Tero Kuittinen

@teroterotero tero@bgr.com +Tero Kuittinen

After launching mobile game company SpringToys tragically early in 2000, Tero Kuittinen spent eight years doing equity research at firms including Alliance Capital and Opstock. He is currently an analyst and VP of North American sales at mobile diagnostics and expense management Alekstra, and has contributed to TheStreet.com, Forbes and Business 2.0 Magazine in addition to BGR.

Business
April 4, 2013
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Facebook Home Analysis

Facebook’s mission: Hammer WhatsApp and other messaging startups

By on April 4, 2013 at 3:15 PM.

Facebook’s mission: Hammer WhatsApp and other messaging startups

Much has been said about what Facebook’s (FB) new initiative means for app developers. But after today’s Facebook Home unveiling, it’s clear that there is one very specific app category that is Facebook’s current obsession: messaging apps. It is safe to say nobody expected two years ago that the popularity of WhatsApp, VINE and KakaoTalk would explode the way it did. WhatsApp hit 11 billion outbound messages on New Year’s Eve; China-driven WeChat has hit 300 million users; Korean KakaoTalk has reached 80 million users. All of these messaging platforms have created a surge of interest in group chats and photo-sharing — features that just happen to encroach on Facebook’s core territory. Even worse, Asian messaging apps have started morphing into social game hubs and WhatsApp is expected to launch an ambitious game initiative later in 2013. Today represented Facebook’s counterattack on these pesky messaging upstarts. More →

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mobile
April 4, 2013
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American Mobile Phone

The outrageous way many Americans rewrite mobile phone history

By on April 4, 2013 at 10:40 AM.

The outrageous way many Americans rewrite mobile phone history

The first mobile phone call was placed 40 years ago. So on Wednesday, we were treated to several “History of the Mobile Phone” articles by American journalists, most of them orgies of chauvinism and astonishing nationalistic bias. One pure product of this navel-gazing genre is the Wired magazine piece called “The 12 Cellphones That Changed Our World Forever.” In the revisionist history of the mobile phone, the actual nature of the device is obscured completely. More →

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Legal
April 3, 2013
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FCC Review Cell Phone Radiation

FCC will review cell phone radiation danger – and lawyers are already sharpening their claws

By on April 3, 2013 at 3:00 PM.

FCC will review cell phone radiation danger – and lawyers are already sharpening their claws

Well, that did not take long. Within a few days after the Federal Communications Commission confirmed it will review cell phone radiation guidelines, class action lawyers of a certain ilk have swung to action. Since the FCC previously issued guidelines about cell phone use in 1996, it is quite natural it will revisit the issue in 2013. But that does not mean you can’t put a sinister spin on the development. More →

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Services
April 3, 2013
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Skype 2 Billion Minutes

Skype seems miles behind WhatsApp on daily engagement

By on April 3, 2013 at 10:50 AM.

Skype seems miles behind WhatsApp on daily engagement

Skype just announced proudly that its users spend 2 billion minutes a day on Skype calls. It’s a big achievement, for sure… but considering how long Skype has been around, it’s also somewhat underwhelming. According to company comments from 2011, the average video call length was 27 minutes. If we estimate that the average Skype call including both voice and video calling is closer to 20 minutes, the 2 billion minutes a day figure would translate roughly to 100 million calls per day. This sounds decent enough — except that a cluster of mobile messaging app companies that debuted just a couple of years ago have already moved far beyond that level. More →

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Business
April 2, 2013
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AT&T Vodafone Acquisition Analysis

AT&T-Vodafone hookup may revolutionize roaming

By on April 2, 2013 at 3:03 PM.

AT&T-Vodafone hookup may revolutionize roaming

If the AT&T-Verizon takeover of Vodafone actually goes through, it might represent an earthquake in mobile roaming. AT&T’s (T) acquisition of Vodafone’s portfolio of carriers would mean that it would be able to offer American customers new roaming prices not only to major European tourist and business travel targets like the U.K., Germany and Italy, but also popular international destinations like Australia, Turkey, South Africa and Egypt. The old Vodafone-Verizon (VZ) alliance always had a major stumbling block that prevented effective roaming: The lack of a wide range of mobile phones that would have supported the different W-CDMA and CDMA2000 technologies the two carriers employed. More →

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mobile
April 1, 2013
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Windows Phone Low-End Market

The future of Windows Phone may be in the budget category

By on April 1, 2013 at 4:40 PM.

The future of Windows Phone may be in the budget category

After some delays, Nokia’s (NOK) Lumia 520 and Lumia 620 budget models have debuted in key Asian markets and they have clearly eclipsed the supposed flagship phone, the Lumia 920. Recent discussions with two United Kingdom operators reflect an emerging consensus that the Lumia 920 is fading fast in Europe, while the low-end Lumia 520 is sparking a lot of early interest. India’s most popular e-commerce website Flipkart reflects the same phenomenon: The new Lumia 520 and 620 models hog 2 of the top 5 spots, while the Lumia 920 has vanished just months after its debut. More →

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mobile
April 1, 2013
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iOS Android Market Share

Android’s market share lead over iOS explodes to eight points in the U.S.

By on April 1, 2013 at 10:20 AM.

Android’s market share lead over iOS explodes to eight points in the U.S.

Kantar is out with its smartphone market share numbers for three months ending in February and Android devices continue pulling away from iPhone in the United States. A year ago, iOS led Android by 47%-45% in the smartphone operating system market share competition. By February 2013, Android had moved to a 51%-43% lead. This report is a fairly strong argument for why Apple (AAPL) must get a budget smartphone out as soon as it can. The Apple brand is far stronger in its home market than it is in Asia, Latin America or even continental Europe. Yet even in its stronghold, Apple’s smartphone market share is now slipping fast as new buyers gravitate towards cheaper options or are captured by Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy glamor. More →

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mobile
March 29, 2013
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Lenovo NEC Rumor

The most likely buyer of Nokia or BlackBerry now in talks to acquire NEC’s handset unit

By on March 29, 2013 at 1:41 PM.

The most likely buyer of Nokia or BlackBerry now in talks to acquire NEC’s handset unit

Reuters is reporting that Lenovo (LNVGY), the Chinese electronics giant, is in talks to acquire NEC’s mobile phone unit. Lenovo has been speculated to be in talks with both Nokia (NOK) and BlackBerry (BBRY) over the past two years. Various brokerages have claimed that it is negotiating to buy Nokia’s feature phone unit, Nokia’s Lumia phone unit or BlackBerry’s hardware operations. If Lenovo ends up buying the NEC handset operations, it would acquire a technologically highly sophisticated operation with a minuscule annual production volume of roughly 4 million units. More →

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mobile
March 28, 2013
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BlackBerry Subscriber Loss

BlackBerry subscriber bleed turns into an arterial gush

By on March 28, 2013 at 11:11 AM.

BlackBerry subscriber bleed turns into an arterial gush

BlackBerry’s (BBRY) fourth-quarter earnings were a bundle of such extreme opposites that they literally stunned Wall Street. Many expected huge price swings, but as of 10:27 a.m. on Thursday, the share price is up 1.8%. Investors are having trouble figuring out whether to giggle with glee over the big Z10 shipment number or shriek with horror over the massive subscriber loss. More →

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Services
March 27, 2013
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Nokia Maps App

Nokia’s map app boss quits following worldwide collapse in the charts

By on March 27, 2013 at 5:47 PM.

Nokia’s map app boss quits following worldwide collapse in the charts

Last November, Nokia’s (NOK) HERE map app had a big debut by becoming a top 5 iPhone application in America on its launch day. The last three months have been cruel, however. Following mixed reviews from major tech sites, the HERE app plunged in the app charts across the world. Google (GOOG) Maps became a smash hit on iOS devices across the world. Today, Nokia’s biggest map app success is found in Mozambique, where it reigns at No. 526 in the iPhone download chart. Finns may still carry a torch for Nokia, but they aren’t dumb — HERE is just at No. 663 on the Finnish iPhone app market. The app is moving up the charts in Laos and Cape Verde, though it can’t quite break into top 600 in either market. It is in danger of dropping out of the top 1000 chart in Yemen and Albania. More →

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mobile
March 27, 2013
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T-Mobile UNcarrier Pricing

The lethal timidity of T-Mobile

By on March 27, 2013 at 2:21 PM.

The lethal timidity of T-Mobile

This was such a T-Mobile thing to do. Raising expectations for something revolutionary, trying to whip up feverish anticipation… and then delivering another $50 per month package deal. This is the same operator that has been vacillating between a value brand and a cutting edge alternative for years. The same operator who thinks that having a model who is a lookalike to a 47-year old Welsh star of musical theatre is a great way to connect with hip, young consumers. More →

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mobile
March 26, 2013
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Nokia China Market Share

Why Nokia still has one last shot to make waves in China with its new ultra-cheap Lumia

By on March 26, 2013 at 2:57 PM.

Why Nokia still has one last shot to make waves in China with its new ultra-cheap Lumia

The extensive new China Brand Power Index is fascinating reading on many levels. Who knew that McDonald’s Coffee is the third most popular cafe chain in China? Or that Buick is the second most popular compact car brand? Yet perhaps the biggest shock can be found in the mobile phone category, where Nokia (NOK) still beats Apple (AAPL) in brand power and trails only Samsung (005930) for the title of China’s No. 1 mobile brand. As a matter of fact, Samsung leads Nokia only slightly on points (542 vs. 530), whereas Apple is far behind with 411 points. More →

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mobile
March 26, 2013
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Featured
HTC One Launch Delay

Poor HTC can’t win: HTC One preorders hit all time high as its launch slips to overlap with Galaxy S4

By on March 26, 2013 at 1:13 PM.

Poor HTC can’t win: HTC One preorders hit all time high as its launch slips to overlap with Galaxy S4

Focus Taiwan News Channel has confirmed the authenticity of an internal HTC (2498) email where the company brags about the remarkably strong preorder status of its new HTC One flagship phone. HTC’s Jason Mackenzie wrote that “we are seeing our strongest initial response for any smartphone we’ve ever designed with several hundred thousand people in the U.S. pre-registering to purchase the new HTC One.” More →

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