| | | This week's sponsor is Acronis. |  | Uniting Content and the Mobile Device
Mobile devices can't do everything, and the size and computing power of laptops and desktops still lock in their place within the working lives of the vast majority. So the future of the mobile device is to become both an extension of and complementary to the original computing platform. Download this whitepaper now to learn more! | | | 
| Today's Top Stories More than 200 million Facebook users are regularly using Facebook Messenger, the social networking site's mobile texting app for Android and iPhone, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the firm's quarterly earnings conference call on Wednesday, Re/code reports. Zuckerberg said he expects WhatsApp, which Facebook is buying for $19 billion, and Facebook Messenger to not compete directly because they "serve different use cases." WhatsApp's messaging app recent hit the half billion user mark. According to a report by CNET, Zuckerberg explained on the conference call: "Facebook historically has focused on friends and public content. Now with Messenger and WhatsApp, we're taking a couple of different approaches to more private content as well." This is the first time Facebook has shared user numbers for Messenger, which the company often cites as one of its most successful apps. Facebook said it is taking the Messaging feature out of its smartphone apps in the next few weeks, requiring users to download the standalone app instead. "If you want to message people on Facebook from a smartphone, now you'll be forced to download the app," explains Re/code. For its first quarter financial results, Facebook reported earnings of $885 million, or 34 cents per share, on revenue of $2.5 billion, beating analysts' estimates of 24 cents per share in earnings and $2.36 billion in revenue, USA Today reports. The strong financial performance is coming from mobile ad revenues, which now make up nearly 60 percent of total ad sales. "Mobile is a strong driver for us," Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg was quoted by USA Today as saying in the Wednesday conference call.
For more:
- read the Re/code report
- see the CNET article
- check out the USA Today article
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Facebook ponies up $19B for WhatsApp Read more about: WhatsApp, Mobile Texting
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| This week's sponsor is ProofPoint. |  | The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the use of email as a vehicle for cyberattacks on organizations and large corporations. Recently, Proofpoint researchers identified a new class of sophisticated and effective, large-scale phishing attack dubbed "longline" phishing attacks. Download this whitepaper to learn about the unique characteristics of these attacks, how they are carried out, and the alarming effectiveness they have. Download today! |
Mobile phone makers and service providers have agreed to add optional kill switch features to smartphones manufactured after July 2015. The move comes in response to pressure from consumer groups and law enforcement officials, who have been concerned about the security threat posed by smartphones and mobile devices that are lost or stolen. FierceMobileIT has covered the topic over the past few months, especially the effort in the State of California to mandate kill switches. So-called kill switches allow users to disable their device in the event it is lost or stolen, so that an unauthorized person can't access data on the device. According to an article at Wall Street and Tech, all smartphones manufactured after that date will now have a baseline anti-theft tool which is either preloaded on the device or can be downloaded by the user. CTIA-The Wireless Association, a wireless communications trade group, said all mobile carriers will support the availability and use of this tool, the article noted. This is a voluntary agreement, the group said. Mandatory kill switches reportedly have strong public support. The adoption of kill switches in mobile phones could save consumers $2.6 billion annually, according to new research from Creighton University Heider College of Business professor and consumer advocate William Duckworth. In a survey of 1,200 smartphone owners, Duckworth studied consumer sentiment for kill switches, consumer habits regarding cell phone insurance and the links between the two, and posted his findings to the university website. Mandatory mobile phone kill switches had recently been proposed in California. Duckworth said he expected strong support in other states as well. According to his research: - 99 percent of smartphone owners believe wireless carriers should give all consumers the option to disable a mobile phone if stolen
- 93 percent of smartphone owners believe Americans should not be expected to pay extra fees for the ability to disable a stolen phone
- 83 percent of smartphone owners believe that a kill switch feature would reduce mobile phone theft
California lawmakers have not yet had time to react to the announcement on the voluntary agreement among mobile carriers.
For more:
- check out the Wall Street and Tech article
- read the FierceMobileIT article
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More energy companies are using mobile devices to communicate with customers, improve worker productivity and safety and monitor energy equipment, such as oil rigs and pipelines. According to a survey of energy retailers by IDC, these companies are communicating more often with customers through their mobile devices, either through text messages or mobile applications. In Western Europe, energy firms expect to communicate with their customers through texting 19.5 percent of the time; call centers, 19.5 percent; mobile applications, 16.2 percent; paper bills, 7.3 percent; in-home displays, 6 percent; electronic bills, 4.7 percent; and social media, 3.8 percent. "By accommodating customers' preferred communication channels, utilities have a higher success rate of informing and engaging their customers, often enhancing satisfaction. In Western Europe, energy suppliers expect to communicate with their customers primarily via their mobile devices, either through texts/SMS or via mobile applications," says Gaia Gallotti, research manager of IDC Energy Insights. In addition to customer communication, the energy industry uses mobile devices to increase workforce productivity and safety, capture data more efficiently and maximize asset performance, notes a Thorn Technologies blog. For example, mobile apps are being used by oil and gas firms in the energy development processes. "These processes involve many types of magnetic and seismic sensors that help workers identify and evaluate potential sources of hydrocarbons on land and underwater ... Now all of this can be performed on a tablet, and as conditions change, the data can be simultaneously captured and altered in near real-time," the blog notes. In addition, oil well blueprints and project plans can be digitized for use on mobile devices, and apps can be used for quality and performance monitoring of oil and gas equipment, such as pipelines and drills. "Additional uses [of mobile apps] include safety reporting, protective equipment checklists, work order management, labor management, and many other data collection applications," the blog adds.
For more:
- check out IDC's release
- read the Thorn Technologies blog
Related Articles:
Utilities use mobile apps to educate consumers about energy consumption
Utilities investing in mobility to boost productivity
Infographic: Utilities traffic makes up close to 18 percent of mobile data usage in North America Read more about: energy firms, Thorn Technologies
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| Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Infinite Convergence. |  | Webinar: Enterprise Messaging: Powering Customer Engagement through Mobile Messaging
Tuesday, April 29th, 12pm ET /9am PT In this webinar, Pamela Clark-Dickson, and John Puma will provide insight into the evolution and future of mobile messaging, and present case studies on how organizations have harnessed the power of mobile messaging to support customer business strategies. Register Today! |
>> FCC okays T-Mobile purchase of LTE spectrum from Verizon The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved T-Mobile's acquisition of 700 MHz A Block spectrum from Verizon, according to Wireless Week. "T-Mobile is pleased by the FCC's prompt approval of our acquisition of 700 MHz A-Block spectrum, which will provide the company with low-band spectrum in a number of key markets across the country," T-Mobile vice president of federal regulatory affairs Kathleen Ham said in a statement emailed to Wireless Week. T-Mobile will use the spectrum to deploy LTE this year. Read more [More on the FCC: FCC launches mobile health task force | FCC's new speed-test iOS app] >> Many employees access sensitive corporate data over public Wi-Fi A disturbing 43 percent of employees have accessed sensitive corporate data on their personal devices while on an unsecured Wi-Fi network, according to a survey of 500 employees by Osterman Research on behalf of BYOD security firm Centrify. In addition, 10 percent of respondents do not have a password, PIN or other security measure enabled on their personal device used for work. And 15 percent of respondents believe they have a level of responsibility of "none to minimal" to protect corporate data stored on personal devices. Read more [More on mobile security: 3 questions to ask before allowing BYOD | Mobility, BYOD spurs $4.5B mobile security market] >> Close to three-quarters of mobile shoppers don't want to be tracked Around 71 percent of mobile shoppers say they do not like the idea of being tracked into a store via their smartphones, and 56 percent say they are not interested in receiving push notifications while shopping, according to a survey of more 3,000 iOS and Android users by Retale. The survey found that three-quarters of respondents were unaware that iBeacon exists, while only 11 percent of Android owners use Google Wallet, and only 23 percent of iOS users have used Passbook for coupon shopping offers. Read more [More on mobile shopping: Mobile apps bridge gap between digital, brick-and-mortar retail | Retailers shouldn't underestimate value of mobile shopping apps] >> Quip releases API for mobile browser-based word processor Startup Quip has released an application programming interface for its mobile and desktop browser-based word processor, a move aimed at enterprise app developers, IDG News Service reports. Led by former Facebook Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor, Quip is also considering launching spreadsheet and presentation apps this year, giving enterprise users access to the three of the most used components of the Microsoft Office Suite using a browser. Read more [More on mobile apps: LinkedIn expands mobile app portfolio, mobile partnerships | Enterprise architecture must 'refactor' for APIs, says industry exec] >> Mobile operators should deploy Wi-Fi with small cells, says ABI Mobile operators should deploy carrier-grade Wi-Fi with their outdoor small cells to maximize their investment return, advises ABI Research. "Wi-Fi is an integral part of the smartphone and tablet experience, and operators will do well to make carrier Wi-Fi a part of that experience," says Joe Hoffman, ABI practice director for mobile networks. Read more [More on small cells: Enterprises to make up 97% of the femtocell market by 2019, predicts ABI | Alcatel-Lucent tops small cell vendor study] 3 steps to enterprise mobility
>> Three easy steps towards true enterprise mobility (Computer Business Review) Apple's mobile environmental sensors
>> Apple Working On New Environmental Sensors For Mobile Devices (TechCrunch) Coca-Cola, Home Depot put spin on mobile receipts
>> Coca-Cola, Home Depot put new spin on receipt promotions via mobile (Mobile Marketer) Consumers tired of stalling mobile video ads
>> Consumers Frustrated by Stalling Mobile Video Ads (eMarketer) Working with wearables
>> Wearables at Work (Mobile Enterprise) Social Scan:  RT @GlenGilmore Are You Ready For The Future of the Internet of Things? http://t.co/5lcdjLtsTo #IoT #bigdata pic.twitter.com/OM5VN8UTpC
The 9 Most Difficult-to-Fill IT Roles http://t.co/ZWQbyGM9UY http://t.co/Ya4m1EhMfc Office for iPad better late than never, Apple CEO Tim Cook tells Microsoft http://t.co/hCHbOOYe6W And finally... Japan plans space-based solar farm (IEEE Spectrum) | Webinars > Reduce Datacenter Energy Costs by up to 15%: Software Meets Datacenter ROI - Friday, May 16, 2014 - 2 pm ET / 11 am PT Join us for a look at two Intel Datacenter Software solutions, sample use cases, and implementation overviews. Intel Data Center Manager (Intel DCM): Energy Director provides device-level power and thermal monitoring and management for groups of servers, networking, storage, and other IT equipment. 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