Roland Banks has been passionate about mobile technology for the past 20 years. He started his career at British Telecom's research division working on collaborative virtual reality environments, before becoming a video streaming specialist at 3 UK where he helped launch some of the world's first mobile video services. More recently he enjoys writing about his obsession, and developing software that helps mobile operators analyse their subscriber data.
Roland has lived in Asia for the past 5 years, and tries to indulge his other passion for riding motorcycles whenever possible.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is set to become as ubiquitous as the mobile phone. The technologies required, such as low power microchips, sensors, and energy efficient networks, have all become small and inexpensive enough that everything from smart watches, light bulbs and even heart monitors can connect to the Internet to send and receive data more easily than ever before. […]
Smartphones have evolved to the point where we can perform tasks and activities that would have seemed impossible a few years ago. Every month, a new smartphone is released that is faster, more powerful, and better in every way compared with the models that came before. If you could be transported back in time with a smartphone to the 1970’s […]
What is the app gap? Many people with a smartphone will have heard the words “app gap” when talking about the app stores from each of the major smartphone platforms. App stores have become the de facto channel to obtain apps for our smartphones and tablets, eschewing the traditional side-loading (i.e. memory card or computer) method of getting apps […]
Whenever the latest and greatest flagship smartphone is released, it’s very tempting to trade in your old model and upgrade immediately. Buying a new smartphone is not always a straightforward choice; unless you have simply chosen your favourite brand, buying one that fits your needs and budget can be a tough choice. It is also a matter of careful timing – […]
BlackBerry looks to the future These days, few people insist on carrying around a BlackBerry. In fact it’s almost as rare as seeing somebody with a flip phone. BlackBerry stalwarts say that it’s pretty tough being one of the few faithful, especially with the impressive ecosystems of the iPhone and Android, which makes it hard to hold out in the face of […]
Samsung reports huge drop in profits Last week Samsung announced its latest financial results, and it was not a pretty picture at all. In fact, it was so bad that in its Q3 2014 earnings release, Samsung Electronics reported its operating profits were 4.06 trillion won (£2.4 billion) which was a 60% drop over the previous year, while its mobile […]
Every week there are countless stories about smartphone security breaches, mobile malware and cloud services that have been hacked or compromised in some way. We all use our smartphones to store personal and sensitive information – emails, messages, pictures, bank account details, password lists and more – that you really wouldn’t want to fall into the […]
Nokia Smartphones are dead, long live Microsoft Lumia It makes a refreshing change to write about Microsoft, Lumia and Windows Phone because it gives us an excuse to scrutinise the latest developments in Redmond’s smartphone business. Understandably, the media pays more attention to Apple and Android these days, while Microsoft plays the underdog with its smartphones inherited from the Nokia acquisition earlier this year. With the Nokia […]
Millions of Fire Phones left unsold It was obvious that a smartphone marketed mainly on gimmicks would fail. The confirmation came in Amazon’s latest earnings call, in which it revealed revenue and profits missed the target while losses ballooned to a staggering $437 million. Lacklustre sales of Amazon’s flagship (and only) smartphone were partly to blame, as CFO Tom Szkutak said the company still […]
Apple SIM quietly introduced Anyone who saw last week’s Apple keynote (where the company predictably introduced new iPad, Retina iMac and Mac Mini models) probably missed the moment when Apple quietly introduced its carrier-neutral Apple SIM in cellular versions of the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, in what could prove to be a disruptive move for the mobile industry. The Apple SIM […]
“Hey Siri, wake me up at 7 a.m.”…that’s about all I use Apple’s Siri for at the moment, short of asking what song is currently playing (which always amazes me). It’s not that voice recognition on the iPhone is bad – most of the time it provides reliable and accurate information (when I’m in the UK; but abroad it’s another […]
Wearables are personal devices that can be worn almost everywhere. The term is a fairly broad definition that encompasses fitness trackers, smart watches, connected glasses, intelligent clothes and even camera-equipped “life loggers”. It is still a relatively young technology that, according to Garter’s Hype Curve (shown below) is currently somewhere on the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” […]