Author: BWild

New iPhone features may boost adoption and impact mobile payments market

| September 10, 2013

Apple may be inching into mobile payments arena with iPhone upgrades

While Apple has not made any firm announcement concerning its future involvement in mobile payments, the company may have a major impact on that sector in the coming months. Wells Fargo has raised its projected price range for Apple stock this week, citing news that the famed technology company will become more flexible in its relationship with carriers of its iPhone devices. New technology that is expected to be introduced with the iPhone 5S is also creating some buzz and this technology could help boost the adoption of the already popular mobile device.

Fingerprint sensors could boost mobile security

Apple is expected to include fingerprint sensing technology in its iPhone 5S, which is likely to be released later this year. This technology comes from AethenTec, which was acquired by Apple somewhat recently. The company specializes in security technologies and its fingerprint scanner could make next generation iPhones significantly more secure than their predecessors. This added security could create more confidence among consumers and boost adoption rates, especially among those interested in mobile payments.

Apple - Mobile PaymentsApple to be more flexible with iPhone sales restrictions

Apple is also expected to relax the restrictions it has on iPhone sales, which will allow its partners to exhibit more flexibility in the device market. This may help Apple compete more effectively against other companies, such as Samsung, when it comes to mobile technology. Better security features may help Apple’s partners market the iPhone 5S to corporate customers — a market that has been held firmly by BlackBerry for several years.

Mobile payments may be in Apple’s future

Apple has been slow to warm to the concept of mobile payments in the past. Security concerns had caused the company to distance itself from NFC technology, which forms the backbone of most mobile payments platforms. Apple has been looking for an alternative to NFC and some rumors suggest that the company is developing its own mobile payments system for future iterations of its smartphones and tablets.

New mobile games launched in India

| September 4, 2013

Bharti SoftBank launches its first mobile games

Bharti SoftBank, a joint venture between India’s Bharti Enterprises and Japan’s SoftBank, has begun its foray into the world of mobile games. This week, the company launched two mobile games that are targeted at a general demographic that has exhibited interest in such games in the past. The two games, called Songquest and Shiva: The Time Bender, are currently available on the Google Play store. Bharti SoftBank expects to have a total of five games in its portfolio by March of next year.

Company takes aim at young consumers

Like other game developers and publishers, Bharti SoftBank is taking aim at young consumers. This particular demographic has shown a strong interest in mobile games and most of these young people have mobile devices of some kind. Bharti SoftBank’s current goal is to capture approximately 10% of the 12 million smartphone users that exist in its chosen market.

India Mobile GamesGames to include microtransactions

The games released by the company are free to play and are currently only available for the Android platform. These games will be made available for other platforms in the near future in order to engage a wider audience of mobile consumers. Like other free mobile games, those offered by Bharti SoftBank will allow players to purchase additional features in-game. This will be how these games generate revenue, but the company will have to find a balance between its in-game transactions and the content it offers for free lest it alienates consumers.

Companies show more interest in mobile games

Mobile games have become quite popular in India and other parts of the world. These games have also become a very lucrative sector for the global game industry. Large development studios and publishing companies are becoming more involved in the mobile sector in order to take advantage of the popularity of these mobile games. Consumers, however, have shown concerns that many of these games are nothing more than cash grabs from these companies, citing an obsessive focus that companies seem to have on in-game purchases.