RIM, or Research in Motion, reptorted that sales of all Blackberry mobiel devices jumped by over 2 million devices over the past year. The cell phone giant shipped out 41.9 million units in Q2 of 2008, which toppled their total of 39.8 millions in the previous year. This number indicates significant growth for RIM in the US, a market already fully saturated by mobile phones- It also puts the company over the 10% mark in terms of the US Domestic Mobile Phone market share. For more Q2 market info check out this Reuter’s Mobile News Article.
Yesterday, there was a huge network disruption over the greater part of Sothern California. People tried to make calls only to find the signal was busy, and were even told by the state to refrain from making non-emergency calls because the 911 networks were inoperative as well. And the cause of this failure? It had nothing to do with the equipment, the cellular network simply couldn’t handle people doing what phone companies want them to do: make phone calls.
In wake of a modest 5.4 earthquake in Chino Hills on Tuesday (a magnitude which knocked over no buildings, street lamps, bridges, or glasses of water for that matter), an 800% spike in cell activity caused the networks to completely overload. And while nothing horrible came from the situation, and the cell network was back to normal by the end of the day, such an event raises the question: what were to happen in the event of a real emergency? I know this sounds like I’m just poking holes and being overly critical, but in a time when cellular phone subscriptions are growing exponentially, isn’t it fair to say that, given any kind of earthquake or attack or national emergency, wouldn’t everyone with a phone be calling to check on their families? And if a 5.4 earthquake can flood the 911 network, could it respond in a more severe situation? I don’t really have any answer here… I just have to say, whatever the event, the key to resolving any kind of crisis is communication and coordination, and for that mobile phones are absolutely necessary. Service providers should definitely take a hint from this temporary blackout, and make sure the network can handle future situations.
According to a recent poll taken by Nokia, only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones even though most have several old devices lying around in drawers and cabinets that they no longer want! The survey also found that three out of every four people didn’t even know it was possible to recycle phones at all. This may not sound like that big of a deal, but given the fact that over 3 billion people have Nokia cell phones alone, and given the fact that the average customer has owned 5 different mobile devices, the number of unused, un-recycled cell phones is staggering. Markus Terho, Director of Environmental Affairs at Nokia, comments further in a Cellular News article:
“It is clear from this survey that when mobile devices finally reach the end of their lives that very few of them are recycled. Many people are simply unaware that these old and unused mobiles lying around in drawers can be recycled or how to do this. Nokia is working hard to make it easier, providing more information and expanding our global take-back programs. If each of the three billion people globally owning mobiles brought back just one unused device we could save 240,000 tons of raw materials and reduce greenhouse gasses to the same effect as taking 4 million cars off the road. By working together, small individual actions could add up to make a big difference.”
I never realized that phones could be recycled, or the impact that such an easy action could potentially have. Nokia is doing a great service in building awareness, and I really do hope that this information reaches people. All it takes is a trip to the nearest mobile store to play a part in preserving the future.
With more and more states passing legislation to prevent the use of mobile phones while driving, people are turning to bluetooth headsets as the hands free option of choice. They are small and wireless and comfortable…. and I don’t have to deal with putting them on every time someone calls. But what I didn’t realize was that these headsets are very easily intercepted, and not only from a few yards away, but from distances close to a mile! I’ll let the guy, Joshua Wright, show you by actually performing a “remote attack” on video.
Rogers Wireless in Canada is now allowing their users to hook up their mobile phones to their home internet!
“The convergence of wireless and the Internet has been one of the long-hyped promises of the telecom world, but little has come of it.
But a new option from Rogers Wireless that lets people use their mobile phones through their home Internet connection is inching Canada closer to that converged utopia.
Called My Home Calling Zone on the Rogers brand and UNO under its Fido subsidiary, the service gives customers unlimited calling when at home. Users need a wireless Internet router and a handset that works on a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Redherring.com interviewed Carol in their article about Amazon’s introduction of TextBuyIt. Here’s what Carol had to say:
” ‘This validates our market and it will get even more merchants and others interested in offering consumers the ability to purchase on the go,’ Ms. Realini said.
Despite the growing sophistication of mobile phones and the emergence of the mobile web, large banks and retailers in the U.S. have been reluctant to adopt mobile banking and mobile payments.
But Ms. Realini believes that those attitudes are changing, in part due to changing attitudes among consumers.
‘We have seen a lot of interest in mobile payments from all age groups,’ she said. ‘There are some people who need convincing around safety, but there is a whole lifestyle that has developed around mobile phones and mobile commerce is part of that.’ “
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