Archive for April 1st, 2009

App Store Launched By Blackberry

Published by Babar Bhatti on April 1, 2009 under BlackBerry, Gadgets, Mobile Applications, Mobile Content, Mobile Phones, Smart Phones

Research In Motion has officially launched its online store for BlackBerry applications as “it looks to tap a market for cellphone software made popular by iPhone.”

Wall Street Journal has more.

RIM is getting into an area increasingly crowded with high-profile companies, including Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Corp. It is part of a larger push by the Canadian company to appeal to more consumers.

RIM said it expects about 1,000 applications to be posted by partners this week. Apple’s store offers more than 15,000 applications, many are free or cost just a few dollars.

Among the applications available in RIM’s store are business programs for customer management; social-networking services, such as Facebook; and music service Shazam.

Blackberry users can download the storefront from RIM’s Web site. In order to buy applications, a BlackBerry subscriber needs to set up an account with PayPal.

RIM will let developers keep 80% of revenue from their sales of the products through its store, while Apple typically lets developers keep 70% of revenue.

Mobile Broadband Keeps Growing

Published by Babar Bhatti on April 1, 2009 under Broadband Internet, Mobile Phones, Mobile Web, Telecommunications

Guest Post By Bilal Jan

Research at Ericsson Consumer Lab show that mobile broadband in Pakistan is becoming more popular and growing rapidly. The trend has been consistent since 2008 and mobile web will continue to grow in 2009.

Ericsson Consumer Lab Study found that mobile broadband is mainly used at home in Pakistan. 96% of people use mobile broadband at their homes at least weekly. Also users are connecting internet from their mobile at school or work. 37% of consumers use mobile internet in public places at least monthly. According to the study, Pakistan consumers are so interested in new mobile services. Video Telephony is a highly desired service in Pakistan. Also people are keen to use Mobile TV and Mobile Music services.

Ericsson Consumer Lab’s Pakistan Study shows that 48% of consumers do not use any wireless data on their mobile phones because of lack of suitable content. 45% of those surveyed said mobile internet doesn’t provide them information or value. Also 25% of people said their mobile device doesn’t have the functionality.

Report also stated that Iran has highest number of internet users in Middle East region (23 million).

Reference:
Ericsson Middle East Connected Media Newsletter (PDF).

Note: A. Bilal Jan is a final year student of Computer Engg at University of Engg and Tech,Taxila.

Telenor’s Plan Advisor / Tariff Analyzer Is Useful

Published by Babar Bhatti on April 1, 2009 under Business, Competitive Trends, Customer service, Mobile Companies, Mobile Content, Telenor

Telenor has an online tool on their site which helps with figuring out which plan works best for you. It is a good tool and I think other companies should follow Telenor.

A similar plan advisor tool by Telenor was discussed at this blog last year.

Here’s the standard disclaimer on this:
The advisor only uses the above information to recommend a plan and does not take into consideration other Telenor products and services that user may subscribe. The proposal given by the advisor is of informative nature and the choice of the Price plan is the sole responsibility of the User.