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Summary: 4G mobile will offer super-fast download speeds
when it arrives in the UK. Find out what 4G technologies are being
deployed in the UK, by who and when, and why the UK has lagged behind
the rest of the world on 4G adoption.
Mobile operators have been offering 3G services for nearly a
decade and have continued to refine the technology, squeezing extra
speed out of the existing infrastructure and standards.
Currently, 3G HSPA+ technology can deliver a theoretical download speeds of 42Mbps, but with demand for mobile data (and in particular video) constantly increasing, 3G is beginning to show its age.
That's why there is so much interest in the next wave of wireless —
known collectively as 4G — which hold the promise of even faster
downloads. But while other countries have raced ahead, in the UK
adoption has been slower.
What is 4G?
4G is the next generation of mobile communication standards, picking
up where 3G drops off and delivering higher download and upload speeds.
What is 4G, and when will it arrive in the UK?
There are several technologies competing to become the de facto 4G
standard. The term 4G doesn't actually refer to a particular technology —
rather it's a catch-all term that in the UK is generally used to refer
to Long Term Evolution (LTE).
In other countries, such as the US, different technologies — such as WiMax
— have been deployed to provide higher-capacity data services. In the
UK, WiMax is very rare, with just a few small operators serving specific
towns or cities.
LTE versus WiMax
WiMax uses underlying technology based on Wi-Fi, whereas LTE is based
on the same underlying technology that currently underpins every big UK
mobile operator's 3G network. This is why we will have 4G LTE as the
standard technology rather than WiMax (making the situation considerably
more clear cut for end users in the UK than in the US, where both
technologies have already been widely deployed).
So in the UK, at least, the future of 4G is LTE. And LTE, like every
other data communication standard, operates in a specific frequency or
set of frequencies.
But to add to the complexity, the UK's LTE services operate in a
different band to those in the US, meaning that certain 4G-equipped
devices won't work everywhere in the world.
You can think of the issue with different 4G bands in a similar way
to how you used to have to check whether a phone was dual, tri or
quad-band to see if it would work abroad.
In the UK, LTE services will use the 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2.6GHz bands whereas the new iPad, for example, will only work on 4G networks that use the 700MHz or 2.1GHz frequency bands.
So if you're on a trip to the US anytime soon and are considering
snapping up a new 4G-equipped phone or tablet, be aware that it almost
certainly won't be compatible with the UK's 4G networks.
Why should I care about 4G? Will it really be that fast?
Have you ever been out and about trying to watch a video on YouTube
or stream some music and have it steadfastly refuse to playback without
constant buffering? Yes? Well, that will be a thing of the past with 4G.
The new iPad is not compatible will all types of 4G service. Image credit: CNET News
Of course, that was the promise of 3G but it never quite seemed to be the case.
Where 3G HSPA+ speeds are currently maxing out at around a
theoretical 42Mbps downstream limit, 4G promises to deliver up to
100Mbps for users on the move.
But it's not just for urban hipsters — 4G could also play a role in bridging the rural broadband divide in the UK.
If it's used a replacement for fixed-line broadband, even higher
speeds are possible, depending on reception and how many people are
using the service. In fact, several of the test deployments of 4G
services in the UK have taken place in rural locations such as Cornwall.
It's hard to say exactly how much faster the 4G services will be in
the UK, as current trials are exactly that and are therefore not subject
to true fully laden network conditions. As a rough guide, I've had a
play with two different 4G services so far, and the download speeds
ranged from just below 40Mbps in a moving car and up to 48Mbps when stationary.
When will 4G arrive in the UK?
There is still no definitive launch date from UK operators; but it's not (just) their fault.
The earliest likely date for widespread 4G availability in the UK,
from a range of operators, is the autumn of 2013. The UK was one of the
first countries to hold 3G spectrum auctions in Europe, but it will be
one of the last to hold its 4G auctions.
3G spectrum already owned:
2.1GHz – Vodafone, O2, Everything Everywhere and Three
4G spectrum up for grabs:
800MHz and 2.6GHz
The UK's telecoms regulator Ofcom has been mulling the idea of an
auction of the spectrum needed to run 4G services in the country since
2008. However, due to a range of factors, such as the analogue
television switch-off and the unequal allocation of spectrum currently
used for 2G and 3G services, the process has hit a number of delays.
Considering what's at stake (their future business and current
multi-billion pound investments) it's understandable (but not
necessarily forgivable) that the operators have also been bickering
about the fairest way to run the auction.
Operators cannot begin to offer their services before the spectrum
auction takes place — and the process is not due to begin until the end
of 2012. By the end of this year, Ofcom will have taken applications
from prospective bidders with a view to start the bidding early in 2013.
As a result, big UK operators like O2 and Vodafone are unlikely to be able to use the spectrum for 4G before autumn 2013.
Everything Everywhere's 4G service
However, while the spectrum auction (800MHz and 2.6GHz) is still
scheduled to take place before the end of 2012, Everything Everywhere
has been given permission by Ofcom to re-use its 1800MHz spectrum
currently used for 2G services for 4G services, effectively given the
company a head-start on its rivals.
On 11 September, the first day Everything Everywhere could start 'refarming' the spectrum, the company said it has rebranded itself 'EE' ahead of its 4G LTE services going live.
It also said it has begun trials of its 4G technology in London,
Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham. These cities will be the first places
to offer the service. EE aims to extend the reach to a further 12 cities
(Belfast, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool,
Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Southampton) before
Christmas 2012.
While it gave no solid date for the first introduction, chief
executive Olaf Swantee said EE aims to provide 4G coverage for 20
million Britons before the end of 2012, rising to 70 percent of the
country by the end of 2013, and 98 percent by the end of 2014.
Another LTE service
If, for some reason you absolutely have to use 4G sooner, you can —
there is one very limited 4G service being offered already in Southwark,
South London and also in Swindon.
However, the company behind the service — called UK Broadband — is a
bit of an anomaly as it delivering the service using Time-Division
Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE) in the 3.5GHz frequency.
Unlike 'standard' LTE, Time-Division Long-Term Evolution was
previously thought to be unsuitable for 4G due to the type of spectrum
it operates in (lower-band spectrum tends to perform better at things
like passing through the walls of buildings) but this has since been
reconsidered.
"The UK was one of the first countries to hold 3G spectrum auctions in Europe, but it will be one of the last to hold its 4G auctions"
One stumbling block for TD-LTE is that there are at present very few phones in the UK that support it. There are some Mi-Fi devices that support it, which will let you connect to the hotspot by Wi-Fi like normal, but it's not a very elegant solution.
Everything Everywhere — or EE, as it is now called — has announced a handful of handsets that will work on its forthcoming 4G network, including the Nokia Lumia 920, the Samsung Galaxy S III LTE, and the Apple iPhone 5.
How much will 4G cost in the UK?
Understandably operators aren't keen to start talking pricing when the service is so far away from going live. Mobile contracts are likely to include 4G data usage in the same way
that 3G data is included today. Like any new technology, this will
likely come at a premium initially, but I'd be surprised if it costs
more than — say — £10 more than today's contract deals.
By the time the services are live the companies involved will have
cumulatively spent billions of pounds deploying 4G in the UK. The last
thing they would want is lacklustre uptake of the service and an even
longer period before they can recoup their costs and start making money
off the infrastructure upgrades. To promote widespread usage, dare I say
ubiquity, of the service, they'll make them as cheap as they can to
tempt customers in.
How much telcos could end up charging for 4G data services on the
per-MB level is more difficult to predict, though it would presumably
still have to fall within EU guidelines from the pricing of data at a
wholesale level.
Nokia has talked about cooperation with Microsoft,
Qualcomm and Compal Electronics to resume development of a 10-inch
Windows RT tablet, and is likely to unveil the model at the 2013 Mobile
World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, during February 25-28, according to
Taiwan-based supply chain makers.
Nokia originally
planned to develop a 10-inch Windows RT tablet equipped with Qualcomm's
S4 processor in first-quarter 2012, with Compal to undertake ODM
production and initial shipments of 200,000 units to test the market,
the sources indicated. But because Microsoft later announced Surface,
and the market for Windows 8/RT tablets needed to be proven, Nokia
internally focused on smartphones, and delayed the development of the
10-inch Windows RT tablet, the sources pointed out.
As
the sales performance for Windows RT tablets has so far been short of
expectations, Nokia is evaluating ordered volumes and has not yet
decided on its marketing plans, the sources indicated.
For nearly a decade and a half, Nokia has dominated annual cellphone sales over rivals like Samsung, LG and more recently Apple.
Based
on a new report, Nokia's reign is about to end, as Samsung is expected
to usurp the incumbent champion based on its 2012 performance.
Analytics
company IHS has forecasted Samsung will finish 2012 with a hold on 29
percent of the cellphone market, while Nokia will retain only 24
percent.
In 2011, the companies actually had nearly inverse those
numbers, with Nokia maintaining its control with a 30 percent share
compared to Samsung's 24 percent.
Numbers game
"The
competitive reality of the cellphone market in 2012 was 'live by the
smartphone; die by the smartphone,'" said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for
wireless communications at IHS.
For its part, Samsung definitely delivered on the smartphone front, with devices like the Galaxy S3 leading the charge.
Samsung had squashed the competition during the third quarter, selling 98 million phones (55 million of which were smartphones) on its way to a 22.9 percent share of the market.
Nokia
meanwhile was big in the cellphone market during the third quarter,
moving 82 million devices, though only 7.2 million of those were
smartphones.
Apple has managed to hang onto third place thanks to
pulling in 10 percent of the sales, but the company still has a long way
to go to catch up to either Nokia or Samsung.
Changing of the guard
IHS attributed Nokia's declining performance to the change in direction, as the company is now moving towards Windows Phone 8.
Though smartphones like the Lumia 800 and Lumia 920
did release before the end of 2012, the phones' presence was clearly
not enough to make up the ground lost to Samsung earlier in the year.
Conversely,
the analytics firm points to Samsung's ability to appeal to both the
high-and low-end of the smartphone market as a chief reason for its
success.
Samsung saw its smartphone shipments rise 8 percent from
2011, giving it the greatest growth, and a healthy 28 percent of the
market.
Meanwhile, Nokia saw the biggest dip in its smartphones
shipped, and fell to just 5 percent, which was an 11 percent decrease
over 2011.
Apple was then able to hold onto its second place
position as far as smartphones were concerned, gaining 20 percent of the
total market.
(Dis)honorable mention
HTC and Research in
Motion both barely factored into the equation, with each company holding
onto 5 percent of the smartphone market.
RIM's fortunes may be on the upswing in 2013 however, with the anticipated launch of BlackBerry 10 just a month away.
The
evolution of smartphones in the current market has accelerated quickly,
and it will be interesting to see just how well all these competitors
perform during the upcoming year with a host of new handsets expected to
take over 2013.
Source: http://www.techradar.com, written by Luke Brown
The GSMA today announced that CEOs and senior executives from Bharti Airtel, Deezer, Dropbox, General Motors,Juniper Networks
and Qtel will take to the stage in keynote sessions at the 2013 GSMA
Mobile World Congress, taking place 25-28 February 2013 at Fira Gran Via
in Barcelona. The company announced several new sponsors participating
in the App Planet and mPowered Brands programmes, along with new partner
events and training sessions taking place at Mobile World Congress.
"Mobile
World Congress conference attendees will have the opportunity to hear
from some of the most prominent individuals in the mobile industry
today, as well as leaders from companies in other industries," said
Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "We are particularly
excited to welcome several speakers who are making their debuts in the
Mobile World Congress keynote programme and will offer new
perspectives."
Stellar Keynote Lineup at Mobile World Congress A
number of additional CEOs and senior executives from leading companies
across the mobile ecosystem and in adjacent industries have recently
been confirmed to speak in the Mobile World Congress keynote programme,
including:
Franco Bernabe, Chairman, GSMA and Chairman and CEO, Telecom Italia Group
Suk-Chae Lee, Chairman and CEO, KT Corp.
Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla
Susan Whiting, Vice Chair, Nielsen
Stephen Elop, President and CEO, Nokia
Kaoru Kato, President and CEO, NTT DOCOMO
Paul Jacobs, Chairman and CEO, Qualcomm
Talmon Marco, Founder and CEO, Viber Media
Lars Nyberg, President and CEO, TeliaSonera
Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive, Vodafone Group
Beyond
the keynotes, the 2013 conference will also include sessions exploring
hot topics such as big data, mobile cloud, mWallets, NFC, small cells
and smart cities, as well as the role of mobile in adjacent industries
like advertising, automotive, finance and retail. For more information
on the Mobile World Congress keynotes, as well as the full conference
programme, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/conference.
Nokia, Plantronics and Samsung to Host ADCs in App Planet For
the fourth year at Mobile World Congress, App Planet will bring
together mobile industry leaders and the application development
community to participate in programmes focusing on the explosive growth
in the mobile apps market, as well as exhibition, product and service
demonstrations, networking and workshops. The GSMA today announced that
App Planet Supporting Sponsors Nokia, Plantronics and Samsung will be
holding app developer conferences (ADCs) in App Planet, joining
previously announced App Planet Supporting Sponsors including the Car
Connectivity Consortium and Wireless Industry Partnership. The Official
App Planet Sponsor is Generalitat de Catalunya - Government of Catalonia
and Supporting Sponsor is Inneractive. For more information, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/app-planet-overview/.
New Partner Events and Training Sessions In addition to the GTI Summit taking place on Tuesday 26th
February, Mobile World Congress will also feature partner events from
companies including ClickSoftware, Fastback Networks, IBM, MasterCard,
the Open Mobile Alliance and Taisys. For more information on these new
partner events, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/partner-events/
Mobile
World Congress 2013 will also include training sessions delivered by
Andrew Seybold Wireless University and Award Solutions. These
independent seminars will focus on the deployment of next-generation
mobile technologies and include sessions such as "Mobile Today and
Tomorrow" presented by Andrew Seybold Wireless University, and "Making
an Impact with VoLTE" and "Keys to Successful LTE Networks", both
presented by Award Solutions. For more information on these training
sessions, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/training/
New mPowered Brands Supporting SponsorMobile-Loco
has joined as the latest mPowered Brands Supporting Sponsor at Mobile
World Congress. Designed to develop marketers' and enterprise leaders'
mobile knowledge and to fast-track their use of mobile for marketing and
consumer engagement, mPowered Brands comprises three elements: the
mPowered Brands Zone, mPowered Brands Theatres and mPowered Brands
Mobile Ambassadors. For more information on mPowered Brands, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/mpoweredbrands-overview.
Demonstration Sponsors for Mobile World Congress Media Welcome Reception The
GSMA announced that Mobeam, Symphony Teleca and Trend Micro will be
participating in demonstration showcases at the first official Mobile
World Congress Media Welcome Reception. Held on Sunday, 24th
February from 17:00 to 19:00 at Fira Gran Via, this networking cocktail
reception will offer accredited press and industry analysts the
opportunity to meet with leading players from across the mobile
ecosystem and preview the week's activities in relaxed social
environment. For more information on the Media Welcome Reception at
Mobile World Congress, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/press/.
The
Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital,
which will be hosted in Barcelona from 2013 to 2018. The Mobile World
Capital also includes the Mobile World Centre, the Mobile World Festival
and the Mobile World Hub, programmes and activities that will span the
entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona,
Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more
information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com.
About the GSMA The
GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning
more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's
mobile operators with more than 230 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment
providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry
sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and
utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the
Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com or Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com
Here is a great article that we cam e acroos, which talks about the mobile era and how we may be affected, in 2013, by what is happening in this area.
Forecast for the year ahead in mobile malware distribution methods, profit-making schemes and privacy threats.
The mobile era is underway, and 2013 will find people more dependent
than ever on their mobile devices to control countless aspects of their
personal, public and business lives. The possibilities of this trend are
exciting, but heavy reliance and a trove of information on devices are
enticing to attackers, putting people, businesses and their most
sensitive data at risk.
In 2013, people will purchase more than 1.2 billion mobile devices, surpassing PCs as the most common internet access device in the world. Mobile platforms will continue to expand at breakneck speed, as people are forecast to download over 70 billion mobile apps in 2014.
2013 Prediction Highlights
Globally, we estimate 18 million Android users may encounter mobile malware from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2013.[1]
Toll fraud will continue to dominate as the chosen monetization strategy for mobile malware writers.
Mobile spam will increase in volume, become a growing nuisance and turn into a new threat vector.
The use of surveillanceware (like FinFisher) for political espionage will increase.
Finding the right balance between protection and employee empowerment will be the business challenge of 2013.
Before diving into next year, let’s take a look back at 2012.
2012 Retrospective
Toll fraud,
malware that charges money to a user’s mobile phone bill, matured as a
significant application-based mobile threat. In 2012, 72 percent of
Lookout’s malware detections were classified as toll fraud malware.
Privacy has become a major concern for smartphone users with a number of threats emerging on both Android and iOS.
Earlier this year, roughly 5 percent of the Android apps Lookout analyzed used an aggressive ad network—these apps accounted for over 80 million downloads.
Theft
and physical attacks related to mobile devices are increasing as a
greater number of people now carry one or more expensive phones and
tablets.[2] We estimate that stolen and lost mobile phones cost US consumers $30 billion in 2012.[3]
2013 Likelihood of Encountering a Threat
Lookout’s State of Mobile Security 2012
report established a new methodology for measuring the likelihood of
encountering mobile threats. Based on this new methodology, the global
likelihood that a new Lookout user[4] encountered a mobile threat from June to October was 0.84 percent.
Figure 1: Global Mobile Malware Infection Rate – New Lookout Users
The likelihood that new Lookout users will encounter malware or
spyware is heavily dependent on their geography and behavior, varying
from 0.20 percent in Japan to 0.40 percent in the US and as high as 34.7
percent in Russia. This chart looks at country-based mobile malware and
spyware infection rates of new Lookout users in October 2012.
Figure 2: Mobile Malware Infection Rate – New Lookout Users, October 2012
Each of these threats have been and will continue to be driven by
financial, political and/or publicity motivations. Lookout’s team of
security engineers and data researchers took a look at these trends and
motivations from 2012 to offer insights into the evolution of the mobile
threat space for 2013.
2013 Predictions
Toll Fraud Takes the Cake in 2013
Toll fraud will
continue to dominate the 2013 mobile threat space, despite forward
momentum on the platform to block these types of attacks. This is due to
the following:
Systems Architecture: Premium SMS protections are only baked into
the latest versions of Android (4.2 / Jelly Bean); the first devices are
just now shipping with this firmware version, and will not
significantly penetrate the market until late 2013.
Ease of Attack: Toll fraud will remain the easiest path to
monetization for malware authors within the base of mobile consumers. It
does not require significant technical sophistication and provides
considerable ROI that is built into most mobile networks via
pre-existing billing channels. A 2012 example, FakeInst, pretended to
act as an installer for legitimate popular apps such as the Opera
Browser (hence the names ‘OpFake’ and ‘Fakebrows’) or WhatsApp
Messenger.
Spam Heats Up on Mobile
SMS-based spam will increase in its volume across mobile networks in
2013. We recently observed a number of malicious applications, toll
fraud-based and otherwise, such as ConnectSMS, actively collecting
contact information from infected devices. It’s not a stretch to expect
that malware writers will seek to monetize these datasets via spammers.
Its only a matter of time before writers send spam in-network, infecting
devices to appear they have come from inside as the have on PCs in the
past.
Mobile Banking/Payments Top of Mind But Have Little Payoff
Mobile banking has become mainstream,
and mobile bank fraud has continued to remain an issue, predominately
for European users. The majority of mobile banking threats begin with
PC-based malware and include a malicious mobile app that intercepts
verification codes, known as mTANs, sent to customers’ devices via SMS.
Standalone mobile banking fraud without a PC component is not yet
prevalent. Because PC-based banking fraud is still a viable business
model, we do not expect attackers to significantly change their ways in
2013.
Mobile payments are still in their early stages; currently no
platform or technology dominates the market. Card-based fraud is simple
and enjoys an ample payoff, suggesting that fraudsters may not have the
motive to shift to mobile payments fraud yet. Attacks against mobile
payment systems have been limited to, academic proofs, like NFC, that are typical for an emerging technology. While McKinsey predicts
that by 2013, almost 50 percent of consumers expect to use their mobile
phones to access their financial accounts or process payments, this
space will not reach the maturity needed to become a legitimate target
in 2013.
Mobile Becomes Hotspot for Targeted Political Surveillance
In 2012, FinSpy provided the first evidence that mobile surveillanceware is actively being used to monitor political targets. Marketed to law enforcement personnel,
FinSpy software was discovered targeting human rights activists in
Bahrain. We expect to find more politically motivated targeted
surveillanceware emerge in 2013.
Businesses Challenged with Employee Empowerment vs. Control
Finding the right balance between protection and employee empowerment
will be the challenge of 2013. Over the past few years, there has been a
surge in the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon. More than 80 percent
of organizations allow employees to bring their devices to work. Not
only that, but employees often use consumer cloud services to store /
transfer sensitive corporate information, broadening the target, often
accessing these at work, or Bring Your Own Network (BYON). As corporate
IT administrators seek to gain control over mobile devices, there is
potential that by over-correcting for the problem, employees will seek
new ways to subvert processes and policies that constrain the pure
consumer experience.
Mobile App & Browser – Constant Threat Vectors
Mobile applications will remain the central collection point for our personal data –
from location information, messaging, calendars to social circles. They
will also remain the most straightforward channel for privacy attacks
that seek to collect that data.
Meanwhile, the mobile browser will continue to be the largest remote
attack surface on mobile devices. Attacks of this type provide a vector
for intruders to attempt to break in, independent of creating a
trojanized mobile application, making it a target for a broad-based
attack.
Privacy Crackdowns Happen Across the Board
Mobile privacy will be a major issue in 2013, as long as applications
continue to access personal or device-specific information without
gaining proper informed consent. There will be continued pressure on app
developers in the form of government action, industry self-regulation
and consumer pressure. The State of California has started to crackdown
on apps and developers that do not provide sufficient mobile privacy
policies. This is a first step towards a broader set of industry
standards around mobile privacy.
How to Stay Safe in 2013
Individuals
Avoid toll fraud, regularly check your phone bill:
Always review your monthly phone bill statements for suspicious charges.
Contact your carrier if you identify something you believe to be fraud.
Double-check URLs on your mobile: After clicking on
a web link, pay close attention to the address to make sure it matches
the website it claims to be, especially if you are asked to enter
account or login information.
Protect your privacy, understand app permissions: Be
cautious about granting applications access to personal information on
your phone or letting the application have access to perform functions
on your phone. Make sure to check the privacy settings for each app
before installing it.
Be smart about device settings: Keep network
connectivity such as NFC / WiFi, or Bluetooth ‘OFF’ when not in use. Be
sure to disable settings such as debug mode that can open a device up to
illicit access.
Download a security app: Download a security app
that scans the apps you download for malware and spyware, helps you
locate a lost or stolen device, and protects you from unsafe websites.
Update your phone and apps: Make sure to download
and install updates from your mobile operator as soon as they are
available for your device. The same goes for apps, download app updates
when they are available.
Businesses
Raise employee awareness: Help employees understand the threats and risks out there so that employees can take action to safeguard their phones.
Protect employees’ phones: Ensure that every phone – personal or company – is protected with a mobile security app for business that finds malware, scans apps, and locates and remotely wipes the device.
Patch known vulnerabilities: Keep employee phones’
operating system software up-to-date by enabling automatic updates or
accepting service provider’s updates when prompted. Stay up to speed on
what vulnerabilities are not patched across device types and carriers to
maintain a proper threat model. The National Institute of Standards and
Technology offers a database of device vulnerabilities.
***
This report was prepared and written by security
researchers and engineers Kevin Mahaffey, Derek Halliday and Tim Wyatt
from Lookout.
[1]To estimate the total
number of mobile users that will encounter malware from the beginning
of 2012 to 2013, we used the likelihood rate of infection in October
2012 from global top markets. By extrapolating this detection rate
across Android user base for each market (reference Canalys) in 2012 and
the expected shipment base in 2013 for each market, Lookout estimates
that as many as 18.4 million will encountered malware/spyware from the
beginning of 2012 to the end of 2013. We combined shipment data from
2012 and 2013 to get an accurate representation of the number of phones
in the market based on the average two year cell phone contract.
Nearly 50 mobile technology companies from Spain’s autonomous region
of Catalunya will participate as exhibitors in the Catalan Pavilion at Mobile World Congress 2013, set to take place Feb. 25-28 in the new Fira Gran VÃa venue in Barcelona. That’s nearly double the number of Catalan tech companies that participated in MWC 2012 last February.
The
48 Catalan exhibitor companies were selected from among 96 respondents
to the call for submissions issued through the regional government’s idigital
program, which forms the technology cornerstone of its 2011-2014
economic development for the region of Catalunya. Final section was
carried out by a judging panel formed by the regional government’s
General Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Society and
its ACC1Ó business development agency, which announced the winners in a press release earlier this month.
The Catalan exhibitors include a broad range of mobile hardware and
software companies, ranging from providers of back-end telecoms services
and infrastructure companies to mobile business solutions providers and
developers and publishers of business- and consumer-oriented mobile
content and software applications.
Are
you App’d up yet? If you just can’t get enough of mobile applications
and everything in, around, by and for apps … then you’re probably
looking forward to the fourth annual edition of App Planet at Mobile
World Congress 2013.
But, what and who will you see if you buy your pass to Mobile World
Congress 2013 and expect to spent a goodly amount of your time at App
Planet?
Click on the App Planet ever-evolving floor plan (above) and you’ll
get a pretty good idea of who’s signed up so far to exhibit in the App
Planet Hall 8.1 in the New Fira Gran Via venue.
What you’ll see is actually pretty interesting. As the
partially-booked floor plan here shows, industry big dawgs Intel and
Mozilla are there with large pavilion size booths. Japanese and Korean
development agencies have booked large booths for their apps-related
exhibitors and there’s a large Catalan pavilion, as well. The hall is
filled with buyers and sellers of everything app-related, creating a
vibrant four-day mobile apps eco-system within four walls, as it were.
But, what is equally revealing from the floor plan are all the mobile
advertising players in App Planet this year and how the number and size
of their exhibition booths (larger than others, on average), would seem
to indicate they’ll be a significant presence in the hall this year.
Check ‘em out: MillenialMedia, Velti, InMobi, Adfonic, TapTap, Smaato,
Leadbolt, BuzzCity, plus smaller networks like Madvertise, Airpush and
others, are all in the hall this year. Barcelona’s own AdsMedia will be
in the Catalan pavilion, while Amobee – the 2012 Global Mobile Awards
winner in the “Mobile Marketing & Advertising Agency of the Year”
category (not repeated this year) — so far has a meeting space near the
entrance to Hall 2 at the Fira GV.
What’s it all mean? Does this signal the onset of the year of
ad-based monetization for mobile apps? Or, is it all just a mad scramble
for visibility in the global mobile advertising market, following
Millenial’s much-toutred IPO at the end of March?
Or, maybe it just reflects the obvious: that you can’t (never could)
wrap advertising in any medium around thin air. You’ve got to have
content and what the lineup of mobile advertising players at App Planet
says is that in the mobile universe, content is still king — and for
mobile advertisers, the king of content comes in the form of mobile
apps.
So, what does one do when you know the king is going to be in the
room? You make sure you’re there, too! The mobile ad networks recognize
that their action at Mobile World Congress is taking place in and around
App Planet and to be in on the action, they’ve nearly all moved early
to reserve their space. They’ll be there, trying to sell to mobile apps
developers and publishers the notions that their network is the biggest,
the most revolutionary or most sophisticated, delivers laser-focused
targeting, more ROI, greatest number of downloads and installs.
Any way you look at it, what is clear from the map so far is that the
mobile ad networks will be in town end-February for Mobile World
Congress 2013 and anyone stopping by App Planet will be hearing the
messaging, loud and clear!
Mobile World Congress 2012 Showcased How the World is Redefining Mobile
Last year’s industry-defining event, Mobile World Congress, hosted in
the Mobile World Capital Barcelona, featured attendees from 205
countries who were treated to a wealth of learning and networking
opportunities; product showcases and announcements; inspiration and
innovation, including:
Conference
An exciting lineup of inspiring speakers from mobile operators, consumer
brands, organisations, and industries touched by the mobile market
including advertising, health, entertainment and education presented at
more than 40 conference sessions at MWC. Keynote speakers included:
Franco Bernabè, Chairman & CEO, Telecom Italia Group
William Clay Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company
Dennis Crowley, CEO, Foursquare
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google
Peter Chou, CEO, HTC
Michael Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group
Michael Abbott, CEO, ISIS
Kevin Johnson, CEO, Juniper Networks
Stephen Elop, President & CEO, Nokia
Ryuji Yamada, President & CEO, NTT DOCOMO
Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint Nextel
Santiago Fernandez Valbuena, Chairman & CEO, Telefonica Latin America
Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President & CEO, Telenor Group
Jo Lunder, CEO, VimpelCom
John Partridge, President, Visa
Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive, Vodafone
Shi Lirong, President, ZTE
Keynote speeches by Ford Motor Company’s Bill Ford, Google’s Eric Schmidt, and Ericsson’s Hans Vestberg were broadcast live and archived for viewing on Mobile World Live. So visit the site today to hear them speak for yourself!
Additional learning opportunities at MWC included the Forum Series, a
sponsored programme which brought together industry players to discuss
and debate a range of topics in focused sessions. 2012 Forums included
the Augmented Reality Forum, the LTE Forum, the Mobile Cloud Forum and
the Mobile Security Forum, as well as the GTI LTE TDD/FDD International
Summit.
The GSMA also hosted the GSMA Seminar programme, educating attendees
on industry initiatives such as Mobile Spam, Mobile Privacy, Spectrum,
and Disaster Response.
Exhibition
Nearly 1,500 companies showcased their organisations through exhibition
stand and hospitality space across eight halls at Fira Montjuïc.
Visiting the exhibition halls provided glimpses of exciting new phones,
tablets, technologies, applications, back-end solutions, accessories and
more.
Between the GSMA Pavilion in Hall 8, the Connected House in The
Courtyard and several initiatives pavilions in Hall 2, the GSMA
highlighted several important initiatives benefitting the industry,
including Mobile Money, Mobile Health and Embedded Mobile.
App Planet
Hosting more than 12,500 app developers in 2012, App Planet was once
again the Centre of the Apps Universe. App Planet was packed with an
exciting app-focused exhibition, an App Lounge for networking, and App
Developer Conferences hosted by:
BlackBerry
developerprogram.com
IBM
IMGA
Nokia
Samsung
WIP
mPowered Brands
New for the 2012 event was mPowered Brands, which focuses on building
marketers’ knowledge and accelerating their use of mobile as a
marketing medium. The mPowered Brands programme provided an
indispensible opportunity for professionals across the mobile marketing
ecosystem to gain important and timely insights, practical knowledge
and innovative solutions from the companies at the forefront of mobile
marketing today, such as McCann Worldgroup and Nielsen. Learn more
about mPowered Brands here.
Highlighting the Best of the Industry
Mobile World Congress 2012 hosted the 17th annual Global Mobile
Awards, which recognised outstanding offerings in a number of
categories, covering topics from apps and entertainment to devices and
innovation. For a full winner list, please click here.
Outstanding Networking Opportunities
A key component of Mobile World Congress 2012 was networking with
fellow attendees and mobile leaders, both before the show, via My MWC and
at Congress itself. Attendees also enjoyed two ‘Networking by
Moonlight’ events held at the Magic Fountain in the Upper Village.
Take a look at the amazing 360-degree photograph we took, here.
Although we're still awaiting news on a UK release date for the HTC DLX
(or HTC Deluxe, whichever takes your fancy) - or if it's coming to this
country at all - reports have emerged that the Taiwanese manufacturer
is working on a new flagship device that some suggest could be launched
at Mobile World Congress in February 2013.
Multiple sources in Taiwan claim that casing and semiconductor
suppliers are working with HTC on the 5-inch Android smartphone, and
have been asked to provide enough materials for the company to
manufacture four to five million units, starting in Q1 next year.
Sources also suggest that the HTC M7 will be launched in Q1, which
puts a MWC launch very much in the frame, considering that it is being
held from 25 to 28 February in Barcelona.
HTC traditionally launches new smartphones during this trade show.
And the reports suggest that a speedy launch will give the company a
march over Samsung, which launched the Samsung Galaxy S III in May and is likely to stick to that timing with its next big device - presumably, the Samsung Galaxy S IV.
Other rumours of the HTC M7's specifications claim that, as well as
the 5-inch HD display, it will have a uni-body aluminium shell, Qualcomm
APQ8064 quad-core processor (Snapdragon S4 Pro), and 13-megapixel
camera.
The rumors about Samsung Galaxy S4 release date and technical specs
are starting to pile up, now that we are getting closer to the debut of
Mobile World Congress 2013 and Consumer Electronics Show 2013 events. Reuters
has made some diggings and discovered that Samsung Galaxy S4 release
date was set for April and that it will sport an unbreakable display.
Codenamed Project J,
the ace up the sleeve of the Samsung Galaxy S4 might be the display
mentioned above. Rumor has it that Samsung Galaxy S4 will come with a
5-inch display with Full HD resolution, but the journalists at Reuters
are also mentioning a 13 megapixel camera and a quad-core chipset (most
likely a Exynos 5 Quad unit, developed by Samsung and based on Cortex
A15 cores).
Samsung refused to comment about the rumors and speculations
regarding the Samsung Galaxy S3, but analysts like Nicolas Gaudois from
UBS are saying that, unlike this year, when Galaxy S3 was launched after
HTC One X and HTC One S, Samsung will launch its flagship smartphone
earlier.
Samsung is a big supporter of the OLED technology and it is in the
first line of the manufacturers working on unbreakable displays, so far
managing to develop OLED panels that replace the glass with plastic
materials.
In the near future, this technology will help the smartphone and
tablet makers create flexible gadgets, or ad least flexible displays.
Such terminals will reportedly hit the market sometime in 2014, but
before the first flexible smartphones, it seems that we will get a
Samsung Galaxy S4 with an breakable display. Are you considering
purchasing it?
Look out for the WBA Wi-Fi Zone at Mobile World Congress 2013. A key
event on the WBA calendar, the Wi-Fi Zone will promote the work of the
organization and its rapidly expanding membership.
Key WBA themes on the agenda include Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) Migration,
Wi-Fi Roaming & Offload, Wi-Fi & Heterogeneous Networks and
Operator, Vendor & Device Manufacturer Engagement. Plans are well
underway for presentations from key WBA figures and WBA members,
executive briefings and product showcase. The WBA has secured an
excellent location at Hall 8.1 and will unveil an
exciting news agenda, promoting WBA achievements, developments in the
Wi-Fi ecosystem and the work of member companies.
Here is a very interesting video we found from 2010, where Nokia shows us some of it's future products in 2013. See what you think and then check out how the reality really is!!
This year, Mobile World Congress offers a truly interactive
experience for exhibitors, vendors, and attendees to participate in an
environment where information and transactions are exchanged through
mobile using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile phones have a huge
potential to make our lives easier by letting us, with a simple touch,
enable secure access to new transaction and payment services across a
range of sectors and industries. NFC technology has been in existence
for a few years now and it is thought that adoption will increase
noticeably in the next couple of years. Our NFC Experience will create
an opportunity for you try out some of these services first-hand.
As part of the NFC Experience, the GSMA will showcase an integrated
range of mobile NFC services throughout the venue and city of Barcelona.
NFC touch points will be abundant throughout the exhibition, rewarding
those who ‘tap’ with instant access to information and various
incentives. The NFC Experience begins with the following features:
NFC Centre
NFC Experience Zones
Barcelona City NFC locations
Virtual NFC badge – enabling instant onsite access via your handset
NFC-enabled payment terminals
How it Works
Mobile World Congress attendees with NFC-enabled handsets
will be able to take advantage of NFC technology at locations
throughout the venue and city. This will include information points,
discount vouchers, payment capabilities and much more.
The variety of locations and incentives offered to attendees
participating in the NFC Experience will provide a complete appreciation
of Mobile NFC that truly enhances the value attendees already gain from
the Mobile World Congress.
NFC Centre
This dedicated zone in the heart of the exhibition will showcase
NFC-enabled handsets and their capabilities as well as information on
the NFC ecosystem, information loaded NFC smart posters, NFC partner
pods, and a dedicated NFC support function.
The NFC Centre will serve as a centralised location for all vendors
and exhibitors participating in the NFC Experience. This will be one of
the key locations to visit and see the NFC ecosystem demonstrate the
benefits that NFC technology can provide. Adjacent to the NFC Centre in
Congress Square you can visit the GSMA Stand, where the GSMA’s Mobile
NFC Services Programme will showcase themed SIM-based NFC demonstrations.
NFC Experience Zones
More than a dozen NFC Experience Zones will be located along the
walkways, entrances, green areas, catering areas and exhibition halls of
Fira Gran Via. Comprising
a series of linked smart posters, participating attendees to use their
NFC-enabled handsets to access exhibitor directories, venue information,
nearby conveniences, and many other useful services offered during
Mobile World Congress.
NFC-Enabled capabilities in Barcelona
The City of Barcelona, in collaboration with Mobile World Capital, is
enabling key areas for attendees to experience NFC technology in
action. Strategic NFC touch points will be available at the airport, key
hotels, selected restaurants, and central tourist locations. By tapping
NFC tags, attendees will receive discount offers, information
downloads, access to mobile apps, and much more.
By participating in the NFC Experience, attendees will be able to:
Access the venue via their NFC-enabled handset
Pay for refreshments at Mobile World Congress
Download information on the Conference sessions, keynotes, and enter the sessions
Samsung’s unannounced flagship Galaxy S4 might just benefit from an
eight-core, or octa-core processor once released next year, according to
a rumor posted by Korean publication EE Times.
EE Times’ report said that come February 2013, Samsung will be at the
International Solid State Circuits Conference, where it will be
announcing a new system-on-chip manufactured with 28-nanometer
technology.
This chip will come with two quad-core clusters instead of the
standard one cluster; the first half will be clocked at a rate of 1.8
GHz per core and be dedicated to processor-intensive actions, while the
other half will be devoted for usual, more energy-efficient smartphone
activities and will be clocked at 1.2 GHz per core. This new technology
is similar to the so-called “big.little” architecture implemented by
ARM, a takeoff on the Nvidia Tegra 3, where an extra fifth core is
included in the SoC to maximize energy efficiency.
As exciting as this may sound for potential buyers of the Galaxy S4, the
prevailing rumor remains the possibility of an Exynos 5xxx processor
powering the handset. This may be a quad-core, 2 GHz processor, and not
an octa-core like the SoC described above.
The Galaxy S4 might also feature a 4.99-inch display with full-HD
(1080p) capability and 441 pixels per inch, a 13-megapixel rear camera
and a larger battery to handle the more powerful processor and other
enhanced features. The Galaxy S4 is expected to be unveiled at the 2013
Mobile World Congress in Spain, and could be released in May of next
year, according to previous rumors.
Samsung could present a mobile device with a flexible AMOLED screen
during the first half of next year. Although stories about the upcoming
availability of flexible screens have been circulating for years,
Samsung display division is now in its final stage of development of
flexible screens for mobile devices, while the latter could be presented
in the first half of the 2013. They have already demonstrated some of
the mobile devices with bendable displays at the Mobile World Congress
trade-show, but they were mostly concept devices.
The information comes from unofficial sources, while the technology of flexible AMOLED screens offer several
interesting features. In addition to the greater freedom for designers
when it comes to device shape, flexible displays can be implemented in
very innovative ways, and also are more resistant to shocks and less
prone to damage. Samsung has not yet officially commented on this
information.
Will this be just a new leap in a good direction for Samsung and are
we really going to have flexible smartphones in the very near future? It
would be interesting certainly, just imagine how designs would differ
from everything we have seen so far. This could also help Samsung get
the advantage over Apple, while Nokia is at the same level as far as
innovation is concerned. Nokia also showed some of their flexible phones
in 2011, but no official dates were given on when we can expect them to
hit the market.
Rumors are running strong on Galaxy S4. As per Samsung’s routine, we
can expect release of the device at the Mobile World Congress 2013. But,
can we? Rumor mills suggest that we are much near to the next version
of its flagship Android phone. What will be the Galaxy S4? Here we take
a roundup of rumors about the handset.
1080p Display: It is almost certain that the Galaxy S4 would come out
with a 1080p FullHD Super AMOLED display. Samsung is rumored to roll
out its rival to the 1080p FullHD LCD display from Sharp and others. As
per sources, the Korean tech firm will uncover its innovative display at
CES 2013 and Galaxy S4 – the first handset to mount the 4.99-in panel –
will be on display at MWC 2013.
The Galaxy S4 display will have a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels at
a whopping pixel density of 441-ppi. It is also said that the company
will use flexible OLED panels instead of the typical glass panels.
Anyway, with a 5-in display, the handset will be a stiff rival to the
likes of HTC DROID DNA (Deluxe DLX) and other similar phones from Sony,
LG and Sharp.
Processor: The new Galaxy S phone is to pack a new dual quad core
Exynos chipset. Samsung is almost likely to introduce the new chipset at
the International Solid-Stat Circuits Conference in February 2013. The
System-on-Chip (SoC), which is based on 28nm process, can clock at
1.8GHz and support the new ARM A15 Cortex.
Many analysts think that Samsung would introduce this new chipset in
Galaxy S4. The new processor can provide great performance for the
handset in all major aspects. You can watch video and play games quite
smoothly on this machine. “The A7 cores should be capable of handling
most [smartphone] tasks, with the A15 cores only required for maximum
performance needs, like video games,” says Kevin Krewell.
Galaxy S III is already a phone with immense processor performance.
Added with 2GB RAM and a high-profile graphical processing unit, the
device will be a super phone for next year. Well, it will take on the
rivals like HTC DROID DNA and a set of other phones with 1080p FullHD
displays.
Camera: We all hoped that Galaxy S III or Galaxy Note II would have a
13MP rear camera. But, they did not get it and Samsung integrated the
same 8MP camera of Galaxy S II on both the devices. Now it looks that we
could expect a 13MP or better than 8MP camera on the fourth gen Galaxy S
phone. Yes, 8MP camera is quite common now and so Samsung may think
differently. It may not also go on to introduce the same cam on three
versions in a row.
“The Galaxy S4 will feature a 13-megapixel Sony Exmore RS sensor,
according to multiple sources, which, if true, means we could finally be
getting a Samsung device with a truly high-end camera built into it,”
says Know Your Mobile. If rumors are true, S4 would be an ideal phone
for photography enthusiasts out there.
Storage: The Galaxy S III is already available in three essential
memory options; 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The same options will be available
with the new Galaxy S phone. But, the premium model may have the new
10nm 64GB eMMC memory chip, which Samsung recently unveiled. The new
memory chip is boasted to become 20 percent smaller and more than 30
percent faster than the present NAND standards. So we can certainly
expect the handsets in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions as well.
Release Date: Samsung used to introduce new variants to its Galaxy S
phones at MWC. This time also, it may come in the same technology trade
show, most rumors suggest. The device will go for sales in April or May
2013.
After months of silence, Microsoft has spoken about the Windows Phone 7.8 update, confirming that it's still being worked on and that it's scheduled to arrive early next year.
Microsoft has finally provided a few more details on Windows Phone 7.8, the update designed to appease Windows Phone 7 device owners who won’t receive an upgrade to Windows Phone 8. However, although the news confirms it’s still being worked on, there’s no exact launch date.
Windows Phone 7.8 was announced alongside Windows Phone 8 in June, but when the new software was released at the end of October and Microsoft did not mention it at all, we questioned what was going on. Microsoft promised new information “in the coming weeks,” and here we are.
Terry Myerson, Corporate Vice President of Windows Phone, has now covered the topic on the official Windows Phone Blog. We already know WP7.8 will bring the new Start screen to older devices, but now we also know it will feature new themes and 20 different accent colors, plus the chance to make the Bing Picture of the Day your lock screen image. Microsoft has also provided some extra security with a new passcode system.
If you’ve been following the Windows Phone 7.8 story, then you’ll recognize most of these features from a late-October leak, but there has been no confirmation of Xbox Music, SmartGlass or the possibly Lumia-specific Bluetooth media transfer feature.
So when is it coming? If you’re heading out to buy a new Windows Phone 7 device, which Nokia still produces, then in the near future it should come with Windows Phone 7.8 already installed. Myerson explains that these cheaper devices are “incredibly important for broadening the reach of Windows Phone across the globe.”
As for the update, it’s not coming until “early 2013,” confirming Microsoft’s split strategy rumored in mid-November. So, that’s a five month wait between announcement and now, plus at least another month until it’s even slightly likely to appear. The post says it’s working with networks and hardware partners to get the update approved, so it can be on as many devices as possible early next year. How early is early? Only Microsoft knows, but with the Apollo Plus Windows Phone 8 update rumored to be up for discussion at Mobile World Congress 2013 — which begins on February 25 — it’s logical to expect more information then.
A recent rumor put Apple considering a mid-2013 release for another
iPhone, tentatively named the iPhone 5S. This would put it around the
same time as its annual developer conference, where Apple used to
announce new iPhone models. Could it be planning a return to WWDC?
The
iPhone 5 has been discussed since the beginning of the year, but now it
has gone on sale, it’s out with the old and in with the new. Cue the rumors about its upcoming replacement.
We haven’t yet heard anything about features or spec changes. For now,
the talk is all about its release date. DigiTimes, the Chinese
publication that has a wildly varying success rate with this type of
thing, has estimated the iPhone 5S – if that’s what it’ll be called –
will be released in mid-2013, a date provided by those working in the
supply network. What’s surprising is, if true, Apple will have abandoned
its traditional yearly refresh cycle for yet another product.
iPad 4 all over again
When Apple announced the iPad Mini it also updated the full size iPad,
giving it a new processor and changing the old 30-pin connector for the
Lightning connector seen on the iPhone 5. The November 2 release came a
little more than seven-and-a-half months after the release of the iPad
3, which was unceremoniously discontinued.
Anyone who had just purchased a new iPad was rightfully upset, but few expected the level of outrage the fourth-generation iPad’s announcement would generate. A poll of 2,000 iPad owners in the U.S., conducted by Toluna QuickSurveys, found 45-percent were “disgruntled” with Apple’s decision.
Mid-2013?
A mid-2013 release date would see the iPhone 5S arrive around eight
or nine months after the iPhone 5, a considerable change from the 11
months between the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, and even more so from the
iPhone 4 to 4S, which took 15 months.
If Apple took some heat over the iPad 4, it’s nothing compared to
what it would receive should the iPhone 5S come halfway through the
iPhone 5’s expected life. Smartphone ownership isn’t the same as tablet
ownership, as in this case not even those with 12-month contracts could
upgrade without incurring a fee.
A return to the old days
For the first four years of the iPhone’s life, Apple announced and
released new iPhones at the beginning of the summer. That is, until
2011, when it debuted the iPhone 4S in October rather than during its
Worldwide Developer Conference in June.
WWDC turned out to be an all-software show that year, and the iPhone 4S took center stage at its own event later on.
Having gone to the trouble of shifting the launch dates around, and
following it again for the iPhone 5, could Apple be considering
switching back to a WWDC iPhone announcement?
Possibly…
The Worldwide Developer Conference is Apple’s primary annual event. In 2011, we were treated to previews of OS X Lion, iOS 5, Siri, iCloud, iTunes in the Cloud, and iTunes Match. This year hardware made a return, with the announcement of new MacBooks, the MacBook Pro with Retina, iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion. And since then, we’ve had another MacBook Retina and a refreshed iMac range.
So what’s in store for WWDC 2013? We assume a new version of OS X,
version 10.9, is inevitable, as is discussion about iOS 7. As for
hardware, will the similarly rumored Apple TV make an appearance? If
not, the “iPhone 5S” could fill a hole.
But why would Apple want to bring the iPhone back to WWDC? Arch-rival
Samsung may have something to do with it, as it’s likely to launch the
Galaxy S4 during an event in May – or as some rumors have stated, late February at Mobile World Congress - leaving Apple slightly behind the curve in terms of brand new hardware to flaunt.
The 5S is also likely to be another incremental release, much like
the iPad 4, which could suggest Apple plans to experiment with a six
month refresh for iOS devices before a redesigned model is launched
after 12 months.
But probably not
DigiTimes has a spotty record at Apple rumors. This year, it
correctly pegged the iPhone 5’s release as September but tripped up when
it came to features and materials used in its construction.
The last time Apple launched an iPhone at WWDC was in 2010,
when it focused exclusively on that and iOS, with no OS X announcements
at all during the two-hour event. Considering Apple has been updating
OS X annually now, it seems unlikely to abandon it during the show next
year.
Although a refreshed iPhone released part way through the year would
stop that dip in sales Apple usually sees in the run up to a new iPhone
being announced, it could alienate as many buyers as it would attract. Recent figures showed 16 million iPhone 4S phones were
sold nearly a year after launch, so it’s not as if it’s trickling out
the door. The iPhone 5 is still a rarity in stores, and the company still hasn’t released the device across the globe yet. Why would it be thinking of another model so soon, when it can’t make the existing one fast enough?
The Samsung argument doesn’t wash either, as it’s not really Apple’s
style to worry about the competition so much that it alters its plans.
Look at the iPad Mini. It came out long after everyone else was
producing cheap 7-inch tablets at a far higher price tag. Apple prefers to battle Samsung in the courtroom, leaving its products to do the talking on the street.
Some analysts also don’t agree with DigiTimes’ mid-2013 release date either. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster says the next iPhone will be out in September 2013, which is in keeping with an annual update schedule.
Most of all though, Apple has to be mindful of annoying its usually
loyal customers. Like the iPad 4, releasing a new iPhone so quickly
could come off as money grabbing, and the backlash could be more
serious.
While we won’t know for sure until after WWDC 2013, or at least until
we approach the summer months, it seems probable that the iPhone 5S
won’t be present at the show and for once, we’re sure most people will
be pleased.
