Archive for the ‘Mobile Application’ Category

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Skype release ‘Skype for Android’ mobile app

Monday, October 11th, 2010

 

By David Olsen, Dynamic Business

Skype has released Skype for Android, a mobile app built for Google Android mobile phones running Android OS version 2.1 or above, with the app available from the Android Market.

Skype has long had a Skype iPhone app, but this is the first time Skype have released an app for a non-Apple platform since discontinuing the Windows Mobile app earlier this year. Skype for Android will allow users to make Skype calls using either a WiFi or mobile data connection. To get Skype for Android, either visit the Android Market on your mobile phone, or visit www.skype.com/m for more information.

Mark Douglas, Product Manager of Android believes that Skype for Android makes Skype the number one choice for VOIP calls on the majority of mobile phones available today.

“The Skype experience is ubiquitous today. More and more people are using Skype to do things together when apart. With the addition of Android, we are pleased that Skype is now available on three of the most popular mobile platforms today: Android, iOS and Symbian”

Skype is particularly useful for businesses that need to call overseas and is growing in popularity as an option, replacing costly overseas long distance calls. Skype for Android unties you from your desktop when making Skype calls and gives you the option of making that long distance call for free on the go (with the exception of mobile data charges from your mobile company).

Skype for Android is compatible with most Android 2.1 or above mobiles such as the popular HTC Desire in Australia however Skype notes that there are some problems with the Samsung Galaxy S which the company is working to resolve.

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China nears 800 million mobile phone subscribers

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

by Dan Nystedt

The number of mobile phone subscribers in China reached 796 million as of the end of May, while 3G subscriber numbers have almost doubled, the government said Tuesday.

Over 9.4 million new Chinese subscribers signed up for mobile phone service in May, for an official total of 48.5 million new users so far this year, according to China’s Ministry of Information Industry.

The number of people signing up for 3G service, new to China as of last year, hit 22.6 million at the end of May, up 10.3 million so far this year.

But while China remains the world’s largest mobile phone market by subscribers, India’s subscriber numbers are growing faster.

India added 16.3 million new mobile phone subscribers in May, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The country’s total now stands at 617.5 million.

Both China and India boast populations of over 1 billion.

China’s three big telecommunications operators have also reported their mobile subscriber figures. China Mobile remains the largest provider with 549.0 million subscribers at the end of May, followed by China Unicom, which sells iPhones in China, at 155.3 million, and China Telecom with 71.5 million.

China Mobile reported it had 9.3 million 3G subscribers at the end of May, while China Unicom said it had 6.5 million. China Telecom did not report a figure, but a company official said it now has between 6 million and 7 million 3G subscribers. The company reported its last official figure of 5.6 million at the end of the first quarter.

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Samsung, Nokia, HTC: no smartphone signal complaints

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

 

by Miyoung Kim

Handset vendors insist its an Apple problem.

Samsung Electronics claims that it has not received any significant complaints related to smartphone signal reception, the latest vendor to distance itself from Apple after the U.S. vendor said that the entire smartphone industry had shared the issue.

At an unusual conference on Friday, Steve Jobs, Apple Chief Executive, rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4′s design was flawed and said the industry shared the reception problem. Especially, he pointed out that its rivals Samsung, Research in Motion (RIM) and Taiwan’s HTC had all shared the same issue.

Samsung claimed in a statement, "We have not received significant customer feedback on any signal reduction issue for the Omnia II," referring to its smartphone model which was featured in Apple’s video on Friday.

Samsung, the world’s second handset maker, not only completes with Apple on smartphone and digital music players, but also supplies memory chips for the world’s NO.1 technology company by market value.

Besides, RIM also swiftly rejected Jobs’ argument. It said late on Friday that Apple was trying intentionally to twist the issues surrounding the iPhone 4′s antenna design by asserting RIM’s BlackBerry shared similar reception problems.

"Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable," RIM co-Chief Executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie said in a statement emailed late Friday.

Furthermore, Nokia and HTC also released statements to the same effect.

"We prioritise antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict," Nokia said in a statement.

Since the launch of the iPhone 4 on June 24, some users have reported drastically reduced signal strength when they held the touch-screen phone a certain way, leading to dropped calls.

However, "This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren’t perfect. Most every smartphone we tested behaved like this," Jobs said.

In response to Jobs’ comments on this issue, Samsung defended its design.

Hwan Kim, vice-president of mobile communications, "based on years of experience of designing high quality phones, Samsung mobile phones employ an internal antenna design technology that optimizes reception quality for any type of hand-grip use." said in a statement.

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Google adds search support for mobile application stores

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Shaun Nichols in San Francisco

Google has added links to mobile application stores to its mobile search service.

The company said in an official blog posting that it would begin serving links to users of both Android and iPhone OS handsets that would link to the devices’ respective application download services.

In addition to normal Google search results, handset users will be presented with links to applications that are offered through either the Android Marketplace or Apple’s iPhone OS App Store.

“As mobile apps continue to proliferate in stores like Android Market and the iPhone App Store, finding relevant information on the web about these apps is becoming more important to help you decide which apps to download,” wrote Google engineers Milena Nikolic and Paul Hedfield.

“In addition to helping you find the mobile app information you’re looking for, Google search for mobile now also makes it easier for you to get the actual apps themselves while you’re searching.”

The company said that while the service is currently limited to Android and iPhone OS users in the US, expansion to other countries and support for additional devices is planned.

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