News

• Eftpos NFC mobile payments coming soon

  Eftpos will begin mobile payment trials with Australian retailers in the “next few months,” according to the company.

• Google gives Play store a facelift, as Android tweaks continue

  Google today rolled out a redesign of its Play store for Android, changing the interface for smartphone and tablet users looking for apps and media content.

• Cheap 4G plans could lead to big bill shock: ACCAN

  Beware of cheap 4G plans providing minimal data, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has warned.

• HTC First 'Facebook phone' leaked?

  Facebook's rumoured new smartphone may have been leaked on Twitter just days before it is expected to be unveiled.

• Analyst: iPhone price pressure means smartphone profits have peaked

  The overall profitability of the smartphone market hit its apex in 2012, according to a prominent equity analyst.

• Cheap 4G plan has enough data for five YouTube videos

  Customers can buy 100MB of Optus 4G data for $9 monthly under a new plan announced by Vaya, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

• Australian startup snapshot: CryptoPhoto

  CryptoPhoto, a startup from Noosa, Queensland, has made a two-factor authentication service using photos displayed on a smartphone or paper card.

• Medibank aims to reduce delays for online, mobile customers with HP software

  Medibank plans to deploy software to better measure performance of its online member services platform and smartphone app, HP announced today.

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  MasterCard mobile digital wallet will arrive Down Under in March

  MasterCard has announced it will launch MasterPass Down Under next month, with the credit card company already securing partnerships with several major Australian banks and retailers.

• In Pictures: HTC One

  The Taiwanese company’s hoping to make a splash with the HTC One, its highest-profile release in years.

• The lover's guide to Valentine's Day apps

  Valentine’s Day: when the price of roses faces chronic inflation, restaurants overflow, and diamonds seem like a good idea.

• Samsung slowly closing the Apple gap

  Continued sales gains in the last three months of 2012 have propelled Samsung to within 10% of Apple's smartphone market share, according to the latest research from the NPD Group.

• In Pictures: BlackBerry 10 smartphones

  Our initial glimpse at RIM's (er, make that BlackBerry's) attempt to claw its way back into the smartphone market

• Non-profit cuts costs with BYOD

  Compassion Australia has saved thousands of dollars since shifting to a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) mobile strategy, according to the non-profit organisation's systems administrator of projects, Blessing Matore.

• eCoffeeCard's most loyal coffee drinkers on Windows, BlackBerry

  While some mobile app developers focus efforts on the more popular iOS and Android platforms, the maker of one of Australia’s top coffee loyalty apps said Windows and BlackBerry customers are its most active users.