Payfirma opens its mobile payment app for developers (Canada)
Payfirma, the company creating simple, fast, and secure mobile point of sale products for businesses, has opened up its mobile payment platform to developers. Any third party mobile application for iPhones, iPads, or Android devices can now accept mobile payments in-person with the swipe of a credit card.
Developers can leverage Payfirma’s payment platform to manage transactions, PCI compliance, and credit card reader integration. Payfirma’s integration kit seamlessly and securely shares information between third party apps and Payfirma, automating business processes, increasing efficiency, and improving usability.
Some of the apps that will integrate with Payfirma are invoicing, accounting, restaurant, and retail apps. Mobile invoicing apps, for example, allow businesses to create invoices on their iPad or iPhone wherever they are. Invoices, typically sent over email to be paid at a later date, can now be paid on the spot using Payfirma. This makes life simpler and more flexible for businesses.
Payfirma is building a mobile payment ecosystem for developers. As per the company, Kalle Radage, Payfirma’s Chief Product Officer, said that the mobile development community is key to Payfirma. Further, they are continually building out their platform to make it easy for developers to add payment functionality as this will allow developers to create a new wave of game-changing payment applications.
Integration with Payfirma allows apps to pass transaction information to Payfirma, such as the transaction type (sale or refund), transaction total, and the email address of the receipt recipient. This makes it possible to conduct a transaction in seconds. After a transaction is complete, Payfirma can pass back information such as the transaction ID, time, date, and order details, which create a complete and integrated experience.
Nokia Windows phone receives support from carriers (USA)
With the increasing dominance of iPhones and Android powered smartphones in the handset arena, wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless have been looking at phones from Nokia and Microsoft as alternatives, according to a report by BN.
As per the report, both carriers praised Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, which powers the new Nokia Lumia phone, when they reported quarterly results this month. AT&T began offering the Lumia 900 for $99.99 on April 8, and Verizon is preparing to add a new Nokia model to its lineup soon.
The operators are hoping that these handsets act as an alternative for users as devices such as iPhone can be more costly to subsidize. The companies also face the risk that an Apple-Google duopoly will erode carriers’ ability to distinguish themselves and will further squeeze their profit margins.
AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens told BN in an interview that they want the Lumia to succeed — they love to have competition in the handset market. It’s always better to have more choices for the customers.
Apple reports sale of 35 million iPhones in Q2 2012 (USA)
Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 second quarter ended March 31, 2012. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $24.7 billion and net profit of $6.0 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 47.4 percent compared to 41.4 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 64 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
The Company sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, a 151 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4 million Macs during the quarter, a 7 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.7 million iPods, a 15 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said that they are thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter. He added that the new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year users are going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.
Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, said that their record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations. Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, they expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.
Samsung sells 20 million Galaxy SII handsets since launch (South Korea)
South Korean handset maker, Samsung has announced that the company sold over 20 million Galaxy S II handsets since it was launched in April 2011.
The flagship handset has been well received by consumers owing to device specifications including a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with a Super AMOLED display of 4.3 inches. The phone has a 2 MP front facing camera and an 8 MP rear-facing camera.
With competition intensifying between Apple and Samsung, other mobile phone manufacturers have rapidly been losing their market share. As per sources, Samsung hopes to launch the Galaxy S III in the coming months.
However, while Samsung has been basking in the success of Galaxy S II, US based Apple is still in the lead with over 37.04 million iPhones sold in the last quarter itself and 93 million iPhones sold in the past year.
FCC asked to block additional spectrum deals by Verizon (USA)
The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel has filed an appeal with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) claiming that U.S. regulators shouldn’t let Verizon Wireless buy airwaves from cable companies because the deal would eliminate possible competitors and enrich sellers that hoarded airwaves, according to a report by BN.
As per the report, the Counsel has said that a $3.6 billion spectrum purchase from companies led by Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. and a separate $315 million deal with Cox Communications Inc. aren’t competitively benign.
A spokesman for the company has said that the deals are clearly in the public interest and support FCC goals to re-allocate underutilized spectrum. However, the Counsel has said that the airwaves should be returned to the FCC and auctioned, rather than rewarding the cable companies for stockpiling spectrum.
With the increase in smartphone and other data heavy phone such as the iPhones, subscribers are increasingly moving to operators that offer that high speed data access. Verizon has been actively seeking to increase its spectrum holding in an attempt to offer better and faster media and data services to its consumers.
Apple passes Exxon as the most valuable firm (USA)
US giant Apple Inc has reportedly emerged as the most valuable US company surpassing Exxon once again. According to reports, the market capitalization of Apple was at $ 418.5 on Wednesday, while Exxon had a mobile capitalization of $ 413 billion. However, Exxon regained its position at the end of the day.
Apple recently reported its first quarter financial results, where in the company posted record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, against a revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, for the same quarter in the past year.
As per the company report, Tim Cook, CEO, Apple has said that they are thrilled with their outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs. He added that Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and they have some amazing new products in the pipeline.
MetroPCS misses analysts’ estimates for new subscribers (USA)
U.S. wireless operators Metro PCS and Leap Wireless have missed analysts’ estimates in terms of the number of subscribers added in the fourth quarter. According to a report by BN, MetroPCS added 197,000 new users during the period against an estimated 223,000 new users. Further, Leap Wireless has reported a monthly churn of 3.9 percent against the estimated 3.6 percent.
According to reports, a major reason for this decline is the affordable tariff plans introduced by some of the bigger players such as AT&T and Verizon. Sources claim that the combined offer of smartphones and iPhones with a contract by the leading telecom operators have also resulted in many subscribers switching to their services.
Apple wins patent fight with Nokia (US)
Apple Inc. has won a U.S. trade ruling in a patent fight brought by Nokia Oyj over the technology used in mobile phones.
According to a judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, Apple isn’t violating Nokia’s rights on five patents. The findings of ITC Judge E. James Gildea are subject to review by the six-member commission, which has the power to block imports of products found to infringe U.S. patents.
The two mobile-phone makers have been embroiled in litigation since October 2009, when Nokia filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of infringing 10 patents and demanding royalties on the millions of iPhones sold since the device’s introduction in 2007. Each company has since accused the other of infringing an increasing number of patents.
According to Laurie Armstrong, Nokia’s spokeswoman, while the company doesn’t agree that there has been no violation, they will wait to see the details of the ruling before we decide on any next steps.
As per Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Apple, the Cupertino, California-based company had no comment. The judge’s reasons will be released to the public after both sides have a chance to redact confidential business information.
Nokia had claimed that Apple was infringing patents that the Finnish company described as pioneering innovations related to cameras, battery life, touch-screens, speakers and messaging. It sought an order barring imports of the iPhone.
Apple has its own patent-infringement claims against Nokia at the Washington agency. A different ITC judge, Charles Bullock, is scheduled to release his findings in that case on June 24.
The Nokia case is In the Matter of Certain Electronic Devices, Including Mobile Phones, Portable Music Players and Computers, 337-701, and Apple’s case is In the Matter of Mobile Communications and Computer Devices, 2707, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).
Larger smartphone screens attract larger group of people (USA)
A new research has revealed that US consumers are willing to give up room in their pockets and handbags to gain a richer media experience on their mobile devices. The U.S. market share for iPhones and other smartphones with screen sizes between 3.5 inches and 3.9 inches have remained steady, but smartphones with the largest screens (4 inches or larger) have grabbed market share from devices with screen sizes that are less than 3.5 inches.
Based on the latest reports, smartphones with 4-inch-or-larger screens, like Samsung’s Galaxy S, HTC’s EVO 4G and Motorola’s Droid X, which debuted in the second quarter (Q2) of 2010, quickly grew to encompass 24% of the market by Q4 2010. The market share for iPhones and other smartphones with screen sizes between 3.5 inches and 3.9 inches increased 2 percent over the prior year’s Q4; while the market share of smartphones with screens smaller than 3.4 inches, declined from 63 percent in Q4 2009 to just 36% of the smartphone market in Q4 2010.
The five best-selling handset models in 2010 that had screen sizes of 4 inches or larger were as follows:
- HTC EVO 4G
- Motorola Droid X
- Samsung Fascinate
- Samsung Captivate
- Samsung Vibrant
According to researchers, the explosion in Web and video content available for smartphones has caused consumers to rethink their phones’ sizes. Larger displays offer a richer media experience, as well as a roomier surface for on-screen keyboards. Handset vendors are continuing to push the envelope of pocket real estate to complement the video capabilities of 4G handsets.
While men still make up the largest share of consumers purchasing smartphones with the largest screen sizes, women are increasingly likely to buy them. In Q2 2010, just 30% percent of large-screen smartphone purchasers were women, but by Q4 2010, women represented 40% of large-screen smartphone sales.
LogMeIn adds remote file management for iPhones and iPads
LogMeIn, remote computer management software has stated that it has launched an upgraded version of its LogMeIn Ignition service for the Apple iPhones and iPads. It is the first iOS app to combine remote control with file management.
With the introduction of file viewing and management, iOS device owners can now choose to remotely control a computer desktop or directly access a computer’s file systems – or multiple computers’ file systems – using a single app.
The new LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone/iPad also introduces the ability to wake a sleeping computer from an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch using Wake-On-LAN.
iPad 2 users will also benefit from increased speed and performance, with LogMeIn Ignition tuned to allow for multitasking and the simultaneous usage of remote control and file transfers.
