Mobile Phones Blog

According to one UK service RapidTV news, the German mobile TV service is about to fold, because none of the major German cellular operators would get behind it. This has direct bearings on whether the UK will ever get a mobile TV system of its own, because the UK has an even worse situation regarding mobile TV services.

There are something like 15 different technologies that can be used to deliver plain old TV to your mobile, without using any of the spectrum that is needed for talking to each other or for mobile internet usage. These come with lots of three letter acronyms and more such as DVB-H, T-DMB, China’s STiMi, TDtv, ATSC M/H, ISDB-T and Qualcomm’s proprietary MediaFLO. And that’s not counting straight forward use of streaming over the cellular channel, which is what mobile TV is today, with a poor quality picture, patchy delivery, showing just short clips.

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In the first generation of the mobile web, where users remained safely confined within operators’ walled gardens, personalization was supposed to make them happy to stay there. Even within a closed-in service like the original Vodafone Live! subscribers' preferences could be recorded and used to deliver an experience that was specific to the user.

Now that consumers insist on roaming freely around the internet, operators are looking to keep their customers loyal by making the navigation and overall experience simpler and richer, and by delivering a personalized service even with off-portal content.

O2 is probably the UK leader in this respect and plans to upgrade its offering after the summer, and it could take some tips from US carriers, which unusually enough, are ahead of their European counterparts in personalization. Alltel has been a pioneer, using the same Qualcomm UIone technology, for adapting user interfaces to the individual user, that O2 employs. Now Sprint Nextel has launched Sprint Web, with an improved browsing experience that will set a new gold standard for operators round the world.

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There are many more things to put right in mobile broadband before it becomes the multi billion dollar business that home broadband is today, even though the technology is capable, which is shown by this week 3 Group saying that it has reached the 1 million customer mark for mobile broadband.

3 was the earliest to offer flat rate broadband pricing, and has captured a lead for its HSDPA USB modems in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Austria, most of them used plugged into a PCs as a cellular initernet connection. These will move increasingly into devices that will offer portable broadband in the home as well - creating completely wire free homes.

But unwary consumers still need to keep an eye on the fine detail of just how broadband billing is working for them, both and 3 and other cellular operators, notably Vodafone are falling foul of broadband billing. Vodafone had the horrible publicity earlier this week of billing someone over half a million pounds for the data element of a phone bill, which it took several days to rectify, while similar stories abound about 3 across Europe, which has run into trouble with the Italian regulator, after sending out bills for $10,000 (£8,000) for one month of data usage.

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The internet is once again abuzz with rumours that the iPhone 3G may be made available on the Orange network here in the UK before Christmas, as early as October, if the stories are true.

It has long been suggested that O2’s exclusive network deal with Apple was only a temporary one, as we’ve seen Jobs and Co. dabble in network polygamy elsewhere in the world, such as Australia, where the handset is available on three different networks.

The net reached boiling point when a story published on The Register last week cited the blog of one Ernest Doku who claimed that a “very, very credible source on the inside” revealed that the iPhone 3G would arrive on Orange by October.

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Road safety messages are to be beamed to young drivers’ mobile phones in a pioneering initiative to reduce the number of car accidents resulting from using a mobile handset on the go. As part of the scheme, video clips will be sent to young people's mobile phones as they enter cinema lobbies throughout Scotland.

The footage shows a motorist who crashes after he is distracted by reading a text message on his phone. The mobile phone screen of the person viewing the clip then appears to crack and the words “One distraction is all it takes” come into view.

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Airlines have come one step closer to enabling widespread use of mobile phones on flights following a ruling by the communications watchdog Ofcom today.

The regulator said it would grant licences for mobile communications equipment on aircraft under the 2006 Wireless Telegraphy Act, and that licenses would be issued to UK airlines on request. Applications would have to go through EU regulators, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority before any systems could be approved.

The thought of mobile phone calls on flights will fill many passengers with dread. Some 86% of British holidaymakers and 78% of people internationally said they were opposed to allowing mobile phones to be switched on during flights, according to a recent survey conducted by travel website TripAdvisor.

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The internet giants are in disarray, and all are choosing to talk up their mobile plans as some of their online strategies founder. At its annual financial analysts’ day on Friday, Microsoft had to play down the disappointment of the failure of its Yahoo bids, and convince us all that it can go it alone on the internet, with mobile advertising and services a significant boost. This came just days after Google disappointed Wall Street with second quarter growth that fell short of the 50%-ish that its investors have grown to expect, and the search giant was also focusing on the promise of the mobile market to cheer everybody up a little.

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Bestselling novelist Stephen King has already had several of his novels adapted for the stage or for film, such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, and has also written TV series and comics. Lately he has been branching out into another medium: mobile phone comics.

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We have talked in the past about getting things on and off your handset, for instance a copy of your favourite TV program at super fast speeds in a way that is idiot-proof. Back in January Sony came up with a new, exceptionally simple method, no clever wireless tricks, just bring the devices so close that they are almost touching.

Now it has suddenly had a brainwave and thinks it can turn this simple “near field” approach into a standard, which it would immediately put in its cameras, PCs, Sony Ericsson handsets, as well as licensing it to most of the other handset players.

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Britons are overwhelmingly opposed to allowing mobile phones to be switched on during flights, a survey by travel website TripAdvisor has found. Of those interviewed, some 86% of British flyers said that mobiles should be banned throughout flights, compared with 78% of people internationally.

The research comes as low cost airline Ryanair recently unveiled plans to enable customers to send text messages and have conversations on their handsets in the air. Other airlines considering allowing the use of mobiles on board include Bmi, Emirates, Air France and SAS. Qatar Airlines however continues to ban them.

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