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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

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Turn your radio on

FM radio activated for BlackBerry Z30, BlackBerry Q10 and BlackBerry Q5 users

Mark Bridge writes:

There was great news for some BlackBerry owners this week. The new 10.2.1 update to the BlackBerry 10 OS was released, offering a new incoming call screen, SMS and email groups, more options for locking and unlocking, extra battery usage information, enterprise features and - for customers with a BlackBerry Z30, BlackBerry Q10 or BlackBerry Q5 smartphone - an FM radio.

To quote BlackBerry’s announcement: “the new software update unlocks the built-in FM radio in those handsets. You can listen to local FM stations, which does not require any network connection.”

Hang on a moment. Am I missing something?

The BlackBerry Q10 went on sale in the UK last April. £579.99-worth of technology. Lovely. Touch-sensitive display and a QWERTY keyboard.

And if you bought one, you’ve been carrying it around WITH A USELESS FM RADIO FOR THE PAST NINE MONTHS.

As far as I can tell, BlackBerry deliberately put it in there - unless some rogue hardware developer sneaked an extra radio in when no-one was looking - and then decided to hide it away for half of your 18-month contract. We need to believe the hardware had been developed but no-one had worked out how to get the software part operational.

I really don’t understand.

Still, as Albert Brumley wrote - and Ray Stevens sung almost 35 years later:

“Everybody has a radio receiver
All you got to do is listen for the call”

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Mobile Monday London: Finance, Incubators and Accelerators

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This special report offers a variety of perspectives on business funding in a panel discussion with John Spindler, Alistair Hill, Nic Brisbourne, Sitar Teli, Michel Sabatier and Inma Martinez.

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