Mobile payments will reach $171 billion globally in 2012, a 62 percent increase over last year's total of $105.9 billion, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
That increase corresponds with a 32 percent rise in mobile payment users expected this year. The number of users is expected to hit 212 million users, up from 160.5 million in 2011.
With the closing of Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility this week, talk of the possibilities for Android in the enterprise has spiked.
While Android has taken the consumer market by storm -- the OS runs 59 percent of smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2012 -- IT managers remain wary that maintaining security and control of consumer Android devices devices used by workers may be difficult if not impossible, according to various surveys.
Android and iPhone devices together made up 82 percent of all smartphones shipped to retailers in the first quarter of 2012, IDC said Thursday.
The combined worldwide shipments of Android- and Apple iOS-based devices dwarfs those of other smartphone operating systems, including Research in Motion's BlackBerry, a traditional frontrunner now on a "downward trajectory," IDC says in a statement.
If you're a Verizon customer upset that your next smartphone contract won't include unlimited data, Sprint would like to remind you that you have an alternative.
A Cisco-commissioned survey of 600 businesses found that 95% permit the use of employee-owned smartphones and tablets in the workplace.
The survey also found that 76% of IT managers consider the consumerization-of-IT a positive for their companies because employees can be more productive and feel more satisfied with their jobs.
Adoption of Android tablets and smartphones in large businesses has been "severely limited" because of the complexities of managing the various Android models and versions, market research firm Gartner said in an evaluation of 20 mobile device management (MDM) software vendors released Friday.
A survey that Gartner conducted in April showed 58 percent of enterprises have or will make iOS, used in iPhones and iPads, their primary mobile platform in the next year, compared with 20 percent for BlackBerry and 9 percent for Android.
Google is reportedly moving to more direct sales of its Android smartphones and tablets in an apparent move to wrest control away from wireless carriers that install their own services on Android gear or block Google apps like Google Wallet.
The so-called Nexus devices, using a familiar Google name, will run on the next version of the Android mobile operating system, dubbed Jelly Bean, with a portfolio of devices expected to go on sale by Thanksgiving.
It seems that your boss doesn't want you to launch digital birds at evil green pigs during office hours.
Research released today by mobile device management firm Zenprise found that Angry Birds was the most-blacklisted application among users enrolled in its Zencloud MDM service. Other mobile apps that companies blocked their employees from using at work include Facebook, Google Play, Dropbox, YouTube and Skype, Zenprise found. Interestingly, Zenprise also found that Skype was the most whitelisted app among its customers, thus making it the top app to appear on companies' blacklists and whitelists.
Given its very recent attempts to merge with AT&T, you would think T-Mobile wouldn't be a vocal proponent of maintaining competitive balance in the wireless industry.
The reality, however, is that T-Mobile has had no issues repositioning itself as a champion of small carriers everywhere in its vocal opposition to Verizon's proposed deal to purchase spectrum from several major cable companies. During a conference call held by the newly formed Alliance for Broadband Competition Monday, T-Mobile Regulatory Affairs Vice President Kathleen Ham said that her company is opposed to Verizon's prospective spectrum acquisition because of the impact it will have on consumers.
If Intel-based Windows 8 tablets launch in November, as one informed source expects, Microsoft would face a narrow window to play a role in the important holiday sales period.
"Windows-based tablet makers must hit the holiday selling season or face a real crisis," said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates. "The tablet market on Windows won't really take off until Windows 8. Microsoft needs to get in the game in the short term."
Summer 2012 promises to be the season of tablet experimentation on a grander scale than ever.
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