Smith Micro Software Blog

In our first mobile hotspot survey, we discovered that two-thirds of employees are using company-sponsored mobile hotspots to … not work. That’s right—after a hard day, road warriors like to curl up with their favorite 3G/4G hotspot (i.e., the one they’re not paying for) and watch a movie, play games, or surf for limited-edition Dr. Who action figures—all on the company’s dime.

I received an SMS from a friend last week, inviting me to try out a new messaging app. The message read, “Hey 812-482-####! Jesse wants you to try out NewMessagingApp!”

The days of congregating around the living room TV are long gone, at least for many families. Modern media consumption has been transformed by laptops, smartphones, tablets, DVRs, and Netflix. A recent study by Motorola Mobility, surveying 9,500 consumers in 17 different countries, found that multi-screen habits and video recording have dramatically changed how audiences consume TV and film.

It may surprise you to learn that the same software used to update your mobile phone could soon find its way under the hood of your automobile. That’s because the underlying standards from the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) designed for the management of small mobile devices are also applicable to the automotive industry through the use of embedded control systems.

Last weekend, I went to the grand opening of a restaurant. On the menu, I noticed a bottle of wine that had previously been recommended by a friend, who happens to work at a winery. Having enjoyed her suggestions before, I was eager to try this one, too. As they often do when you buy a bottle, the waiter opened it and poured a sampling into my glass. I swirled it around in my glass and eagerly took a sip. It was ... terrible. The wine tasted like vinegar, probably because of a bad cork.

Software usability testing has never had a glamorous or sexy reputation. Many simply refer to it as that tedious, necessary process that makes sure users can complete intended tasks. Others see it as just making software usable. Both are true, but usability testing can also tell you how to generate revenue.

Last month Microsoft launched the popular Windows 8 Surface Pro tablet and also received positive reviews for the successful reinvention of the Windows 8 laptop. However, in its releases, Microsoft did not include embedded 3G or LTE technology into the device, and instead decided to manufacture these products as Wi-Fi-only. With many on-the-go mobile workers needing access beyond the local Starbucks or airport, a growing number of users are connecting their Wi-Fi-only devices to mobile broadband through their smartphones.

The mobile world can be daunting. With the variety of devices, operating systems, and wares (hardware, software, firmware … kitchenware?) it’s a wonder that anything works at all. How do phones from different manufacturers communicate with each other over infrastructure from different manufacturers using different technologies?

Video messaging applications, such as Skype, are rapidly changing how we communicate with each other on a daily basis. According to new data from TeleGeography, Skype-to-Skype voice and video traffic grew 44% in 2012—to 167 billion minutes. This strong surge in growth represents more than twice the combined total voice minutes achieved by all international operators last year.

The latest Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecasts a 13-fold increase of mobile data traffic between 2012 and 2017. The report also predicts a significant increase in data offload to Wi-Fi as operators deal with the network stress associated with this traffic.