Social location services used weekly by 1% of Americans
Forrester Research says only 4% have ever tried them. Only 1% of Americans use mobile social location services on a weekly basis, and only 4% have ever tried them, according to Forrester Research. What's more, 80% of people who've tried these services are men, with 70% between 19 and 35. The claims are contained in a New York Times article that makes the point that services like Foursquare, MyTown, Loopt and Gowalla are far from mainstream.
Mobile Entertainment

BBC streamed 5.3m iPlayer shows to iOS devices in July
Nearly 5.3 million BBC shows were streamed to iPhones, iPod touches and iPads in July via the broadcaster's iPlayer service, according to stats released by the Beeb today.iOS users watch an average of nearly five programmes a month on iPlayer, and during July, there were an average of just over 230,000 of them accessing the service every week.By contrast, just 6,400 programmes were streamed to Android devices that month, with an average of just over 1,100 Android users accessing iPlayer a week, and watching 1.4 programmes in the month.
Mobile Entertainment

Google plans pay-on-demand film service
Google's YouTube video-sharing website is in talks with Hollywood movie studios over a global pay-as-you-go video service that could be launched by the end of the year. The new service is expected to launch first in the United States, followed by other countries over time. Viewers would stream films on the site and pay about (£4) $5 for new titles. The films would become available at the same time as their release on DVD and on Apple's iTunes store and Amazon.com.
The Telegraph

Britain's 'seven social tribes' mapped
A team of cartographers have created a visualisation of Britain which makes the traditional map of the British Isles look outdated by comparison. The mosaic-like map beautifully visualises the "Seven Social Tribes of Britain", combining postcode information with demographic data from the Government. This map emphasises different types of people and their concentration in different areas of the country, unlike traditional maps which highlight geography. Each set of pixels on the map is a postcode and is coloured according to economic measures based on census data.
The Telegraph

BlackBerry ban on hold for 60 days
India said it withdrew a threat yesterday to ban BlackBerry services for at least two more months after the device's maker, Research In Motion Ltd, agreed to give "lawful access" to encrypted data. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which wants real-time access to encrypted corporate emails and instant messaging, said in a statement that it would review RIM's security proposals over the next 60 days after the Department of Telecommunications studies the feasibility of routing BlackBerry services through a server in India.
The Independent

China's Lenovo to launch video games console
China's IT giant Lenovo has said it will launch a video games console this year to vie with Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's XBox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 in the booming motion-gaming market.The company - China's biggest computer maker - has developed a prototype of the eBox console and has set up a new company called Beijing eedoo Technology Ltd. to produce and market it. The eBox, which can be connected to high-definition television sets and the Internet, is a controller-free console that can be operated by gestures, according to a statement sent by Lenovo to AFP on Monday.
The Independent

Microsoft co-founder in legal fight with Google
Paul Allen, one of the co-founders of Microsoft, has filed a patent action against some fot the biggest names in the technology industry. Allen’s investment company Interval Licensing is suing Google, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, Office Depot, AOL, Yahoo, and YouTube amongst others for infringement on key technology patents. Microsoft was conspicuously not on the list filed in the company’s court action AOL, Apple, eBay, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube's acts of infringement have caused damage to Interval, and Interval is entitled to recover from Defendants the damages sustained by Interval as a result of Defendants' wrongful acts in an amount subject to proof at trial, the complaint reads
V3

Xbox Live to cost £12 more per year
Xbox Live will cost British gamers £12 extra a year, as of this coming November. Microsoft is spinning the Xbox Live price increase as a mere £1 extra per month, but hardcore Xbox gamers are sure to respond with dismay at the news. After all, nobody likes being asked to pay more money for a service that they feel they cannot live without! The price increase in Microsoft's Xbox Live subs is both unexpected and unexplained, to date. We will, of course, reach out to Xbox UK for further explanation of the reasoning behind the decision.
Tech Radar

Vodafone UK helps ensure Molson Coors UK hits the spot
Molson Coors (UK) beer drinkers should never go thirsty again, thanks to Vodafone UK’s specially designed field service management application for mobile devices. Vodafone’s business application will help 170 field service engineers manage their customers’ maintenance requests faster and more effectively helping Molson Coors (UK) deliver an even more efficient service to its customers. Molson Coors brews Carling, the UK's best selling lager, Coors Light, Grolsch and Worthington's, to name a few, and supplies its beers and dispensing equipment to thousands of pubs, clubs, restaurants and other outlets across the UK.
Mobile Business Magazine

Australian mobile data price war avoids unlimited trap
The mobile operator landscape in Australia is a bit more hostile than what we’re used to in Western Europe and America. Massive changes in the market over the last few years have resulted in the largest telecoms operator, Telstra, fighting hard to keep off competition from Optus and others. Today, Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA) has stepped up the competition by offering the best mobile data rates yet in the country but can Australia steer clear of the unlimited data offers that have caused such problems elsewhere?
GoMo News