BlackBerry 10 updates unveiled - www.gadget.co.za

27 Sep 2012 by Editor | Filed in Serious Software

Last night at the BlackBerry Jam Americas conference in San Jose, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, revealed more of the core features of the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, including navigational "Flow" and inbox "Peek".

Last night at the BlackBerry Jam Americas conference in San Jose, RIM (Research In Motion) President and CEO Thorsten Heins announced a number of updates to the BlackBerry 10 developer platform and an updated Dev Alpha B testing device to meet demand from developers building apps for the platform. RIM also revealed an increase in itsuser base to approximately 80 million, a new milestone of 60 million BBM subscribers and 60 million users of the Facebook app for BlackBerry.

Thorsten Heins’ keynote can be watched here. 

Enhanced user experience

At the core of BlackBerry 10 is Flow, a new kind of mobile user experience that removes the ‘in and out’ experience of applications to enable the user to flow through applications. While the Peek feature means that a glimpse of the BlackBerry 10 unified inbox is only a swipe away without leaving an app. It’s a new approach designed to put the user in control and simplify busy lives not slow them down.

• Flow in BlackBerry 10 - http://blogs.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry-10-video/

New BlackBerry App World

BlackBerry 10 will see an all-new BlackBerry App World storefront, providing  access to games, apps, music and videos, all using a single BlackBerry ID. BlackBerry has secured premium app and media partners including Facebook, Twitter, foursquare and Gameloft for BlackBerry 10.

• All new BlackBerry App World for BlackBerry 10 - http://blogs.blackberry.com/2012/09/app-world-on-blackberry-10-video/

BlackBerry 10 in enterprise

BlackBerry 10 will maintain BlackBerry’s heritage in enterprise at both the user and enterprise level. The unified inbox (email and social), plus integration between a users contacts and calendar and their social networks is intended to meet the needs of the most prolific business communicators. While the integration of BlackBerry Balance technology will keep personal and corporate apps and data separate (and secure) but enable users to transition seamlessly between personal and work activity. RIM also confirmed BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, which will let businesses manage BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices from a single console.

• BlackBerry 10 for Enterprise and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 -http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry10-bes10-enterprise-roadmap/
• BlackBerry Balance on BlackBerry 10, seamless flow between personal and corporate worlds -http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry-balance-on-blackberry-10/
• Adding corporate email to BlackBerry 10 -  http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry-10-enterprise-activation/

Opening doors for developers

RIM continues to drive developer engagement with BlackBerry 10, releasing a series of updates to developer tools and a new Dev Alpha B testing device. This includes Beta 3 of the BlackBerry 10 Native SDK and a new BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK release. With increased developer and user engagement, BlackBerry App World continues to go from strength to strength with more than one billion app downloads in the last five months driving revenue for developers. According to Vision Mobile, BlackBerry developers generate, on average, 4% more revenue per app/per month than iOS developers, and about 40% more revenue than Android developers. BlackBerry App World has more paid downloads per month than the Android market. (Yankee Research Group).

• BlackBerry 10 Native SDK update - http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry-10-native-sdk-update/#more-11131
• Developer guide to BlackBerry 10 Flow - http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry-10-flow-guide/#more-11129
• BlackBerry 10 Webworks SDK updates - http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/blackberry-10-webworks-sdk-release-update/
• Android Runtime for BlackBerry 10 - http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/09/android-runtime-blackberry-10-beta/

Mobile data deals compared

Vodacom recently unveiled their best ever data deals. This is how it stacks up against MTN, Cell C and 8ta’s data promotions.

Vodacom has recently launched three new data deals – 1GB for R89, 2GB for R139 and 3GB for R189. These data bundles exclude a modem.

The new data deals are available on a 24-month contract, and includes ‘Night Owl’ data which gives another 1GB, 2GB or 3GB of data (depending on the package), to use between midnight and 5 am.

These new data bundles complement the company’s modem inclusive data packages at R99 for 1GB, R149 for 2GB and R199 for 3GB.

This raises the question of how Vodacom’s new modem-less data packages compare with similar contract promotions from 8ta, Cell C and MTN.

The following table provides an overview of some of the prominent data promotions from the four mobile operators.

Data deals under R100
Provider	Bonus	Data	Monthly cost
Cell C	–	500MB	R45
MTN	Includes modem	500MB	R69
Vodacom	1GB night owl data	1GB	R89
Cell C	–	2GB	R99
MTN	Includes modem	1GB	R99
R100 to R149
Vodacom	2GB night owl data	2GB	R139
MTN	Includes modem	2GB	R149
8ta (prepaid)	1GB night surfer data	2GB	R149
R150 to R199
Vodacom	3GB night owl data	3GB	R189
8ta	–	10GB	R199

Mobile price war not ending soon

By Gareth Vorster | 23 August 2012 

The price war between South Africa’s mobile operators is set to continue thanks to the headroom in the local market for further price cuts, according to an analyst.

Despite numerous aggressively-priced voice and mobile data products launched by Cell C recently, the company’s CEO, Alan Knott-Craig, told MyBroadband there is a lot more to come from the company.

An analyst at financial services company, PSG Konsult, told BusinessTech that Cell C’s marketing campaigns have highlighted aggressive moves from the operator in the mobile space.

“It will be interesting to see how this pricing war plays out – particularly between Cell C, MTN, and Vodacom – as South Africa still has some of the most expensive pricing in the world. There is still plenty of room to bring these prices down further, cutting margins,” the analyst said.

Interestingly the analyst omitted 8ta, Telkom’s mobile arm.

By close of play on the JSE on Thursday (23 August), shares in Telkom breached R20 (R20.10) for the first time in several months, advancing 81 cents, or 34.20%, in intraday trade, taking its market cap beyond R10 billion (R10.46 billion).

The PSGK analyst said it was difficult to provide a range for the group, as investors await further clarity on an advised strategy from the Department of Communications.

At the start of June, Cabinet asked the minister of the  DoC, Dina Pule, to report back to it about all the options that are available for Telkom in three months’ time (August), after government blocked the SA operator’s deal with KT Corp.

“Investors are waiting to see if the company will continue as a private entity or whether government will take control,” the analyst said.

He noted the rising share price for Vodacom was most likely as a result of Vodacom’s continued strategy to “pay a nice dividend” along with its attractive yield. “Investors are chasing yields at the moment.”

In the year to date period, shares in Vodacom have moved from R89.11, to R103.42 by close on Thursday – an intraday rise of 1.68% , setting the telco at a market cap of R153.88 billion. It reached a year-to-date best of R110.89 in April.

For MTN, the analyst pointed to some profit taking, following a good run in recent sessions.

“I still think MTN can reach its top estimates (R160) and even move beyond that. We back MTN due to its geographic diversity in Africa and the Middle East. With MTN in so many markets, it is less constrained to one country, which means that it wont feel the effects of a price war to the same extent as, say, Vodacom.”

In the year-to-date period, shares in MTN have moved from R144.50 to a closing price of R156.94 on Thursday, giving the group a market cap of  R295.83 billion.

Android rules rest of world - www.gadget.co.za

14 Aug 2012 by Editor | Filed in Mobile

Recent research by Gartner has revealed that although the worldwide sales of mobile phones declined by 2.3% in the second quarter of 2012, smartphones sales increased by 42.7%, with Android extending its lead over iOS.

Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached 419 million units in the second quarter of 2012, a 2.3 per cent decline from the second quarter of 2011, according to Gartner. Smartphone sales accounted for 36.7 per cent of total mobile phone sales and grew 42.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2012.

"Demand slowed further in the second quarter of 2012," said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. "The challenging economic environment and users postponing upgrades to take advantage of high-profile device launches and promotions available later in the year slowed demand across markets. Demand of feature phones continued to decline, significantly weakening the overall mobile phone market.

"High-profile smartphone launches from key manufacturers such as the anticipated Apple iPhone 5, along with Chinese manufacturers pushing 3G and preparing for major device launches in the second half of 2012, will drive the smartphone market upward. However, feature phones will continue to see pressure," Mr Gupta said.

In the second quarter of 2012, Samsung's mobile phone sales remained very strong — up 29.5 per cent from the second quarter of 2011 (see Table 1), and managed to extend its lead over both Apple and Nokia quarter-on-quarter. This quarter's growth was driven by record sales of Galaxy smartphones, meaning smartphones now account for 50.4 per cent of all Samsung mobile devices, or 45.6 million units. Demand for the new Galaxy S3 was particularly strong, exceeding Samsung's own expectations, with a reported 10 million units reached in the two months after its release. The Galaxy S3 was the best-selling Android product in the quarter and could have been higher but for product shortages.

In the second quarter of 2012, consumer demand for the Apple iPhone weakened as sales fell 12.6 per cent from the first quarter of 2012, but grew 47.4 per cent year-on-year. Depending on the exact launch date of the new iPhone, Apple might experience another weaker-than-usual quarter in the third quarter of 2012, while Apple will be ready to take advantage of the strong holiday sales in North America and Western Europe that have historically remained immune to economic pressure.

"Samsung and Apple continued to dominate the smartphone market, together taking about half the market share, and widening the gap to other manufacturers. No other smartphone vendors had share close to 10 per cent," Mr Anshul said. "In the race to be top smartphone manufacturer in 2012, Samsung has consistently increased its lead over Apple, and its open OS market share increased to one-and-a-half times that of Apple in the second quarter of 2012."

Table 1

Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2Q12 (Thousands of Units)

Company	2Q12 Units	2Q12 Market Share (%)	2Q11 Units	2Q11 Market Share (%)
Samsung	90,432.1	21.6	69,827.6	16.3
Nokia	83,420.1	19.9	97,869.3	22.8
Apple	28,935.0	6.9	19,628.8	4.6
ZTE	17,936.4	4.3	13,070.2	3.0
LG Electronics	14,345.4	3.4	24,420.8	5.7
Huawei Device	10,894.2	2.6	9,026.1	2.1
TCL Communications	9,355.7	2.2	7,938.9	1.9
HTC	9,301.2	2.2	11,016.1	2.6
Motorola	9,163.2	2.2	10,221.4	2.4
Research In Motion	7,991.2	1.9	12,652.3	3.0
Others	137,233.4	32.8	152,989.70	35.7
Total	419,007.90	100.0	428,661.15	100.0

Source: Gartner (August 2012)

Nokia's mobile phone sales declined 14.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2012. Nokia is battling fiercely with white-box and new emerging device manufacturers to defend its feature phones sales. Nokia succeeded, to a certain extent, in winning feature phone market share as its sales grew quarter-on-quarter. While posting sequential growth in the feature phone market, Nokia's Lumia devices continue to struggle to find a place in consumers' minds as a replacement for Android.

"Declining smartphone sales is worsening Nokia's overall position, as it had already lost the No. 1 position to Samsung in the previous quarter and is facing reduced profitability due to continuous declining sales of premium smartphones," said Mr Gupta.

In the smartphone OS market, Android extended its lead with an increase of 20.7 percentage points in market share in the second quarter of 2012 (see Table 2). While Apple's iOS market share slightly grew year over year (0.6 per cent), it declined 3.7 percentage points quarter-on-quarter, as users postponed their upgrade decisions in most markets ahead of the upcoming launch of the iPhone 5.

Gartner analysts said the arrival of the iPhone 5 should provide the greatest upgrade opportunity yet as the expected new design with a larger screen and likely other stylistic changes to the form factor will certainly make a strong case for iPhone 4 users to upgrade.

Table 2

Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2Q12 (Thousands of Units)

Operating System	2Q12 Units	2Q12 Market Share (%)	2Q11 Units	2Q11 Market Share (%)
Android	98,529.3	64.1	46,775.9	43.4
iOS	28,935.0	18.8	19,628.8	18.2
Symbian	9,071.5	5.9	23,853.2	22.1
Research In Motion	7,991.2	5.2	12,652.3	11.7
Bada	4,208.8	2.7	2,055.8	1.9
Microsoft	4,087.0	2.7	1,723.8	1.6
Others	863.3	0.6	1,050.6	1.0
Total	153,686.1	100.0	107,740.4	100.0

Source: Gartner (August 2012)

Cell C slashes contract prices

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/51937-cell-c-slashed-contract-prices.html

Staff Writer 

Cell C announced today (6 June 2012) that it would be reducing its contract rates with the launch of six “Straight Up” packages for post-paid and hybrid (Top-Up) customers on 22 June 2012. These packages range from Straight Up 30 to Straight Up 800.

This announcement follows the company’s tariff reductions in data as well as pre-paid and international calls.

“For the first time customers can see exactly what they are paying for and select the package that suits them best. For instance when you buy a Straight Up 100 package, you get 100 minutes, 100 SMS’s or MMS’s, and 100 MB of data anywhere, anytime for R100,” said Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig.

“The same applies for all Straight Up packages. Customers also no longer have to worry about high out-of-bundle rates. They will pay 99 cents per minute, with per second billing anywhere, any time out of the bundle for every bundle.”

Cell C added that customers will know exactly how many minutes, MB of data and SMSs/MMSs will be in each bundle.

“The minutes in the bundle, however, exclude international calls. Calls to the UK, USA, China, India and Pakistan are billed at 99 cents per minute on per second billing any time, out of bundle. New international rates to all countries will be announced in the next few weeks,” Cell C said.

“And customers get to choose the duration of their contract. If no cell phone is required, then 1 month is the shortest contract,” added Knott-Craig.

Cell C explained that if the customer wants a cell phone, the price of the cell phone will be calculated depending on the length of the contract period chosen – 6, 12, 18 or 24-month. “Add the cell phone monthly price to the contract monthly subscription, and you have your total monthly subscription,” said Cell C.

“If, when using a Hybrid or Top-Up package to control your monthly spend, you run out of minutes or data or SMS’s, simply add a pre-paid SMS voucher or data bundle, or pre-paid airtime voucher at 99 cents per minute anywhere, any time. If you make international calls, the rate for the country will be the applied tariff,” said Cell C.

If you are on a Post-paid contract, simply continue using the service at 50 cents per SMS, 50 cents per MMS, 99 cents per MB of data, and 99 cents per minute for voice. If not used, the voice minutes, messaging and data will automatically roll over and remain valid for 90 days.

“Our packages are simple, transparent and superb value. Only per second billing is used on voice minutes. Customers simply estimate how many minutes, SMS’s and MB of data they want per month and choose a package based on estimated usage,” said Knott-Craig.

“If you don’t use your allocation, we simply roll it over for you. If customers want to use their existing handset they can choose the SIM-only option. If a customer wants a top-of-the-range Smartphone but only requires a small bundle of voice minutes that is also okay. With our new packages you can mix and match as you please.”

“And we have still not finished giving consumers what they want. Not perfect yet I know, but a helluva lot better in terms of simplicity, choice and price than they can get today anywhere. Once Government and ICASA start actively pumping for a more competitive market, we will make it even better for the consumer. We are still a relatively small player, and we can’t do this alone,” said Knott-Craig.

Cell C Post-paid and Hybrid (Top Up) offerings (including VAT):

Packages	SIM only fee	*SIM + handset fee	Minutes included	SMS/MMSs included	Data included (MB)
Straight Up 30Straight Up 30 TopUp	R30	Deal dependent	30	30	30
Straight Up 50Straight Up 50 TopUp	R50	Deal dependent	50	50	50
Straight Up 100Straight Up 100 TopUp	R100	Deal dependent	100	100	100
Straight Up 200Straight Up 200 TopUp	R200	Deal dependent	200	200	200
Straight Up 400Straight Up 400 TopUp	R400	Deal dependent	400	400	400
Straight Up 800Straight Up 800 TopUp	R800	Deal dependent	800	800	800

*SIM + device: The monthly fee is dependent on the value of the device
.