In-flight texts from London to Moscow

bmi has become the first British airline to offer its passengers an in-flight communications service that includes text messages, email and internet browsing from mobile phones and PDAs. The service, supplied by OnAir, is being trialled for six months on an Airbus A320 aircraft operating between Heathrow and Moscow. [Press release]

SMS is still king for mobile data revenue

Portio Research says text messaging will still be the leading revenue-generator from mobile data for several years. Volume and revenue are both expected to continue growing through the current economic downturn, with the whole mobile messaging industry - currently worth $130 billion - predicted to be worth $224 billion by 2013. The company also says that the number of mobile email users worldwide will quadruple from approximately a quarter of a billion users in 2008 to over a billion users by the end of 2013 - and mobile instant messaging users will increase from 111 million users worldwide in 2008 to 867 million users by the end of 2013. [Press release]

Nokia puts IBM Lotus Notes email on S60 phones

Nokia and IBM have announced that IBM Lotus Notes will now be supported on many Nokia S60-based mobile phones from December. It means that users of Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices can access corporate email via Lotus Domino Server software - giving them real-time access to email, calendar, address book, diary and to-do list data. Nokia says this collaboration means nearly 90% of business email can be accessed with Nokia devices without the need to purchase additional servers, third-party software or licenses. [Press release]

Barack Obama to give up his BlackBerry?

Never mind his plans to change the world... the current story on everyone's lips is the likelihood that US President-elect Barack Obama is going to stop using a BlackBerry when he takes office. Despite wearing the device on his belt during much of his election campaign and frequently sending messages to friends, he's likely to ditch mobile email when he takes office in January. Not only is security a risk, his messages would all be recorded under the Presidential Records Act. But he wouldn't be the first president to stop using personal email. Current president George W Bush sent his friends an email before entering the White House eight years ago, explaining that he was going to stop corresponding in cyberspace because he didn't want to risk any private conversations being published. [Source: NYTimes.com]

Messaging pressure creates mobile email addiction

The pressure for employees to be online 24 hours a day is driving them to risky behaviors and also underscores the importance of email reliability and availability for businesses, according to a new study commissioned by software company Neverfail. Its report says worry over being available during non-work hours has led employees to email addiction. 94% of respondents said they used their phones to send email or text messages during work nights or at weekends, and nearly 80% took their phones on holiday. [Press release]

North Americans still prefer voice calls for social contacts

Software company AppTrigger has conducted a survey that shows North American mobile users prefer voice calls for social contacts - although they also want advanced applications. The survey of (just) 250 users said 74% wanted additional services but preferred voice as the main communication channel. In addition, 50% use voicemail at least once a day and 23% now use mobile email. [Press release].

US mobile consumers aren't using 'high-end' features

Consultancy firm Accenture says US consumers aren't using 'higher-end' applications on their mobile phones. The organisation's recent research shows 88% of users never use mobile devices to watch videos, 84% don't use mobiles to send email and 79% never play games on their mobiles. [Press release]

Most business users won't change mobiles to get email

65% of European business users with mobile phones wouldn't change their phones just to get email, according to new market research from Globo. [Source: Cellular-News.com]

Nokia buys email and IM company

Nokia has said it's buying Canadian email and instant messaging company OZ Communications. [Press release]

Nokia updates Ovi and Email services

There've been a couple of relatively-interesting announcements from Nokia in the last 24 hours. Firstly, its Ovi multimedia service can now synchronise calendar, contacts, notes and task information between your Nokia phone and your online storage at ovi.com. It's also possible to use a PC to access your files. And now they've enabled Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to offer corporate email on 43 different S60 smartphone models, which equates to 80 million mobile devices. [Press releases: Ovi, Exchange]

Almost half of young US drivers are using mobiles

Nearly half of young drivers have sent a text message, instant message or e-mail while driving, according to a new survey by legal information website FindLaw.com. 48% of drivers aged 18 to 24 and 27% of drivers aged 25 to 34, admit to messaging while behind the wheel. Overall, 17% of all adults surveyed said they'd texted while driving. [Source: MarketWatch.com]

Mobile messaging spending to keep growing

The total spending on mobile messaging services by consumers will rise 35% in the next five years, from $65 billion in 2007 to over $88 billion by 2012. Text messages will still account for most of the spending, although - by 2012 - mobile email will account for 20% of total end-user mobile messaging spending. The figures come from a new report published by Strategy Analytics.

Mobile Life report published

The Carphone Warehouse has published its Mobile Life 2008 report (called ‘The Connected World’); the fifth annual report in conjunction with the London School of Economics. Amongst the 'mobile' stuff in it this year:

• 94% of British youngsters own mobile phones compared to 80% in the US
• Youngsters in the UK and the USA consider their mobile phone to be their best friend, preferring it above TV
• 17% of UK adults said they owned two or more mobiles, compared to 11% in the US
• 24% of US adults and 17% of UK adults have sent/received email on their phone
• 14% of adults have checked news or weather reports online via their mobile phone
• 13% of British teenagers have had to change their number to stop unwanted texts or calls compared to 6% in the US
• 14% of British teenagers reported having a mobile phone stolen compared to 9% in the US
• 15% of adults in the UK have reported a mobile theft versus 7% in the US

[Web site; PDF]

Mobile email relieves stress

Vodafone says today's impatient businesses need mobile email to relieve stress in the office. Its latest research - the second Vodafone Critical Response Time Index - shows that 10% of organisations expect a response within 30 minutes to emails enquiring about new business, with one in three expecting a response within two hours. It adds that 36% of UK workers say the lack of mobile email causes unnecessary stress and conflict in the workplace - and calculates that the lack of mobile email access is costing British business at least £7.345 billion a year. [Press release]

Phone call database planned

The Times says the UK government is planning a database that holds details of every phone call, email and internet browsing session as part of its fight against crime. Information would be held for at least 12 months. The plans have apparently been considered as part of a data communications bill that would be included in the Queen's Speech in November. The EU already requires telecoms companies to keep records of phone calls and text messages for 12 months.

Mobile messaging to hit $212 billion by 2013

Mobile messaging will be worth $212 billion (£106 billion) worldwide by 2013, according to ABI Research. This is expected from a combination of increased SMS usage in the Americas, mobile email growth, the increase in mobile subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region and social networking in nearly all regions. [Press release]

New podcast from 'The Fonecast' now online

This week's free podcast of The Fonecast, a weekly downloadable broadcast about the mobile phone industry (in partnership with Mobile News), is now available to download from TheFonecast.com. As usual, Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell provide their regular weekly look at the latest headlines and rumours. Freelance journalist Steve Gold explains the benefits of selling mobile email for dealers, and the Samsung SGH-F110 miCoach handset comes under the team's spotlight. Each broadcast can be downloaded by including us in your RSS reader, by using iTunes, by visiting TheFonecast.com or from the Mobile News website.

60% of UK mobile users just talk and text

Research by SNAPin Software has found that 60% of UK mobile phone users only call & text on their handsets and have no interest in other services. 29% of people said they were put off because they were confused about charging, while 18% couldn't be bothered to read the manual. Among those people who did use other features, the camera was the most popular choice - used by around 30% of them. Internet and email use was just 12%, and navigation was 3%. The researchers contacted almost 2,000 adults in December last year. Meanwhile in Japan, the communications ministry says it supports a proposed exam for mobile phone specialists who'd be able to explain complicated functions and tariffs. [Sources: vnunet.com; 160characters.org; yahoo.com]

Email is most-wanted mobile service

UK online usability company Webcredible has published a survey that's shown email to be the most-popular mobile service, followed by social networking. Over a thousand users were asked "Which service would you use on your mobile if speed and quality weren't an issue?"
33% said that email would be their number one priority, with social networking receiving 25% of the votes, 20% wanting local information and 13% saying they'd use travel and route planning services. In 5th place was online shopping, with 9% of the votes.