The first Jolla

Finnish start up Jolla Mobile has unveiled its first device, due for commercial launch later this year. The touch screen slab doesn’t appear to have a name but its creators make much of the smart cases, dubbed the Other Half, which will affect the phones UI when attached, presumably via NFC.

According to the marketing site, “colours, fonts, tones, profiles, functionalities – all will adapt just as you wish by simply uniting the halves. Automatically launch and modify an application linked to the other half. Link your favourite music or brand into your Jolla.”

The suggestion here is that users will be expected to have several different cases, which would drive accessory sales. “Attach the other half and your Jolla becomes alive and unique…Magically the software changes to match your selected colour and design.”

The software is based on the Sailfish OS, a Linux mobile operating system derived from the abandoned MeeGo project.

Jolla was set up by a group of ex-Nokia executives aiming to design, develop and sell MeeGo-based smartphones. MeeGo is a free, Linux-based mobile operating system project that was first announced at Mobile World Congress 2010 by Intel and Nokia, but abandoned in 2011.

In a show of support for domestic innovation, Finland’s third largest operator DNA has said that it will distribute handsets using the OS upon its commercial launch.

MoCA is driving home networking sales, says Infonetics

Multimedia over coax (MoCA) helped drive the global home networking device market to $4.9bn in the second half of 2012, up five per cent on a sequential basis, according to US firm Infonetics Research.

MoCA-enabled video gateways are identified as a key growth area for home networking device manufacturers, particularly those targeting North America.

Deployments of MoCA-enabled set-top boxes are also “slowly reaching a boil”, according to Jeff Heynen, directing analyst at Infonetics, with sales estimated to have risen 23 per cent in the second half of last year alone.

Meanwhile, revenue from shipments of broadband routers grew six per cent in the second half of last year on a sequential basis, thanks to shipments of higher-end 802.11ac and 802.11n WiFi routers in North America and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa).

Samsung customers will be able to purchase apps and music, video, books, games and learning services from Samsung Hub and Samsung Apps, charged to their phone bill

The innovation arm of Spanish operator group Telefónica has announced a global direct carrier billing deal with Korean device maker Samsung. Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung will integrate BlueVia payment APIs into its handsets and tablets for Telefónica customers.

BlueVia is a set of APIs allowing app developers to interface with mobile networks. It was launched by Telefónica in August 2011, and in October 2012 Norwegian operator group Telenor became an equal partner to the API platform.

As a result of the deal, Samsung customers will be able to purchase apps and music, video, books, games and learning services from the Samsung Hub and Samsung Apps portals using the billing capability, rather than their credit or debit card.

Telefónica added the deal follows similar agreements with companies including Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

“Partnerships like this allow us to harness the power of the billing relationships we have with our customers to make it easier for them to consume content on their tablets and mobile devices,” said Wayne Thorsen, vice president of global partnerships at Telefónica Digital.

Telefónica added that the direct to bill capability on Samsung devices will be rolled out to its regional units in phases, starting with Telefónica Germany in the coming months.

BBM is going cross platform

Canadian firm BlackBerry (formerly known as RIM) plans to make its popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) application available on iOS and Android platforms later this year.

In the first version of multi-platform BBM, iOS and Android users will get access to instant messaging; multi-person chat; voice note sharing; and BlackBerry Groups of up to 30 people able to share calendars, photos and files.

BlackBerry claims more than 60 million monthly active BBM users of which more than 51 million are daily active users connecting with friends or colleagues an average of one and a half hours every day. The firm said that BBM users send and receive more than ten billion messages each day, which is nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps and almost half of BBM messages are opened within 20 seconds of being received.

In a bid to turn BBM into a more social platform, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, designed to allow users to connect with businesses, brands, celebrities and groups.

Pending approval from Google Play and the Apple App Store, BBM should be available on other platforms later this summer and will be updated to include BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year.

Andrew Bocking, EVP, software product management and ecosystem, at BlackBerry, said: “For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy.”

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The Geeksphone Keon and Peak are Firefox OS devices

In a push to generate momentum around its mobile operating system, open source software developer Mozilla is releasing free Firefox OS handsets to developers ahead of the commercial launch of the platform later this summer.

The firm has launched its Phones for Apps for Firefox OS programme to encourage developers to build Firefox apps or port existing Chrome, webOS, Blackberry WebWorks, or the PhoneGap apps to the Firefox platform. Developers must tell Mozilla which apps they would like to build or port, and if the proposal is accepted, Mozilla will send them a Geeksphone Keon.

“When Firefox OS phones become available to consumers in select locales this summer, you’ll have an opportunity that only comes around once—a first-mover advantage in Firefox Marketplace,” the firm said through its developer outreach and engagement channel Mozilla Hacks.

“End users in Latin America, Eastern Europe and other launch locations will be on the lookout for playful and practical apps to install: games, tools, and utilities as well as locally relevant news, sports, travel, entertainment, review apps, and social sharing experiences.”

Spanish start-up Geeksphone launched two smartphones running on the Firefox OS platform in April 2013. The Peak and Keon are designed for developers looking to test and create apps for Firefox OS.

“These devices have not been designed for consumers and include a pre-release development version of Firefox OS,” the firm told Telecoms.com.

Mozilla warned, however, that its device inventory is limited and its launch dates are approaching fast, so developers must act quickly. The programme will close at the end of May or when Mozilla’s limited supply of Geeksphones runs out.

Korean maker Samsung said that it has developed a core technology for 5G and intends to enable users to access 5G data services by 2020.

Korean manufacturer Samsung said that it has made headway in developing core technology for 5G networks with a view to bringing data services to market by 2020, according to local reports.

The firm said that 5G speeds will allow users to download an entire movie in less than a second, according to Korea’s Yonhap news agency.  It added that users will be able to download and upload data at speeds of up to tens of Gbps, compared with the 75Mbps speeds that 4G LTE services offer today.

The Korean firm also told the news agency it has successfully tested the platform using the 28GHz spectrum band to transmit data at a speed of 1Gbps.

With LTE network deployments now underway in many countries globally, the industry is gradually beginning to turns its sight to the provision of 5G services. In April this year, UK regulator Ofcom launched an industry consultation about freeing radio frequencies for 5G services.

In October 2012, the University of Surrey also received £35m research funding for its 5G Innovation Centre, from the UK government and firms including Samsung, Huawei, Telefonica Europe and Aircom International. And in March 2013, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) established a working group to research 5G technology.

The 5G Expo is part of the LTE World Summit, taking place on the 24^th-26^th June 2013, at the Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands. Click here to download a free pass.

Ubuntu on smartphones

US open source house Canonical, the developer behind the popular and user-friendly Ubuntu Linux distribution hinted that the smartphone version of the OS, Ubuntu Touch, may be ready for release in the summer or autumn.

The company revealed in January that it had a version of its operating system for smartphones ready to deploy for carrier testing, but said this week that it will have a version ready for day-to-day usage by the end of May.

Rick Spencer, VP of Ubuntu Engineering, said: “We should drive as hard as we can to making it so that we can use our phones with Ubuntu Touch as our real daily phones as soon as possible. Really eat our own dogfood, so to speak. So, we committed our teams to making it so that by end of May, the phone images will be usable as our daily phones.”

What this means is that the Ubuntu Touch installation will be stable enough for every day usage to make and receive phone calls and SMS; web browsing; wifi; importing and editing of contacts; and a fully working proximity sensor.

Come May, Spencer expects development to really take off, ticking off other missing features as it goes. “Of course, there will be a lot missing. Off the bat, I can thinking of things like the ability to find and install new apps, hardware not working on certain reference hardware (camera on Nexus 7 for example?), lots of missing features in existing apps, etc… However, in my experience, progress accelerates when people are using, in addition to building, software.”

Telefónica has signed a Europe-wide M2M deal with PC maker Dell

Spanish operator group Telefónica has signed a Europe-wide M2M deal with PC maker Dell, as the two set out to deliver pay-as-you-go mobile broadband services for notebooks and tablets.

Dell NetReady is a pay-as-you-go connectivity service powered by Telefónica. It uses an M2M SIM-card and an application that allows the customer to choose their own connectivity bundle.

The service is aimed primarily at enterprises, according to Telefónica, which are demanding mobile connectivity solutions that allow their users to connect to the web  easily while on the go.

Once registered, pay-as-you-go bundles are available immediately, with plans available for just 30 minutes up to one month. Telefónica has created two separate tariff structures for long term and short term access.

Bundles also move with the user while travelling overseas, the operator said  adding that this will ensure transparent and clear pricing at all times.

Incoming CEO Brian Krzanich

Chip maker Intel has named COO Brian Krzanich as the successor to CEO Paul Otellini. Krzanich will assume his new role on May 16, 2013. In addition, Renée James has been appointed as president of Intel and will assume her role on the same day.

In November last year, Otellini announced his intention to retire after nearly 40 years at the firm. According to Intel, his replacement, Krzanich, had been responsible for leading more than 50,000 of Intel’s 105,000 employees across various business divisions.

Andy Bryant, chairman of Intel said Krzanich will be tasked with leading the firm as it looks to “define and invent the next generation of technology that will shape the future of computing”.

“His track record of execution and strategic leadership, combined with his open-minded approach to problem solving has earned him the respect of employees, customers and partners worldwide. He has the right combination of knowledge, depth and experience to lead the company during this period of rapid technology and industry change.”

According to Intel, incoming president James’ knowledge spans hardware, security, software and services, which she developed through other leadership positions at Intel. She also currently serves on the board of directors of Vodafone Group and VMware.

38 per cent of enterprises expect to stop providing devices to workers by 2016, according to research firm Gartner.

Almost four in ten enterprises expect to stop providing devices to workers by 2016, according to research firm Gartner.

Following a global survey of chief information officers (CIOs) the research firm found that 38 per cent of companies expect to stop providing devices to employees over the next three years, as bring your own device (BYOD) programmes continue to become commonplace.

“BYOD strategies are the most radical change to the economics and the culture of client computing in business in decades,” said David Willis, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “The benefits of BYOD include creating new mobile workforce opportunities, increasing employee satisfaction, and reducing or avoiding costs.

He added that the business case for BYOD still needs to be better evaluated and argued that most leaders do not understand the benefits.

“If you are offering BYOD, take advantage of the opportunity to show the rest of the organisation the benefits it will bring to them and to the business,” counselled Willis.

According to Gartner, roughly half of BYOD programs provide a partial reimbursement, and full reimbursement for all costs will become rare. The research firm believes that due to mass market smartphone adoption with the steady declines in operator fees, employers will gradually reduce their subsidies and as the number of workers using mobile devices expands, the number of employees who receive no subsidy at all will rise.

“The enterprise should subsidise only the service plan on a smartphone,” said Willis. “What happens if you buy a device for an employee and they leave the job a month later? How are you going to settle up? Better to keep it simple. The employee owns the device, and the company helps to cover usage costs.”

Gartner also found that while BYOD is occurring in companies and governments of all sizes, it is most prevalent in midsize and large organizations ($500m to $5bn in revenue, with 2,500 to 5,000 employees). Adoption varies widely across the globe. Companies in the United States are twice as likely to allow BYOD as those in Europe.