The FTC is cracking down on marketers who deceptively claim an app can detect symptoms of melanoma, even in the cancer’s earliest stages, the agency said Monday in a release announcing the settlement of two separate lawsuits with the marketer of MelApp, Health Discovery, and a marketer of Mole Detective, Kristi Kimball and her company, New Consumer Solutions. Under the settlement, neither marketer can continue to make such unsupported claims, the agency said. Health Discovery was fined $17,963, Kimball and her company $3,930, the agency said. Two additional marketers of Mole Detective didn't agree to settle and the agency said it will continue to pursue charges against U.K.-based Avrom Lasarow and his company, L Health, which began marketing the Mole Detective app in August 2012. “Truth in advertising laws apply in the mobile marketplace,” said Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Jessica Rich. “App developers and marketers must have scientific evidence to support any health or disease claims that they make for their apps.” The FTC voted 4-1 in favor of filing a complaint against the Mole Detective defendants in district court, approving the final judgment with Kimball and New Consumer Solutions and issuing the administrative complaint and accepting the proposed consent order against Discovery Health. Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, dissented on all three votes. Public comments on the consent agreements will be accepted until March 25. Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Democratic Commissioners Julie Brill and Terrell McSweeny issued a separate statement supporting the agency’s actions, while Ohlhausen issued a separate dissenting statement. Health Discovery, Kimball and Lasarow didn't comment.

Seventy-seven percent of U.S. smartphone users moderated their online activity over the previous year due to privacy concerns, said a November-December survey of 1,000 adults by Ipsos for TRUSTe. Of those who moderated their activity, 74 percent reported not clicking on an online ad due to privacy concerns, said TRUSTe, which provides technology for users to opt out of targeted ads via the Digital Advertising Alliance’s AdChoices icon. By clicking on the icon, users can opt out of personal targeting on desktop or mobile devices within a specific ad, on a website or by using the TRUSTe mobile app, it said. Citing the research, TRUSTe CEO Chris Babel said that Americans are uneasy about having their online activity tracked for use in targeted ads because “they feel like they have limited control." As more consumers understand how their information is being tracked and the choices they have to opt out, the more they'll "embrace the concept of Online Behavioral Advertising and realize the benefits, such as receiving great deals from their favorite online retailers,” he said.

Broadcasters should carry spots to educate Americans about the availability of FM radio on mobile devices, Gordon Smith, NAB president, said in a letter emailed to radio stations Thursday. On Monday, NextRadio, an app that provides a "hybrid FM experience" on smartphones, will launch a national marketing campaign promoting FM radio on mobile devices, he said. Thursday, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai supported activating FM chips in cellphones (see 1502190057). NextRadio uses "over-the-air radio receivers in conjunction with online connectivity in smartphones to enhance the listener experience," Smith said. "With more than 1.8 million downloads of NextRadio thus far, listeners are learning that they don't have to stream or incur data charges to get the local music, sports and talk stations they love." Emmis Communications, which has been the prime mover behind promoting adoption of NextRadio, has encountered a diversity of resistance among wireless carriers in getting them to adopt the NextRadio FM reception app in smartphones, Paul Brenner, chief technology officer at Emmis, told us last summer (see 1408060043). “It seems that the varying carrier strategies have an equally varying effect on acceptance,” Brenner said.

Despite security concerns, mobile commerce is growing at nearly three times the rate of overall commerce worldwide, said research from PayPal and Ipsos released Wednesday. A survey of more than 17,500 consumers from 22 countries found that smartphone users wanted to use their phones for payment options such as tapping a smartphone at the cash register to pay (16 percent), or use an app or browser to order ahead of time (15 percent). While 21 percent said they didn’t use their smartphones to shop due to security concerns, the top complaint, stated by 34 percent of respondents, was that the screen size is too small. “We are on the cusp of the mobile-first era,”” said Anuj Nayar, PayPal senior director-global initiatives. ““We’ve seen our mobile growth rise from less than one percent of our payment volume in 2010 to more than 20 percent in 2014.” Mobile commerce is still small compared with online purchases made using laptops, desktops and notebooks, but the “prevalence of mobile shopping is quite significant,” a PayPal release said. Consumers in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were most likely to purchase something online using a smartphone, the release said. Online shoppers globally preferred to purchase an item from an app compared with a browser, but with the “advent of low cost mobile phones, large phone screen sizes and mobile device security improvements, the barriers to mobile commerce will decrease,” Nayar said.

Three in five Americans and Germans replace their smartphones for upgraded functionality or because they “just want a new device,” said a Gartner survey released Wednesday. That is contributing to a worldwide market for refurbished phones sold to end users that’s expected to reach 120 million units and equivalent wholesale revenue of $14 billion in 2017, up from 56 million and equivalent revenue of $7 billion last year, Gartner said. Consumers in mature markets are upgrading smartphones on average every 18-20 months, Gartner analyst Meike Escherich said, and of the replaced devices, 7 percent are recycled, 23 percent are given to other users and 41 percent are traded in or sold privately. With nearly two-thirds of replaced smartphones being reused, continued demand for high-end used devices will increasingly affect new product sales, leading phone providers to look for opportunities in the secondhand market, Escherich said. In North America and Western Europe, the market for refurbished phones is forecast to be worth $3 billion this year, growing to $5 billion in 2017, with buyers attracted to used high-end devices that they wouldn't have been able to buy at the original selling price. The growing number of privately sold phones will stir up competition in the take-back market and drive wireless providers and refurbishers to grow business through aggressive marketing campaigns and compelling incentives that appeal to tech enthusiasts, Escherich said. Fifty-three percent of U.S. respondents who identified as enthusiasts said they would replace their smartphones in the next 12 months, while 56 percent said their current phones were less than a year old, she said. Tech enthusiasts are important to handset makers because their trade-ins provide channel partners with hardware that can be reused for warranty replacements, she said, “and for extending the brand reach" to users who can’t afford new phone pricing. The survey was done in June 2014 among 5,600 U.S. and German consumers.

Congress should enact his kill switch legislation, Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., said in a news release Friday. He applauded the decrease in smartphone thefts in London, New York and San Francisco. “These numbers prove that ‘kill switch’ technology is effective as a theft prevention mechanism and underscore why we need to keep pushing to ensure every smartphone has the tools available that consumers need to protect their device and private data,” Serrano said in a statement. He plans to reintroduce the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act, his spokeswoman told us earlier this year (see 1501140025). He had introduced HR-4065 last year, but it and its Senate companion never advanced.

Canadian CE company Neptune introduced a two-device wristband that combines a wrist-based hub with a pocket-sized display that it says “reinvents the smartphone.” The device reverses the smartphone-wearable relationship, turning the wristband into the master device and the phone into a dummy display. The Neptune Hub -- packing support for 3G/4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC -- works with the Pocket, a five-inch interactive dummy display. Called Neptune Duo, the product is slated for late 2015 delivery. The company is accepting reservations for the device at getneptune.com, with $798 to be paid when the crowd-funded product ships. Consumers can pay $49 now, and then pay $649 at shipment, for savings of $100; pay $199 now and then $399 at shipment to save $200; or pay $498 now and pay $0 at shipment, saving $300, the company said Tuesday. Consumer tech sites generally didn’t take kindly to the concept Tuesday, we found in a scan. Engadget called Duo “a wristband that replaces your phone with a dumber phone” and wondered “why exactly you’d want to do that.” Gizmag said simply flipping roles isn’t a convincing argument for purchase, and that Neptune’s rationale that you’ll always have your personal information with you doesn’t measure up. Most smart watches today have alert features that prompt you when you when you’ve left your smartphone behind, Gizmag said.

The near field communications technology (NFC) built into more than 500 million mobile phones can be tapped by retailers to boost the in-store shopping experience, the NFC Forum said last week, citing research from Strategy Analytics. According to the study, which included survey results from 1,000 end users, NFC technology was “overwhelmingly” preferred over competing communications technologies, including Bluetooth beacons and QR codes. Among the ways NFC suggested that retailers can implement NFC technology in stores are: for deals, Wi-Fi and rewards accounts; multimedia content and real-time store inventory; information about related products; NFC-enabled on-phone shopping carts; product information; and cartridge/toner refill and one-touch reorder capability.

The major U.S. wireless carriers have kept a commitment to adopt policies within a year allowing customers to switch networks while keeping their existing devices, two FCC officials said in a Wednesday blog post. “We congratulate CTIA and the participating wireless providers for reaching this important milestone,” wrote Roger Sherman, chief of the Wireless Bureau, and Kris Monteith, acting chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. The rules require carriers to unlock devices “no later than one year after initial activation, consistent with reasonable time and usage requirements,” they said. Participating carriers also have agreed to notify subscribers when their devices are eligible for unlocking, if they're not automatically unlocked, and to post unlocking information on their websites, they said. “Full implementation of the unlocking principles is a positive development for both consumers and wireless providers, as it increases competition to innovate,” the FCC officials said. CTIA is pleased the FCC recognized that carriers met the deadline, said Scott Bergmann, vice president-regulatory affairs. “We also remind consumers that an unlocked device does not necessarily mean an interoperable one since different carriers use different technologies and spectrum bands.” Also this week, the Copyright Office released comments from wireless and other interests asking it to allow consumers to unlock, or jailbreak, cellphones under exemptions to Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201 (see 1502110062).

Wireless charging company ZENS launched a charging sleeve for the iPhone 6 that’s Qi and MFi (Made for iPhone)-certified worldwide. The sleeve incorporates Qi wireless charging but is said to be no thicker than other iPhone sleeves. It also comes with a micro USB port for an additional charging option. There are no current plans for an iPhone 6 Plus version, a company spokesman said. Suggested retail price is roughly $45.