Mobile media spend continues to grow in the UK while eBay's CEO gives his input stating that paying for things will become a lot easier with mobile. Patent disputes still run rampant with Motorola Mobility withdrawing all Android products in Germany due to patent disputes with Apple.

On another note Dual-Screening is the trend now focussed upon, along with geo-location, as a key aspect of how mobile is shaping consumer habits and bears serious consideration when shaping the MARCOM strategy. Thinking mobile first doesn't mean making mobile more important than other media, rather it is to ensure that the strategy encompasses the use of mobile across all other media to effectively compliment the overall experience.

The mobile space is a continually evolving field as new developments seem to pop up everyday. Not all are industry shaking however many relay signals about ongoing issues that are at the industries core. A few of these are reflected in the articles outlined below as Microsoft seeks to strengthen their position in the smartphone market and move into the hardware space with their Surface tablet. A bold move that puts them more in line with one of their closest competitors, Apple. Will they be able to leverage this space or are they unnecessarily risking their existing relationships with their current hardware suppliers?

What do you think?

UK Mobile Ad Spend Hits £181.5m in H1 2012

Date 8th October, 2012

The UK mobile advertising market was worth £181.5m in the first half of 2012, just £22m shy of the total UK mobile ad spend for the whole of 2011 (£203.2m), according to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) advertising expenditure report, conducted by PwC.

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Apple TV and AirPlay Fuel Rise of Dual-Screen Apps

Date 9th October, 2012

Dual-screen apps are a new phenomena, enabled by the advent of wireless technologies that allow for effortless pairing of a PC, tablet or smartphone with a TV. They are changing how people are interacting and “consuming” content within apps. For developers this creates many new opportunities to provide better experiences for their users, but it requires thinking about dual-screen setups from the start as well as new tools.

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eBay CEO: Paying for things is about to get a lot easier

Date 10th October, 2012

Mobile devices will enable a flurry of new ways to pay in coming months, John Donahoe says.

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Breaking Down Steve Ballmer’s Letter to Microsoft Shareholders

Date 10th October, 2012

In his annual letter to shareholders, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spells out the future of Microsoft, as well as the “fundamental shift” taking place in its business.

The letter is an extension of what Ballmer has been hinting at for the last few months: Microsoft is changing and the way it views its business is changing too.

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Microsoft, pushing Windows 8, makes Wi-Fi free in NYC and SF

Date 10th October, 2012

The free Wi-Fi will be available in different locations throughout New York City and San Francisco from now through the end of the year.

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Google Play in-app subscriptions get free trial option

Date 10th October, 2012

In-app subscriptions found their way to Google Play this May, and now the folks in Mountain View are letting Android developers offer them with free trials.

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Smartphones outperforming high-end compact cameras

Date 10th October, 2012

The writing has been on the wall for quite a while now. According to equipment and sensor evaluation service DxO Mark, some smartphones take better photos and videos than their high-end compact camera counterparts.

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Google's Motorola cuts German Android offerings to zero

Date 10th October, 2012

Google's handset subsidiary Motorola Mobility (MMI) has abruptly withdrawn all its Android devices from sale in Germany, apparently after failing to overturn patent judgments won by Microsoft and Apple.

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