Everything is now going mobile. Although I am sure you are pretty aware of this fact, you may not have been keeping up with this week’s mobile-related news because responsibilities such as work may have gotten in the way. Lucky for you, here am I to save the day and let you know about some interesting news circulating this space right now.
This week, it was revealed that not only has RIM switched up the name of its company to BlackBerry – its still widely leveraged smartphone – but it will also be debuting an impressive, revamped suite of smartphones in the not so distant future. In addition, EE, a digital communication company in Great Britain, will be powering the Z10 smartphone from BlackBerry as well as the new OS BlackBerry 10 that offers ultra fast 4G connectivity to businesses and consumers alike.
"We're delighted to be partnering with RIM to launch the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone and offer consumers and business users in the UK the first 4G-enabled BlackBerry handset. The Z10 has been designed with 4G in mind and when combined with the UK’s only superfast 4G network, BlackBerry 10 becomes one of the most advanced connected platforms on the market - allowing customers to download content, e-mail and share files in a way they haven't been able to on a BlackBerry smartphone before," said Paul Jevons, director of Products and Devices, EE.
In fact, according to MobilityTechzone Contributing Writer Colleen Lynch, some of the company’s new BlackBerry 10 smartphone features include gesture-based OS navigation controls, simultaneous multi-app operation, multi-language support and a next generation virtual keyboard.
Additionally, it was revealed that the amount of data an average smartphone user utilizes each and every month is extremely hard to determine. Why you ask? A major reason behind this is because most studies out there at this time highlight “average” use, which doesn’t really pinpoint “typical” behavior. Yet, it seems as if a very large number of users require small amounts of data, while on the other hand, a small number of smartphone lovers burn through an immense amount of data.
“For example, Android smartphone users tracked for a year by NPD Connected Intelligence use between half a gigabyte a month to about one Gbyte a month of mobile network data. Apple iPhone users tend to use a bit more,” MobilityTechzone Contributing Editor Gary Kim wrote in this article.
Also this week, news broke that French telecom equipment maker Ericsson's financial report showed positive growth, which related to its strong cash flow and a full-year cash conversion coming in above predictions. Also, Sprint will now be putting its resources behind an LTE acceleration lab in Tel Aviv later this year.
Further, the tablet market grew 75.3 percent year over year in Q4 2012 – up from 29.9 million units in Q4 2011, IDC revealed.
"We expected a very strong fourth quarter, and the market didn't disappoint," said Tom Mainelli, research director for Tablets at IDC, in a statement. "New product launches from the category's top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season. The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years."
Closing out the week, MACH unveiled a Bill Shock Prevention solution that has been created from the ground up in order to enable consumers to travel the world without worrying about being forced to pay huge bills due to roaming charges.
This offering is touted as helping users to track their data usage in real-time while simultaneously enabling mobile network operators to accurately gauge data usage of its worldwide client base.
These are just some of the interesting stories being talked about in the mobile space right now. For everything mobility-related, stay closely tuned to Mobility Techzone each and every week.
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