New research revealed today shows that over one in ten mobile broadband users feel that they were mis-sold on what it offered. The main source of irritation is that consumers feel that they were deceived on the cost of the service with nearly a third complaining that the ongoing cost was higher than expected. One-fifth were also upset that they were unable to use mobile broadband where they wanted it despite being told by providers that there would be coverage. Another 13 per cent were frustrated that there was no returns guarantee if the service wasn’t right for them and around half wanted inclusive Wi-Fi as standard.
On the back of this, O2 today announces a total refresh of its mobile broadband offering, laying the foundations to reinstate customer confidence in the market by providing simple, honest advice to help consumers understand the best solution for them. Continue reading
Düsseldorf/Munich, 16. October 2008 O2 and Vodafone are launching their new mpass payment service. More than 70 million bank and mobile phone customers in Germany will be able to enjoy secure online shopping on their mobile phone or PC. The new payment system offers a decisive advantage because mobile phone payments with mpass offer a considerably higher degree of security. Retailers are also convinced of the benefits associated with mpass. The following online retailers will be introducing the mpass payment system at its commercial launch: CinemaxX, ,Blume2000.de, EuroFuchs, Kickz and Beate Uhse.
The new payment system is available to all mobile phone customers with a German provider. So it isn’t just Vodafone and O2 customers who will be able to make simple and secure payments for online products and services on their mobile phones or PCs. The new mpass service is incredibly simple to use because it is a combination of the established direct debit system and text message confirmation. In practice, this means that customers can already buy products from the online shop and, in future, they will be able to buy them from the mobile portal. Continue reading
The latest round of Windows Mobile 6.1 Updates have blessed devices on O2 and At&t this morning. The At&t Pantech Duo Windows Mobile 6.1 Update adds a sliding panel interface for the Today Screen, improvements in handling wireless connections, and an update to Internet Explorer Mobile. The O2 XDA Orbit 2 Windows Mobile 6.1 update brings better battery management, an improved Internet Explorer experience and a quick start help system. Hit the download links below for your respective device and enjoy the latest in Windows Mobile.
o2 XDA Orbit 2 Update
At&t Pantech Duo Update
Telefónica and Facebook have reached a global agreement allowing the integrated telecommunications operator to seamlessly integrate access to Facebook’s mobile service and applications from all of Telefónica’s mobile portals. This agreement will expand the current relationship between the companies in the UK into a worldwide agreement.
Facebook is a leading social networking website and one of the most visited sites in the world, with more than 100 million registered users. This agreement will enable Telefónica’s more than 171 million mobile subscribers to stay in touch with their friends on Facebook and take part in one or more social networks, depending on their work, academic, or leisure interests, at any time and from anywhere.
Continue reading
Nokia and Samsung were the big winners for this year’s Mobile Choice Consumer Awards 2008 presented by UK’s Mobile Choice Magazine last night. The E71 scored a double victory by taking home the Best Phone and Best Smartphone awards while Samsung won the best camera phone for the Samsung i8510, best music phone for the Samsung F400 and Manufacturer of the year. The event took place in London’s Old Billingsgate Market and even included two reader-voted awards: Best Customer Service and Best Online Retailer. The full list of winners can be found below:
- Phone of the Year: Nokia E71
- Best Camera Phone: Samsung i8510
- Tariff Deal of the Year: 3 Mobile Broadband
- Best Bluetooth Headset: Jawbone Noise Assassin
- Best Network: O2
- Best Smartphone: Nokia E71
- Best Mobile Game: Tetris Pop
- Best Music Phone: Samsung F400
- Best Customer Service: Virgin Mobile
- Most Stylish Phone: LG Secret KF750
- Best High Street Retailer: 02 Stores
- Best Mobile Sat Nav: HTC Touch Cruise
- Best Online Retailer: Virgin Mobile
- Readers’ Dream Phone: Apple iPhone
- Manufacturer of the Year: Samsung Mobile
Read on at Mobile Choice for full details about the event here.
Nokia E71 Specifications:
| Dimensions |
114 x 57 x 10 mm |
| Weight |
127 g |
| Screen |
2.36" 320 x 240 pixel (QVGA), 16 million colors, TFT active matrix |
| Network |
E71-1 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 900/2100 HSDPA / E71-2 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900 HSDPA / E71-3 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/2100 HSDPA |
| Processor |
369 MHz ARM 11 CPU |
| Memory |
110 MB internal, 128MB ROM - 71MB Free Executable RAM Memory |
| OS |
Symbian OS v9.2, S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1 |
| Multimedia |
Built-in GPS and AGPS, Share photos with Share on Ovi, Music Player, Media Player, FM Radio, text-to-speech |
| Camera |
3.2 megapixel camera (2048 x 1536 pixels), CMOS sensor, autofocus, digital zoom. Video Recording: 320 x 240 (QVGA) up to 15 fps |
| Card Slot |
microSD up to 8GB max |
| USB |
Micro-USB connector, full-speed |
| WiFi |
802.11 b/g |
| Bluetooth |
2.0 with EDR |
| Battery |
BP-4L 1500 mAh Li-Po standard battery. Talk time:GSM up to 10h 30m or WCDMA up to 4h 30 min, Standby Time: GSM up to 17 days, WCDMA up to 20 days, WLAN idle: up to 166 hours |
| Release Date |
Q3 2008 |
O2 Germany announced that 700 sites went live today in Southern Germany, delivering EDGE data speeds instead of the GPRS speed customers have been using when outside of 3G services. Unlike other areas where EDGE was a natural progression from GPRS, Southern Germany took the leap from 53 Kbps (GPRS) up to a UMTS network featuring HSDPA 3.6 Mbps. Only now has the carrier decided that a happy medium needs to exist for customers traveling outside of the 3G footprint.
O2 Germany also announced that 75% of its UMTS network is already upgraded to HSDPA running at 3.6 Mbps and that it plans to upgrade parts of the network to 7.2 Mbps soon. In 2009 the carrier will begin rolling out HSUPA to complete the ultimate high-speed data transformation.
Source: the::unwired
Despite being exclusive to one carrier in the UK (O2), the Apple iPhone has already achieved between 4 and 6 percent of the UK handset market share. According to UK trade magazine, Mobile Today, Apple is still selling around 27,000 iPhones per week, down from the 50,000 per week at launch.
The magazine also suggested that since O2 is the exclusive iPhone carrier in the UK, the pressure to sell is forcing large orders as it tries to retain the UK exclusivity. With a Christmas season just around the corner and the prepay options opening up for the carrier it looks like we might see the numbers return to launch week very soon. Continue reading
This December, O2 will be launching a multi-user distribution antenna sytem that will be trialed in five of the busiest underground train stations in the UK. The coverage provided by O2 will reach Buchanan St., St. Enoch, Kelvinbridge, Hillhead and Patrick stations and will enable voice calls, MMS and 3G data access over a large portion of the rail network. The announcement marks the first time the technology will be used in the UK and if successful, it will not be long before O2 expands to London.
While Japan has already taken advantage of the technology, acceptance in the UK may be a bit disheartened since the rail is one of the last places to get away from work. Whether you like it or not, get ready for underground cell phone access in the UK.
Source: The Times
The iPhone 3G is spreading across the globe on pace for some record sales numbers, but what we haven’t seen much of is prepaid options. While most users prefer to opt for a discounted handset price, many of us like living without a contract and the freedom to jump ship from carriers when even the smallest wave breaks shore. Today we have received some news from O2 on their iPhone 3G prepaid plans.
O2 will sell the iPhone 3G for 350 EUR (8GB version) and 400 EUR (16GB version) on September 16th. This price includes unlimited browsing and Wi-Fi for the first 12 months and then users will be able to continue with the plan for 10 EUR per month. With Apple Stores, Carphone Warehouse Shops and O2 retail stores, the carrier is confident that it has sufficient stock to meet the demand.
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It is always nice to see devices make their debuts on retailer websites before a manufacturer confirms the device exists. This is exactly the case for the unannounced BlackBerry 8220 and 8120 clamshell smartphones, also known as the KickStart and Seawolf to the mobile community. Lucky for us Expansys has posted a pre-order page for the handset and describes the device as having a 20-key SureType keyboard and Wi-Fi connectivity.
While the device is in pre-order stage for Expansys, the details and specs on the website are subject to change since RIM has not made the official announcement. From the looks of things on Expansys’ end, the 8220 will sport quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD slot. The major difference between the 8220 and the 8120 is that the 8120 will drop the Wi-Fi in favor of GPS. It looks like you can’t have your cake and eat it too as RIM forces us to choose between Wi-Fi or GPS.
Pricing and availability details for Expansys are not listed at the moment, but for those of you in Canada you know your time is coming soon as part of Rogers back to school promotion featuring the BlackBerry KickStart.
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