Goodbye Credit Card, Hello Mobile Wallet

More than forty years since we were introduced to the credit card, a new revolution in shopping is bubbling under the surface.  As early as this summer, we could be paying with a simple wave of a phone.

The technology will allow consumers to make purchases by waving their mobile phone over a till scanner. Barclaycard and the UK’s biggest mobile phone network, which includes Orange and T-Mobile have signed a partnership to bring the system to 40,000 tills.  Mobile phone networks and banks are in talks with the manufacturers including Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia about incorporating the technology into their devices. 

The system uses a tiny chip and antenna built into the phone, which links the handset to the owner and their credit card or bank account.  The antenna sends a radio signal to a till scanner which recognises the handset, authorises the payment and then deducts the money from the owner’s account.  Customers will be able to increase their security with an optional PIN.  Initially there will be a £15 cap on transactions but the banking industry expects this to rise. 

Are you comfortable with another move towards the mobile being a must-have tool in modern life?  Handsets have already gone beyond calls and texts with video, music and internet access, but are you ready for a virtual wallet?

The Top 5 Mobile Manufacturers

During October, according to industry analysts IDC, the mobile phone market grew 14.6%. Inevitably, smartphones are playing an ever-increasing role in the rise of the mobile market, infact, their estimated market share is expected to grow by over 50% by the end of the year.



There are now two smartphone-only companies in the top 5 phone manufacturers list, as Apple joins RIM with the highest growth rates in the last year. Despite a little trouble following its launch, the iPhone 4 phones have been flying off the shelves, allowing Apple to outsell both BlackBerry and Sony Ericsson phones. Samsung, which is holding the second place, has shipped more phones than ever before in its history. This is in no small part due to the Galaxy S phones and also the Samsung Wave.


LG is holding the third place despite falling shipment numbers and declining profits. They are undergoing a CEO change this quarter. However, in a change of fortune, Sony Ericsson, which has been in the Top 5 for quite a while, dropped off the list. Still on top is the highly experienced Nokia, with their smartphone shipments rising by over 60%.

The UAE will not ban Blackberry

Back in August we reported that The United Arab Emirates were planning to restrict the use of Blackberry’s because of National Security. Following talks with Blackberry maker, Research in Motion, they have confirmed that they will not be going ahead with any ban to Blackberry services.

The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority felt the service posed a risk to National Security because the network was encrypted and then the data was stored abroad. As a result they had threatened to suspend all Blackberry services from 11th October.


However, after collaborating with Research in Motion, the Regulatory Authority said this in a statement: "All Blackberry services in the UAE will continue to operate as normal and no suspension of service will occur on October 11, 2010".

Blackberry Playbook verses the Apple iPad

The latest player in a highly competitive computer tablet market is the Blackberry Playbook, and is set to be a long-awaited rival the Apple iPad.



It is one of the first business-centric devices in the tablet market with Bluetooth and wi-fi included; BlackBerry users can also tether their phone for a 3G connection, making internet on the move easy. RIM is pushing the angle that it will be ideal for enterprise and business and that security will be at the heart of everything it does. However, they have also made it very clear that it will appeal to the everyday user aswell.


A full list of specs is yet to be published but it features a 7-inch screen, two video cameras and will not use Blackberry's latest operating system, instead relying on that of QNX; a company RIM recently acquired.
The Playbook was unveiled after much anticipation at the Blackberry developer conference in San Francisco. It is set for release in early 2011, and whilst they have been reluctant to comment on the comparisons made with the iPad, it is creating a real buzz in the tablet market.

BlackBerrys threaten national security

Authorities from The United Arab Emirates (UAE) protest that the handset encryption poses a 'national security risk' and that in future BlackBerry mobile phones could be restricted or monitored.


Unfortunately, BlackBerry’s were already on sale before the country introduced its safety emergency and national security legislation in 2007.


The region's telecoms regulator was concerned that certain BlackBerry applications allow people to misuse the service and that this misuse may have "serious social, judicial and national security repercussions".


Currently BlackBerry operates beyond the jurisdiction of national legislation as it is the only device operating in the UAE that instantly exports and stores its data offshore that is also managed by a foreign, commercial organisation.


The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has taken issue with the encrypted networks used. These make it difficult for governments to monitor communications.


Etisalat is a major telecommunications firm based in the UAE, and has 145,000 BlackBerry users on its books.

8 signs that technology's taken over your life!

1. You have never sat through an entire movie without having at least one device on your body beep or buzz.

2. You think of the gadgets in your office as "friends," but you forget to send your father a birthday card.

3. You back up your data every day.

4. You know more about the computer than about all of your friends.

5. You own a set of itty-bitty screw-drivers and you actually know where they are.

6. You have ended friendships because of irreconcilably different opinions about which is better, the Blackberry or the iPhone.

7. You pack the laptop computer first for any trip.

8. You are reading this from a screen.