Phone applications - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Apple wants smaller SIM cards for its future phones

  Apple has proposed a standard for new, smaller SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards, in an effort to free up more space on future smartphones.

• Nokia kills Ovi brand for mobile services

  <a href="http://conversations.nokia.com/2011/05/16/the-evolution-of-nokia-and-ovi/">Nokia will abandon its Ovi mobile services brand</a> as it prepares to sell smartphones based on Microsoft's Windows Phone software, it said in a blog posting on Monday.

• Microsoft, Nokia aim to nullify Apple trademark on App Store

  New partners Microsoft and Nokia have joined forces, hoping to invalidate Apple's trademark registration for the terms<strong> </strong>APP STORE and APPSTORE in Europe, according to a statement issued<strong> </strong>by Microsoft.

• 35 per cent use mobile apps before getting out of bed

  Thirty-five percent of Android and iPhone owners in the U.S. use apps such as Facebook on their smartphone before even getting out of bed, according to a survey conducted by telecommunications equipment vendor Ericsson.</a>

• Open-Xchange's new mobile client has offline access

  Open-source collaboration platform provider Open-Xchange has a released Mobile Web App, which gives smartphone users online and offline access to appointments, e-mails and contacts while on the road, the company said on Tuesday.

• European banks work on guidelines for NFC payments

  The European Payments Council (EPC), which represents the European banking industry, has released a <a href="http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/news_detail.cfm?news_id=195">draft version of guidelines</a> it hopes will give the use of NFC (Near Field Communications) for payments a boost.

• Nokia sees growth in use of mobile app for rural China

  Nokia, China's biggest handset vendor, reported on Wednesday that a mobile app aimed at helping rural Chinese users has become the company's fastest-growing service in the country.

• Nokia hands Symbian OS work and 3,000 employees to Accenture

  Nokia will outsource its Symbian software activities to Accenture, transferring 3,000 employees to the company in the process, as it moves its focus to making phones running on Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.

• Developers' frustration with Android growing, survey finds

  The latest Appcelerator/IDC mobile survey has uncovered a growing well of frustration among Android developers, with underwhelming tablets, OS fragmentation and multiple app stores cited as the main worries.

• Three great mobile mind mapping apps

  All this week, I've been talking about how amazingly useful mind-mapping is for a variety of creative and business tasks. In my last post, I looked at a few of the best mind-mapping tools for Windows. Today we'll check out some of the coolest mind mappers for smartphones and tablets.

• 8 security questions to ask before building mobile apps

  Enterprise organizations are rushing to build iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry applications to deepen their customer experiences and extend the ways their customers can purchase from them.

• Sony Ericsson's revenue and profit drop in first quarter

  Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications sales and profit dropped in the first quarter of 2011, the company reported Tuesday

• Protect your data from Skype for Android

  The Skype for Android app puts your sensitive data at risk, possibly exposing it to other apps without your knowledge or consent. Skype is working on a fix, but what should you do in the meantime to protect your data?

• Sprint subscribers get carrier billing on Android Market

  Sprint subscribers will now be able to pay for the applications they buy on Android Market via their monthly cellphone bill, Google <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-carrier-billing-options-on-android.html">said in a blog post on Wednesday.</a>

• Microsoft launches cert program for Exchange mobile access

  Microsoft has started a certification program that identifies consumer mobile handsets best supporting Microsoft Exchange's most crucial management capabilities, the company announced Wednesday.