Payment provider Visa has announced the launch of launch of mobile services that allow financial institutions to offer their account holders the ability to monitor account history and balances, transfer funds between accounts, and receive near real time transaction alerts on their mobile devices.
Google has announced the availability of a beta version of its Chrome web browser for its Android platform. The browser is available on handsets and tablets running the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, and is downloadable via Android Market in select countries and languages.
Japanese electronics firm Sony has announced that is has appointed Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai as its new president and CEO. The former president of the Consumer Products and Services Group, credited with making PlayStation a household name, Sony will assume his new role on April 1, replacing current president and CEO Sir Howard Stringer, who will become chairman of the Board of Directors in June.
A US congressman has proposed legislation that would force operators to whether the handsets they sell contain tracking software disclose to consumers upon purchase. Under the proposals, operators would also have to notify consumers of whether monitoring software might be installed at a later date by the carrier, manufacturer or OS provider.
Mobile operator T-Mobile UK has announced what it claims is the country’s first “truly unlimited” mobile phone plan. The operator’s “Full Monty” deal allows unlimited internet browsing, unlimited SMS messages and unlimited phone calls with no fair usage restrictions.
The Indian government has announced plans for all of its departments and agencies to develop and deploy mobile applications to provide all of their public services through mobile devices, to the extent that is feasible on the mobile platform.
Service revenues or fees from m-commerce transactions are expected to reach $37bn by 2016, bolstered by mobile remote payments for physical goods and services and international mobile money transfers. These two elements together will be worth over $25bn in 2016, accounting for two thirds of the total m-commerce market, according to statistics released this week.
Korean handset manufacturer Samsung plans to merge its own smartphone operating system, Bada with Intel’s open source OS Tizen, as it looks to consolidate its position in the global smartphone market.
Mobile couldn’t be more important to Facebook, the world’s leading social network. In mature markets users are increasingly interacting with the platform from their mobile device and, as the company strives to reach one billion users, it is pushing into emerging markets where fixed access is limited at best, and non-existent at worst.
With a flurry of patent lawsuits dominating headlines in the industry, Ericsson has taken steps to place more emphasis on protecting its intellectual property. It is reorganising its Licensing and Patent Development department with the aim of creating a larger revenue stream from its IPR.
Loading ...