mobile phones

Gartner: Slowdown spreading to electronics sector

Judi Hasson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:01:56 -0400

If you work in the electronics industry, trouble may be on the horizon. Gartner analyst Richard Gordon reports that a weakening global economy will cause a "widespread slowdown" in the electronics sector as consumers stop spending. This will affect the chip industry, he said, and the fallout will not end until the second half of next year. Gordon said the credit crisis, the housing disaster and high energy prices are key to the bleak equation in the United States.

While sales of personal computers and mobile phones have held up so far because of demand in emerging markets, he says nations like China, India, Russia and several countries in South America eventually will feel the impact of the worsening global economy. When that happens, he says, "it seems inconceivable that we will not see a more significant reduction in spending on electronics, even in the most resilient of industry sectors and regional markets."

For more on the slowing economy:
- check out this PCWorld article

Gates: Windows 7 will 'take less memory, be more efficient'

Paul Mah — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:48:28 -0400

Bill Gates has inadvertently confirmed that Microsoft is hard at work tweaking the next iteration of Windows--or Windows 7--to be more efficient where power and memory utilization are concerned. The company also is working to improve two-way replication of files between machines and to create better connectivity with mobile phones, as well as to make it into the premiere gaming platform. Article

Converged WiFi/cellular services becoming a reality

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

This may be the one area in mobile phone technology were enterprises have been more anxious to see results than consumers. Having shouldered the costs of fielding hundreds (if not thousands or tens of thousands) of mobile phones, CIOs may finally be getting some relief in the form of WiFi-enabled wireless phone plans. T-Mobile USA will launch its converged WiFi and cellular service nationwide today, following the introduction of the service late last year in Seattle. Because cellular networks often don't work as well indoors as outside, T-Mobile is using WiFi to provide better service to customers in their buildings, whether it be homes or offices that are covered by a T-Mobile hotspot. T-Mobile relies on technology called Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) to offer the service.

To learn more:
- check out the CIO article

Sales of Mobile Phones Up in Q1

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Sales of mobile phones in the first quarter topped a quarter of a billion units--up 14 percent compared to the same period one year ago. Demand from Asia/Pacific countries, including China and Japan, is driving the trend, Gartner says. Shipments were 257.4 million units in Q1 2007. Meanwhile, sales in Western Europe and North America experienced an expected slowdown, following strong Christmas sales. Nokia sold 92 million handsets in the quarter, giving the company 35.7 percent of the global market, nearly double that of second-place manufacturer Motorola.

For more on handset trends:
- see this Information Week article

Mobile Apps expected to grow to $9 billion by 2011

Wed, 30 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

In the quest for innovation and the push toward the next frontier for applications, many companies are looking to mobile phones as a platform of opportunity. According to consulting and analytics firm Compass Intelligence, mobile apps are a good bet. The U.S. mobile applications market will grow to $9 billion by 2011, the company predicts, forecasting that U.S. businesses will spend about $3.8 billion on mobile applications this year alone. That includes custom-coded wireless packages, productivity tools, enterprise resource planning tools, email, and security applications. Compass predicts U.S. annual growth rates in the market to be between 20 and 37 percent from 2006 through 2011. Applications will provide SMS/text messaging, content relationship management programs, project management software, and file-sharing, InformationWeek reports.

See the full survey data:
- read this InformationWeek article

ALSO NOTED: Increasing shareholder value through IT; Accreditation for security professionals;

Tue, 22 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> CIO Executive Board finds high-performing IT functions can increase shareholder value by 20 percent. Press release

> IT security professionals face tighter accreditation. Article

> Change, configuration and release management catch on. Article

> Facebook targets companies. Article

> A strong case for companies sourcing and configuring their own mobile phones. Article

> The successful adoption of SOAs requires a change in corporate culture. Article

> Frost & Sullivan announces nominees of awards for best mobile communications and computing. Press release

And Finally… Quiet leaders can make a big impact. Blog

Reigning-in mobile costs for globe-trotting travelers

Thu, 17 May 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Traveling abroad can cost companies a lot of money, not only in airfare and hotels, but in international cellular roaming charges. Make sure the mobile phones your employees will use overseas are quad-band phones that support all four commonly used spectrum bands. And think ahead: find out whether traveling employees plan to use their phones a lot. If traveling and calls are infrequent, it might be simpler and cheaper to absorb the high roaming fees. But some carriers offer special plans for international use resulting in lower roaming fees, which can make sense if the phone will be used extensively. Often, the most cost-effective method can be to purchase a new Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card for the employee's existing phone; it means travelers will be paying the same prepaid rate as other users in that country. But beware: if your employees are using their regular mobile devices when traveling abroad, be careful of data service costs, which can be very expensive. It could be worth the money for executives or other key personnel to have their regular email access, no matter how expensive, but for other users, it might be a good idea to turn off automatic email or set the device to automatically download only email header information and not entire messages.

Read more about mobile expenses when traveling abroad:
- read the article at CIO

ALSO:
- read this for best practices in managing mobile devices
- and this on managing global wireless diversity

Using mobile technology for secure application delivery

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

The mobile phone might seem like an excellent way to deliver productivity applications but CIOs have traditionally been skeptical, citing security concerns. New technology in the form of biometric sensors in mobile phones could quell these concerns, however. One example is a fingerprint sensor with a very small form factor. Over time, the technology will improve and costs will decrease, making the mobile phone a more useful corporate tool.

Read more about using mobile phones as a corporate tool:
- read the blog at CIO

ALSO:
- read this on the importance of mobile security

Financial institutions should be careful of mobile malware

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:01:39 -0500

A new study from the TowerGroup focusing on mobile fraud and ID theft found that CIOs and IT managers of financial services institutions should work especially hard to create enforceable policies regarding mobile usage that are communicated to employees--including what type of mobile downloads are allowable. Businesses should also require wireless carriers serving their institutions to install and monitor mobile safeguards, restrict the use of personal mobile phones for corporate activities and evaluate which combinations of network and device-based security solutions offer the right fit.

Read more about mobile malware:
- see this article at Yahoo News

ALSO NOTED: The pros and cons of email that goes poof; 'Serious' flaws found in Mac OS X; and much more...

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> The pros, and the cons of email that goes poof. Article

> 'Serious' flaws found in Mac OS X. Article

> Turkey maker turns to podcasts for customer service. Article

> Oracle beats out Microsoft when it comes to database product flaws. Article

> Email service aimed at low-cost mobile phones. Article

> Better management tools arrive with new version of MYSQL. Article

And Finally... The geekiest of women. Article