Photo: Gabriele B / Flickr

Apple has the most loyal mobile device users in the world, a report by Gfk Research found. The research company said that iPhone loyalty was one of the biggest competitive advantages Apple has, but that competitors still had a chance to change market share if they moved fast.

Loyalty is almost everything

GfK analyst Ryan Garner says that, on average, 63 per cent of mobile phone users stick to the brand of handset they currently have. Unpacking this sentiment, he explained that building customer loyalty was as crucial as building market position, because as users become more acclimatised to their platform over time, the less likely a dramatic change in market share is.

Apple lead

The research firm surveyed 4,500 people in Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States. Based on finding in that research, where 70 per cent of those surveyed said they would stick to their platforms due to how content and media is seamlessly integrated, GfK Research analyst Ryan Garner said [via Reuters]: ‘Apple is clearly ahead of the game, but developments next year will challenge that.’

Still room for competition

He said that the rapid growth of Google’s Android platform and the mere presence of Windows Phone 7 was enough reason to believe the door on competition is not closed just yet, though, even if iPhone loyalty levels are higher than those of other platforms.

GfK added that: ‘The scope for brands to lure customers from rivals has diminished and the richest rewards will go to those providers that can create the most harmonious user experience and develop this brand loyalty.’

What’s next?

GfK Research’s findings on iPhone loyalty echoes that of similar studies conducted throughout the year. Moreover, at an intuitive level, the general findings ring true for most smartphone users, especially on a platform basis. If you drop £100+ on applications for Android, WP7 or iOS, it’s highly unlikely you’re going to switch platforms at whim.

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The woes at LG’s mobile phone unit are compounding, with the division announcing widening losses, as the whole company missed industry consensus for Q3 results.

Reuters reports that LG’s mobile phone business had reported a loss for the sixth consecutive quarter, with quarter-on-quarter losses more than doubling to 140 billion won (£77m), from Q2’s loss of 55 billion won. Putting it frankly, Reuters’ Hyunjoo Jin writes: ‘The results were hurt by a shortage of hit models to compete with Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the booming smartphone market.’

A tale of two companies

LG’s South Korean rivals Samsung are expected to post extremely positive earnings on Friday, driven significantly by extremely strong sales of its smartphones. It’s widely expected that the company has overtaken Apple as the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world, which would be a significant and notable achievement.

Company turmoil

The LG mobile phone unit has been in dire straits for some time now, with Koo Bon-joon, a member of the company’s founding family, taking over to try turn things around. He has had little success so far. Furthermore, in early September there were rumours that the mobile division had laid off 30 per cent of its international staff with similar cuts due in South Korea, too. Rumours LG half-heartedly denied.

Is there a comeback?

At this stage, it is difficult to see how the struggling LG mobile phone unit will turn around. The company has yet to have a smash hit the likes of HTC’s range or even Samsung’s, and given how few rumours are circulating about what the company has in the pipeline, it means we will not see anything spectacular for some time still.

Again, though, it only takes one massive hit to become a big deal in the highly lucrative smartphone business, as Samsung can testify to with the launch of the first Galaxy S handset. LG could use that hit sooner rather than later.

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New research by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has found that British customer satisfaction has soared on mobile phone networks, while landline, pay TV and broadband satisfaction vary in results.

Mobile carriers do the business

The regular interviewed 3,000 customers. Overall satisfaction with British mobile carriers Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone was up when compared to the findings from 2009. Three, however, who has had to deal with various faults and is dealing with more complaints than usual, showed the least improvement, but still had decent overall customer satisfaction of 63 per cent.

A little more conversation, a little less TalkTalk

On the broadband and landline front, TalkTalk had the worst performance with a quarter of its customers dissatisfied with its services.

For Pay TV, satisfaction from Sky’s customers was on the up, while Virgin media’s customers were less pleased in the most recent survey than they were with the outcome of the 2011 survey.

Growing demand

It’s telling that British customer satisfaction with mobile networks is on the up, especially when one factors in how much more we demand of carriers nowadays. Demand for data and data services is growing manifold each year, especially as the sale of smartphones and tablet PCs continue to explode.

Sharing opinion

Claudio Pollack, who is the Consumer Group Director at Ofcom, explained why they did and published this reason. Pollack said: ‘By publishing this research we want to give consumers an insight into the standard of customer service being offered across the communications sector.’

Pollack also added that ‘The more information of this kind consumers have, the more effectively they can exercise their choice.’ An additional benefit of surveys like this one is that companies that are slacking in service delivery see how they compare to their competitors, hopefully inspiring them to deliver better products and services to the people who keep them going.

Photo: Avantronics / Flickr

A new traffic safety report has challenged the conventional wisdom that driving with a Bluetooth headset is safer than making a call directly on your mobile while on the road. The report says that portable gadgets are attributable to one in four accidents on US roads, and recommends novice drivers be banned from using their mobile phones outright while on the road.

It gets worse

The Governors Highway Safety Association out in Washington DC says half of all accidents are attributable to drivers being distracted while behind the wheel. Half of these very distractions are caused by our mobile devices, hence the 25 per cent causation ratio.

Perhaps the most conclusive evidence that Bluetooth headsets are doing very little to stop road accidents is the finding that there has been no decline in crash rates in the US states that have banned driving with handheld phones, hence the study’s assumption that headsets are no safer.

Learner drives the biggest risk

The GHSA says that novice drivers carry the highest risk of all drivers on the road. The study says: ‘Novices are the highest-risk drivers. Their attention should be focused on driving, not on cell phone conversations… A ban reinforces this message… and helps parents manage their teenage drivers.’ This is punctuated by the fact that driving while texting – something younger drivers do – is even more dangerous than driving and calling on the mobile phone.

Evidence is in the… crash site?

The non-profit group researched 10 years of crash reports to come to its finding. While somewhat morbid, it’s a better approach than a random survey, right?

Anyhow, this puts a dent on the value of Bluetooth headsets from a road safety perspective, but if you need your hands freed up while talking on the phone, it still in your best interest to get one – irrespective of how silly some look.

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While it no doubt pains companies to work with the very strict European Commission, consumers have benefitted greatly from the competition watchdog’s ‘no nonsense’ stance. Now, as a result of EU pressures, mobile phones in Europe will no longer have proprietary chargers, and will all use a standardized port: micro-USB.

14 companies on board

The European Commission has come to agreement with 14 mobile handset manufacturers that a standard charger, based on micro-USB, will begin being rolled out across the region by the end of 2011. This means that the irritating problem of being unable to charge your phone at a friend’s place due to having different manufacturers is a thing of the past.

What’s more the European Commission has gotten some major players on board, with some of the 14 companies being Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sony Ericsson and Samsung, who, between them control a massive chunk of the overall smartphone market.

Fast turnaround

The European Commission’s frustration with different charging standards came to bear in 2009, and the competition watchdog has been very swift about forcing manufacturers’ hands. What this resulted in was the handset manufacturers involved signing a ‘memorandum of understanding’ to bring out a standardized charger built on the micro-USB model.

Not all of these firms will have to change, since they’ve had the sense to adopt micro-USB from way back, saving themselves the expense and effort of changing manufacturing processes for these purposes. Incidentally, my old Windows Mobile HTC Touch Diamond had a micro-USB charger, which meant I could charge it with most anybody’s camera cable. It’s long perplexed me why everybody didn’t pick up this standard.

Standards, standards, standards

We’re big fans of the European Commission and this, as you may have guessed, is why: universal chargers. Frankly, it’s ridiculous that there are so many different mobile phone charger standards in the world.

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It’s long been believed that people are overpaying for their mobile phone subscription plans. While a recent study conducted in the UK confirmed this, a study by US-based bills reduction company BillShrink came up with the very same conclusion.

Averages

BillShrink ran a year-long survey that involved more than 230,000 wireless users, with the major finding being that people waste a painful $336 (£208) each year from miscalculating voice and data needs on their mobile subscription packages. This means the BillShrink users handed their carriers an extra $79 million (£49m).

Key findings

Some of the key findings were that people, on average, estimated they need 711 wireless anytime minutes monthly, when they actually only use 651 minutes on average with their mobile phone plan. Wait, though, who spends 711 minutes on phone calls each month of their lives?

As for text message, people believed they needed 2,566 each month, when it only averaged out to 1,555 per month. Okay, seriously, 1,555 SMSes each month is insane! Who are you folks who send 50 text messages daily?

On a data front, BillShrink users thought they needed 54mb monthly, when in fact they needed 81mb. Funnily enough, most data packages only start at 150mb, so that’s an area where carriers are making a pretty profit.

What’s causing this?

Digital Daily examines what is driving these disparities between one’s mobile phone plan expectations and needs. The natural conclusion is a skewed perception of mobile phone users’ needs. A more pervasive factor is how carriers tier their subscription packages either below or above most people’s needs. Added to that is the fact that these same carriers sell a bundle of voice, message and data plans, even when you would rather only have specific components to deal with.

Nevertheless, all this means is when next you purchase a smartphone, make sure to analyse your current mobile phone plan and try match it as closely as possible.

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You may think you know everything there is to know about keeping your computer protected from viruses, and you probably do a good job at updating your antivirus software on a regular basis. But one thing you may have forgotten is that your mobile phone is also at risk for attracting viruses that can cause havoc on your phone.

These days mobile phones are more than just telephones, with smartphones and other mobile phone devices being so complex that we treat them like mini-computers. These mobile phones are all part of a public global network, and transferring data has never been easier – unfortunately, this also includes viruses.

Be smart with your phone

Most mobile phones don’t use Windows but rather rely on other operating systems that use a great number of different apps to help them run. Because any file can harbour a virus, the applications on your phone can be much more vulnerable to viruses, especially with the amount of downloading and uploading happening between your phone and your computer. Although it is more difficult for a phone to get infected, it can still happen, with files possibly being deleted or infected and applications being unable to function properly.

A simple way to keep your phone from being infected is to close any data ports that are not being used; in the same way you would treat your computer. Also read your mobile phone manual carefully and thoroughly to be made aware of any other security precautions you can take.

Clean your phone

If you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of having an infected mobile phone, there are a few things you can do. First, download antivirus software, which will remove any bugs from your phone. Downloading the removal tool that was specifically designed for the virus you have is another good way to disinfect your phone. You can download this by using WAP and going directly to the site, or by connecting your phone to a computer and obtaining it there.

Be safe from the start

If all else fails, a simple re-format of your mobile phone will wipe it clean, however you will lose all your data. Rather avoid this stage in the first place and have your mobile phone updated with the latest antivirus software and keep your phone connected.

Photo: BlueLounge

With every new piece of portable tech we buy, that means more goods to charge when we set down for the night. Before long, you’ve got cables for cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players, Flip cams, GPS devices and so on. It gets too much, and soon becomes a mess. That’s where the aptly-titled Bluelounge The Sanctuary comes into it.

A place to keep all your goods in

Bluelounge describes their product as ‘a beautiful, simple solution to a real everyday problem. A place to put the multitude of personal items we all carry around so they are easily located again when later needed and, always fully charged’. And that’s probably as good a description of what it is and what it does as we’ve come across.

How it works

The way it works is it comes with 12 built-in connections in the base of the device, that you can pull out as needed. These include Apple’s ubiquitous iPod cable, mobile phone chargers for manufacturers ranging from Samsung to Nokia, a mini-USB cable for cameras, and so on. The Sanctuary even allows you to plug in your own USB cable for expandability. Once you’ve sorted the connectors you need, you put the tray over the cabling, and set your items inside BlueLounge The Sanctuary - wallet, mobile phone, MP3 player, keys, and so on. Most everything you might need when you leave the house is in one place, and always fully charged, minus the cabling mess we’ve all become so accustomed to.

Why bother?

Bluelounge The Sanctuary is admittedly pricey. And, therefore, it is rather difficult to justify the purchase. The thing is, the convenience factor is so high that if you value convenience and you have the money on hand, there’s very little reason not to buy it.

Photo: anikarenina / Flickr

French police have just busted a ring of mobile phone hackers involved in fraud worth millions of euros. Nine people have been arrested, including employees of mobile phone companies, investigators said.

The scam

It turns out the French fraudsters were buying codes to unlock victims’ SIM cards for €3 from employees of mobile phone companies who had access to the companies’ databases. They then sold the codes online for €30. Using these codes hackers could access any SIM card – even overseas SIMs – with their own mobile phones.

The money earned from these SIM code sales was then put into tax-free bank accounts overseas, and it wasn’t an insubstantial amount. One mobile phone company employee was reportedly earning up to €25,000 a month from the scam.

A ‘cascade of fraud’

An investigator told the AFP that a ‘cascade of fraud’ ensued after the hackers gained access to the SIM codes. ‘The pirates work for the (phone company) operators, they do whatever they want,’ an investigator said. He added that the ‘impressive’ network was ‘very well set-up.’

A long investigation

The French police began investigating the fraud in 2009 after French phone company SFR complained there were discrepancies in its security system. Major French phone companies Orange and Bouyges Telecom were also affected by the fraud.

What you can do to stay safe

While there is absolutely nothing you can do to protect yourself from the employees of mobile phone companies gaining access to your SIM, you can take some steps to avoid mobile phone fraud.

The first thing you should do is password protect your phone. This way, if it is stolen, your precious data can’t be accessed by thieves. Then, be careful who you give your mobile phone number to, and never accept free ringtones for your phone – this can be a way for hackers to gain access to information on your phone.

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When it comes to business, most professionals will tell you of the difference having the correct mobile phone to complete daily tasks and promote productivity can have in boosting the bottom line. Also in recent times Android is quickly gaining market share as the preferred mobile platform of choice, which leaves ones with the question whether Android is good or business when compared to other mobile OSes available.

Android’s open gift is also its curse

Well, first things first, what do the numbers say? Analysts currently have Android mobile platform taking over from RIM and Symbian as the preferred mobile platform by 2014. Currents trends show that more and more web users are accessing the web through Android-based apps, but what does that mean for business? According to the IT techies, not much, as Android’s open source base as is much a gift as it is a curse. Yes, open source may come with greater technical capabilities, but lacks the accountability which businesses seek when things go wrong.

Why RIM is better

Given that the Android mobile platform is also used on a number of different devices, it makes it a daily nightmare for the poor techies in the IT department having to log calls and fix problems on different hardware with unique issues. And this can pose serious problems when it comes to productivity. Looking at other mobile platforms available we find that Apple’s iPhone also isn’t the most ideal phone for business, with Apple’s almost medieval approach to protecting source code. RIM on the other hand takes a different approach to this all, almost fitting in the middle in allowing enough openness and at the same time not letting too much out in the open. Also, Research in Motion’s ability to provide customers with the necessary tools to manage their Blackberry mobile platform from a number of different handsets has allowed RIM to dominate the business market.

As the things currently stand, the best mobile phone for business definitely comes from RIM, and though Android is making considerable leaps in the market when in it comes to increasing the number of users, it still hasn’t done enough to make a considerable impact in business.