Google music store by November?
Andy Rubin, Google's VP of mobile platforms, is reported to have confirmed talks with a music-industry group publishing firm, the Harry Fox Agency, with a view to securing catalogue for the opening of the much-rumoured store. Such rumours have been around for a while, the received wisdom being that Google wants to link music to its core search function and wants to get into the whole cloud-based streaming thing while the market is still relatively new
Mobile Entertainment
No one would pay for Twitter
Zero per cent of Twitter users would pay for it according to a study by the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California Annenberg School For Communication And Journalism. We already know thanks to several other surveys that consumers aren’t exactly rushing to pay for social networking online, but the Annenberg School’s study shows the most extreme reaction so far, especially considering that 49 percent of the internet users among the 1,981 survey respondents said they did use social networking sites like Twitter.
MocoNews
BlackBerrys are 'threat to national security' claims UAE
The move raises concerns of another attempt by the government to control the flow of information in the Arab Gulf nation, which actively censors websites and other forms of media seen as harming national security or conservative local values. At the same time, however, the UAE is trying to establish itself as an international business hub. This is the second major controversy over the BlackBerry in the UAE. A year ago, the Middle East country's biggest state-run mobile operator was caught encouraging unwitting BlackBerry users to install software on the devices that could allow outsiders access to the devices.
The Telegraph
Mobile operators should provide more Wi-Fi, says YouGov
According to a YouGov study, mobile subscribers would love it if their operators provided better Wi-Fi services. The study reveals that smartphone owners in the UK make heavy use of Wi-Fi, and would respond very well to improved services from their operator. YouGov is a completely web-based market research firm it has a panel of 250,000 respondents in the UK, from a variety of demographics. For this survey, it collected data from 2,200 respondents into how smartphone owners use Wi-Fi, and what they think of it. The results should provide food-for-thought for mobile operators:
GoMo News
Majority of consumers rely on social networks for purchase decisions
Social networks have become a critical, but underutilised, aspect of the marketing process, according to Gartner. Gartner analysts have examined the way social networks shape consumer buying behaviour and found that the majority of consumers rely to some extent on social networks to guide them in their purchase decisions. These social networks often include individuals who fulfil different roles or functions in recommending products to people they are connected with. Gartner conducted a survey in the fourth quarter of 2009 of nearly 4,000 consumers in 10 key markets and used the resulting data to identify groups who can play a vital role as influencers in brand awareness, market research and viral marketing campaigns.
Mobile Business News
Ofcom: Broadband ISPs are pulling a fast one
Millions of broadband users are being sold short by providers that are delivering speeds far below those advertised, according to research published today. Data released by Ofcom, the communications regulator, shows that the gap between the headline broadband speeds customers sign up for and the connection they actually receive has widened sharply in the last 12 months. The average actual speed is now just 46% of what was promised, down from 56% a year ago. Internet service providers are even advertising maximum speeds which in practice no customers receive, according to Ofcom, which is now pushing for tighter controls on selling broadband in the UK.
The Guardian
IT CEOs clean up with loads of money
The Wall Street Journal has run a yarn about CEOs making huge amounts of cash from their companies. One of the top earners was Apple's Steve Jobs, with $749 million which should be just enough to buy one of his own Macs. The Journal analysis looked at salaries, bonuses, perks and realised gains on both restricted stock and stock options; it excludes new grants of restricted stock and stock options. To an outfit like the WSJ, it sees the whole thing as proof that giving CEOs shares in the company makes a lot of sense. Oracle shareholders saw the value of their stock triple, while shareholders of Apple saw their stock soar nearly 12 times over. But it did mean that there were some anomalies.
Tech Eye
4 Reasons Why Microsoft Will Design & Produce ARM CPUs
Now that the dust has settled over the announcement last week that Microsoft had licensed ARM's architecture for undisclosed plans, it is now time to consider what might have pushed Microsoft to do such a move and most importantly, why the firm, unlike Apple, announced it publicly. One week before Microsoft announced its partnership with ARM, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, said at the event where he announced free cases for iPhone 4 owners, that the company wouldn't get into any business where they did not own or control the primary tech because he said "if you don't the people who do own it will beat you". Looking at Microsoft's business model, the company, like Apple, owns only half of the technology.
ITProPortal
Facebook launches safety page
Facebook has launched a page designed to help members stay safe on the web. The ‘Safety Page’ aims to be a central repository on Facebook for links, videos and information about how people can protect themselves from abuse online, as well as make their information more secure. Members who ‘like’ the page will be provided with regular links to new articles on online safety from around the web within their news feed. Current links include articles about online education and suicide prevention. Sullivan, Facebook chief security officer, said, Online safety is a shared responsibility. We’ll continue to think of innovative ways to promote safety on our service and elsewhere on the web. We’ve quadrupled the safety content available and have created cleaner, more navigable interfaces to help people find answers to safety questions fast,he added.
New Media Age
UK.gov pledges licence fee 'rethink' over heavy catch-up use
The government has pledged to 'rethink' the licence fee because so much television is watched via catch-up services on computers, which does not require the payment of the licence fee. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has ruled out introducing a licence fee for PCs but has said that his administration will need to find a way to stop people consuming material paid for by the licence fee for free. "What we've said very clearly is that we accept the principle of the licence fee, the idea of a household tax to fund broadcasting that is ring-fenced," culture secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC television yesterday. "We think that one of the reasons we have some of the best TV and broadcasting in the world in this country is because we have these different streams of income including the licence, including subscription income and including advertising.
The Register
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