Nokia sees opportunity in Ovi-Vodafone deal

Nokia's strategic shift into mobile internet services received a boost on Wednesday when the Finnish mobile phone maker announced Vodafone would become a customer of its new Ovi portal.The deal underlines the dynamism of the mobile industry, coming days after Google announced its mobile strategy and just before Apple's iPhone launches in Europe.The agreement with Vodafone shows how much clout the world's largest handset maker can exert over operators. The Vodafone agreement follows a similar deal with Telefónica last month.
Nokia faced scepticism in August when it launched the Ovi brand, with many industry observers concerned that the service - which offers music, games and maps - would be in conflict with operators who hope to make money from similar services. However, it is now seeing some of the largest telecoms operators supporting the project.
Nokia's deals with Vodafone and Telefónica show that the Finnish group will be a considerable force for Google to contend with as it moves into the mobile market. Nokia's Series-60 operating system is a well-established competitor to the mobile operating system Google is planning to bring to the market and Nokia offers competing online services such as maps, which operators appear willing to adopt - even at some cost to themselves.Vodafone, for example, has invested heavily in building up its own music store since launching its Vodafone Live! portal in 2002, but has now agreed to allow its customers easy access to Nokia's music service as well.In exchange, Vodafone's services will be deeply integrated into Nokia's high-end phones, and Nokia will make a number of exclusive phones for Vodafone next year.
Nokia has about 38 per cent of the global market for handsets and the chance to have its services featured prominently on a Nokia mobile phone is an opportunity even the largest operators cannot ignore.In supporting Ovi, Vodafone is effectively admitting that its efforts to create user loyalty through branded services have failed.In supporting Ovi, Vodafone has stopped fighting against the inevitable and is allowing the Nokia brand to become uppermost in the user's mind," said Richard Windsor, analyst at Nomura.However, by offering its services through Ovi, Vodafone is likely to see better take-up than going it alone."Frank Rovekamp, global head of marketing at Vodafone, said that though the music services would overlap, this was part of a broader alliance with Nokia that he was keen to develop. Vodafone will share revenues with Nokia on services such as maps and games.Mobile operators are under pressure to improve their web-based services as devices such as Apple's iPhone enter the market.


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Mobile phones tumour risk to young children

Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), said that evidence of potentially harmful effects had become more persuasive over the past five years.The news prompted calls for phones to carry health warnings and panic in parts of the industry. One British manufacturer immediately suspended a model aimed at four to eight-year-olds.The number of mobiles in Britain has doubled to 50 million since the first government-sponsored report in 2000. The number ofchildren aged between five and nine using mobiles has increased fivefold in the same period.
In his report, Mobile Phones and Health, Sir William said that four studies have caused concern. One ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy mobile users are more prone to non-malignant tumours in the ear and brain while a Dutch study had suggested changes in cognitive function. A German study has hinted at an increase in cancer around base stations, while a project supported by the EU had shown evidence of cell damage from fields typical of those of mobile phones.All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Sir William said. If there was a health risk — which remained unproven — it would have a greater effect on the young than on older people, he addedFor children aged between 8 and 14, parents had to make their own judgments about the risks and benefits. “I can’t believe that for three to eight year-olds they can be readily justified,” he said.David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, called last night for a ban on mobiles in schools.
Mobile phone companies reacted furiously, saying that the report fanned public concern without presenting new research. The youth market is highly lucrative because teenagers are more likely to use video downloads and other services.The World Health Organisation is preparing to publish an international report, drawing on hundreds of studies conducted over a decade, which many hope will give a definitive judgment on mobile phone safety.
The board’s report says that while there is a lack of hard information of damage to health, the approach should be precautionary. Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”One school in the North East has begun using mobile scanners to prevent pupils using mobiles in class. “Outside college hours it is up to parents, but in our care if mobiles are found on children, they are confiscated and returned to the parents,” David Riden, vice principal of Tollbar Business and Enterprise College in New Waltham, said.One group that appears to target young users is Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, which derives much of its revenue from the 16s-35s market. It denies targeting under 16s but has cornered a large slice of the youth market with cheap voice and text messages.
Source : http://www.timesonline.co.uk

3G mobiles 'change social habits'

Increasing use of 3G mobile phones can change the way people communicate and create new social trends and tribes, a behavioural study has suggested.

The study said the combination of still and video cameras on modern phones, and the advent of high speed data transfer, can inspire a generation of users.Bloggers, film-makers and clubbers all benefit from 3G phones, it said.Analysts Future Laboratory said the report was the first ethnographic survey of 3G use across the UK.

3G is the next generation of mobile phone technology, offering a wide range of high speed mobile services, including video calling and messaging, e-mail, games, photo messaging and information services.They identified a range of new behavioural patterns among those using 3G phones, which were free of charge for the duration of the study.New technology on offer allowed a diverse range of personalities to express themselves creatively in different ways, the report said.

network and use 3G mobiles to keep friends up to date.

Alfred Tong, one of the report's authors, admitted that allowing free use of the phones encouraged heavy use, but said the study offered a glimpse into a 3G future.Without the constraints of price, we hope these results illustrate how people will use 3G as the technology spreads," he told the BBC News website.The report's authors dubbed the new generation of mobile phone users Generation C, with C meaning content.
As well as offering bloggers the chance to post instantly to their own sites, researchers saw 3G phones used as a counterpoint to retailing, socialising, and as a tool for documenting their lives.Analyst Ben Wood said he welcomed the study, but said that most mobile phone users remain concerned about looks, cost and battery life above all else."It's very hard to get people to discover these services and to use them," he said.3G operators were still seeking ways to maximise income from multimedia services without putting off customers, he added.
Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/

China Mobile lies in wait for economic slump

Wang Jianzhou, who ranks among China's most prominent members of the international business community, said he hoped falling share prices would represent an opportunity to buy smaller counterparts in other Asian markets.
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"I hope the falling valuations of companies will allow us to do more deals," said Mr Wang, who was among a clutch of Chinese executives attending last week's World Economic Forum in Davos. "We are very much focused on the emerging markets."To date, China Mobile has made just one overseas acquisition, the $284m (£143m) purchase of a controlling stake in Paktel, the Pakistani telecoms company, last year.

Since then, Mr Wang had complained that soaring valuations of assets were acting as a deterrent to potential deals.China Mobile, which has more than 350m customers, had also considered a $5.3bn bid for Millicom, the group which controlled Paktel, but walked away from a deal at the eleventh hour.

Although expansion into Europe is off the agenda for the time being, analysts believe China Mobile is likely to examine opportunities to move into emerging economies in eastern Europe over the long term.Mr Wang also said China Mobile had no plans to take a reciprocal stake in Vodafone, which owns a small shareholding in the Chinese ­company.

Vodafone's chief executive, Arun Sarin, is keen to expand its presence in China, which is among the world's fastest-growing mobile phone ­markets.The Chinese government is understood to be considering a restructuring of the country's telecoms industry but is unlikely to allow foreign companies to control major players in the sector.

• China Goldmines, the Aim-listed mining group, will tomorrow announce that it has commenced gold production at its Shenjiya Prospect in the country's southern Hunan province.

Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Vodafone seals Mannesmann deal

Vodafone AirTouch has finally succeeded in taking control of Mannesmann after last-minute concessions overcame the objections of the German group's board.The deal announced on Thursday got the official seal of approval from Mannesmann's supervisory board at a meeting in Frankfurt on Friday.The two sides had been locked in talks for seven hours on Thursday to finalise details, having reached agreement in principle on friendly terms.

The £112bn ($183bn) all-share deal is the largest corporate merger in history.It brings to an end months of rancorous negotiations, claims and counterclaims in a bidding battle mixing big business, politics and union uproar.The new company - which will have some 42 million customers - will be run from Vodafone's Newbury headquarters, although Mannesmann will continue to have a head office in Dusseldorf.Chris Gent Chris Gent will head the new company As control of Mannesmann is passing to the UK, the German group will be delisted from Frankfurt's Xetra Dax share index.The total value of the Vodafone group on the stock market, after paying $183bn for Mannesmann in shares, will be $365bn (£228bn), making it by far the largest company on the London stock market and the fourth-largest in the world.Its value reflects the bright prospects for the growth of mobile phone ownership around the world - and the huge boost provided by internet services soon being available via mobiles.As the biggest mobile phone company in the world, the combined Vodafone/Mannesmann group will galvanise rival companies into plotting their own link-ups to be able to compete in the global market.

Investment

Vodafone consumers are likely to see little immediate difference, although the company says that it will have more money for investment in the next generation of mobiles.However, Orange, which was bought last year by Mannesmann, will have to be put up for sale to satisfy competition regulators in the UK.The deal also signals a more aggressive merger climate in Europe, where business has traditionally been conducted on a more co-operative basis than in Britain or the US.

It was welcomed by Prime Minister Tony Blair and, more reluctantly, by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who had initially criticised the hostile bid.Mr Blair's spoeksman said: "The Prime Minister welcomes the proposed merger as very good news and a demonstration of how Britain can be a world leader in the knowledge-driven economy."Vodafone's Chris Gent will head the company, while, contrary to expectations, Klaus Esser will stay on as an executive director to help with the transition.Klaus Esser will stay to help transition : A Vodafone spokesman said: "They are two strong businesses and together we can go from strength to strength."Savings from combining the two companies are estimated to total at least £500m, with a minimal impact on jobs as the pair have few overlaps in their businesses.There were mass protests among Mannesmann's German workers when the takeover bid was first announced - but Vodafone has now said there will be no job losses in Germany.

Source :http://news.bbc.co.uk

British Computer Society IT Awards recognises SpinVox as a leader in `Mobile Technology`

SpinVox,the founder and global leader of Voice-to-Screen messaging, was the winner in two project categories and the recipient of the gold medal in the ‘BT Flagship Award for Innovation’ at the prestigious British Computer Society IT Awards event held last night in London.

At the 50th anniversary event, 1,300 people saw SpinVox beat strong competition from industry leaders such as Ericsson with Vodafone UK, Omnifone, BT and Norwich Union to win the Mobile Technology Project Award and fought off strong competition from BBC Worldwide, NM2 research project led by BT and O2 WiFi with AEG Europe to win the Entertainment and Media Project Award.
The company was also a finalist in the Web-based Technology Project category.The British Computer Society is the leading UK professional body for IT and communications and the Awards celebrate the contribution made by the IT profession to economic prosperity, business efficiency and innovation. They are described by the Society as ‘the leading hallmark of success amongst practitioners in the IT industry today.’
SpinVox launched its foundation Voice-to-Screen service, Voicemail to Text, in 2005, creating a new category of messaging which takes any voice, converts it to text and delivers it to any screen – mobile, PDA, PC or even TV – chosen by the user.
In establishing the Voice-to-Screen market, SpinVox has invested for four years in researching, developing and deploying a world-class platform to deliver its innovative services to carriers, Internet and media businesses on four continents and in four languages – English, French, Spanish and German. At the heart of all SpinVox services is its Voice Message Conversion System (VMCS), which works by combining computer-based state-of-the-art speech technologies with a live-learning language process.

Source : http://www.spinvox.com/

Mobile phones 'may trigger Alzheimer's'

Mobile phones damage key brain cells and could trigger the early onset of Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests.Researchers in Sweden have found that radiation from mobile phone handsets damages areas of the brain associated with learning, memory and movement.

The study, which was carried out on rats, is the latest twist in the long-running debate over whether mobile phones are a health risk.We have good reason to believe that what happens in rat's brains also happens in humans Prof Leif Salford,Lund University


Scientists have yet to find any conclusive evidence that mobile phones damage the human brain.This latest study was carried out by Professor Leif Salford and colleagues at Lund University in Malmo.Lab testsThey experimented on rats aged between 12 and 26 weeks. Their brains are regarded as being in the same stage of development as teenagers.The rats were exposed to two hours of radiation, equivalent to that emitted by mobile phones.Their brains were examined under a microscope 50 days later.The researchers found that rats which had been exposed to medium and high levels of radiation had an abundance of dead brain cells.

Professor Salford said there was good reason to believe that mobile phones could have the same effect on humans."A rat's brain is very much the same as a human's. They have the same blood-brain barrier and neurons," he told BBC News Online.

"We have good reason to believe that what happens in rat's brains also happens in humans."
Professor Salford said that there was also a chance exposure to mobile phone radiation could trigger Alzheimer's disease in some people.What we are saying is those neurons that are already prone to Alzheimer's disease may be stimulated earlier in life.

"However, this theory is hypothetical. We do not have evidence yet that the human brain is affected in this way."The study is published in Environmental Health Perspectives - the journal of the US government's National Health Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.



Resource : http://news.bbc.co.uk/