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Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
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Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
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Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
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UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
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Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
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Opinion Articles

Friday, February 1, 2013

Discover the secrets of mobile innovation at The Mobile Academy in London

Mark Bridge writes:

Developing a successful mobile product or service isn’t just a question of having a great idea. There are all sorts of challenges, from the technical aspects of application development to the wider issues of branding and funding.

That’s where The Mobile Academy steps in. It’s a London-based mobile masterclass designed to give you a helping hand with innovation, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a business owner, a developer or a designer.

To find out more, I’ve been talking to Julia Shalet, Course Director of The Mobile Academy.

She explained that the course started from a connection between Jo Rabin of Mobile Monday London and Dr Alastair Moore of University College London.

“Alastair Moore had run a pilot course to see what would happen if they started teaching business technology and design rather than just focussing on the technical aspects. The idea they were talking about together was that this course should be taught by real practitioners from the industry, and bringing that wealth of experience - real-life case studies - back into the classroom.”

Julia’s own experiences in the mobile industry started when she joined Mercury One2One as a temp in 1993. She rose through the organisation and left in 2005, setting up the Digital Youth Project to help tech businesses and young tech users learn from each other. Her time is now split between Product Doctor projects and working with mobile consultancy Azenby.

The common thread through Julia’s work is listening to users and creating the right user experience. As she explained, “My strong beliefs are around putting the user at the centre of everything you do… and you really can’t go wrong if you do that.”

All the tutors involved with the course have practical experience in their subjects. “One of the highlights of the course is where about twenty experts come in and offer 20 minute drop-in surgeries. It’s hell to arrange but it works very well!  You might be talking about how to get access to development funds with one person, with another you might be talking about NFC, how to do your own PR, how to solve a particular problem with iOS code… it’s very diverse. We’ll have some new people this time as well.”

There’s a formal Certificate of Continued Professional Development awarded to participants who complete the course at UCL, although the Mobile Academy isn’t really about collecting a piece of paper. Julia says feedback from those on the course has been more about the people involved.

“What they’ve told me is not only has it been incredible to get a chance to meet these industry experts who we’ve managed to get in to teach the syllabus, but also to meet each other.”

The next course from The Mobile Academy will start in April 2013. There’s a waiting list for general registration, which is due to open in early March, and there’s also an opportunity for larger organisations to guarantee their participation through ten ‘sponsored’ places.

You can listen to my conversation with Julia on our website audio player, via iTunes by using our RSS feed or by downloading the mp3 file.

Receive our podcasts automatically every week by subscribing free via iTunes, by using our RSS feed or by listening on the Stitcher radio app. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.  
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