile broadband connections make up just over 22% of total connections, despite the countries having overall mobile penetration of 179% and 148% respectively in Q2 2012. In Qatar, Ooredoo is counting on the increasing uptake of data services, having launched a 4G network in its home market in April; the same applies to Lebanese operators Touch (Zain) and Alfa (OTMT), which both launched 4G services in May despite Lebanon currently having just 7% of its connections on mobile broadband.
The greatest untapped potential for data appears to be Iran - despite having mobile penetration of 139.5%, the region's most populous country has less than 1% of its connections on mobile broadband networks. This situation has arisen because only one of the country's six operators, Rightel (Tamin Telecom), has been granted a licence to operate a 3G network; the licence gives them the exclusive right to offer 3G services until September 2014. However, since its launch in February 2012, the operator has struggled to gain a foothold in a market dominated by two big players, MCI (TCI) and MTN Irancell - and as of Q2 2013 has a market share of just 1%.
With 3G and 4G deployments increasing across the region, operators must ensure that they can effectively monetise their network investments in the face of competition from both their rivals and from the OTT messaging services whose popularity will inevitably grow as smartphone penetration increases.

talkandroid.com - We've heard all about Motorola's X Phone hardware, but sometimes it's the intangible stuff that needs attention. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is giving Motorola a gigantic budget to push the X Phone in the US and a few overseas markets. How big, you might ask? Try upwards of $500 million. That's definitely more than a little pocket change, and it's certainly going to have a huge effect on the market when the X Phone launches.
Part of the reason for the large budget is the anticipated launch on all four major US carriers. We've already seen different possible variants of the X Phone come through the FCC for more than one carrier, so all the signs are pointing to a multi-carrier approach to the device. As we've seen with Samsung's Galaxy S line, that single flagship design across carriers works extremely well. One area that Motorola is supposedly making big strides in is the amount of carrier bloatware allowed on the device. Most customers are familiar with carrier apps that come preinstalled on devices, like demos of games or carrier app stores. Sources are saying that Motorola is keeping the bloatware to a minimum with the X Phone, even with Verizon. Most Verizon customers can attest to that being a spectacular feat. (To be fair, though, AT&T and Sprint are also two big carriers who load their fair share of bloatware onto devices)
We still don't have any actual concrete details about Motorola's latest device, but rest assured, the rest of the Android community is just as eager to see it as you are at this point.

businessinsider.com - Mobile devices are edging closer to fulfilling their long-delayed promise as digital wallets.
Consumers are beginning to see the advantage of channeling offline payments through their mobile devices, rather than carrying around clunky coins and cash - even debit and credit cards. Consumers are primed to go wallet-free and begin paying for goods and services via their mobile devices, and as a result, mobile payments are set to explode.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we explain the main reasons why mobile payments are poised for takeoff, provide proprietary estimates for the growth and size of the mobile payments market in the years to come, and analyze the specific trends that will help shape the growth in mobile payments, including user concerns around security, the demographic and geographic nature of the consumers who will drive the growth, merchant side adoption, and the mobile payments solutions that will lead the charge.

businessinsider.com - Responsive design, a technology that stretches or shrinks Web pages to fit differently sized screens, has emerged as the most-often recommended manner of optimizing content for mobile devices. This dominance was cemented in mid-2012 when Google recommended responsive design as the best strategy for smartphone-optimized websites.
As the iPhone, Android phones, and iPad became bestselling consumer gadgets, businesses realized their Web presence needed to translate to those smaller screens. Otherwise, their websites would bear tell-tale signs of a business clueless to mobile: tiny text, tinier links, and a jumbled layout. They risked lost traffic and sales.
These days, responsive design is recommended as the gold standard. But as with most technologies in a multi-device world, it has disadvantages, and it's not right for every business, or every application.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we describe what responsive design is and compare it to other mobile optimization tools, analyze responsive designs pros and cons, examine data and statistics that track responsive design adoption and performance across mobile, and evaluate whether dedicated mobile websites have their place, and detail the ramifications for HTML5 development.

dazeinfo.com - Google Inc. (GOOG) Android and Apple Inc. (AAPL) iOS combined control more than 92% of global Smartphone market. However, never-ending race between the two is showing no sign to slow down. While Apple has tried to scale up the benchmark of Mobile OS with the latest launch of iOS7, Samsung - a company primarily driving the growth with 51% of Android market share - is also not letting it go by improving hardware capabilities in new Android Smartphones. Though, Apple has kept the ecosystem closed, Google has allowed almost every mobile device maker to play in Android ground including HTC and Huawei. Consequently, each Android maker is also trying to catch the eyeballs of billions of Smartphone users by introducing new features in their various models.
Android and iOS dual OS SmartphoneUnfortunately, Smartphone has yet not reached to the stage where users can customize the device with best-of-all-worlds. But what if you could pick the best parts and features of each Smartphone to build the world's greatest Smartphone? Here is a 3D concept Smartphone video that brought together the most admirable elements of Apple, Samsung, HTC, Sony and Nokia. The concept phone, dubbed as Ultraphone, is a mix of best hardware, Operating system, features of all above smartphone makers.
Ultraphone With Bests Of Android and iOS
The concept Smartphone contains dual OS capabilities - Android and iOS. Interestingly, it also contains other features, derived from respective makers, like longer battery life, high-resolution camera, 2X quad-core processor for ultimate processing, Super AMOLED 3 Gorilla Glass Screen, 41 Mega Pixel camera, dual-boot of latest iOS 7 and Android 4.2.2 and powerful 6100 mAh battery.
We can't say whether the phone could ever come into existence - which seems quite difficult if not impossible - but definitely it's an admirable thought process of the 'day dreamer designer.

gizbot.com - So far the top operating systems used by the popular mobile makers are Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry 10 and all have a different features obviously. Leaving behind BlackBerry and Apple's iOS, mobile phone makers are quite interested in taking a chance with Windows OS.

mobileworldlive.com - The SoftBank/Sprint megadeal looks set to be finalised this week, with an official statement today from Sprint claiming that both companies expect to complete the merger at the close of Sprint trading on Wednesday July 10.
Last week US regulator the Federal Communications Commission approved the $21.6 billion acquisition. The move was deemed to be the last hurdle for both operators.
Other regulators have signed off on the deal, including the US antitrust and security authorities. Security became a big part of the takeover battle with Dish, which chose to play the patriotic card aggressively. To reassure officials, SoftBank said it will limit the use of equipment from Chinese vendors.
The deal was initially announced back in October last year.

thehindu.com - 80 per cent of the world's mobile handsets will be smartphones by 2015
In about 100 days, by September, the number of mobile subscriptions across the world will equal the global population of 7.1 billion. According to International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in early 2013, the world had 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions, with more than half - 3.5 billion - in the Asia-Pacific region. Of the Asia-Pacific region, India and China alone constitute more than 2 billion mobile subscriptions, as the two countries that sit at the head of the list of the top 10 countries with mobile subscriptions (see chart).
With mobile penetration approaching 100 per cent and markets saturating, growth rates had fallen to their lowest levels in both the developed and the developing countries. For the developed world, the growth rate has fallen from a high of 13 per cent in 2005-06 to an estimated 3.7 per cent in 2012-13. For the developing world that added phone subscriptions at a scorching rate of over 30 per cent for the two years - 2005-07, the annual growth rate slowed down to an estimated 6.1 per cent in 2012-13. The global growth rate of mobile subscriptions presently averages at 5.4 per cent.
Mobile cellular penetration stood at 96 per cent at the beginning of 2013, with 128 per cent mobile teledensity in the developed countries and close to 89 per cent in the developing nations.
Even though the number of subscriptions is approaching the global population, it still does not mean that every citizen in the world has access to a mobile phone. Mobile teledensity in several large countries like China (85.21%), India (68.72%), Pakistan (68.83%), Nigeria (69%) still have reasonable head room for growth. In India's case, however, in the last 18 months, the market was stagnant and even declining, settling at roughly 864 million (after touching a peak of 900 million), of which 70 per cent are active subscribers.
Mobile broadband subscriptions climbed from 268 million in 2007 to 2.1 billion in 2013 - an average annual growth rate of 40 per cent. In the developing countries, mobile broadband subscriptions more than doubled from 472 million to 1.16 billion during 2011-13. Africa has seen the highest growth rates in the last 3 years, where mobile broadband penetration is up from 2 per cent to 11 per cent between 2010 -13.
Demand for smartphones
A recent U.N. report released on the eve of World Water Day stated that as compared to people with mobile phones, only 4.5 billion have access to working toilets. Global telecommunications analyst firm CCS Insight has predicted that manufacturers will ship 1.86 billion phones in 2013, of which 53 per cent or 983 million will be smartphones. In the first three months of 2013, smartphone shipments exceeded those of non-smartphones for the first time ever, confirming the global trend that the future of accessing the web will be on "mobile Internet."
By 2015, 80 per cent of the world's mobile handsets will be smartphones - with much of the growth coming from emerging markets. CCS further predicts that by 2017, the combined number of mobile phones and tablets in use will exceed the world population.
Gartner, another leading information technology research and advisory firm, predicts combined shipment of PCs, tablets and mobile phones to reach 2.4 billion units this year. The research shows a decline in the PC markets to 7.6 per cent as consumers' transition to tablets and ultra-mobiles.

bhatt.id.au - Recently released smartphones and tablets have been evolutionary with incremental hardware improvements so it's been sometime since I've reviewed a new smartphone or tablet which elicited a wow like the Sony Xperia Tablet Z. When I first saw the Xperia Tablet Z, I knew this was an Android mobile device which would shake things up thanks to its slim 6.9mm thick, water and dustproof form factor weighing in at just 495 grams.
The first time I picked it up, I looked at it sideways and was genuinely impressed that Sony had managed to fit all the necessary ports and battery while creating a tablet that's significantly thinner than other 10" inch tablets and amazingly also thinner than the popular iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 smartphones.
The Xperia Tablet Z goes into battle against formidable tablet competitors including the Google Nexus 10 and 4th generation Apple iPad. They are both significantly thicker and heavier than the Xperia Tablet Z but balance that with larger battery capacity, higher screen resolution and slightly faster speeds.
The Xperia Tablet Z shipped with Android 4.1.2 which is one version behind. Sony promises that it will be updated to 4.2.x soon. While Sony have made changes to the stock Android software it has not been heavy handed and the modifications do not appear to slow down the tablet.
My only suggestion to buyers would be to replace Sony's custom keyboard software with the much better Google Nexus Keyboard which is available for free from the Play Store and can be switched to with ease.
The first strength of the Xperia Tablet Z is how thin and light it is. At 495 grams it's 24% lighter than a 4th generation iPad and 18% lighter than a Google Nexus 10.
Secondly the Xperia Tablet Z is IP57 certified with ports sealed by protective flaps. To use the other tablets in a tough, wet or dusty environment would require a special case that would increase total weight even more.
Thirdly viewed subjectively the Xperia Tablet Z has a cool factor that no Android tablet has had to date.
Now onto weaknesses. While the Xperia Tablet Z's LED-backlit LCD screen is not quite as high resolution as the Google Nexus 10 and 4th generation Apple iPad it's quite bright and displays images / videos very well.
As an unavoidable result of how thin it is the 6000 mAh battery capacity is only 2/3rds that of the Google Nexus 10 and just over half the size of the 4th generation Apple iPad. Speakers are placed at bottom left and right corners on the sides. Volume level is OK but not very loud and audio quality is a bit tinny.
Business or home users who need a tough 10" inch tablet that's light enough to hold in one hand, is IP57 certified for use in damp or dusty environments, with a shatterproof and scratch-resistant screen and a high resolution 8MP camera, may find the Xperia Tablet Z a great match for their needs.
The Xperia Tablet Z will not suit everyone but it has an undeniable cool factor and several key features that are unmatched by competitors. There will be plenty of buyers who will find it irresistible.
In terms of pricing the Sony Xperia Tablet Z ranges from $539 for 16GB WiFi, to $679 for 16GB 4G & Wi-Fi. Paying $649 for the Xperia Tablet Z 32GB Wi-Fi seems pointless when you could buy the cheaper 16GB WiFi model and add up to 64GB storage via the microSD slot or buy the WiFi and 4G enabled model instead for better connectivity.
In comparison the Google Nexus 10 is $469 16GB and $569 32GB with no expandable storage or LTE option. The 4th generation Apple iPad has 8 models with no expandable storage, ranging from $539 for 16GB WiFi to $1009 for 128GB WiFi and 4G.

money.cnn.com - These days, picking out a smartphone is almost like trying on shoes. Does a four-inch, four-and-a-half-inch, or five-inch screen fit best? For years, the trend in major smartphone brands' screen sizes had been the bigger, the better. Whether it was the iPhone 5's extra row of apps or the giant, tablet-sized Android "phablets," phones had definitely been getting larger.
But recently, that trend has begun to reverse. Samsung and BlackBerry (BBRY) released mini versions of their top-of-the-line smartphones and Apple (AAPL) and HTC are rumored to follow suit. The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini has a 4.3-inch screen, which shaves off more than a half-inch off its larger version. The BlackBerry Q5 isn't smaller in size than the top-of-the-line Q10, but it uses all of last year's technology inside.
One factor behind the looming mini smartphone wave: Smartphone growth is beginning to slow in developed markets like the United States and Western Europe, where giant smartphones with the latest features are a hot commodity. Emerging markets will be "the key future growth driver," according to Macquarie Securities analyst Kevin Smithen, but consumers in those regions are more budget-conscious.
Larger screens can contribute significantly to the price of a smartphone, so smaller devices released by low-cost smartphone makers like China-based Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo are wildly popular in those regions. The iPhone isn't even in the top five list of best-selling smartphones in China.
Top-tier smartphone makers "are finally waking up to the fact and starting to fight back" with a wave of "smartphone mini" launches this year, said Smithen.
But other analysts are doubtful that the top smartphone brands are truly getting the message.
"It's not about size so much as the price," noted Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at Forrester.
China's major smartphone makers have been focused on producing devices that cost less than $350. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is currently selling in the United Kingdom, its first market, for $530. That's cheaper than the Galaxy S4 which goes for about $600, but perhaps by not enough.
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That's why Ryan Reith, an analyst at IDC, believes that Samsung's launch of mini devices may have just been a way for the Korean smartphone maker to "test the waters" when it comes to display size. As the market for smartphones becomes saturated, companies may aim to offer variety and hit every price point.
"The smartphone market is not one size fits all," said Jeff Kagan, an independent technology industry analyst. Some people want a smaller phone because they have small hands or wish to fit their smartphones in their pockets. Other people want to use their smartphones to watch movies and play games which are better displayed on a larger screen.
As for rumors surrounding Apple and a new, smaller iPhone, it definitely would be an out-of-character move for a company used to marketing exclusively to the high-end of the market. But it has been six years since they entered the smartphone market and there's now more competition.
"They would be smart to come out with two devices, maybe more, and let the customer choose," Kagan said.
Even if price trumps screen preference in emerging markets for now, it may not be a tradeoff customers will have to face going forward.
"There is no question display costs are coming down and we expect five-inch devices to be the norm for low-end emerging market adoption in 2014 and beyond," Reith said.

computing.co.uk - In line with predictions that tablets are to become the primary tool of choice for mobile workers, 36 per cent say they provide these devices to employees already, with 21 per cent planning to over the next few months. Newer tablets such as Microsoft's Surface Pro are emerging as business-ready laptop replacements and the move away from traditional platforms is going to continue.
Perhaps more surprising is an equally strong showing for desktop virtualisation. While the survey sample is predominantly based at large organisations, desktop virtualisation has been slower off the mark than many analysts predicted, largely because of difficulties in delivering the desired levels of performance without incurring additional infrastructure costs, especially in smaller firms.
However, VDI certainly provides a secure and manageable way to allow access to familiar tools on a variety of devices, and moves are being made among VDI vendors to reduce costs and simplify implementation; these figures, and those of a previous survey, suggest renewed interest in VDI as at least a partial solution to the difficulties in managing mobility. The previous Computing survey found that on average between a quarter and a half of desktops were virtualised among the organisations polled.
Next came another old-timer, unified communications. UC is an enabler of mobility, allowing work calls and data to be routed directly to mobile devices and generally simplifying the rollout of BYOD. Indeed the advent of BYOD is giving UC a new lease of life.
Twenty-five per cent of those polled already have a BYOD policy in place, with a further 19 per cent looking to do so within the next few months. Many organisations are starting to realise the extent of the changes being brought to the workplace by mobile technologies and are trying to figure out how to best harness them for their particular needs. Many firms (24 per cent) are standardising on one or two platforms, for example, with Apple and Windows leading the pack, while 10 per cent claim they can integrate across all platforms.
The next 12 months look like seeing a steep rise in the use of cloud services to bolster mobile provision and management. Like UC, cloud and mobility go hand in hand.
Finally we come to the new kid on the block: enterprise app stores. These are certainly generating interest, enabling organisations to control and tailor apps and their settings according to the user, as well as hosting apps written in-house. As yet, just 10 per cent have made the move though, leaving three-quarters with no plans at present.