Tech Weekly podcast: New government data, smartphone explosion

On this week's programme, we're reporting on the smartphone market, a handset ecosystem that's set to reach critical mass in the next 23 months. Once more than half the UK population has access to all the features, what will this mean for how we consume online content, and for trends in the UK software development market?

Also, David Cameron launched the UK's latest open data initiative, releasing a new tranche of public data for use by developers. What new insights can be gained, and has this data been specifically chosen to advance the Tory agenda?

We spend a lot of time talking about privacy issues on this podcast, but most of it related to the corporations behind social networks, search engines and other publishing systems. So what about punters who hijack computers for the sake of art? A New York-based artist has been detained by the US secret service for "fraud and related activities" for uploading software on public computers at Apple stores around the city and then capturing images of shoppers looking at the screens.

Plus Jemima steps into the Elevator with Mark McLaughlin of Ticket ABC.

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Smartphone news: RIM gains 1m in Europe, while Nokia's N9 gets limited release

For RIM, it's swings and roundabouts: after our analysis showing that RIM lost 1m BlackBerry users in the US in the past three months, the company has announced that it has gained 1m users in Europe in just the past three weeks.

Which led to the follwing:
Patrick Spence, Managing Director, EMEA, Research In Motion, said: "Thank you to the over one million new customers who have joined the BlackBerry community across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in the last three weeks alone. We're excited by the continued momentum we're experiencing across EMEA, and are appreciative of the amazing efforts of our application developer partners, our operator partners, our retail partners, and our distributor partners who have helped us make this happen."

(Distributor partners = carriers, mostly.)

"BlackBerry continues to be the number one smartphone brand in a number of our markets, including the Netherlands, South Africa and the UK - where we also remain the number one smartphone vendor by total unit sales, and the number one prepay smartphone vendor. Our smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve also top the sales lists in countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia and we recently announced RIM's international revenue for the first quarter had grown 67% year on year."

That's true. We don't know anything about how international profits went, though; worldwide, profits were down 9.6% in the most recent quarter.

What's also not clear is how the prices on those phones are going. The average selling price for RIM phones, according to its results, dipped below $300 in the past quarter; it's still getting squeezed. But clearly, it's pricing to expand users, and that is definitely succeeding. There's a special attraction in the Middle East, where BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) lets people of the opposite sex communicate without having to do it face-to-face: BBM and BlackBerries are hugely popular in those countries for that reason apart from plenty of others. That's part of why Apple is introducing its own version in iOS5.

Meanwhile, some interesting news from Nokia. You'll recall that it showed off the N9, which is going to be its only MeeGo phone.

So, where will you be able to get an N9? Horace Dediu of Asymco, who notes:

Countries where the Nokia N9 will not be launched: UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Canada and the US.

And:

The first Nokia WP7 [Windows Phone] device will be launched in UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, all excluded from the Nokia N9 launch.

Which initially implies that the US, Norway and Belgium won't be getting either device to begin with.

The fact of the overlap (or non-overlap) carries an interesting question: will the first Nokia Windows Phone actually use the N9's body? It's a good-looking phone - and with the slightly refreshed Nokia under Stephen Elop, perhaps a spirit of economy will prevail.

View the original article here

Boot-up: Smartphone snakes, IOS provides, revealed patents and more

This is what hurt Apple's patents on HTC phones. Mobile phones other Android's next? Photo: Robert Galbraith/Reuters
A burst of 12 links for you to chew over, as picked by the technology team
"Where you have been outbid, you have to you has been sleeping with spoke - secrets which people would share even with their closest friends are not in a device, you better than white spills each familiar."
"Apple may have publicly denied that it is tracking people via their iPhones but the police and private forensic experts have saved any contrition about unlocking the secrets in smartphones."
"Last year, the policing Agency placed improving cell phone teaches evidence in the top level of the training requirements for officers, evidence they secure put together by cell phones, with 3500 officers, expected in the year that take the course."
Shipping delay up to 1 to 3 days instead of one or two weeks, as they were in April.
"Q: which is still quite remarkable - get the most news sites almost completely trolling or offensive comments." What is transformed it over the Internet, the people of assholes? "A: I think anonymity;" They think that they can get away with it. Anonymous speech - like whistle-blowing - definitely has a role in the company, but any time you anonymity people can introduce free assholes. How I grew up in Los Angeles, and if you are in a car in Los Angeles with 8 million other people, you are completely anonymous; People drive horribly. And then you move to Oregon, and everyone is waving at people drive much nicer and other. I see that the online - is it as you can what level of anonymity, is as much garbage, you're going to get. "
"It turns out that two patents have already been confirmed in this way." A patent covers the editing of data structures with user input (that is, if you on a mobile phone display a number increments, which is patented tap). The second patent includes "Real time processing serial data transmitted" - Although that sounds at first like a patent, it may be all of the slides software level of abstraction of real time operations (such as driver) include hardware. For more information about the FOSS patents blog. "The result is that if it is formally approved, Apple could either be a license for all Android powered devices, HTC they sell fee (if you consider the HTC for exactly this reason already pay Microsoft royalties is) or prevent that HTC import Android powered devices at all in the United States." "The latter measure may be issued as little as three or four months."
"Friday's Apple won a round in his court fight against Taiwanese phone maker HTC, when an International Trade Commission judge ruled that HTC Android phones violate two Apple patents." "The verdict is HTC appealing."
It's all about patents at the moment.
Useful for any time Twitter for good should scratch anything.
Kootol of the software patent "universal knowledge management and desktop search system" - is now safe to pass through the US Patent Office (aptly a set) and be approved. The USPTO has been asleep for the last 10 years? Google Desktop Search? Anyone?
"44,49 Million units reached Taiwan-based notebook maker invoice in the second quarter of 2011 with a sequential increase of 8.5%, better than the 5.6% growth in the same quarter a year ago." The shipment growth in the second quarter of 2011 was above all that from one million units by the Intel Classmate PC Venezuela, while the demand from the consumer notebook market remained low and incident, the delays in the movement of new notebook models, did not significantly Intel's chipsets, broken the notebook manufacturers, according to DIGITIMES Research benefit senior analyst Joanne Chien. "
Also: Broadcasts of MacBook Airs grew by 300,000 up to 1 m, and 30% of Apple's total notebook shipments were. That is a lot.
Our story about developer a discussion on reddit about what is and not software pull through back causes of U.S. app store due to the software patent fears, patentable. Insightful.
Hockenberry like the Internet as a medium for the distribution; "But this advanced distribution is also our business at risk: there are people in this new market to claim the right to a part of our hard work." Either by patent or, developers are this new find copyright infringement costs of proceedings be too onerous.
"The scary part is that these violations with any part of our products or Web sites can occur: things that one would never imagine, is a violation of someone other intellectual property." It feels like coding in a mine field. "From our experience, it is quite possible that all revenue for a product of legal costs can be eaten." After years of pouring your heart and soul into this product it is devastating. It makes you question why the hell you are in the business: If you can pay salaries of sales of products, there is no point in building there are in the first place. "
All Revenue? Scary.
Long interview; We will cook time-starved it up on a few lines for that.
Stephen DeWitt: "corporate synergy..." Laser focused... excited... Possibilities... Channels... compelling... clientized... Take advantage of the experience... meaningful relationships... passionate... a few things that we have not right to clearly communicate... "Push-back... tethered relationship..."
Rubenstein: "I would focus of my time in the future, WebOS is more."
Only obvious to American readers: "Verizon has already started cutting down on tethering by removing applications from the Android market, but today it has a much larger step by releasing an update for the HTC thunderbolt that blocked it by unauthorized tethering." Droid free of charge and LG revolution next in line. avoid the update means not get gingerbread (Android 2.3) support later.
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Tech weekly podcast: new Government data, Smartphone explosion

On this week program, we are a mobile ecosystem reports achieve critical mass in the next of the Smartphone market, has set 23 months. Has once more than half the UK population access to all functions, which means that for how we consume content online and trends in the United Kingdom software development?

Also, David Cameron of Britain's latest open data initiative in life launched a new version of the public data for use by developers free. What new insights can be gained, and selected this data was specifically to advance agenda Tory?

We spend much time most of them in connection with the company behind social networks, search engines and other publishing systems talk about issues of privacy on this podcast, but. So what about punters who will use computers to art? A New York artist has upload the software on public computers at Apple stores around the city and then capture images of buyers look at the screens of US secret service were detained for "Fraud and related activities".

Also Jemima steps into the elevator with Mark McLaughlin of ticket-ABC.

Don't forget...
• Comment below
• You mail us at tech@guardian.co.uk
• Get our Twitter-for program feed updates or follow our Twitter list
• How our Facebook page
• See our pictures on Flickr/post your tech images

View the original article here

Smartphone News: RIM WINS 1 m in Europe, while Nokia N9 gets limited release

It is for RIM, swings and roundabouts: according to our analysis show that RIM BlackBerry users in the United States lost 1 m in the last three months, the company announced that it has won 1M-Anwender in Europe in the past three weeks.

Led to the following:

Patrick Spence, Managing Director, EMEA, research in motion, said: "Thank you, more than 1 million new customers, that municipality merged the BlackBerry over Europe, Middle East and Africa in the last three weeks alone." "We are thrilled by continued growth, we are experiencing in EMEA, the, making development partners, are grateful for the amazing efforts of our application our operator partners, our partners in the retail sector, and our distribution partners who have helped us this is done."
(Distribution partners airlines, especially =.)

"BlackBerry continues to be the number one Smartphone brand in some of our markets, including Netherlands, South Africa and the UK - where we are the number one Smartphone manufacturer of total sales, and the number of one prepay phone provider." "Our smartphones including the BlackBerry bold and BlackBerry Curve also top sales lists in countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and we recently announced that RIM foreign sales had grown 67% year over year for the first quarter."

This is true. We do not know anything like international gains, but was transferred; Profits increased 9.6% have been around the world in the last quarter.

Also, it is not clear how the prices on these phones go. The average selling price for RIM phones according to their results dipped below $300 in the last quarter; It is still pressed to get. But clearly it is pricing to extend user and succeed in any case, the. It is a special attraction in the Middle East, where BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) communicate persons of the opposite sex without it can face to face: BBM and blackberries are very popular in these countries therefore in addition to many others. This is part of why Apple introduces its own version in iOS5.

In the meantime some interesting news from Nokia. You will remember that it showed the N9, will be his only MeeGo phone.

So, where are you can get a N9? Horace Dediu of Asymco, who notes:

Countries where the Nokia N9 not started: UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Canada and the United States.

And:

The first Nokia raising [Windows phone] device will run all of the Nokia N9 start excluded in UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Which means first of all, that device is the United States, Norway and Belgium not always either from the outset.

The fact of the overlap (or non-overlapping) is an interesting question: the first Windows Mobile phone from Nokia is really use the N9 body? It's a nice looking phone - and with the slightly updated Nokia under Stephen Elop, perhaps a business spirit will prevail.

View the original article here