A third of mobile game downloads don't work

Earlier this month we heard that just 8.8% of customers in the USA and Europe were playing games they'd downloaded to their mobile phone - and last week we discovered that 50% of all application downloads failed to complete successfully. Now comes news that a third of mobile game downloads in the UK fail to work owing to compatibility issues - and only 15% of mobile gamers had never experienced a non-working game. The figures, which come from application developer GetJar, claim that over £29 million is spent every year on games that customers never play. The company blamed insufficient testing for the high failure rate. [Source: VNUnet.com]

O2 releases Q4 2007 results

Telefónica O2 Europe, the parent company of O2 in the UK, has released results for the quarter ended 31 December 2007. It says UK revenue grew by 7.8% in the fourth quarter and 18.7% for the full year; and that UK blended ARPU was up from £23.00 in Q4 2006 to £24.00 in Q4 2007. SMS messages were up 16% year-on-year across the group, with over 8 billion SMS messages sent during the quarter. The total mobile customer base is 38.26 million, 8.6% higher than 2006. The UK added 483,000 net customers in the quarter including 276,000 on contract, its highest number ever, thanks in part to the iPhone. And in other news O2 Ireland has confirmed it'll be the country's exclusive iPhone network from 14th March. The handset will be available via O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores from €399 for the 8GB model. [O2 figures press release, O2 Ireland press release]

Apple iPhone SDK due on 6th March 2008?

It sounds as though Apple will reveal its Software Development Kit for the iPhone on 6th March, a few days later than their previously-announced target of February. The SDK will enable software developers to create programs for the Apple iPhone; at the moment they're only able to build web-based programs. [Source: InformationWeek.com]

Vodafone buying in Bangladesh?

Vodafone is apparently talking about buying a 30% share in Bangladesh's second-largest mobile company, Aktel, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Worldwide mobile sales up 16% in 2007

Research company Gartner says worldwide sales of mobile phones to end-users exceeded 1.15 billion units in 2007, a 16% per cent increase from 2006. People in emerging markets buying their first phone, particularly in China and India, provided much of the growth. Sales in 2008 are expected to continue increasing but at a reduced rate of 10%. Nokia ended 2007 as the leading global manufacturer, achieving 40% of sales in Q4 and 37.8% for the entire year. [Press release]

Almost half of all UK drivers still texting behind the wheel

A survey of 2,000 Facebook users by the RAC Foundation has found that 45% of UK drivers use text messaging while driving. Texting while driving was found to be highest in London (53%) and lowest in Aberdeen (31%). The RAC Foundation recommends that drivers either mute or switch off their mobiles when driving to take away the temptation to read or reply to a text message whilst on the move. [RAC Foundation blog]

O2 joins Mobile Marketing Association

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), a global non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing marketing on mobile devices, has announced that it now has almost 600 member companies. 33 new members have recently joined, including O2. (Vodafone and T-Mobile are already members). The MMA says this signifies a growth in membership of over 350% in the past two years. [Press release]

Opera mobile browsers now using Google

Opera's mobile web browsers - Opera Mini and Opera Mobile - are are now using Google as their default search engine, replacing a year-old deal with Yahoo! - which, in turn, had replaced an earlier deal with Google. This new agreement, which takes effect from 1st March, will apply worldwide except for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. [Press release]

Ofcom says O2 failed to hit 3G coverage target

Ofcom has told O2 that it's failed to meet its requirements for providing 3G coverage in the UK. All five networks running 3G services were required to offer 3G coverage to at least 80% of the UK population at the end of last year. Ofcom says 3, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone complied but O2 only covered 75.69% of the population, resulting in a shortfall equivalent to approximately 2.5 million people. Ofcom has told O2 that it must reach its obligation by the end of June 2008 or have its 3G licence term shortened by four months (ending in August 2021, not December 2021).

New edition of 'The Fonecast' now online

This week's podcast of The Fonecast, a free weekly downloadable broadcast about the mobile industry (in partnership with Mobile News), is now available to download from TheFonecast.com. We talk to Paul Withers, the News Editor of Fone!, about cashback and other issues affecting dealers. There's a quick review of the new Onyx Liscio - and we take our usual look at the latest industry news and gossip. Each broadcast can be downloaded by including us in your RSS reader, by using iTunes, by visiting TheFonecast.com or by visiting the Mobile News website.

Mobile music sales going up; ringtones going down

A new report by Juniper Research says the total value of the global mobile music market is expected to exceed $17.5 billion (£8.8bn) by 2012. The report's author, Dr Windsor Holden, describes 2007 as the 'tipping point' for mobile music adoption and says rental music services & full-track downloads will drive the market in the future. He also says current prices for ringtones are unsustainable and the market for these services may have already peaked in a number of countries. Ringtones accounted for 62% of the mobile music market in 2007 but are expected to account for just 38% by 2012. China and the Far East region will account for around 43% of all mobile music sales per annum over the next five years. [Press release]

Nokia creates shape-shifting concept phone

Nokia has been working with the University of Cambridge to create a concept phone called Morph. Morph, which is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, demonstrates how nanotechnology could be used to create a mobile device that is flexible and stretchable. The concept phone has self-cleaning panels and can be transformed from a standard candybar format into a bracelet. Nokia says elements of the Morph phone might start appearing on high-end phones within the next seven years. [Press release]

Unique Distribution CEO quits

Mobile News reports that Andy Tow, the CEO of Unique Distribution has left the company - and has been linked with a possible move to rival distributor Data Select.

Usability is slowing the adoption of new mobile services

Mobile data usability specialists Olista have published a report on the problems encountered by mobile users when accessing mobile content. Their findings are based on information over eleven million mobile users across five different mobile operators in the last quarter of 2007. The overall findings indicate that usability rather than price is slowing the adoption of new mobile data services. Over 70% of customers who signed up to content bundles didn't use any mobile content, which suggests that ease-of-use rather than price was the main factor for these users. 30% of users downloaded the same content over and over again, 50% of all application downloads failed to complete successfully while over 60% of video and music downloads were being made from sites that weren't operated by the networks themselves. In addition, 85% of mobile TV users abandoned the service after the first viewing. [Source: Cellular-News.com]

New mobile manufacturer launches in UK

UK-based Onyx has launched the Liscio mobile phone, a compact and lightweight music-playing handset that's available SIM-free directly from the manufacturer for £129.99. [Press release]

Vodafone and 3 lead the UK's mobile portals

A new research report from Strategy Analytics called "UK Mobile Portals: One Click Access and Simple Layout Enhance Experience" has taken a look at the mobile internet portals operated by the UK's networks. 3's Planet Three and Vodafone's Vodafone Live! both achieved a 4-star rating (presumably out of a maximum 5 stars) for their overall portal experience, with O2, Orange and T-Mobile all receiving a 3-star rating. 3 and Vodafone performed particularly well for portal discoverability, while Vodafone was commended for its News & Info service and 3 for its Mobile TV offering. Strategy Analytics said Full Track Music and Games downloads were significant areas of weakness in terms of user satisfaction across all networks.

Vodafone changes Marketing department structure

Vodafone is changing the structure of its Marketing department, according to a report on BrandRepublic.com. UK head of brand and marketing Dominic Chambers, who's been with Vodafone since 2004, is leaving the company and is understood not to have a new job lined up. Chief Marketing Officer Tim Yates is also losing his role, although he's said to be moving to a new position within Vodafone.

China Mobile plans UK network?

The Inquirer reports on speculation that China Mobile, which is setting up a London-based regional office, could launch a mobile virtual network in the UK and other European countries.

Number of mobile companies will decline says T-Mobile boss

The number of mobile phone operators will decline in the long-term, according to Hamid Akhavan, the chairman of T-Mobile International. In an interview with Die Welt he said "In Europe, we assume that only five or six big mobile phone companies will earn money in the long-term. In Asia and the US, it is a similar number." There are currently around 50 operators in Europe. [Source: Forbes.com]

'Smart phones' are the preferred choice for games

Smart phones are the preferred choice for electronic games, according to a new study released by Magmic Games and the Information Solutions Group. 51% of respondents said they played games on their smart phone, more than on any other type of gaming platform (including PCs and home consoles). Among women, the figure was 60%. 90% of people said that gaming on a smartphone was better than using traditional phones, while 91% of smart phone gamers said they would be unlikely to switch back to using a standard phone for entertainment. [Press release]