The Fonecast produces regular podcasts for the UK mobile phone industry. Its news review runs for approximately 30 minutes and is free to download. Separate in-depth features are also created regularly throughout the year. A number of advertising and promotional opportunities are available on the podcasts and also on the website. Please download the media pack (pdf) or listen to one of our podcasts to learn more.

In addition, the team behind The Fonecast are professional podcasters who can research, script, produce and present online broadcasts for your company, your organisation or your products. They’ll handle everything… including all the messy technical stuff.

To get in touch, please email info@thefonecast.com

Iain Graham

Iain Graham is the voice of The Fonecast. He’s a veteran of the mobile industry, having held senior positions with One2One (now T-Mobile) and Vodafone since the 1980s. Iain left his role as Vodafone’s Head of Indirect Business in 2005 to become a consultant and professional toastmaster. His sense of humour and no-nonsense attitude makes him the perfect person to host each edition of The Fonecast… and to work with your company.

James Rosewell

James Rosewell is the technical wizard who built The Fonecast web site and created his own easy-to-use podcast software. He started his career at the sharp end of technology, as a key member of a small team in a high-growth software start-up. James then spent 10 years with Vodafone, where he established a technology account management function that brought control to a £25m programme. He led the team of 100 people that replaced Vodafone’s Retail IT platform and grew service provision IT systems in line with Vodafone’s exponential expansion during the late 1990s. James passionately believes in the benefits mobile applications provide and is currently bringing those benefits to web developers through the open source project 51Degrees.

Mark Bridge

Mark Bridge is writer and podcast producer for The Fonecast. The rest of the time he’s a freelance writer who’s focussed on the mobile phone and IT industries. Mark has over 15 years’ experience working with fixed-line and mobile communications, beginning his career as a telephone engineer before finding sanctuary within the warmth of an office. As well as copywriting and consulting, he also turns up occasionally as the ‘gadget expert’ or 'mobile phone expert' on radio and TV. He’s committed to making technology easier to understand – through his writing, in his broadcasting and through his contribution to The Fonecast.

Recent Podcasts

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Google Dictation - "I shall say this only once"

James Rosewell writes:

Back in January 2010 I wrote a brief review of the Google Nexus One that included my thoughts on the not-so-accurate voice dictation feature. From the marketing hype, I had expected to simply speak into the phone and a few seconds later my words would appear as a perfectly formed text message. The reality was somewhat disappointing. For all but the simplest short phrases it struggled to produce the intended words, making it inferior to even the touch-screen keyboard.

Since January, one of two things have changed. Either I’m better at speaking [ed: regular podcast listeners may disagree] or Google has learnt more about the way people talk and has updated the service. The whole experience is definitely a lot more usable and I find myself subconsciously reaching for the 'dictation' button when composing a text message. This represents a whole new social challenge concerning mobile usage. I certainly feel a bit of an idiot sitting in coffee shop talking clearly into my mobile phone in short bursts. On the positive side, all my text messages are perfectly formed with “text speak” phrases like gr8 a thing of the past.

Google improving this service is a fantastic demonstration of the benefits of cloud computing. I had to do absolutely nothing for this service to become usable. Having all the smart stuff independent of the handset hardware means mobile devices can deliver new features and services without traditional limitations. Handsets won’t need to be replaced as frequently. However, in 2 or 3 years time when everyone will be using dictation, more network bandwidth will be consumed - and MNOs more than ever need to become a greater player in this new revenue model.

Google Nexus OnePS. Touch-screen keyboards still suck compared to their old fashioned tactile predecessors. However I fear they’re here to stay and voice dictation just might make the whole mobile experience even more usable. But a word of caution: don’t expect to use dictation when driving, it’s not that easy to use just yet!

 

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