Near Field Communications / Smart mCommerce

Top 10 mobile commerce apps of Q1 – Mobile Commerce Daily

Kenneth G. Mages — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:10:24 +0000

Mobile Commerce Daily today – Top 10 mobile commerce apps of Q1; Zappos launches interactive spring trend initiative to boast sales.

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Samsung dethrones Nokia, but can it wear the crown?

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:45 +0000

Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia (NYSE:NOK) as the world’s largest handset maker by shipment volumes, according to several analyst reports, dethroning Nokia after Nokia’s 14-year reign at the top.

The changing order, which has appeared more and more inevitable over the past year in particular as Samsung’s smartphone sales have jumped and Nokia’s have fallen, provides an opportunity to not only examine the past but look to the future. Why did these two companies cross paths, one on the down slope and the other rising swiftly? More importantly though, now that Nokia has been eclipsed by Samsung, what will Samsung do to maintain its position?

I heavily suspect that the factors that have driven Samsung to the top (massive scale as an electronics conglomerate, its embrace of Android and its execution as a fast-follower) will not be able to propel it forward much more. Why? It’s an issue I’ve written about before: Services and the overall user experience are what will determine smartphone vendors’ fates, not hardware specifications.

Before turning to the newly crowned king from South Korea, it’s worth taking stock of Nokia, still a proud Finnish giant but one that has undeniably fallen on hard times. Nokia’s downfall was catalyzed by two things, primarily. First was its ineffectiveness (up until its decision to adopt Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform) to react to Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform at the high end, and especially in the U.S market. It sputtered with Symbian phones and toyed with MeeGo, without much success. “Nokia redefined their Symbian phones as smartphones, which I thought was always preposterous,” Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner said. “That’s like saying your soapbox car can compete with a NASCAR car because you’re both racing.”

Nokia also got hammered at the low end, especially in emerging markets, not only by cheap Android phones from Huawei and ZTE, but by dozens of smaller firms operating in China, from Alcatel to Tianyu. It also got undercut in markets like India where dual-SIM phones are critical; Nokia belatedly introduced dual-SIM devices in the second quarter of 2011 and has been working to grab more market share with its Asha sub-brand.

So now that Samsung has the top spot, what will it do with it? Samsung has always been a great fast-follower, challenging Nokia at the low end, emulating Motorola’s Razr and so on. However, as late as early 2010, Samsung was viewed as a relative laggard in smartphones. That changed with the introduction of the first Galaxy S Android smartphone in March 2010 and Samsung’s ability to secure massive U.S. carrier distribution, something that Samsung would repeat with the Galaxy S II in 2011. To see how this strategy has borne fruit, consider this: According to research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung had 44.5 million smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2012, up from 12.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Samsung has benefited from being fantastic at execution, leveraging its unmatched scale in developing its own components for displays, memory and chipsets. But will those advantages be enough to sustain it? I’m not so sure. We’ll perhaps find out more May 3 when Samsung unveils its next flagship phone, presumably the Galaxy S III. CCS Insight analyst John Jackson said he is looking for not just more flashy hardware but a comprehensive services strategy.

“The industry has told us that hardware alone doesn’t get you a sustainable position,” he said. “They’ve risen on hardware but that’s probably not the go-forward strategy.” Moreover, Samsung cannot leverage its scale in content and services, because unlike in hardware, it doesn’t have those resources. Its Media Hub platform has been respectable but does not compare to iTunes or even Amazon’s library of content. Without a strong and compelling services strategy, Samsung’s position at the top will not be secure.

Nokia is no longer the handset king; Samsung sits on the throne. But as Shakespeare wrote: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” –Phil

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France Telecom exec claims Free Mobile now losing customers

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:36 +0000

Having gained several million customers since its launch in January, Free Mobile is now said to be steadily losing around 1,000 subscriber per week, according to a France Telecom executive.

Number portability requests have returned to levels prior to the arrival of Free Mobile in the market, according to Alice Holzmann, marketing director of Orange France. “The mass migration to Free Mobile has returned to a normal level,” Holzmann told the French newspaper Les Echos.

The Orange exec claimed that around 1,000 Free Mobile customers are returning to one of the three major operators–Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom–each week, having been disappointed with the service being provided by Free Mobile.

This trend was confirmed by SFR CEO Jean-Bernard Levy. “Since mid-March, we have gradually returned to a churn level roughly in line with the same period last year,” he told the French newspaper La Tribune. “We see the same people come back [from Free Mobile] disappointed.”

Holzmann said she believes that Free Mobile’s customer growth has stalled over the past few weeks, and it was only able to build its user base by offering heavily discounted pricing to its 4.8 million DSL subscribers. About two-thirds of Free Mobile’s customer base is thought to have come from users of its Freebox DSL broadband service.

Free Mobile has yet to provide any information as to customer numbers. The operator’s parent company, Iliad, is expected to unveil this data during its quarterly earnings summary planned for next month.

For more:
- see this Les Echos article (translated via Google Translate)
- see the La Tribune article (translated via Google Translate)

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Samsung snatches handset crown from Nokia as S&P cuts rating

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:31 +0000

Samsung has overtaken Nokia to become the world’s biggest vendor of mobile phones. This move sees the Finnish company lose its position as global leader ending a 14-year run, according to multiple analyst reports.

Click here for figures from IHS.

The South Korean company shipped 93.5 million handsets in the first quarter, an impressive 36 per cent higher than the 68.9 million it shipped in the year-ago, according to Startegy Analytics. Nokia shipped 82.7 million units in the first quarter.

The ranking and changing of the guard is complicated by the fact that Samsung no longer reveals quarterly handset shipments, forcing research firms to extrapolate and estimate how many units Samsung moved in the quarter. However, according to Strategy Analytics, ABI Research and IHS iSuppli, Samsung overtook Nokia.

Commenting on Nokia, Neil Mawston, executive director of Strategy Analytics, said: “Volumes were squeezed at both ends, as low-end feature phone shipments in emerging markets stalled and high-end Microsoft Lumia smartphones were unable to offset the rapid decline of Nokia’s legacy Symbian business. Nokia was the world’s largest handset vendor between 1998 and 2011, for 14 years, before finally yielding top position to rival Samsung this quarter.”

To make Nokia’s day even worse, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s lowered the company’s credit rating following a 29 per cent fall in sales at its Devices and Services division in the first quarter of 2012, according to Reuters. Samsung, meanwhile, exceeded analysts’ estimates by posting first-quarter net income of $4.5 billion.

S&P said the rationale behind it lowering Nokia’s corporate credit ratings from BBB- to BB+ was its view that the company’s Devices and Services division could decline in 2012 by the same extent as in 2011, which was negative 18 per cent. The ratings cut was preceded by similar ones from Moody’s Investor Service and Fitch.

Importantly, S&P still expects revenue from Nokia’s Lumia smartphones to grow over time but not sufficiently to offset a rapid decline in revenue from Symbian-based smartphones over the next few quarters. While recognising Nokia’s intent to launch new low-end products, S&P cautioned that the company’s competitive position in India and China is under threat from other manufacturers.

On a slightly brighter note, the ratings agency noted that Nokia’s smartphone revenues in absolute terms could start rising by the end of 2012, contributing to a stabilisation of revenues in the Devices and Services division toward the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013.

Separately, Nokia’s incoming chairman Risto Siilasmaa is said to have purchased 200,000 shares in the company.

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article
- see this separate Reuters article
- see this Strategy Analytics release

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O2 UK unveils mobile wallet service, ponders charging model

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:21 +0000

O2 UK launched its mobile wallet service, which will allow consumers to transfer money to any UK mobile phone number using text messaging. The service, available as an application for Android, Apple’s iOS and BlackBerry, can also be used for online shopping, tracking items purchased and making ATM cash withdrawals.

O2 Wallet

The operator said that users, which do not need to be O2 UK subscribers, can use the m-wallet app free for six months, after which the company might impose a 15 pence fee for each money transfer. Users can also opt to receive an O2 Wallet card that enables them to withdraw cash from an ATM at a cost of £1.

O2 Money Managing Director James le Brocq told Mobile Today that no decision had been made regarding charges. “It’s a free service for at least the first six months. We are aware Barclays offers its Pingit service for free. It’s an option to charge but the decision has not been made.”

Regardless, Le Brocq said he is upbeat that the service, which O2 had first expected to launch by the end of last year. The operator delayed the launch to conduct more testing. He told Mobile Payments Today the service “delivers the benefits of mobile money to more UK consumers than any other product or service currently available. We believe it will transform the way people manage their finances and spend money.”

O2 UK said the m-wallet service has undergone several months of tests from security experts to verify that it’s secure. In additional to PINs and passwords, the operator says that all customer details and financial data are held in the cloud instead of relying on the handset to store the information.

Commenting on the m-wallet launch, Informa Telecoms & Media analyst Guillermo Escofet, said: “Currently, it looks more like it’s trying to compete with the Pingit mobile money transfer service that UK bank Barclays launched in February. O2 Wallet is also an evolution of the O2 Money prepaid card launched in 2009 – which is now incorporated into the new service.”

“Will O2 wallet be successful”?, asks Escofet. “It has a greater chance of success than mobile payment services solely focused on NFC. But O2 faces the same challenges that all other telcos face when competing against so-called OTT players–global online companies such as PayPal and Google that have greater geographic reach, brand appeal and agility.”

For more:
- see this Mobile Today article
- see this Mobile Payments Today article
- see this ZDNet article
- see this Informa release
- see this O2 UK release

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Alcatel-Lucent blames European order slump for Q1 loss

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:17 +0000

Alcatel-Lucent reported a first-quarter operating loss of €221 million and the company blamed the downturn in its fortunes in part on European companies withholding purchasing commitment.

“We had a slow start in a volatile environment because of lower product volumes and mix,” CEO Ben Verwaayen told investors on an earnings conference call. “The European debt crisis is all around us and that has an impact. It’s a serious issue to factor in and a good reason to be cautious.”

The company said revenue in its network business clocked in at €1.98 billion, down 18 percent year-over-year. Within networks, the compnay’s wireless unit saw a 29.5 per cent drop in year-over-year sales, down to €788 million.

Alcatel-Lucent has moved to reassure investors by confirming its profit targets and forecasting improvement for the future. However, the market expressed its disappointment by marking the company’s shares down 13 per cent having previously managed four straight quarters in positive territory and after its first annual profit last year since it was formed in 2006.

“For Alcatel-Lucent, this is not a good start to the year: the economy is not helping them, especially in Europe,” Pierre Ferragu, an analyst at Bernstein Research, told Reuters.

Analysts from Nomura and Barclays pointed out in research notes that Alcatel-Lucent’s gross margin of 30.3 per cent was the lowest since the 2006 merger. Alcatel-Lucent CFO Paul Tufano said on the conference call that the first-quarter margins would be “a low point of the year. We expect margin improvement in the second quarter and the second half.”

Alcatel-Lucent shares have fallen around 30 per cent over the past six months, according to MarketWatch, mostly on concerns linked to the deteriorating economic environment in Europe and the United States, and in the absence of any information from the company on its cost-cutting programme.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article
- see this MarketWatch article

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Rumour Mill: KPN’s Belgian arm moves closer to auction, is E-Plus next?

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:12 +0000

KPN have hired JPMorgan Chase to auction its Belgian unit BASE, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires, which cited an unnamed source close to the situation.

While KPN denies that any decision has been made regarding BASE, and that it is only considering a “strategic review” of its operations in Belgium, speculation has grown that private equity firms have already taken a closer look at BASE, followed by suggestions that France’s Xavier Niel and Egypt’s Naguib Sawiris could become involved to augment their European businesses.

But as the likelihood of an auction builds, the need for KPN to use the sale proceeds to bolster its position in the Netherlands has led to renewed speculation that KPN will then offer its more valuable E-Plus operation in Germany for auction. Unnamed sources familair with the situation told Reuters that while KPN wants around €1.8 billion, E-Plus is valued at around €6 billion.

However, any sale of BASE is unlikely to attract high valuations, according to Reuters, given that the company is already run in a cost-effective manner making it less attractive to private equity firms. “Since BASE has been run as a low-cost operator it will be very difficult for private equity to create value,” a source told Reuters.

It has also been said that BASE is already providing higher margin than achieved elsewhere in Europe, but would need between €30 million and €40 million to upgrade the network to compete with larger rivals Belgacom and Mobistar, which is majority-owned by France Telecom.

Any valuation of BASE might be jeopardised by Mobistar reporting a heavier-than-expected fall in first-quarter earnings, blaming regulation, higher wage costs and tougher competition for the reason. The company said that core profit (EBITDA) fell 9.7 per cent to €113 million, below the €120 million forecast in a Reuters poll of seven analysts. Net profit was also lower than expected at €38.2 million versus a consensus of €47.4 million.

The pressure on KPN to sell comes from a growing need to reduce debt and protect dividends, as is the case with Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, and France Telecom.

“All these companies will have to retrench in order to deal with their debt burden and their need to invest in networks,” Robin Beinenstock, analyst at Bernstein Research, told Reuters. “KPN probably has to sell something to be able to bid in domestic spectrum auctions this October and avoid a further credit rating downgrade.”

For more:
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article
- see this Reuters article
- see this separate Reuters article

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Study: Mobile payments value chain will cause uncertainty for operators

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:09 +0000

Mobile operators will need to rethink their traditional role in the mobile payments value chain in ensure they remain relevant, according to a new study from Ovum. Despite operators’ belief that they will maintain their central role in the value chain for m-wallet services, increasing competition and the threat of rival services from global over-the-top players and other parties means this will not be the case for most. The report noted that that the majority of operators are exploring mobile payment joint ventures that can leverage collective resources and customers, helping to create the kind of scale that is critical to success. However, Ovum said while there is logic to this, the track record on operator joint ventures is not always impressive. Article

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Is it time for a new model on handset subsidies?

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:04 +0000

It’s easy to look back and understand why mobile operators got into the business of subsidising handsets–attracting new subscribers and retaining them on a fixed-term contract are the two foremost.

But times are changing, and it’s less easy today to understand why this model continues given that the operators are struggling to maintain margins when their voice revenues are declining, regulators are demanding price reductions and investment needs for next-generation network technology are mounting.

The beneficiaries of this arcane subsidy model are no longer the mobile operators, but the handset vendors–and in particular Apple with its all-conquering iPhone.

Accepting that the iPhone has revolutionised the mobile industry, some claim that Apple has become immensely rich by demanding operators charge rather excessive subsidies on each iPhone sold to a contract subscriber. This is damaging to the operator and some are said to be looking to promote alternatives to the iPhone in an attempt to regain margin and indicate to Apple that the game is changing.

Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed the issue during Apple’s recent earnings conference call and said operators “want to provide what their customers want to buy. The subsidy is not large relative to the sum of the monthly payments [users pay] over 24 months [of their service contract].”

Cook also said the iPhone provides a number of benefits to wireless operators, including lower churn. (“That has a significant, direct financial benefit to the carrier,” he said.) Cook said the iPhone is more efficient with data than other, unnamed smartphone operating systems. Indeed, Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse has said iPhone users consume less data than Android users. Finally, Cook said the iPhone encourages people to upgrade from feature phones, which gives carriers another reason to subsidize the cost of the iPhone. “I think some of these factors are missed in the general discussion of subsidies,” Cook said.

However, Keith Bachman from the investment banking firm BMO Capital recently suggested that Apple has dominated the profit pool in high-end handsets for some years, at the expense of other handset vendors and operators, and that this situation that will not continue for perpetuity.

While Bachman doesn’t believe operators will take concerted action in the short-term on iPhone subsidy levels, he does warn that the likelihood of this happening is the number one risk to the Apple success story. Of note, Apple made 70 percent of the smartphone market’s profits in 2011.

Earlier this month, Walter Piecyk, an analyst with the New York brokerage firm BTIG, said that he expected some of the major U.S. and European mobile operators to report lower iPhone sales as they move away from offering expensive upgrades to newer iPhones for existing customers. He believes that this move could benefit Nokia’s high-end Lumia range, which the struggling vendor would do almost anything to sell in volume.

European operators have the added opportunity to do something different: to not subsidise any LTE handset. With the exception of Germany and Scandinavia where LTE is already available, the door is open for operators to sell LTE handsets on their technological benefits, and stop paying this tax–because that’s what a subsidy is–to avaricious smartphone vendors. –Paul

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ViVOtech president: Google Wallet can be more than just mobile payment

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:50:30 +0000

News

4 new results for NFC Mobile Payment

ViVOtech president: Google Wallet can be more than just mobile payment

ZDNet (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ZDNet (blog)
The company’s president and founder is Mohammad Khan, a thirty-year veteran of the industry and man extensively well-versed in what not only the current state of NFC-based mobile payment but its near and not-so-near future as well.
See all stories on this topic »

T.G.I. Fridays, Tabbedout Make iPhone-based Mobile Payments A Reality
Cult of Mac
The move comes as part of partnership with startup Tabbedout – a mobile payment company that aims to bring iPhone (and Android phone) payments into the mainstream with a focus on bars and restaurants. Fridays is the first national chain to sign on with …
See all stories on this topic »

Foursquare for BlackBerry updated to include NFC and inbox integration
MobileSyrup.com
By Daniel Bader on April 27, 2012 at 2:28pm in Mobile News Foursquare for BlackBerry users are getting a nice little bump today with the release of version 3.9. A couple long-awaited features are hitting the app, which is consistently kept updated on …
See all stories on this topic »

Facebook’s Post-IPO Strategy For Climbing Back
Seeking Alpha
I’ll explain more later. (For those of you who haven’t heard of ISIS: it’s the NFC mobile payment system that was founded by Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. It is allegedly rolling out its “Isis Mobile Wallet” in select testing areas mid-year.
See all stories on this topic »

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For most in Mobile Financial Services Ecosystem, NFC is the End Game

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:50:17 +0000

ePayment News

for NFC Mobile Payments

The Magic Touch
Telecoms.com
For many within the mobile financial services ecosystem—and in particular for mobile operators—mass adoption of NFC-enabled payment from the mobile device is the end game. For years now, the tap-to-pay dream has been held up as The Future, …
See all stories on this topic »

Telecoms.com

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Chatty smartphones stressing networks

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:40:44 +0000

While activities such as video streaming get lots of blame–and rightfully so, for causing skyrocketing mobile network traffic–another somewhat overlooked activity is causing considerable network angst, and most users are not even aware of it.

Click here to view the full infographic.

Constant pinging from popular smartphone applications is also responsible for raising the volume of signaling on mobile networks. According to vendor Seven Networks, in a 24-hour time period an app set to poll for updates every five minutes will generate 298 connection attempts.

“Wireless signaling is a tricky topic because oftentimes it’s hidden, happening in the background without any user knowledge, but is growing bigger by the minute as more users download more connected applications,” said Isabelle Dumont, Seven’s head of marketing.

Doing some worst-case scenario multiplication, Seven has estimated that signaling generated by popular mobile apps on phones using Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android OS could rack up 25 trillion signaling events per hour worldwide. The company came to that conclusion based on the daily activation of 850,000 new Android devices for a total of 300 million in market, each averaging 35 downloaded apps, some of which ping the network up to 2,400 times per hour, each time establishing a new connection and generating up to 30 network signaling events if the radio is idle and needs to be turned on.

Seven is marketing its Open Channel traffic-optimization product, which is designed to reduce unnecessary signaling by only connecting devices to the network if updates are available. The company claims its product can reduce the amount of smartphone-generated signaling by as much as 40 percent and bandwidth by up to 70 percent.

Mobile operators are searching for these types of solutions because whenever their signaling channel is overloaded, requests for calls cannot reach the network, meaning the device cannot access the network for voice or data service. Last summer, executives from some of Europe’s largest operators said during the Open Mobile Summit in London that more action needs to be taken to keep mobile applications from overloading their networks with signaling traffic from smartphones.

For more:
– see this Seven release

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Mallinson: Vodafone’s C&WW deal shows that fixed-mobile convergence is increasing

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:40:44 +0000

Mobile operators are becoming increasingly dependent their fixed network counterparts. This is due to heavy and increasing traffic demands and shrinking cell sizes with mobile broadband.

After many years as one of the world’s most mobile-focused telecoms companies, Vodafone is becoming more integrated with fixed communications via its bid to acquire Cable & Wireless Worldwide (C&WW) for £1.04 billion in cash. Vodafone bought out the minority shareholders in Germany’s fixed network operator Arcor in 2008, following the acquisition of a majority stake with the hostile takeover of its mobile operator owner Mannesmann in 2000.

Whereas Vodafone has a 45 per cent stake in America’s Verizon Wireless, its 55 per cent partner Verizon Communications is also a fixed network market leader. Elsewhere among its numerous national properties worldwide, Vodafone is typically without a major fixed network.

A decade or so ago, “pure play” mobile operator Vodafone was a stock market darling focused on a high-growth, high-margin market. In contrast, dominant fixed network operators were subject to regulation with price controls, vigorous competition from new entrants cherry-picking the most lucrative opportunities in international and long distance calling, and connecting large businesses in metropolitan centres. Other large incumbent phone companies including Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and most other national phone companies were a defensive conglomeration of fixed and mobile communications. In fact, one popular view was that rather than there being synergies with common control of mobile and fixed operators, shareholder value could be maximized through mobile pure-play operators seek to maximise substitution of mobile for fixed calling at the expense of incumbent telephone companies.

Mobile broadband game changer

Independent mobile operators were always somewhat dependent on the fixed networks for backbone network connections, but could rely on regulated prices for these or self-provide microwave connections for backhaul to macro sites. Whereas T1 (1.5 Mbps) lines leased from local telcoms were most commonly used in the United states, higher prices for the equivalent E1 (2 Mbps) connections from national telcos in Europe encouraged mobile operators to plump for microwave solutions and self-provisioning.

Growth in mobile broadband is disrupting the economics for all telecoms operators. As the strategic and financial positions of fixed network operators have waned versus mobile operators with most people using mobiles for most of their calling, exponential mobile data traffic growth in backhaul and core networks is making mobile operators eager to increase control over spiralling costs of third parties providing backhaul and backbone services. Bloomberg has reported that Sanford C. Bernstein analysts believe Vodafone will avoid paying £200 million a year to use BT’s fibre network in the UK by using the network acquired with C&WW instead.

With escalating demand for mobile broadband, not only will overall traffic levels increase, but the number of cell sites also needs to increase dramatically. Additional spectrum and improving radio technologies including LTE and MIMO will be insufficient to satisfy demand. Cell sizes need to be substantially reduced in order to reuse scarce spectrum to the fullest possible extent. With network traffic doubling every year for most of this decade, it will be necessary to increase cell site densities by a factor of 10 in urban areas. This requires a corresponding increase in the number of backhaul connections. This increased capillarity, with transceivers placed on neighbouring lampposts and with distributed antenna systems, makes mobile networks look more and more like fixed networks. Fixed network operators are well positioned to provide these connections–with fibre preferable, whenever available–due to fibre’s virtually infinite capacity. Mobile operators can readily exploit the fibre backbones that are already dimensioned for large traffic demands from fixed networks, but fibre is costly and slow to deploy to numerous separate locations which is why fibre-to-the-home is still such a rarity.

Backhaul topology and supply

Consequently, more spectrum-efficient and Capex-efficient point-to-multipoint microwave solutions are also essential. Pooling backhaul bandwidth with statistical among multiplexing among multiple sites provides the same kinds of improvements in spectrum utilisation that were achieved in the radio access network with migration from time division multiple access technologies such as GSM to CDMA-based technologies such as WCDMA. This is a topic I discussed with Everything Everywhere and Cambridge Broadband Networks in a recent webinar. The end-user price declines required to stimulate the continuing rapid growth in mobile data demand require most cost effective network technologies, topologies and supply end-to-end including mobile operator RANs and core networks, fixed operator backbones and backhaul from whomever is best-placed to implement and operate it.

Keith Mallinson is a leading industry expert, analyst and consultant. Solving business problems in wireless and mobile communications, he founded consulting firm WiseHarbor in 2007. WiseHarbor is publishing an annual update to its Extended Mobile Broadband Forecast in May 2011. The new forecast will include network equipment, devices and carrier services to 2025. Further details are available at:http://www.wiseharbor.com/forecast.html. Find WiseHarbor on Twitter @WiseWarbor.

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Alcatel-Lucent’s Q1 results hurt by lower telecom service provider sales

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:40:32 +0000

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) is feeling the sting of slow service provider sales in both North America and Europe with major declines particularly in both its optics and wireline units.

In Q1 2012, the France-based global telecommunications vendor reported that revenue was down 12.3 percent year-over-year and decreased 22.7 percent sequentially to 4.24 million, down from $4.83 billion in Q1 2011.

The vendor reported a net profit of $526 million, up from a $13.2 million net loss in the same period a year ago. Alcatel-Lucent benefited though from its $871 million sale of its conferencing center business Genesys to Permira last October. It also reported an operating loss of $292 million after reporting an operating profit of $5.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

“We had a slow start in a volatile environment because of lower product volumes and mix,” CEO Ben Verwaayen said on the company’s earnings conference call, according to a Reuters report. “The European debt crisis is all around us and that has an impact. It’s a serious issue to factor in and a good reason to be cautious.”

Here’s a breakdown of the performance of the company’s key wireline-related units:

IP Division: The IP Division continues to be a growth engine for Alcatel-Lucent, growing 23.5 percent year-over-year to $571 million. From a regional perspective, the vendor saw growth in the APAC and Americas regions, both growing over 30 percent year-over-year, a factor it attributes to service providers migrating their networks from TDM to IP, with particular investments in mobile backhaul and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GigE). It said it has over 25 customers that have deployed 100 GigE on their service routers.

Optical Division: Optics Division revenues were $648 million, down 25.2 percent from the year-ago quarter, driven by double-digit declines in the vendor’s terrestrial and submarine businesses. Its terrestrial optics business saw year-over-year decline in all of the regions it serves, while the submarine business declined following a full year of growth. One bright spot in the optics portfolio was that it signed over 60 customers for its 100G optics systems.

Wireline Division: Alcatel-Lucent’s Wireline Division revenues declined 8.7 percent from Q1 2011, to $374 million. Not surprisingly, the decline in the Wireline division was once again driven by its legacy businesses, which was partially offset by strong growth in last fiber access equipment such as GPON. Driven by GPON growth in the APAC and Americas regions fiber access portfolio growth continued to show year-over-year strength in all regions, growing in excess of 100 percent. During the first quarter, the vendor won 15 new or extension broadband access contracts, including being selected as key supplier for the deployment of Telmex’s broadband access network based on VDSL2 and GPON technologies in Mexico.

The vendor said its full year 2012 guidance remains unchanged.

Alcatel-Lucent’s stock was trading $1.58, down 1.56 percent, or 0.03 cents, on the Nasdaq market in late morning trading on Friday.

For more:
- see the earnings release
- Reuters has this article
- here’s FierceWireless‘ take

Special report: Wireline in the first quarter of 2012

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Amazon surges on strong Q1; Verizon rumored to plan Galaxy S III launch

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:10:24 +0000

Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: RT @CNETNews: Apple to build private restaurant to keep out snoopers. Article I guess it’ll cut down on lost iPhones at bars | Follow@FierceWireless

> Some of LightSquared’s lenders reportedly want Philip Falcone to step aside as the public face of the company of as a condition for avoiding a looming debt default. Article (sub. req.)

> Two Democratic representatives have requested that the House Energy and Commerce Committee hold a hearing to discuss of the implications of Verizon Wireless’s proposed AWS spectrum acquisition and 700MHz A- and B-Block spectrum sale. Article

> Will Verizon Wireless launch the Galaxy S III, an HTC phablet and lots of Motorola Razr phones this summer and fall? Article

> Amazon’s strong first-quarter results led to a surge in its shares. Article

> A Google engineer blamed wireless carriers the delay on Android OS updates for Nexus-branded smartphones. Article

> New legislation calls for the reallocation of the 1755-1780 MHz spectrum band, a move strongly supported by the CTIA. Article

> Republic Wireless is now issuing invites for its summer beta program. Article

> Sprint’s CDMA Direct Connect service works with overseas iDEN phones. Article

> Huawei and Intel will collaborate on TD-LTE. Article

Mobile Content News

> Less than six months since its retail release, Amazon’s Kindle Fire already controls more than half of the U.S. Android tablet market, according to new data issued by market research firm comScore. Article

> Social gaming giant Zynga experienced sharp growth in its average mobile daily active user base after gobbling up OMGPOP last month. Article

> Question and answer service ChaCha has shuttered its UK operations, citing limited user growth. Article

And finally… A bra that can transport an iPhone. Article

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FCC opens $300M fund to boost rural broadband access

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:55:54 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week unveiled a $300 million fund to extend broadband to as many as 400,000 previously unserved homes, businesses and anchor institutions.

Created by the regulator last October, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the Connect America Fund (CAF) was a “once-in-a-generation reform of the Universal Service Fund” that will connect all Americans with broadband Internet by the end of the decade.

CAF is designed to “unleash the benefits of broadband for all Americans, regardless of where they live, and consistent with fiscal responsibility,” Genachowski said.

Service providers have 90 days to respond to the first phase of the CAF, which includes aggressive build-out requirements.

The FCC said in a release that, under the program, service providers will supplement CAF funding with their own private investment, as they’ve done with the broadband stimulus program.

Although service providers aren’t required to participate in the program, the FCC claims that hundreds of thousands of Americans will gain access to broadband, even if providers only accept a portion of the funds.

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), a service provider that serves a mix of urban and rural markets, supported the FCC’s USF and Intercarrier Compensation (USF/ICC) reform efforts.

“CenturyLink appreciates the Federal Communications Commission’s reconsideration of some important aspects of its USF/ICC transformation order,” said Steve Davis, CenturyLink’s senior vice president of public policy and government relations in a statement. “This reconsideration order will help companies like CenturyLink deliver broadband services to more customers in unserved, rural areas–a goal we share with the Commission.”

For more:
- see the release

Special report: Fiber hunter: How to improve Internet access by digging up forgotten fiber lines

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TracFone MVNO sees subscriber growth slow to 369K in Q1

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:55:41 +0000

América Móvil’s U.S. TracFone unit reported weaker subscriber growth in the first quarter but also boasted of burgeoning data revenues, a sign that smartphone usage for the MVNO may be taking off.

TracFone, which sells the flat-rate, prepaid Straight Talk service and operates as an MVNO using Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel’s (NYSE:S) networks, had 369,000 net subscriber additions in the first quarter, down from 493,000 net additions in the fourth quarter and well below the 780,000 it added in the year-ago quarter. TracFone, which also offers service under the Safelink and Net 10 brands, ended the first quarter with 20.1 million total subscribers, making it easily the largest U.S. MVNO.

TracFone reported total revenue of $1.1 billion for the quarter, up 24.4 percent from the year-ago period. The company said service revenues climbed by a similar margin to $970 million. The unit’s EBITDA more than doubled from the year-ago period to $140 million.

TracFone, which began selling Android smartphones on Straight Talk last year, reported that average revenue per user climbed to $16 from $14 in the first quarter of 2011, which the company said reflected a shift toward more high-volume usage plans. Notably, TracFone said data revenues, which it did not break out, rose 44.6 percent year-over-year.

Interestingly, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said TracFone’s Straight Talk smartphone sales are cutting into the prepaid business of rivals Leap Wireless (NASDAQ:LEAP) and MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS).

“Leap and Metro’s largest competitor, América Móvil -owned Straight Talk, decided to start selling smartphones at the end of last year and as usual has been steadily ramping up this effort,” Piecyk wrote. “Straight Talk benefits from America Movil’s purchasing power, which surpasses Verizon, and therefore does not suffer with the same level of subsidies.”

For more:
- see this release (PDF)
- see this BTIG post (req. req.)

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ChaCha shuts down UK service, blaming poor adoption

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:55:38 +0000

Question and answer service ChaCha has shuttered its U.K. operations, citing limited user growth. ChaCha expanded overseas nine months ago, promoting its service as a cost-effective alternative to similar text-based Q&A solutions: “After months of direct advertising, branding events, marketing advice from UK leaders and initiatives designed to help spread the word socially, we’ve found that adoption rates for new price-competitive services are quite low in the UK,” the firm writes in a letter mailed to employees. ChaCha officially halted U.K. services April 20.

ChaCha offers real-time, human-generated responses and recommendations to user questions submitted via SMS, smartphone applications and social media platforms. ChaCha remains active in its native U.S., and last month received its 2 billionth question. The company now serves 44 million users per month across the mobile and online platforms. Article

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‘Instagram for video’ app Viddy raising $30M at $370M valuation

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:55:32 +0000

Mobile video sharing startup Viddy is raising a Series B round of $30 million at a $370 million valuation, TechCrunch reports.

Viddy lets users take video clips complete with visual effects, music and other enhancements.

Dubbed “Instagram for video” by the blogosphere, the free Viddy app–currently available for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone–enables users to capture brief video clips complete with visual effects, music and related enhancements, then share their efforts across social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr. Consumers may also purchase in-app content bundles from celebrity partners including rapper T-Pain and the Muppets.

Viddy recently topped 10 million registered users and adds 500,000 new users per day. The company says it is averaging over 100 million plus video views per month, a number that is doubling every month. Viddy wrapped a Series A venture found totaling $6 million in February 2012; Battery Ventures led the round, with Greycroft Partners and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) also contributing. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and pop singer Shakira also have invested in the firm.

Despite Viddy’s meteoric rise, some critics contend the $370 million valuation is outrageous. “Viddy only speaks about signups but never about engagement, which I’d assume is very low,” a source told Business Insider, adding they wouldn’t invest in the company even at a valuation of $80 million.

Viddy’s conceptual similarities to the Instagram photo-sharing app are no doubt fueling investor interest in the service. Earlier this month, Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion.

For more:
- read this TechCrunch article
- read this Business Insider article

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Researchers combat disease with a cell phone, Google Maps and a lot of ingenuity

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:16:05 +0000

In the fight against emerging public health threats, early diagnosis of infectious diseases is crucial. And in poor and remote areas of the globe where conventional medical tools like microscopes and cytometers are unavailable, rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, are helping to make disease screening quicker and simpler. Click here for more.

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Analysts: Samsung pummels Nokia, takes handset crown in Q1

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:15:34 +0000

Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia (NYSE:NOK) as the world’s largest handset maker by shipment volumes, according to several analyst reports, dethroning Nokia after the Finnish cell phone giant’s 14-year reign at the top.

Click here for figures from IHS.

According to Strategy Analytics, global handset shipments grew 3 percent annually to reach 368 million units in the first quarter. Samsung led the way with 93.5 million units, followed by Nokia with 82.7 million and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) with 35.1 million. Strategy Analytics did not reveal its estimates for the fourth and fifth handset vendors.

IHS’s report was similar in terms of the overall handset vendor rankings, giving Samsung 92 million units, followed by Nokia and Apple. IHS ranked LG Electronics fourth with 13.7 million unit shipments and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) fifth with 11.1 million units. It’s important to note that Chinese vendor ZTE, which has been ranked fourth or fifth in recent quarters by many research firms, was not on the lists, though that may change when IDC publishes its report.

The reversal of fortunes for Samsung and Nokia represents the culmination of trends that have been building for years. Nokia’s smartphone strategy sputtered for years after Apple released the iPhone in 2007, and Nokia has only recently shifted course and started selling its Lumia smartphones running Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone platform. However, sales of those devices, which began in November, have yet to take off and Nokia’s Symbian sales have been falling faster than expected.

Meanwhile, Samsung has capitalized first by claiming a niche first in low-end phones and, over the past two to three years, higher-end smartphones. The company’s success in smartphones has largely been based on its embrace of Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform to power its flagship Galaxy line, and to a lesser extent devices running its homegrown bada platform and Windows Phone.

“Last year Samsung became No. 1 in Europe while Nokia retained the No. 1 position in most emerging markets,” Strategy Analytics analyst Tom Kang told Bloomberg. “In the first quarter, we expect Samsung took a lot of market share from Nokia in Asia. China and India were the two biggest markets where Samsung gained.”

In smartphone shipments, analysts firms diverged on how Samsung did. According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung had 44.5 million smartphone shipments in the quarter, up from 12.6 million smartphone shipments in the year-ago quarter, and easily besting Apple’s 35.1 million iPhone shipments and Nokia’s 11.9 million smartphone shipments. However, IHS said that Apple actually beat Samsung, and that Samsung only had 32 million smartphone shipments.

This discrepancy appears to stem from something Samsung said during the release of results in the third quarter of 2011, according to Ovum analyst Jan Dawson. At the time, Samsung said smartphone sales were up more than 40 percent quarter-over-quarter and 300 percent year-over-year. The issue is whether Samsung’s third-quarter smartphone shipments were actually 400 percent or 300 percent. The difference was then extrapolated for the fourth quarter.

“Basically, all the analysts out there have taken one of these two routes, and are either moving forward on a solid foundation or compounding the original error every quarter, hence the increasing discrepancy,” Dawson wrote in a Google+ post. “Strategy Analytics is assuming the 400% number is correct, and arrives at a 44.5 million number for Q1 2012, while iSuppli and others are assuming the 300% is correct, and arrive at a 32 million number for Q1.”

For more:
- see this Strategy Analytics release
- see this separate Strategy Analytics release
- see this IHS release
- see this ABI release
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Barron’s blog post
- see this Jan Dawson post

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Mastercard’s “Priceless” mark isn’t priceless, panel rules

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:05:32 +0000

Domain Name Wire

Friday, April 27th, 2012

WIPO arbitration panel finds against Mastercard on “Priceless” claims.

A World Intellectual Property Organization panelist has ruled against Mastercard in a dispute over domain names related to its “Priceless” trademark.

The credit card company filed complaints againstpricelessistanbul.com andpricelessamsterdam.com, saying they violated their trademark rights.

In both cases the owner of the domains didn’t bother to respond to the allegations. But panelist Nasser A. Khasawneh determined there wasn’t enough proof that the domains were registered and used in bad faith.

Mastercard cited links on the parked domain names referring to “hotel reservations, restaurant coupons, and tours” as competitive and proof that the sites were designed to take advantage of Mastercard’s trademark. But Khasawneh was not moved:

there is no direct claim by Complainant that the PRICELESS family of marks is associated with hotel reservations, restaurant coupons, and tours. Instead, the Complaint states that the PRICELESS marks are “exclusively associated with the high quality financial services and related goods and services offered by MasterCard.”

Khasawneh also says that Mastercard’s claims in the cases around its “priceless” mark are really broad, and effectively would apply to anything on the web:

…the Panel finds Complainant’s claims to goods and services associated with its marks to be very broad. For example, claims under United States Registration No. 3,693,182 for PRICELESS.COM (registered in October 2009) include “Promoting the goods and services of others by means of coupons, discounts, advertisements, incentives generated in connection with the use of credit and debit cards, electronic links to merchant and retailer web sites, and through promotional contests.”

The Panel observes that most links to commercial web sites that appear throughout the Internet fall within the quoted trademark claim, because they “[p]romote the goods and services of others . . . through electronic links to merchant and retailer web sites….” The Panel feels that to infer bad faith use on the basis of competition with Complainant from the display of links on a website “promoting the goods and services of others,” without more, is not merited. Such an inference would mean that bad faith use would be established for virtually any website displaying commercial links if the website’s domain name was confusingly similar to Complainant’s PRICELESS family of marks. As noted above, the Panel has already found that “priceless” is also a descriptive term, one that also appears as in registered trademarks of a large number of third party rightholders in addition to Complainant.

Having chosen to adopt such a descriptive term in a field occupied by other trademark holders, the Panel finds Complainant’s trademark rights are necessarily limited for purposes of assessing the elements of this particular Policy dispute. Given the breadth of Complainant’s trademark claims and the number of other apparently legitimate users of marks including the term “priceless,” or confusingly similar terms, the Panel is not prepared to embrace such a sweeping conclusion.

Mastercard has additional cases pending before World Intellectual Property Organization covering pricelessnewyork.com, pricelessmexico.com, pricelesslosangeles.com, pricelessparis.com and pricelesslondon.com. Mastercard currently has a “Priceless Cities” campaign. It will be interesting to see how those cases are decided.

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Lumos Networks names Timothy Blitz as CEO

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:49 +0000

Timothy Blitz has been appointed as Lumos Networks’ (Nasdaq: LMOS) new chief executive officer, replacing James Hyde who served as the ILEC’s interim CEO following its spinoff from the NTELOS Holdings Corp. in October 2011, the company announced.

Hyde will continue to serve as a member of Lumos’ board of directors.

Blitz comes to Lumos with over 20 years of telecom experience. Previously, he held positions at iPCS, SpectraSite and Vanguard Cellular Systems. From late 2006 through 2009, Blitz was the chairman of iPCS’ board, and from 1999 to 2005, he served as the chief operating officer of SpectraSite, a wireless and broadcast signal tower company. Earlier, he served as the COO and EVP of Vanguard Cellular Systems.

Additionally, Lumos announced its president, Michael Moneymaker, will retire and leave the company board.

Blitz comes to Lumos at a time when the service provider continues its journey as a separate company focused on growing its data services, including fiber-based Metro Ethernet and IP-based voice services. Blitz’s wireless experience, undoubtedly, will come in handy as the service provider expands its own Fiber to the Tower (FTTT) footprint to target new wholesale wireless backhaul opportunities.

Lumos, based in Waynesboro, Va., will announce its first-quarter 2012 earnings May 4.

For more:
- see the release

Special report: The 15 highest-paid CEOs in wireline

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Wireless sensors, top apps of April and the latest in white space spectrum

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:43 +0000

Every day FierceWireless brings you the top five wireless news stories of the day, but we also deliver much more. Besides our daily news coverage, FierceWireless and its sister publications FierceMobileContent, FierceDeveloper, FierceBroadbandWireless and FierceWireless:Europe, are delving into some of the bigger themes, trends and issues in the industry.

In case you missed some of our intriguing special features, here’s a rundown of the latest articles we’ve posted:

It’s been a busy week for the financial community with many top wireless firms reporting their first-quarter earnings. Check out our coverage of all the top wireless companies’ first-quarter results here.
FierceWireless Editor Phil Goldstein spoke with William Plummer, Huawei’s vice president of external affairs, about the company’s attempts to crack the U.S market as well as network security, its handset business and what it is doing to overcome negative perceptions. Check out the interview here.
Sensors are ubiquitous in mobile devices and they should inspire a world of innovative applications based on their special abilities to detect motion, touch, light and environmental conditions. But fragmentation in the market is making it difficult for developers. FierceDeveloper Editor Peggy Albright looks at what is being done to solve these issues here.
Mobile apps will remain a universal obsession only as long as they continue to captivate, surprise and entertain consumers. Fortunately, the app ecosystem shows no signs of slowing: Innovative and immersive mobile experiences are entering app stores every day. FierceMobileContent spotlights the best and brightest apps of April.
White-space spectrum is fast becoming a playground for what could be ground-breaking devices and services. FierceBroadbandWireless Editor Tammy Parker looks at what is being done to make this spectrum viable.
Major League Baseball is back for another season, bringing with it all of its signature accoutrements: The crack of the bat, the slap of leather, the smell of fresh-cut grass… and the latest edition of Out of the Park Baseball, the perennially popular simulation game first launched by developer Markus Heinsohn in May 1999. FierceDeveloper contributor Jason Ankeny spoke with iOOTP Baseball 2012 lead developer Sebastian Palkowski about the challenges of streamlining the game for the mobile platform, maintaining an app with so much data and why promotion is as important as programming. Check out his Developer Workshop.

–Sue

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iPhone app downloads fall 30% in March

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:36 +0000

Downloads from Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store plummeted 30 percent in March 2012, their lowest level since the iPhone 4S launched last October, according to mobile user acquisition platform Fiksu.

Click here to view the charts from the Fiksu study.

The Fiksu App Store Competitive Index, which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free U.S. iPhone apps, reports that consumers installed an average of 4.45 million iPhone apps per day last month, down from 6.35 million in February. Fiksu’s Cost per Loyal User Index, which measures the cost of acquiring a loyal user for brands who proactively market their apps, held steady at $1.30, down less than 1 percent from February’s $1.31.

“With the novelty factor of the iPhone 4S launch and the holidays well behind us, and no other events in March to spark discovery, March’s download dip was expected,” said Fiksu CEO Micah Adler.

However, Fiksu also believes the download drop could be the result of Apple’s efforts to crack down on developers and marketers exploiting robotic installation services that artificially inflate App Store rankings. A statement posted to the Apple Developers page in early February reads “When you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts. Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership.”

So-called “bot farms” set up automated, recurring downloads of a client’s free iOS application to vault it into the upper rungs of the App Store’s bestseller lists, in the process pushing the app in front of a larger audience. Prices vary, but some bot farms promise Top 25 App Store rankings for a fee for $5,000.

“The decline in competition and steady costs definitely presented app marketers with a ranking opportunity in March, driven largely through the cost-effective conversion of organic users into loyal users,” Adler said.

For more:
- read this release

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MasterCard Survey Finds Consumers Want Improved Online Shopping Experience

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:09 +0000

PRESS RELEASE

April 26, 2012, 3:00 p.m. EDT

PURCHASE, N.Y., Apr 26, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — According to a recent MasterCardMA +1.03% survey, U.S. consumers identified “entering payment, billing and shipping information” as one of the main pain points of the online shopping experience, topped only by not knowing how an item fits or looks in-person.

Almost three-in-five (58 percent) of online shoppers indicated they would prefer one place where their account information can be safely stored and easily accessed to simplify the online check-out experience, no matter where they are shopping online. The MasterCard-commissioned online survey conducted by Harris Interactive included responses from 2,229 adults.

Consumers are becoming more confident in online shopping and more interested in using their mobile devices for online shopping. Several issues, though, are making the online and mobile shopping experience frustrating for consumers, resulting in missed revenue opportunities for merchants and retailers.

Other key findings from the survey include:

– Among Americans who shop online, whether from a computer or mobile device, nearly one out of every four acknowledged abandoning their shopping carts at least once a month before completing their purchase; and,

– 53 percent of U.S. adults with a mobile device say they shop online with their mobile device, but the same group indicated one of the biggest concerns is around security.

“Online and mobile shopping puts a host of new options at consumers’ fingertips, but the current checkout process needs improvement to fully realize the potential of these important retail channels,” said Geoff Iddison, Group Executive e-Commerce and Mobile, MasterCard Worldwide. “The research shows that consumers want a simpler, faster way to enter account information, so they can spend more time searching for exactly what they want and less time filling out forms at checkout.”

Editor’s note: The online study was conducted between April 4 and 9, 2012, commissioned by MasterCard and conducted by Harris Interactive. For full survey findings, please reach out to the below contacts.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted on behalf of MasterCard by Harris Interactive between April 5-9, 2012 among U.S. residents age 18+ (n=2229). This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For a full methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Brian Gendron at MasterCard Worldwide (brian_gendron@mastercard.com).

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard MA +1.03% is a global payments and technology company. It operates the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Learn more at www.mastercard.com , follow us on Twitter @mastercardnews or join the conversation on The Heart of Commerce Blog.

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Walmart is First Major Retailer to Allow Customers to Pay Cash for Online Purchases

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:55:33 +0000

PRESS RELEASE

April 26, 2012, 6:00 a.m. EDT

Walmart Announces “Pay with Cash” for Online Purchases

First major retailer to allow customers to pay cash for items online at Walmart.com without a credit, debit or prepaid card.

SAN BRUNO, Calif., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Walmart WMT +0.03% today announced the launch of its “Pay with Cash” offering for online orders at Walmart.com in the United States. Now, customers can shop a broader selection of items online — hundreds of thousands more items beyond its stores — at Walmart.com and pay for them with cash at all Walmart stores in the U.S. and also in Neighborhood Markets. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card. “Pay with Cash” will help millions who rely on cash transactions, as well as those who are wary of using credit cards online, to shop Walmart’s affordable and expanded online merchandise.

According to the FDIC, one in four U.S. households fall into the unbanked and underbanked categories where they don’t have a bank account or credit card or have limited banking options, and often rely on cash as a form of payment for purchases.(1) However, many of them are online, with 81 percent of the unbanked and 63 percent of the underbanked having Internet access.(2)

At Walmart stores, the majority of transactions are paid for in cash or cash equivalent, including debit cards, and approximately 15 percent of transactions are paid in the form of credit. The retailer is seeing more demand for cash as a payment option online, and the new “Pay with Cash” program provides that additional convenience. In a recent survey, Walmart found that more than two thirds of those identified as “underbanked” were likely to use cash as a form of online payment if the option were available. Using “Pay with Cash,” customers purchase items at Walmart.com, pay for them in stores within a 48-hour period, and then have the items shipped to their home or local Walmart store.

“Many of our customers shop paycheck to paycheck and are looking for more ways to purchase items online but don’t have the means to a credit, debit or prepaid card,” said Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com. “Our new ‘Pay with Cash’ offering is designed just for them. It makes it easier for our customers to shop the way they want, where they have access to a broader product selection at Walmart.com coupled with the convenience of payment and shipping as they want.”

Pay with Cash: How it Works

Customers go to Walmart.com from any Internet-connected device to select an item and place an order.

During checkout, the customer selects the “Cash” option and their shipping preference. Customer immediately receives an order number on the order confirmation page and an email receipt with their order number. The item is reserved in the system.

The customer has 48-hours to take the printed order form to any cash register of any Walmart store or Neighborhood Market.

Once cash payment is completed in the store and received, shipping then occurs via Site to Store or to their preferred address.

Hundreds of thousands of items at Walmart.com are now available for “Pay with Cash” which includes categories such as baby, health and beauty, toys, home decor, electronics, household appliances, and more, and can also be shipped to a customer’s preferred address or their local Walmart store using the Site to Store option. “Pay with Cash” is honored in all U.S. Walmart stores and also in Neighborhood Markets. More information is available online at www.walmart.com/paywithcash .

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT +0.03% serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,000 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com , and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com .

(1) Source: FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households” FDIC (2009)(2) Source: “Engaging the Underbanked and Unbanked in the U.S.” Javelin Strategy and Research (2011)

SOURCE Walmart

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PayOne Wins Prestigious Mobile Merit Award

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:50:27 +0000

SOURCE: PayOne

April 27, 2012 07:00 ET

Company Honored for Excellence in Global Mobile Industry

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – Apr 27, 2012) – PayOne, formerly PaymentOne Corporation, a global leader in mobile payments, today announced that the company has won the 2012 Mobile Merit Award for its excellence in mobile payment, billing and customer service. The Mobile Merit Awards recognize companies, individuals and technologies that have shaped the way the world communicates. These awards note the excellence and success achieved in the global mobile industry. This year’s winners were judged based on industry impact, innovation, technologies, social importance, implementation and overall success factor. (http://mobilemeritawards.com/index6.html)

“It is so encouraging that there were so many strong mobile entries,” said Chuck Martin, Mobile Merit Awards judge, author of The Third Screen and CEO of Mobile Future Institute. “The finalists also showed that brands and mobile developers are continuing to innovate from last year’s contest.” Other category finalists/winners include Sprint, Novatel, Telcordia, CBS Interactive, Poynt, and Bravo Digital Network.

“This award is a testament to all the hard work, quality and dedication of our people — we’re thrilled to be given this honor. Our vision is to enable all consumers worldwide to participate in the digital economy by providing a safe, secure and convenient mobile payment capability. We thank our mobile carrier and merchant partners for working with us to bring this vision to a reality,” said Brad Singer, executive vice president at PayOne.

PayOne’s Mobile payment services and PayOne Global Carrier Network™ (PGCN) are available to merchants worldwide, connecting over 4 billion consumers with merchants in over 80 countries across 1200 operators. PayOne’s solutions span virtual currency and goods, digital services, mobile in-app purchasing and remote convenience purchases such as city parking or movie tickets.

About Mobile Merit Awards The Mobile Merit Awards recognizes companies, individuals and technologies that have shaped the way the world communicates today. Through nominations the Mobile Merit Awards notes the excellence achieved in the global mobile industry. These bi-annual awards are presented to outstanding companies, individuals and technologies from each sector within the mobile arena for work of the greatest likely impact on the market. For more information visit:http://www.mobilemeritawards.com

About PayOnePayOne is the global leader in mobile payments and carrier billing, making it easy and convenient for consumers to charge digital purchases from any connected device to their mobile, broadband or home phone bills. Digital merchants, publishers and content providers have leveraged PayOne’s carrier network of more than 1200 telecom operators in 80 countries — reaching over 4 billion consumers and 10 billion connected devices — to generate more than $5 billion in new incremental revenue. PayOne’s ability to deliver the highest monetization for its merchants and its first rate customer service have earned the company the lowest client churn rate in the business. Previously called PaymentOne, PayOne is profitable, privately held, and is based in the Silicon Valley. For more information, visit http://payone.com/.

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Visa Inc. Declares Quarterly (actually .22) Dividend

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:50:22 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced that its board of directors had declared a quarterly dividend in the aggregate amount of $0.22 per share of class A common stock (determined in the case of class B and class C common stock on an as-converted basis) payable on June 5, 2012, to all holders of record of the Company’s class A, class B and class C common stock as of May 18, 2012.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks–VisaNet–that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, please visitwww.corporate.visa.com.

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Intuit to Acquire Demandforce

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:45:06 +0000

April 27, 2012 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SaaS Offerings Aimed at Helping SMBs Gain and Retain Customers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Demandforce, a San Francisco-based company that helps small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) thrive in the connected economy. Demandforce’s software as a service, or SaaS, application is used by thousands of small businesses to automate marketing and customer communications, build and maintain a strong online reputation and raise their profile with local consumers.

“We believe this transaction greatly benefits Intuit and Demandforce’s customers, partners, employees and shareholders”

Consistent with Intuit’s connected services strategy, Demandforce accelerates Intuit’s expansion into high-value SaaS products for SMBs. Demandforce’s email, mobile and social tools, such as online reviews, help SMBs better communicate with their customers and drive higher retention and growth in their businesses. The company has achieved strong traction in industries like dental, automotive, spas and salons, optometry and chiropractors, with considerable opportunity for growth.

“Demandforce sits at the sweet spot of Intuit’s SMB customer base and is consistent with our goal to help our customers save time and make money,” said Kiran Patel, executive vice president and general manager, Intuit Small Business Group. “With a compelling customer value proposition, SaaS model and high growth profile, Demandforce will provide opportunities to grow Intuit’s customer base and revenue per customer over time.”

Once the transaction closes, Demandforce will become a new division in Intuit’s Small Business Group and will continue to be led by Rick Berry, Demandforce president and founder, reporting to Patel.

“We believe this transaction greatly benefits Intuit and Demandforce’s customers, partners, employees and shareholders,” said Berry. “Intuit is one of the most respected companies and brands serving SMBs and represents a great opportunity to continue our rapid growth and expansion into new markets.”

Terms

The cash transaction, valued at approximately $423.5 million, is expected to close in May 2012, subject to the expiration of applicable regulatory waiting periods and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to add one to two points to Intuit’s revenue growth in fiscal year 2013 and to be neutral to modestly dilutive for earnings per share in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and medium-sized businesses; consumers, accounting professionals and financial institutions. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, TurboTax® and Quicken®, simplify small business management including payment and payroll processing, tax preparation and filing, and personal finance. Lacerte® and ProSeries® are Intuit’s leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. Intuit Financial Services helps banks and credit unions grow by providing on-demand solutions and services that make it easier for consumers and businesses to manage their money.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.9 billion in its fiscal year 2011. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found atwww.intuit.com.

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Twitter overhauls iOS, Android apps to simplify search

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:26:08 +0000

Twitter released updated versions of its Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android applications, promising users more efficient search and discovery tools.

Twitter activity appears below the redesigned stories in Discover.

The revamped Twitter applications include the Activity stream, which shows users tweets that are added to their list of favorites or re-tweeted by the people they follow as well as the accounts those people follow or add to their lists. Activity appears below the stories in Discover; users can tap any story once to view tweets about a particular trend or news story, then read the complete article or join the social dialogue by replying, re-tweeting or favoriting related tweets.

The Twitter apps also feature suggestions for different spellings and related terms for queries. Users also can begin typing usernames or first/last names of individuals they’re looking for into the Connect tab, and the app will auto-complete the spelling for people they follow. The iPhone version additionally spotlights recent queries within the Discover box.

Both Twitter for iOS and Twitter for Android also introduce push notifications for Interactions, alerting users when their tweets are re-tweeted or favorited, or when their account adds a new follower. Users can manage their push notifications settings to receive as many or as few alerts as they wish.

Twitter now boasts more than 140 million active users worldwide, and about 55 percent of them are active on mobile devices.

For more:
- read this Twitter Blog entry

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Zynga expands ‘Draw Something’ to Amazon’s Kindle Fire

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:25:55 +0000

Zynga is extending its hit mobile game Draw Something to Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet.

Amazon announced Wednesday evening via Twitter that its Appstore for Android now offers both a free version of Draw Something as well as an ad-free edition priced at $1.99. Although most Android device owners could already download Draw Something from Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play, the Kindle Fire runs a forked version of the Android operating system that is incompatible with the Google storefront.

Draw Something, also available for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS, challenges players to guess what word their opponent is sketching. A recent software update enables gamers to share their drawings to Facebook and Twitter in two clicks; users may also save their work to their photo library, email it to friends or use it as wallpaper.

Draw Something shattered the 50 million download milestone earlier this month, less than two months after the game first launched. Players have created more than 6 billion drawings to date. Draw Something was created by startup OMGPOP, which Zynga acquired in late March; the firms did not divulge financial details, although AllThingsD reported Zynga paid $180 million along with an additional $30 million in employee-retention payments.

For more:
- read this Verge article

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Apple’s iOS crushes Android on Q1 enterprise device activations

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:25:37 +0000

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPad together accounted for 80 percent of all enterprise device activations during the first quarter of 2012, enterprise mobility firm Good Technology reported.

Click here to view the charts from the report.

Among Good’s customers–which include half of the Fortune 100 as well as leading healthcare and financial institutions–the iPhone powered 73.9 percent of smartphones activations in the first quarter, far ahead of Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android at 26.1 percent. Apple’s dominance is even more pronounced on tablets, with the iPad representing 97.3 percent of first-quarter activations.

The iPhone 4S represented 37 percent of all first-quarter activations, four times that of any other device. The iPad 2 follows at 17.7 percent of activations. Apple’s new iPad, issued in March, still accounted for 4.3 percent of all device activations over the three-month period.

The Motorola Droid was the leading Android device with 1.6 percent of activations, making it the seventh most popular device for the quarter.

“Because there are so many different Android devices in the market today, there is no clear leader among them,” Good stated. “However, Android OS devices did claim the last four slots on the Top 10 devices. In addition to the Motorola Droid, the Samsung Galaxy SII, Google Nexus, and Sprint Evo 4G rounded out the top 10 with 1.1, 0.9, and 0.8 percent of activations, respectively. The Sprint (NYSE:S) Evo 4G was the only device that showed up on past quarterly device activation reports. The long tail of Android devices made up the remaining 16.1 percent of device activations for the quarter.”

The total number of Good clients that deployed iOS and/or Android devices grew by more than 50 percent during the past 12 months. The company’s first-quarter activations grew by 50 percent over the fourth quarter of 2011, and nearly doubled the two previous quarters combined. Good added that while the majority of its customers support a dual-OS, “Bring Your Own Device” model, about 30 percent are standardizing on a “company-owned” or “corporate liable” model offering support for just one operating system.

Good Technology does not support rival Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry. The firm extended its platform to Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone earlier this month, too late to incorporate activation data on WP devices.

For more:
- read this release

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31 Mobile Payment News Stories for April 27

Kenneth G. Mages — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:10:30 +0000

ePaymentNews

31 new results for “Mobile Payment”

NFC Reader, Writer, Viewer with Secure (Biometric and 3DES DUKPT) Authentication – Click to Learn More

The Concern with Mobile Payments
Connected World Magazine

Earlier this year, the credit-card company unveiled a joint venture to develop Wanda, a mobile payment solution to customers in Latin American markets. Under such an initiative, mobile payment services will be linked to a mobile wallet or prepaid …
See all stories on this topic »

NRF Urges FTC to Move Cautiously on Mobile Payments
MarketWatch (press release)
Duncan said federal officials need to address a number of issues including a definition of what constitutes a mobile payment. While the term is largely used to mean a payment made in a bricks-and-mortar store using a smartphone, officials need to …
See all stories on this topic »

Square processing $5B annually, up 25% since PayPal Here launch
Fiercemobilecontent
Square faces competition from a number of rival mobile payment solutions including eBay’s PayPal Here, unveiled last month. A small, triangle-shaped dongle that attaches to a phone or tablet’s audio jack in the same fashion as Square’s own payment …
See all stories on this topic »

O2 launches mobile money service under financial services ‘passport’ rules
Out-Law.com
“A key reason that the likes of Apple, Google and now O2 get into mobile payment services is that they can get a lot of data on consumers’ spending habits and find ways to make revenues from that asset,” he said. O2′s terms and conditions state that …
See all stories on this topic »

Square’s Growth ‘Off The Charts’ as Mobile Payment Pace Spikes 25%
Mobile Marketing Watch
They need to take the money they make today and use it to pay bills, buy things and pay employees the next day, so having access to funds is super-crucial for them.” Squares Growth Off The Charts as Mobile Payment Pace Spikes 25 300×202 Squares Growth …
See all stories on this topic »

Mobile Marketing Watch

Commentary: mobile payments can expose more consumer data and weaken privacy laws
Mobile Payments Today
Nearly all the major smartphone manufacturers, Internet service providers (ISPs), credit card issuers, and tech companies are gearing up to provide consumers with mobile payment services. Many of these services will let consumers buy items in …
See all stories on this topic »

Madwire Media Announces Partnership with PayLeap to Offer Online Payment …
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Catering to merchants, resellers, and developers, PayLeap provides a secure, single-source solution which includes fraud management, tokenized cardholder data vault, secure checkout with LeapLockTM, and mobile payment capabilities.
See all stories on this topic »

Square reports processing $5 billion in transactions annually
Appolicious
Square’s mobile payment platform allows users to purchase a specialized credit card reader that can plug into mobile devices such as an iPhone or iPad, effectively turning those devices into mobile cash registers for digital purchases with Square’s …
See all stories on this topic »

O2 to rival Google and PayPal with new mobile payments service
Computing
The application will rival Google Wallet, PayPal and Barclays PingIt, which all offer mobile payment services. O2 said that its new service, dubbed O2 Wallet, can link to consumers’ existing Visa and MasterCard credit or debit cards to upload funds, …
See all stories on this topic »

Computing

O2 Wallet underwent security ‘stress testing’
BCS
O2 has played up the security prowess of its new mobile payment product, O2 Wallet, saying it has undergone security “stress testing”. Much like Barclay’s recently launched Pingit app, O2 Wallet allows users to transfer funds to other people using a …
See all stories on this topic »

Stakeholders challenge CBN, NCC on mobile money security
WorldStage
“The purpose of this symposium is to examine how the Nigerian Telecoms Consumer will be affected by the mobile payment platform being promoted by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a means of achieving a cashless society. However, if as a result of network …
See all stories on this topic »

WorldStage

Square to process $5 billion in payments this year
IntoMobile
Square, the cool mobile payment platform, is growing increasingly by the day, as the company just released some impressive stats. According to a Bloomberg report, Square is now processing $5 billion in annual payments (or around $416 million in …
See all stories on this topic »

Optimal Payments wins mobile payments award at mGaming Summit
RFPConnect.com
This included case studies of mobile payment solutions developed for two of its major customers, Shop Direct Group and RSA’s MoreTh>n. The full presentation is available on its corporate website at www.optimalpayments.com under Investors, …
See all stories on this topic »

Buying VeriFone is a Strong Portfolio Solution
Investorplace.com
The third catalyst is the new mobile payment systems we talked about, such as Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Wallet and PayPal. VeriFone is in excellent position here even as the game continues to change because it can retrofit its systems to accept these, …
See all stories on this topic »

Parkmobile USA, Inc. and Central Parking System announce a milestone in …
Parking Network (press release)
Over the past year Parkmobile and Central Parking have been successful in implementing mobile payment solutions at various Central locations including metropolitan cities. With the Parkmobile solution, a customer running to an appointment or catching a …
See all stories on this topic »

China m-payments market to be world’s largest by 2015
Mobile Entertainment
Mobile payment users reached 218 million at end 2011 and will grow to 441 million users by the end of 2015. * Fewer that ten per cent of China’s 900 million mobile phone users use smartphones, leaving tremendous scale for growth.
See all stories on this topic »

Mobile Entertainment

Green Dot’s CEO Discusses Q1 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha
… payments play out there, and we believe this intellectual property will become highly strategic to Green Dot and our distribution partners as mobile banking, mobile commerce and mobile payment strategies emerge and mature in the years to come.
See all stories on this topic »

Ovum says operators face uncertainty in the expanding mobile payments value chain
The Nation
Ovum’s research indicates that the majority of operators are exploring collaborative mobile payment ventures that can leverage collective resources and customers, helping to create the kind of scale that is critical to success.
See all stories on this topic »

US Banks Can Save Themselves with Innovation
Bank Technology News
Hernandez has similarly strong views about the way banks are letting tech-savvy nonbank competitors, such as Square, PayPal and Google, get into the mobile payment business. “The ubiquity and acceptance of technology has surpassed the safety and …
See all stories on this topic »

Starbucks’ CEO Discusses Q2 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha
We are also at the forefront of mobile payment convenience and capability, where our mobile app has generated more than 45 million mobile payment transactions over the last 14 months, making Starbucks the largest and most widely embraced mobile payment …
See all stories on this topic »

On The Current State Of e-Commerce In India; Cash Vs Cashless
MediaNama.com
While in previous dicussions it was asserted that majority of Indian eCommerce users are more comfortable with COD rather than going cashless, cashless and mobile payment still have a long way to go. Neel Chowdhury, Vice President and CMO, …
See all stories on this topic »

Pivotal Payments announces first quarter performance
Sacramento Bee
The company recently announced a partnership with NetSecure Payments to develop a mobile payment application for smartphones and tablets. In January, the company signed a payment services agreement with TSYS, the world’s largest processor of merchant …
See all stories on this topic »

O2 launches text money transfer app
Which?
O2 Money’s managing director James Le Brocq said: ‘O2 wallet has been trialled internally for months and has undergone extensive stress testing with security experts. This is, we believe, the safest and most secure way to deliver mobile payment …
See all stories on this topic »

Apple’s patent suggests iTunes media gifting via NFC
Ubergizmo
While NFC has primarily been the focus of mobile payment services, the patent shows Apple considering NFC as a means for iPhone users to gift another iPhone owner a song simply by tapping phones together. According to the patent, it works similarly to …
See all stories on this topic »

Ubergizmo

O2 launches UK’s first digital wallet scheme
Rethink Wireless
″O2 Mobile Wallet is a flagship, feature packed service that has clearly been designed to face the increasing threat of mobile payment services from over-the-top players such as Google Wallet and PayPal, and of course other operators,″commented Eden …
See all stories on this topic »

China payments to hit $80bn
NFC World
The Chinese mobile payment market is expected to be worth more than US$80bn with some 441m active users by 2015, according to new research from Kapronasia. China has already surpassed the US as the biggest smartphone market worldwide, …
See all stories on this topic »

NFC World

What Jim McKelvey wants you to do… and how I beat Watson at Jeopardy!
St. Louis Business Journal (blog)
One was a speech by local tech entrepreneur Jim McKelvey, a co-founder of mobile payment processor Square. McKelvey’s resume reads like what you would get if you picked a dozen resumes from a pile at a career fair and spliced bits and pieces of them …
See all stories on this topic »

Six Penny Stocks on the Move with Heavy Volume to Watch for Friday
Fyxnews
NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. provides a suite of software and hardware for processing 1D and 2D barcodes in the mobile environment, and enabling applications in mobile marketing, mobile couponing, mobile ticketing and mobile payment.
See all stories on this topic »

SPH wins Best RFID Project Implementation at Smart Card Awards Asia
AsiaOne
… and the Google Wallet which lets consumers use their PN65-powered Google Nexus S or Galaxy Nexus phones as their wallets by tapping on contactless POS terminals to make secure, mobile payment, update loyalty cards or send coupon.
See all stories on this topic »

AsiaOne

Google selling SketchUp to Trimble
Boulder County Business Report
Google will retain a significant and expanding presence in Boulder, where its team works on Google Apps and Google Wallet, a mobile payment platform. “Google’s commitment to Boulder is just going to continue to grow,” Green said.
See all stories on this topic »

Google’s Galaxy Nexus has distinct software image, international version …
Android Authority
Google has thrown in a $10 starting credit in the Google Wallet for all the Nexus devices, so it’s pretty obvious that the search giant is intending to push its mobile payment service forward at all costs. On the other hand, if you don’t care about …
See all stories on this topic »

Blogs

8 new results for “Mobile Payment”

Kazor.com World Community News » Mobile Payment: PAY …
By admin
Munich, Bavaria ( Kazor ) April 26, 2012 – In cooperation with the Munich-based company payworks,PAY.ON AG establishes a development partnership for mobile payment solutions. payworksGmbH develops both turnkey white-label …
Kazor.com World Community News

Making Sense of Mobile Payments
By ellie
Mobile payment definitely has its perks: it’s quick, convenient and some systems even offer lower credit card transaction fees to merchants. But there are plenty of problems, and one of the largest questions surrounding mobile payments is how …
NerdWallet Credit Card Blog

NRF urges FTC to move cautiously on regulating mobile payments
Duncan said federal officials need to address a number of issues including a definition of what constitutes a mobile payment. While the term is largely used to mean a payment made in a bricks-and-mortar store using a smartphone, officials …
Finextra Research Payments channel

Now you can text money to a friend
“In additional to PINs and passwords, all personal details and financial data are held on remote central servers rather than on the mobile device itself. This, we believe, is the safest and most secure way to deliver mobile payment services.” …
creditcards related article links

O2 launches mobile money wallet service (UK) | Wireless Federation
By Editor
This, they believe, is the safest and most secure way to deliver mobile payment services. Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Visa Europe, added that they welcome the launch of O2 Wallet and are delighted to be enabling the …
Wireless Federation

In Canada, phones poised to challenge credit cards | Mobile | FP …
Phone companies, credit card providers and banks in Britain, Japan and South Korea have tried to set up mobile payment systems, but none have yet lived up to the hype. In South Korea, for example, residents have used touch-and-go mass …
FP Top Stories List

Commerce Weekly: Mobile commerce is on the rise globally – O …
By Jenn Webb
The post pointed out that similar mobile payment options are common in England, “but the T would be the first major US commuter rail to offer passengers an alternative to paper.” MBTA officials also told Boston.com they will use the new app …
O’Reilly Radar – Insight, analysis,…

Opera 12 Beta Gains A Lot, Loses A Little | WebProNews
By Zach Walton
Opera Payment Exchange Taking Mobile Payments Around The World. Everybody is getting into the mobile payment business these days. While Google Wallet has been one of the most talked about (and hacked) mobile payment options, …
WebProNews

Web

3 new results for “Mobile Payment”

With O2 Wallet, The Disruptive Mobile Payment Space Is Heating Up …
We believe that the O2 Wallet is, for now, the most comprehensive mobile payment solution in the UK – available to a majority of smartphone owners, whether …
blogs.forrester.com/…/12-04-26-with_o2_wallet_the_disruptiv…

O2 UK launch mobile payment app, will also come to Windows …
O2 has launched the O2 Wallet in the UK – a mobile payment system that will offer money messaging, shopping comparison and more. The O2 Wallet will allow …
wmpoweruser.com/o2-uk-launch-mobile-payment-app-will-al…

Pivotal Payments, NetSecure partner for mobile payment app
US payment services provider Pivotal Payments has entered a partnership with mobile and e-commerce services provider NetSecure Payments to develop a …
www.thepaypers.com/news/mobile…/pivotal…/747371-16

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Near Field Communications / Smart mCommerce

Top 10 mobile commerce apps of Q1 – Mobile Commerce Daily

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Friday, April 27th, 2012

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