1/31/2014 Tesco Mobile now offers free 4G LTE

     Here’s some good news for those who enjoy a spot of super-speedy mobile surfing – Tesco Mobile has decided that from now on, its 4G LTE service will be free for both new and existing customers.

Tesco Mobile was the first MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator – Tesco piggybacks on O2) to introduce 4G, and it’s trumpeting this move as a major boon for both pay monthly and Sim-only contracts. Also, 4G data bundles for PAYG customers are expected to launch in the coming weeks.

Simon Groves, Chief Marketing Officer of Tesco Mobile, commented: “Introducing free 4G is a clear example of our intention to provide all of our customers with the very best at no extra cost.”

He added: “As a network we hope that this move will challenge others in the market and encourage the industry to follow suit. We want to see 4G with no extra cost become the norm and networks making the very latest technologies accessible for all.”

Laudable words indeed.

Tesco Mobile is also planning to push more higher-end 4G phones into its line-up, including the Moto X, which we’ve just reviewed, and the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.

Previously, Tesco Mobile customers had to pay a premium of £2.50 extra per month to access 4G.

Sim-only 4G tariffs now start from £7.50 per month for 250 minutes, 5,000 texts and 500MB data. Of course, the downside with 4G speeds is that you’ll chew through 500MB pretty swiftly if you’re not careful. Still, you can’t knock Tesco Mobile’s pricing here.

Source: ITPROPORTAL

12/26/2013 Apple will soon struggle to attract new iPhone buyers.

          An interesting new report from Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi suggests that Apple might be on the cusp of seeing a drop in new iPhone buyers.

The news doesn't suggest a drop in the popularity of the iPhone. Rather, many people already have one, so Apple will soon be selling more devices to upgraders rather than new iPhone customers. According to Sacconaghi, the percentage of "net new iPhone customers" is set to shrink approximately 13 per cent between 2012 and 2013, dropping from 62 per cent to just around 54 per cent.

Going forward, those numbers will drop to 37 per cent in 2014 and a mere 28 per cent in 2015. Concurrently, iPhone "replacement" purchases will jump up to nearly three quarters of everything Apple's selling by 2015.

"Barring a signed contract with China Mobile (CHL) or an iPhone priced to sell to the developing world, there is a slim margin of error that Apple will attract sufficient first-time iPhone buyers going forward to meet consensus forecasts for [fiscal year 2014 and 2015]," Sacconaghi wrote, according to ZDNet.

So, what's the problem? It's not that Apple's suddenly going to go belly up with its iPhone sales; that's not the issue at stake. However, the raw figures do paint a pretty simple picture. According to Sacconaghi, around 1.25 billion people can afford a smartphone like an iPhone sans carrier subsidies; of these, around 800 million already own a smartphone.

     "It is imperative that Apple look to address the lower end of the smartphone market, where we see five times the number of first-time smartphone buyers over the next two years. Even though there may be 100 million to 150 million new high-end smartphone users annually over the next two years, there will be about 500 million new low-end smartphone users annually over the next two years, or about four times the new user total addressable market,"Sacconaghi wrote, according to Forbes.

The iPhone 5C was supposed to be Apple's low-cost device for emerging markets, but it ended up being a colorful replacement for the iPhone 5, and not exactly affordable.

Meanwhile, when the number of new iPhone users stagnates, the content on the iTunes Store also suffers. Once a pretty significant majority of iPhone users are up and running with their typical shopping habits, a smaller number of new iPhone users won't be able to add that much activity with their app, music, and video purchases. In other words, the iTunes Store begins to plateau; content sales start to slow down a bit.

Things could improve if Apple can officially tap into China Mobile's 700 million or so customers, but so far, there have been rumors but no official announcements.

Source : ITProPotal