Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.
Global News Stories
Apple: $10B In App Store Sales In 2013, $15B Paid Out To Developers To Date
Tech Crunch
CES? What CES? Apple never goes to the great big noisy consumer electronics show-off in the desert. But all the non iDevice-makers do — which is one reason it’s chosen today to make some noise of its own. In a release just put out, Cupertino said customers of its App Store spent more than $10 billion in 2013, including more than $1 billion shelled out on digital goodies for iOS devices in December alone.
T-Mobile US offers to pay early termination fees for switchers as it claims fastest LTE network
The Next Web
T-Mobile USA announced on Wednesday the next phase of the operator’s “Uncarrier” business model with a bold offer to pay customer’s early termination fees when switching from competing carriers AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. T-Mobile says it will pay up to $350 in fees per line for up to five lines and pay up to $300 extra for trade-ins of subsidized devices. The offer isn’t a promotion, as T-Mobile plans to make this a permanent. Word of T-Mobile’s plan leaked out earlier this week.
mCommerce Purchases to Exceed $700bn by 2018, says Juniper
Mobile Marketing Magazine
Annual retail purchases on mobile devices, including tablets, will reach $707bn (£431bn) by 2018, according to Juniper Research. That’s equivalent to 30 per cent of all projected online retail spending. Last year, by comparison, mobile accounted for 15 per cent of eCommerce spend, at $182bn.
66pc of small businesses would switch banks for superior mobile services: report
Mobile Commerce Daily
Mobile banking is a driving factor for small business owners, but many banks are not keeping up with the demand, according to a recent report from ath Power. While 66 percent of small business owners said they would be likely to switch banks for one with a superior mobile offering, 37 percent of bankers in the study did not even mention their bank’s mobile offering.
As Mobile Usage Grows, Lack of Trust in Security Still Hampers Mobile Banking
emarketer.com
Mobile has opened up a new channel of engagement and authentication for companies. Financial institutions can keep customers informed about the security and health of their personal finances while also using mobile for more effective identification and authorization. But consumers are centralizing more of their lives around their mobile devices. That often means keeping a great deal of sensitive personal and financial information in one place, posing risks for both consumers and financial firms, according to a new eMarketer report..
Audi, GM, Honda, And Hyundai Bring Android To The Car At CES
Motor Authority
The Battle For The Credit Card Payments Market — Mobile Is Only Part Of The Story
Business Insider
Credit cards have become such a familiar tool, we hardly think about how they work. But that is changing fast, as new entrants in the digital payments space reimagine the software and hardware that powers payments, and the services they can offer merchants and consumers.
Yahoo Girds Its Loins For The Battle Over Your Home Screen
Tech Crunch
The home screen as it stands cannot last. In reality, what we’re looking at is the end times for the traditional grid of icons that we’ve become so familiar with since the iPhone was introduced in 2007. There is simply too much context available via the sensors, camera, radios and other inputs we carry around in our pockets not to take advantage of it.
Snapchat apologizes for leaked user data, updates app to let you opt out of ‘Find Friends’
The Verge
In 2012, 36% of advertising spend in the UK was on digital. This is up from 19% in 2007. This statistic comes from OFCOM’s 2013 International Communications Market Report, revealed today. The UK also spends a higher share of its advertising budget on digital than the rest of the world.
China allows foreign investment in telco VAS
Telecom Asia
Global News Round-up – These articles are not written by MEF and do not represent any views of individuals, members or the organisation.
