The biggest news of this week is undoubtedly Google’s decision to postpone the UK launched date for the Nexus One for an as yet unannounced period, a massive blow to the big-name newcomer. There have been a few more positive moments, too, though, such as Sony Ericsson’s impressive Vivaz being given an almost universal thumbs up. The UK financial services authority have stirred the ‘phone tapping’ debate once again, by suggesting that financial traders should have their phones tapped, and plenty more has happened besides…
- Google has delayed the launch of the Nexus One in the UK, a move that’s likely to cause serious problems in terms of the competition. With HTC – ironically the manufacturer that produces the Nexus One on Google’s behalf – launching the ‘Legend’ model before their Nexus One as a result of the delay, many may go for the alternative model, especially given the ringing endorsements it’s received from many experts and its relatively cheap price. The Nexus One was launched in the US as far back as January, but has suffered from reports of extremely poor accompanying customer service, probably resulting from the company’s new status in this particular market. Last week the company cut its estimated sales for the year by more than 70%, revising projections from 3.5 million to 1 million units. They may need to revise their projections even more to take into account the latest problems. A possible clash (or near clash) with the launch of Apple’s iPad may also draw consumer’s money away from the Nexus. Sales of the Nexus One to date are estimated at approximately 135,000 worldwide, which some are suggesting makes the handset a flop, especially when placed next to early iPhone and Motorola Droid sales. .
- Mobile Phone Manufacturers seems to be slowly reacting to Apple’s less than subtle attempts to protect its market. Recent legal actions by the American giant have included Nokia and HTC, who many have speculated are being targeting for the simple reason that they produce Google’s Nexus One. Apple owner Steve Jobs, meanwhile, has made a number of slightly bitter statements on Google’s entrance into the mobile phone market over the past few weeks. Google responded this week with comments on Apple’s notoriously strong control over its developers, a subject that’s already more than a little controversial, pointing out that Apple simply control everything themselves, and have the final say on things that are acceptable or not, with competition often more of a reason than reasonable censorship.
- Sony Ericsson’s Vivaz is grabbing a few headlines with its HD video capture. The phone was launched last week, and has made its ability to record footage in extremely high definition a massive selling point. The Vivaz looks a great deal like a camera from one side, and follows the Ericsson design policy of using a curved design to fit nicely into the hand. Other notable features reported to date include a 16 million colour touch screen and an impressive 8.1 MP camera. All in all, it seems as though the Vivaz is doing a good job of targeting the entertainment industry, and has all the tools necessary to push it ahead of some of its nearest rivals, at least at face value. It runs on a Symbian operating system and several reviewers have also commented on the phone’s impressive build quality.
- A report by the UK’s financial services authority has controversially recommended the tapping of traders’ mobile phones. The measure is aimed at preventing insider trading, a practice that is illegal, but potentially massively profitable for those with specific information regarding companies and their future moves. This kind of information is commonly available to financial traders, who are banned from exploiting it to make money, though plenty have been caught doing so in the past. Tapping is currently viewed by most as an invasion of privacy and to be avoided at all costs, though regulations surrounding it could potentially be circumvented by contractual obligations imposed on the traders as part of their work contracts.
- An American neighborhood in Florida – Jensen Beach – is looking to introduce a selection of cell phone towers that have been cleverly disguised as pine trees. The introduction of cell phone towers has been controversial in a number of urban areas for some time, and the district hopes to experiment with heavily disguised towers in order to counteract the poor reception that residents currently receive. The tower would have to be the height of a twelve story building, and so as a ‘pine tree’ would still look slightly out of place, but the increasingly cleverly disguised ideas behind cell phone towers are ever more impressive, and are in the process of expanding to include cacti, various other kinds of trees and even rocks.
- Spotify is looking to expand into the US. While the company has highlighted some substantial difficulties in negotiating US rights with the record labels, the service is increasingly widely available on the mobile. Spotify currently clocks in at an impressive 320,000 paying subscribers, giving the service a monthly income through subscriptions alone of over £3 million. Of course, they’re making plenty more from advertizing on the free service and on the application itself, too. Spotify’s co-founder recently spoke at Texan music festival SXSW, prompting rumors of a launch, but Americans will have to wait a little longer to get hold of the impressive service from across the pond.
That’s all for another impressively busy week. We’re hoping that by next week we’ll be able to bring you that long awaited news on the launch of the Nexus One in the UK. Fingers crossed.
