MWC News: Google’s strategy and Android, Windows Marketplace …

Some more interesting news announced at the Mobile Word Congress:

• Google’s new strategy “Mobile First”
  Google’s new strategy: “Mobile First” The company now focuses more on smartphones than on desktops. That means giving mobile top priority and launching new products first on mobile platforms before creating PC versions.

  (Source: brighthand.com)

• 60,000 Android phone a day
  Google’s Android launched a year ago and is now available on 26 different devices in 48 countries. 60.000 Android devices running this operating systems are now being sold on a daily basis meaning about 5.4 million handsets per quarter, or 21 million per year. Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones last quarter and 25 million in 2009. Seems like Android is gaining ground, hopefully internal fragmentation will be taken care of (if that’s possible).

  (Source: mobilegamesblog.com)

• Windows Marketplace for Mobile has been updated
  Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft’s application store, has been updated. The biggest change is there will no longer be regional limitations on where apps are sold. This is great news for non-US customers because they could only see localized apps and the selection was very limited. Now thanks to the “geo selector” users can browse and purchase applications from different geographic catalogs / countries. The price of each app will show up in the user’s local currency. Besides users can install downloaded apps onto their storage cards.

  Developers also do not have to pay a US$10 fee for submitting their apps to additional markets anymore – only the US$ 99 submission fee has to be paid. VOIP apps will now be allowed unless a carrier specifically prohibits it. Microsoft now also opens its marketplace to Russia.

  BTW Mobilegamesblog.com published some first screenshots of Windows Marketplace for the Windows Phone 7 Series devices. There is no real source named for these images, so they should be considered as a rumor: mobilegamesblog.com

  (Sources: informationweek.com, theunwired.net)

• Alcatel unveils first Android phone
  Handset maker Alcatel unveiled a number of new handsets at Mobile World Congress and interestingly its first Android-based phone OT-980. The phone will be available around June for less than 200 EUR in the UK, France, Spain and Italy. But they are still considering using other platforms, such as Windows Mobile, if prices come down.

  (Sources: ciol.com, totaltele.com)

• China Unicom and Huawei for low-cost smartphones
  China Unicom plans to launch low-cost 3G smartphones – maybe in collaboration with Huawei which has also recognized that smartphones remain too expensive. Key to unlocking the potential usage of 3G is the need for a $150 smartphone with iPhone-like capabilities , said Guo Ping, CSO, Huawei Technologies and chairman of Huawei devices.

  (Source: mobilebusinessbriefing.com)

• Deutsche Telekom: Open Apps Approach
  Deutsche Telekom plans to further integrate with mobile apps and content stores. By partnering with leading applications stores Deutsche Telekom wants to offer its customers a T-Mobile dedicated channel with specific recommendations and the opportunity for mobile phone billing (instead of credit card payment).
  Deutsche Telekom’s open mobile internet strategy implies that customers ultimately get access to a wide choice of all available applications, regardless of their mobile phone brand. As a basis we provide easy log-in, registration, and payment processes, as well as Deutsche Telekom channels in existing stores and customer oriented recommendations,” states Rainer Deutschmann, Senior Vice President Mobile Products.

  (Source: finchannel.com)