Guy Kewney

Why are people making up conspiracy theories about eBay buying Skype? I suppose its the absurd price—but it just may be worth it. Its all about “presence”—that magic trick of the Web, now reaching into the mobile arena, which allows people to know when to leave you a voice mail, and when to try talking. […]

The similarity between mobile phones and advertising, not often noted, is fascinating. I was chatting with an old Saatchi vice president the other day (now retired) and he put it like this: “Advertising is an odd business, where the experts—the agencies—often prevent disruption. If you want to introduce new advertising ideas, you have to go […]

Britains old Cellnet phone operator, now called O2, reminds me of my fathers car. I once bought a car from my father. I didnt particularly want the car, actually, but I was damned if my sister was going to get it. So I bought it. And it now looks as if T-Mobile and Telefonica are […]

The HIPERMAN standard, despite what it sounds like, isnt Intel talking about WiMax. The standard is defined by ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, not the IEEE. And much of the delay in getting things started at the new WiMax testing labs in Malaga, Spain, is actually a good thing. That is to say: Its […]

I thought the report about Cisco taking over Nokia was hilarious. If the story turns out to be true, not only will I have egg all over my face, but it will be time to sell your Cisco shares. What I cant understand is why anybody took the story seriously enough to analyze it as […]

Which would you rather: make an extra dollar a month per subscriber from mobile consumer data, or make 40 times as much, selling to the business user? Most people will tell you that consumer data is pathetic. Home phone users, heck, they only send or receive one e-mail a day. Peanuts. Theyll tell you: The […]

Are mobile phones in planes controversial? Apparently not. But phones on the Underground? Unthinkable! Considering all of the rude names people have called me in the past three years, I was vexed to be rejected by breakfast television this week—at the last minute—as an insufficiently exciting candidate for a place on the famous GMTV sofa. […]

Londons mobile phone network doesnt usually break down at 2 a.m. You have to blame the terror bombs. That and, of course, our need to rely on codecs. Our family relies on a bulletin board. I heartily recommend Quicktopic.com for this sort of thing. Its free, even my mother can use it, and its virtually […]

The Africa Car was a total flop. The Africa Phone may be one of democracys finest tools. Can Sendos death help it become reality? The Africa Phone is a project inside Motorola, triggered by people who have discovered a remarkable statistic: that when 20 percent of a population has secure phone communications, dictators get overthrown. […]

Theres no doubt at all that you meet a much classier sort of chap, using a mobile phone. What I mean is: If you get a call, and its from a mobile, why, you just naturally trust the person more than if theyre using an ordinary phone. Dont you agree? OK, I give up. That […]