"Despite all the hype around mobile apps, only a minority of consumers download them on a monthly basis. Research released this week based on a survey of more than 25,000 European adults shows that only 4 per cent of all mobile users and 15 per cent of smartphone users download apps at least once per month."
"The exception to this rule, unsurprisingly, is Apple, with 64 per cent of European iPhone users downloading apps on a monthly basis."
"In this respect, Husson argued that the market opportunity for app stores is somewhat overhyped, and said players should be looking at sources of inspiration other than Apple to provide a unique user experience"True enough - Apple have tremendously gained success in their App Store model. Like it or not, the other App Stores have to find the "right formula" in making theirs also a success.
"The contrast couldn't be greater. Apple's revenues in the quarter ending June 26th were US$15.7 billion, yet it spent only US$464 million on research and development. Nokia's revenues in the quarter ending June 30th were EUR10 billion (US$12.83 billion) and it spent EUR1.48 billion (US$1.9 billion) on R&D - more than four times as much as Apple."Its worrying to see how Apple grew so fast to overtake the Giant phone maker, Nokia.
Faced with saturated mobile phone markets, mobile operators and handset vendors in Europe and the US have been searching for new mobile data services that can drive increased average revenue per user (ARPU). But most of those efforts have ended in disappointment. Despite heavy investment, most data ARPU in the US and Europe continues to come from the Short Message Service (SMS) (Pawsey, 2006). The disappointments include:
- Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) was expected to produce heavy browsing of data on mobile devices, but most of the traffic did not materialize.
- Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) was supposed to drive extensive sharing of photographs over wireless connections. Although many users happily acquired subsidized cameraphones, the photos they take generally stay on the phones rather than being sent to others.
- The smartphone was supposed to drive a constellation of new mobile data services and applications. But smartphone sales grew more slowly than initially forecast,i and more importantly, those that were sold have generally not driven the hoped-for rapid growth in average revenue per user (ARPU). Telecom analyst Dean Bubley argues that smartphone shipment data should be heavily discounted because it "includes a huge number of 'closed' operator-customised phones developed on theoretically open OSs (eg DoCoMo FOMA use of Symbian & Linux) which are locked-down for 3rd-party software, plus a vast number of Nokia S60-based devices bought by people who neither know nor care that their device has an open 'smart' OS. The proportion of smartphones bought by individuals who knowingly choose an 'open' & flexible software platform is probably less than 20%." (Bubley, 2006)
DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that contains the genetic code of organisms. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, like a recipe or a code.
For the UK, we have starting working with yet another access number company. The good news, is that we are not dropping our current access numbers there. If you are a UK customer and like the numbers you are using then you are ok. We did want to offer our service to more cities in the UK which is why we are with a new company. Here is the list of our new access numbers which include Manchester, Scotland, and Wales:
Belfast (44) 289 506-0810
Birmingham (44) 121 284-9320
Coventry (44) 247 714-9330
Derby (44) 133 292-6820
Edinburgh (44) 131 471-0810
Glasgow (44) 141 289-0810
Leicester (44) 116 304-0810
London (44) 203 129-9370
Manchester (44) 161 354-9310
Nottingham (44) 115 718-1065
Swansea (44) 179 227-2810
We’ve also added a couple of additional European countries. Here are our new access numbers for Spain and Norway:
Norway – Oslo (47) 21988999
Spain – Madrid (34) 911390199
Some months back, IndiaLD was the cheapest voip provider to India offering just 0.7cent per min to India. However the promotional offer is over but still their present rate is competitive making IndiaLD worth trying.
The clarity isn't the best and they feel a bit cheap and fragile, but if you're after some earphones with a hint of style and plenty of oomph, these aren't a bad option. As noted, Skullcandy 50/50 earbuds aren't going to win any awards for top notch construction. The earpieces are rather chunky and like the accents and mic module are made of hard, cheap feeling plastic.Skype's VP of legal Robert Miller said in a blog post: "Over time, Fring's misuse of our software was increasingly damaging our brand and reputation with our customers. On Friday, for example, Fring withdrew support for video calls over Skype on iOS 4 without warning, again damaging our brand and disappointing our customers, who have high expectations of the Skype experience."
Fring was quick to respond with a blog post entitled 'Skype Cowardly Blocks Fring' and went on to attack what it saw as Skype's fear of "open mobile communications".
The above said news is all over the internet with already many expressing their views about this issue. Please share your views about Open mobile communications and what as an end user you expect from these voip companies.
To download Truphone for iPhone v4.0, click here
To download Truphone for iPod touch v4.0, click here
Images and video looked as bright and crisp as they did on the Eee PC 1201N we reviewed previously. The stereo speakers on this laptop, embedded on the front bottom edge of the base, are notably louder than other Netbooks. They don't exactly produce well defined music, but we appreciate their volume for TV viewing. Above the screen, a 0.3 megapixel Webcam offers video conferencing and picture taking capabilities, with a passable frame rate and middle of the road image quality.
The touchpad is delineated only by thin raised lines on the keyboard deck otherwise, it's basically an extension of the rest of the palmrest surface. We like a more recessed, dedicated touchpad zone, but it worked fine all the same, with a decent surface area comparable to other NV models. The button bar is flush and a rocker bar (we prefer two discrete buttons), but it's a step better than the overdesigned, annoying thin mirrored strip on the lower end Gateway NV models.
Above the keyboard, a small backlit touch controlled media bar has basic play and pause and volume functions. It's useful, but not overly so for a business focused machine. These might have been better spent on videoconferencing and other productivity related toggles. To the right of these are a few LED indicators for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and battery status. The track pad is wider and responds better than that of some brands we've seen. The plain discrete buttons below are nothing remarkable and could be slightly larger, but at least they're not over designed.
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