CNET: RIM in talks to squeeze out BlackBerry music service

Those “sources with knowledge” are at it again, this time stirring the pot over a possible BlackBerry-branded music service. According to both CNET and Reuters, said sources revealed that RIM is in negotiations with “the four largest record companies” to launch a service that would “run on top of BlackBerry Messenger.” What that means, exactly, is anyone’s guess at the moment, but word is the mobile phone maker has already signed one label, and is close to snagging two more. Could this be the move RIM needs to shake off its enterprise-only reputation? We’ll just have to wait and see — according to Reuters, the service is expected to be announced by September 5th.

via:mobile.engadget

One-third of Americans would give up sex before their cell phones [infographic]

A recent survey found that 33% of Americans would sooner give up sex for a week than go without their mobile phones for the same period of time. Navigation software leader Telenav surveyed 514 mobile phone users in the U.S. last month to find out how willing they were to give up certain things ahead of their cell phones. Respondents were most willing to part with alcohol instead of their phones, with 70% saying they would go a week without booze before going a week without a phone. At the other end of the spectrum were computers, with only 20% of those surveyed having said they would prefer to part with a PC than a cell phone. A few more interesting snippets were also provided: 63% of BlackBerry users and 62% of Android users said they had never paid more than $1 for an app, compared to 45% of iPhone users. 50% of iOS users and 55% of Android users said they update social networks from their phones, compared to 40% of BlackBerry users. Finally, 66% of all smartphone users polled said they sleep with their handsets next to them.

Telenav’s infographic detailing highlights from the survey follows below, along with the associated press release.

T-Mobile's You Fix gives budget-minded Brits a new approach to pay-as-you-go

If you’re a Londoner who’s struggling to live within your means, T-Mobile is hoping its latest You Fix plans are the solution to your budgetary woes. The Magenta-clad carrier’s UK arm promotes You Fix as the ultimate hybrid of pay monthly and pay-as-you-go. Customers sign a 12 month commitment to one of three plans that range between £15.50 ($25) and £26 ($42) per month, and the most expensive plan brings 300 minutes and texts. Once the allotment is met, consumers can top off their accounts based on T-Mobile’s traditional PAYG rates, or bide their time until the new month rolls around. Additionally, You Fix’ers may choose between one of seven free add-ons each month, including options to add data or unlimited texts. Subsidized phones are also on the menu, with the BlackBerry Curve 8520, HTC Wildfire S, and Samsung Galaxy Gio leading the pack. Looking to save a few quid?

Check the full schedule of plans in the PR beyond the break.

No link between cell phones and brain cancer, European study says

The results of a recent European study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded that there is no connection between cell phone use and an increased risk of brain cancer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. There were 1,000 participants in the study, including 352 people aged seven to nineteen who were diagnosed with a brain tumor between 2004 and 2008. The report “shows that a large and immediate risk of cellphones causing brain tumors in children can be excluded,” Dr. Martin Roosli, an epidemiologist at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute said. The results are in contradiction of a recent World Health Organization study, which said that cell phones are “possibly carcinogenic.” However, the WHO report was shot down immediately by the Economist, which said it was not possible for cell phone radio waves to cause cells to mutate, and a second report in Environmental Health Perspectives that argued there is evidence “increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults.” One World Health Organization cancer epidemiologist, Kurt Straif, told The Wall Street Journal that the results from the latest survey may not be 100% accurate. “Participants with brain cancer may not have the best recall for how often they used their phones,” he argued.

 

BGR

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: little tykes under the spotlight

In the rough and tumble debate surrounding the mobile phone’s ability to cause cancer, both sides agree that our young ones — indeed, some of the heaviest users — could be at an increased risk for cellular-induced tumors. According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the radio emissions from mobile devices penetrate much deeper into the brains of children, and in the case of little tykes ages five to eight, their noggins will absorb twice the energy of the average adult. This, combined with their developing nervous systems, has brought concern for the welfare of our youngest mobile-savvy citizens, and led to a European study of nearly 1,000 (informed?) participants. Data was gathered over a four-year period, which relied upon self-reporting methods, where youngsters were found to not talk very often, and typically sent text messages instead — big surprise, right?

While long-term risks remain unknown, the researchers conclude that “a large and immediate risk of cellphones causing brain tumors in children can be excluded.” In other words: little Suzy won’t begin sprouting cancer cells overnight. While you doting parents may find comfort in the latest research, you might consider stopping short of giving the mischievous rascal an unlimited voice plan. After all, gossip still spreads best at the school yard.

[Image courtesy Derek Olson (flickr)]

The Wall Street Journal

 

Engadget

 

Vonage Extensions makes mobile international calling a free-of-charge affair

Hey Vonage customers, your VoIP service of choice is about to get a bit of a mobile value-add. Announced today, the company’s new Extensions service links your existing home internet calling plan to extra phone numbers — like a cellphone– for free, so you can make that long-distance call to Tante Lulu in Gstaad on-the-go. Okay, so the feature isn’t exactly gratis — you’re still required to sign up for an unlimited international calling plan, but the bucks literally stop there. All it takes to get started with this “virtual calling card” is an access number and some foreign digits. Sound too complicated for you? Don’t fret, official iPhone and Android-compatible appsare scheduled to hit their respective markets in the coming weeks. So, go ahead and ring ol’ Lu for her 89th birthday. She’ll be glad you called.

Vonage Adds Free Mobile Extensions

Now Anyone With Vonage World Gets Unlimited Calling To More Than 60 Countries From Their Mobile At No Extra Charge

HOLMDEL, N.J., July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) is breaking beyond the four walls of the home by allowing customers to extend their Vonage home calling plans to any phone, including mobiles. The move allows customers to use Vonage’s signature unlimited(1) international calling plans from their mobile phones to call friends and family abroad. The new service offering — Extensions™ — is free to all Vonage customers and builds upon Vonage’s history of providing unsurpassed value to customers for both domestic and international calling.

“Vonage World set the benchmark for unlimited international calling. Now new and existing customers can call these unlimited countries on their mobile phones for no additional cost,” said Marc Lefar, CEO of Vonage. “This new service dramatically increases the value of Vonage’s core offering, providing customers with more flexibility and savings when making international calls.”

Existing customers can add any U.S. phone number as an extension by logging into their online account at http://www.vonage.com. The extension phone number can be a cell phone, a home phone or even an office number. Once registered, the service works like a virtual calling card. Simply dial the access number and international destination number and the call is connected over the Vonage network.

Extensions works with any mobile phone, and in the next several weeks Vonage plans to offer downloadable apps for iPhone® and Android™ devices, enabling one-touch dialing directly from the customer’s contact list.

Customers with the Vonage World plan will now have the additional flexibility of unlimited calling to more than 60 countries from their cell phones in addition to from their home phone. Those who call internationally for as little as an hour a week will save an average of $250 a year versus the best international rates from major wireless carriers.*

For more information visit http://www.vonage.com.

All Things D Engadget

Indian Man arrested because he was in possession of 100,000 SIM cards

Depending on which country you’re in, when you purchase a SIM card you need to submit some form of identification so that should the authorities ever need to investigate something they can contact you. In Finland, you don’t have this silly rule. In India and China, you do. Most people around the world have just one SIM card, and thus one mobile phone, but there’s a growing number of folks who prefer having two devices, either because they want to have some semblance of a work/life balance, or because they need to cheat on their significant other without being caught. Anwar Bablu doesn’t fit into either of those two categories. Indian police arrested him because he was in possession of 100,000 SIM cards, a number that’s hard to wrap your head around because it’s difficult to imagine what a room full of 100,000 mobile phones looks like, or how heavy a plastic bag with 100,000 SIM cards weighs. Bablu had a side business whereby he would rent out SIM cards to individuals who would then return them when they no longer had a use for them. Once returned, he would rent out that SIM card again, which is puzzling if you’re one of the people who has such a SIM card and all of a sudden you start receiving phone calls and text messages from strangers.

The bigger question is should India repeal their relatively new law that dictates each SIM card should be tied to an individual? Bablu is most certainly an outlier with 100,000 SIM cards, but we suspect there are other smaller players in numerous Indian cities who provide the same service. Curbing terrorist attacks, drug deals, and other illegal activities is a noble goal, but people will always find a way to get around government regulations. Bablu and others like him profit from that.

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IntoMobile – Cell Phone Reviews, How-tos and News

Jabra recommends Bluetooth headsets in lieu of brain tumors

Following the World Health Organization’s revelation last week that cell phones are “possibly carcinogenic to humans based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer associated with wireless phone use,” Jabra has issued an easy fix: instead of putting a cell phone to your ear and possibly getting a brain tumor, use one of its Bluetooth headsets. Jabra says its headsets emit 800 times less radiation than cell phones — just 0.0025 watts max output compared to 2 watts max from cell phones. In a Jabra-sponsored survey, 61% said cell phone radiation only concerned them “a little bit” or “to some extent” and 25% said they were not at all concerned. But when informed that using a Bluetooth headset has been scientifically proven to drastically reduce exposure to radiation, more than half of the respondents said they would use a hands-free device. Hit the break for Jabra’s press release.

Android, iOS see continued growth in U.S. at cost of RIM

On Friday comScore released its latest mobile subscriber market share report, which suggests that both Android and iOS are increasing their U.S. market shares at the cost of RIM’s BlackBerry OS. ComScore surveyed 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers during a three month period ending in April 2011 and found that Android’s U.S. market share jumped 5.2 percentage points to a 34.6% grip of the industry. Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS market share grew a marginal 1.3 percentage points to a 26% share. RIM’s BlackBerry OS share fell from 30.4% in January to 25.7%. Samsung remains the most popular mobile phone manufacturer with a 24.5% share of the market and is followed by LG (20.9%), Motorola (15.6%), Apple (8.3%), and RIM (8.2%). Hit the jump for the full release from comScore.

 

comScore Reports April 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

RESTON, Va., June 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending April 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.5 percent market share. Google Android led among smartphone platforms with 36.4 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three month average period ending in April, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 24.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 20.9 percent share and Motorola with 15.6 percent share. Apple jumped to the #4 position with 8.3 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.3 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 8.2 percent share.

Top Mobile OEMs3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Jan-11	Apr-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	24.9%	24.5%	-0.4
LG	20.8%	20.9%	0.1
Motorola	16.5%	15.6%	-0.9
Apple	7.0%	8.3%	1.3
RIM	8.6%	8.2%	-0.4

Smartphone Platform Market Share

74.6 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in April 2011, up 13 percent from the three-month period ending in January 2011. Google Android ranked as the top operating system with 36.4 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers, up 5.2 percentage points. Apple also gained share, capturing the #2 position with 26.0 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 25.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (6.7 percent) and Palm (2.6 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2011 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	Jan-11	Apr-11	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Google	31.2%	36.4%	5.2
Apple	24.7%	26.0%	1.3
RIM	30.4%	25.7%	-4.7
Microsoft	8.0%	6.7%	-1.3
Palm	3.2%	2.6%	-0.6

Mobile Content Usage

In April, 68.8 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Browsers were used by 39.1 percent of subscribers (up 2.1 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 37.8 percent (up 2.4 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.7 percentage points, representing 28.0 percent of mobile subscribers. Playing games comprised 26.2 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.5 percentage points), while listening to music represented 18.0 percent.

via:BGR

Mobile Content Usage3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Jan-11	Apr-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	68.1%	68.8%	0.7
Used browser	37.0%	39.1%	2.1
Used downloaded apps	35.4%	37.8%	2.4
Accessed social networking site or blog	25.3%	28.0%	2.7
Played Games	23.7%	26.2%	2.5
Listened to music on mobile phone	16.5%	18.0%	1.5

Press Release: Android sees continued growth while BlackBerry OS falters, comScore says

Android’s U.S. market share is continuing to grow at the expense of RIM, Microsoft, and Palm, according to a new report from comScore that took a snapshot of the mobile phone market during the March quarter. The report found that Android powered 34.7% of all U.S. smartphones, up 6% from December 2010. RIM’s BlackBerry OS market share fell 4.5 points to a 27.1% share of the market, while Microsoft’s Windows and Palm’s webOS each saw a 0.9 percentage point decrease. Apple’s iOS market share jumped 0.5 points to a 25.5% share of the market, just behind RIM’s 27.1% grasp. Samsung remained the most popular mobile phone brand with a 24.5% share of the market, followed by LG (20.9%), Motorola (15.8%), RIM (8.4%), and Apple (7.9%).  The report also found that 234 million Americans above the age of 13 used mobile devices. Hit the jump for the full release.