This week in mobility – January 21, 2014
Friday has rolled around once more, which means another round-up of the week’s best mobility news. And a good week it’s been too! It’s rumoured that Samsung will partner with Visa to launch Samsung Pay at March’s Mobile World Congress. Potentially compatible with a majority of existing magnetic and NFC terminals, this could take-on faster than previous contenders. Meanwhile, competition in the mobile market is set to shrink even further with the news that Three looks set to snap up O2 for £10.25b. Also, research by MBaaS provider Kinvey has revealed that three quarters of companies have appointed someone to handle their mobile strategy. It’s great to see mobility topping the headlines for another week. Here are my week’s picks:
- It’s official: Google are to become a mobile phone operator. The web giant has confirmed deals to provide data and calls with Sprint and T-Mobile networks in the US. Google will act as a virtual network operator, buying access to mobile networks to mix with its own fibre, before selling call and data packages directly to customers.
- Low battery will soon become a thing of the past for coffee lovers thanks to Starbucks, which has announced a free service enabling users to charge their phone wirelessly.The service will use the Powermat ring-shaped adapter, available to borrow or buy for £10. This follows a successful roll-out across 2,000 branches in the US.
- Vodafone has continued its battle against mobile not-spots by adding 40 communities to its Rural Open Sure Signal programme, which plans to bring 3G voice and data services to areas suffering from poor mobile coverage. Remote communities across the UK have been encouraged to apply to the scheme, which uses Vodafone’s Sure Signal technology to get rural residents connected.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on this week’s mobility news – do you welcome Google’s foray into the mobile market? What else might the coffee shop industry introduce to your mobility experience? Let me know by leaving or comment, or if you’re a Twitter fan, let me know at @GrahamFranklin or @CiscoUKI.
