Thursday, September 26, 2013

MOBILE INSIGHTS: Amazon Proves There's Still Plenty Of Room For Tablet Innovation With Mayday

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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Amazon Proves There's Still Plenty Of Room For Tablet Innovation With Mayday

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Amazon Launches Mayday For Its New Kindle Fire Tablets (The Verge)
The new Kindle tablets will come with a dedicated button for Mayday, which can instantly connect users to a live support assistant. This is a unique feature to the new Kindle Fire that other tablets have not yet seen. Though innovation at the top of the smartphone market may be flat-lining, the introduction of Mayday shows there is still room for invention on tablets. Read >

Carriers Are Willing To Work With Over-The-Top Messaging Apps (TechCrunch)
U.K. research analyst mobilesquared polled several U.K. carriers and found that they are open to working with growing standalone messaging services. It's clear the carriers have been struggling to solve the growing threat of over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps. These apps, like WhatsApp and WeChat, have experienced exponential growth in their user bases and message delivery volume. Meanwhile, carrier messaging revenues have been undermined by these OTT services, and they are reconsidering their approach to working with these apps in order to salvage some new revenue opportunities. Read >

IDC Thinks Apple Will Double Its Market Share In China By Next Year (Wall Street Journal)
Research firm IDC expects Apple will have a fantastic year of sales on the heels of the iPhone 5S and 5C launch in China. But the rapid growth, it says, will be attributed the Apple's impending deal with the country's largest mobile carrier, China Mobile. Read >

AT&T Becomes Exclusive Carrier Home Of Pebble Smartwatch (AT&T)
In a sign of trends to come, AT&T has entered a deal to sell the customizable Pebble Smartwatch, the device which gained prominence through its massively successful Kickstarter campaign. In our Smartwatch Forecast, we felt the greatest success for smartwatches would come as complimentary accessories to smartphones. The Pebble will cost $150 at AT&T stores and through their online shop. Read >

About 15% Of American Adults Don't Use The Internet At All (Pew)
In a new survey from Pew, data shows that almost 15% of American adults over the age of 18 don't use the Internet at all. Among various reasons for remaining disconnected, most cited disinterest or a lack of proper hardware. Read >

Nokia Will Launch Six New Devices (The Verge)
The Finnish handset maker will introduced six new devices, including at least two new versions of its popular Lumia smartphone line. It is unclear whether one of the six will be a tablet, but Nokia is almost guaranteed to launch the highly-speculated upon 6-inch Lumia 1520 phablet. Read >