Inside infomation from the UK mobile phone market
Lambeth Council has just won a national award for an education programme using mobile technology. Bluetooth transmitters are being used to send texts and educational films to the mobile phones of hard-to-reach teenagers, covering topics such as domestic violence and teenage pregnancy. The scheme has now won the best mobile technology prize at the Good Communications Awards – a ceremony recognising excellent use of technology in the public sector nationwide.
No Comments »Posted by ellie_mears on July 3rd 2008 in General
During the years of fuss about the UK adopting its own Big Brother-style identity card, it always occurred to us that all that anyone needed to do was to ask to see someone’s mobile phone to check their identity. Mobile access with push email support? Business/City type. Slick ergonomic design with a highly-styled exterior? Fashionista. High-fidelity audio playback supporting a wide range of file formats? Audiophile.
Increasingly the mobile is our main form of identity, and that trend is going to get stronger as the GSM Association and the major banking corporations around Europe move unerringly towards turning our phones into credit cards.
No Comments »Posted by Peter on July 3rd 2008 in General, Nokia, Orange, Samsung
T-Mobile has today enabled HSUPA on its mobile broadband services, becoming the first operator in the UK to offer the high-speed connection nationwide, putting them ahead of HSUPA rivals Vodafone.
1 Comment »Posted by ellie_mears on July 2nd 2008 in General, T-Mobile, Vodafone
Falling smartphone costs are eating into the margins of phonemakers whose main focus is on the high end of the handset market, such as Sony Ericsson and RIM. And the trend is only set to get worse for the phone companies – or better for the consumers. Qualcomm, the largest supplier of chips for mobile phones, said this week that 3G device prices will fall below $100 (£50) by the end of this year, and though low cost 3G will mainly be targeted at emerging economies, consumers in advanced mobile territories will start to demand the same cut price products.
Dr Roberto Padovani, chief technology officer at Qualcomm, said in an interview that 3G handset shipments would overtake 2G within the next two years as the faster network becomes established in major population bases like south east Asia. The prices of low end 2G handsets have already fallen from $400 to $100 in just the past three years, driven by higher volumes and lower cost components.
No Comments »Posted by Peter on July 2nd 2008 in BlackBerry, General, Sony Ericsson, iPhone
Japan’s publishing industry has just been given a shot in the arm as subscribers download manga (lit: ‘irresponsible pictures’) titles to their mobile phones. The demand for the comic strips has surged in recent months due to the increase in 3G enabled phones, fixed price plans and the high-quality of new LCD screens.
The popularity of mobile manga is another sign that the future of publishing lies in new technologies, along with e-books and online novels. Originally aimed at Japanese businessmen on the move, the venture has had more success with women who tend to download comics after 11pm and read them at home. After publishers responded to requests for more female-oriented titles such as “Love Junkie”, readership soared, according to Katsuyuki Kobayashi, deputy general manager at NTT Solmare, one of Japan’s largest content providers; 60% of NTT Solmare customers are women.
No Comments »Posted by ellie_mears on July 2nd 2008 in General
Today is the deadline for European networks to announce cuts in roaming rates for texts and surfing the web on mobiles.
Both O2 and T-Mobile have promised to cut the cost of sending texts home from abroad down to 25p per text message from the previous rate of 40p per message. The cost of mobile internet access is also due to fall, with O2 customers now paying just £3 per MB of data used (down from £7) and T-Mobile punters paying half that, at £1.50 per MB down £6 from £7.50.
No Comments »Posted by Tom on July 1st 2008 in O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Three, Vodafone
The whole issue of music appearing on your cellular handset seems to be fraught with difficulties, and Nokia’s idea that the entire proposition needs to be free and incredibly simple, is perhaps beginning to resonate with the public and the record labels. This week Warner Music Group finally came into line, not only with the Nokia Music Store, but also with its “Comes With Music” proposition, whereby you buy a handset, and for the first year or so of ownership, you have access to something approaching 5 million tracks for free.
That number, 5 million, is roughly all of the music on iTunes or Rhapsody or any other online music service, and is reached when a music store owner has deals with the entire back catalogues of Universal Music Group, Sony-BMG, EMI and Warner, plus local labels and artists in the top 25 or so countries.
No Comments »Posted by Peter on July 1st 2008 in General, Nokia
The past year has seen war break out in the highest ranks of the mobile phone market, where there were once just a few models for consumers to choose from. Now a wide array of choices in smartphones and mediaphones is driving down prices, as the 3G iPhone has shown, and is starting to hit some of the contenders, with RIM and Sony Ericsson both suffering disappointing quarters.
This highlights two trends – increasing competition, which is hitting volumes and margins; and increasing buyer savviness, with consumers shopping around to get even luxury features, like advanced cameras or push email, without having to pay extra dollars. The operators are bearing some of this burden, especially when they think it is worthwhile to carry a flagship brand like the iPhone; and the manufacturers are striking hard bargains with suppliers to drive down costs. But they are also starting to feel the pinch.
No Comments »Posted by Peter on July 1st 2008 in BlackBerry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, iPhone
Results of a European Commssion survey published on Friday revealed that a quarter of Europeans have ditched their landlines in favour of mobile phones, while the number of people making phone calls via the internet has also increased.
24% of European households now use only mobile phones to make telephone calls. This is particularly common in the new Member States, where the figure is as high as 39%. The Czech Republic comes out top with 64% of households only using a mobile. In Germany, France and Bulgaria, however, the vast majority of households are still holding on to their landlines, though many own an additional mobile phone.
No Comments »Posted by ellie_mears on July 1st 2008 in General, Nokia
Merseyside Police have warned that a sports tournament which has banned visitors from bringing mobile phones may result in a car crime spree, as opportunistic thieves pillage vehicles while their owners are watching the event. As part of a zero-tolerance crackdown, spectators at the Royal Birkdale Golf Open in July will not be permitted to carry a mobile phone on site. Every visitor must go through a security check at the gate; anyone found with a phone in his or her possession will be expelled from the grounds.
1 Comment »Posted by ellie_mears on June 30th 2008 in General