iPhone 2.2 software to allow over-the-air podcast downloads

Apparently the new Apple iPhone software version 2.2 will allow you to download podcasts 'over the air' instead of needing to synchronise with iTunes on a computer. When it does, you'll find our iTunes feed by clicking here. [Source: AppleInsider.com]

EC plans mobile TV action soon

In an interview with EurActiv.com, European Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding has said the EC will soon 'fix the rules' for mobile television in Europe.

Avenir MD moving to Vodafone

Tanny Price, the UK MD of distributor Avenir Telecom, is leaving to take a senior channel role at Vodafone. She's been in her current role for over four years and has worked at Avenir for over 10 years. [Source: Mobile News]

Cashback dealer declared insolvent

First Contact Mobiles, which was based in Leeds but did most of its business online,has been wound up in the High Court following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service. The company encouraged customers to connect mobile phones by promising 'cashback' deals but failed to pay. It also failed to keep records of the amounts involved, which could exceed £250,000. [Press release]

Austrian mobile networks criticise EU roaming caps

Mobilkom Austria, T-Mobile Austria and Orange (Austria) have published research that shows the EC's capping of 'roaming' costs has led to significant losses and no significant increase in usage. They say the roaming regulation is having a negative effect on Austria's mobile industry. [Sources: Telecoms.com; TradingMarkets.com]

Mobile gambling wagers to hit $27.5 billion by 2013

The research just keeps coming. Juniper Research say mobile betting will be worth $27.5 billion (£17.5 million) by 2013. They reckon mobile operators are much more interested in offering betting services and accepting advertising from betting companies than they were last year. [Press release]

Global smartphone sales up 28%

More research from Canalys. These figures say smartphone shipments have risen 27.9% worldwide (from Q3 2007 to Q3 2008), hitting 39.9 million. This means smartphones now represent around 13% of the total mobile phone market, up 2% from the previous quarter. Nokia has retained its market lead, but its share has been eaten into by Apple and BlackBerry devices. [Press release]

GPS-equipped smartphones outsell other navigation devices

Researchers at Canalys say GPS smartphones have overtaken the number of stand-alone Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) shipped in the Europe, Middle East and Asia. They've calculated that EMEA shipments of PNDs in Q3 2008 fell to 4.3 million, down half a million from the previous quarter, while shipments of smartphones with integrated GPS more than doubled to 10.4 million. [Press release]

82 million location-aware mobile social networkers by 2013

Research company ABI Research says there'll be 82 million people using location-based mobile social networking services by 2013. [Press release]

Motorola UK boss leaves

Motorola UK General Manager Jim Michel is reported to have left the company following a restructure. [Source: Mobile News]

Vodafone takes control in South Africa

Vodafone has confirmed that its acquisition of an additional 15% stake in Vodacom, taking Vodafone's shareholding from 50% to 65%, has been approved by the government of South Africa. [Press release]

Smartphones driving increased mobile search

This is probably another of those "it's obvious when you think about it" reports. Researchers at The Kelsey Group have linked the increased purchase of 'smart' mobile devices with an increase in searches - particularly for local information - from mobiles. They say 18.9% of mobile customers in the USA now use a smartphone, with 49.2% of all respondents planning to buy a smart mobile device within the next two years. In the last six months, 17.6% of US mobile users have downloaded or looked at maps or directions (up from 10.8% in 2007), 15.6% have searched online for products or services in their local area (up from 9.8% in 2007), 14.3% have searched online products or services outside their local area (up from 6.4% in 2007), 13.7% have searched for entertainment information (up from 8.2% in 2007) and 9.6% have connected with a online social network (up from 3.4% in 2007). [Press release]

Mobile News podcast now online

The new edition of the Mobile News podcast is now available to download. Iain Graham talks to John Fannon about T-Mobile's recent channel review and its plans to change dealer commission payments. Mark Bridge and James Rosewell join Iain to discuss the latest mobile industry headlines - and there's a quick preview of the Samsung M8800 Pixon cameraphone. As usual, you can download or listen free at TheFonecast.com and on the Mobile News website... and you'll find us on iTunes and via RSS too.

The Mobile News podcast is presented and produced by Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge at TheFonecast.com

T-Mobile launches UK femtocell trial

T-Mobile is running a femtocell trial in the UK, Germany and Poland, according to a report on Unstrung.com.

Mobile advertising awareness up 33% this year

A study from social networking site Limbo.com in association with research company GfK has revealed that mobile advertising awareness in the USA grew 33% since January (compared to a 6% growth in mobile phone usage). Nearly four out of ten Americans with a mobile - 104 million people - recalled seeing advertising on the device between July and September 2008. [Source: MarketWatch.com]

Top websites aren't coping with mobile browsing

Mobile web company Bango has just completed a survey of the top 20 websites (according to the amount of PC-based traffic, as surveyed by Nielsen Online). They found that half of the sites didn't work well on mobile phones, even though 5% of website visitors are estimated to come from mobile devices. In addition, many online businesses didn't know how much mobile traffic was hitting their PC-focussed site. [Press release; Bango blog]

Tiscali broadband being bought by Sky?

After interest from a number of telecomms companies - including Vodafone and The Carphone Warehouse - it looks as though Tiscali's UK broadband customer base will be sold to BSkyB. [Source: TimesOnline.co.uk]

LG and Microsoft working together

LG Electronics and Microsoft have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that'll see them working together on mobile convergence. They will collaborate on research & development, marketing, applications and services. [Press release]

Robber caught after swapping mobile with victim

A 21 year-old man has been jailed for six months after stealing a mobile phone and handing over his own phone as compensation. Eneas Tanyongana from Harlow was arrested within hours of his offence. He 'd robbed his 16-year-old victim on a train in Hertfordshire, threatening to stab him if he didn’t hand over his mobile phone. When the boy asked what he was supposed to do without a phone, Tanyongana handed over his own phone, complete with contact details and photos. Police investigators used the information contained in Tanyongana’s phone to identify and arrest him. The victim's phone was recovered and CCTV footage was used to link the attacker to two other robberies. [Press release]

Mobile advertising claims are inflated, says report

Researchers at CCS Insight say the success of mobile advertising in Europe is being exaggerated and advertisers will only spend a fraction of their budgets trying to reach people through their mobiles. It says mobile advertising revenue in Europe over the next two will total less than 430 million Euro. However, it points out that people take more notice of mobile ads than advertising on TV or PC, which means the potential market is huge. [Source: TelecomTV.com]