Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

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.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

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.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
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.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

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.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
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.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Thursday, October 24, 2013

It’s not your fault, so why wait for your mobile phone?

David Heled writes:

By the end of next year, there will be more mobile phone subscriptions than people in the world, according to a UN agency report published in May. There are currently 7.1 billion people in the world and around 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions. This figure is only set to grow.

The dependency on mobile phones is at an all-time high. Used for everything from the weekly grocery shop to monitoring heart rate, it’s no underestimation to say that we would be lost without our mobile phones. So when it takes days for your phone to be repaired, it has a considerable impact on your normal daily life.

In a recent study from Cellebrite, the market leader in retail mobile content transfer, 69 per cent of people claimed that the typical three-day wait for mobile phone repairs was unacceptable. A further 46 per cent said they would feel uncomfortable sending their mobile phone away for repair due to the amount of data that is kept on their device; a figure that is completely justified when taking into consideration how much information is potentially given away.

What many people are not aware of is that in 60 per cent of cases, the issue with the smartphone is software related and can be resolved within minutes but still, people send their phones away.

Common faults that customers complain about

One of the most common faults reported by customers, resulting in sending their phones for repairs, is that “the battery drains too quickly”, but this is just in comparison with old feature mobiles that could easily function for three or four consecutive days without the need for recharging. Smartphones process and store far more data than the old feature mobile would, and with the adoption of mobile apps – the strain that is put on the battery life will cause it to drain quicker. That’s just the trade-off that exists when you have a device that you can use for virtually anything.

Another fault that is commonly reported is that the volume on a customer’s mobile phone does not work. This is usually because the volume settings are incorrectly set and, unlike old feature phones, there are as many as seven volume settings to contend with.

A lack of internet connection can also be a problem that’s brought to operators and again. This is normally down to the phone being originally set to airplane mode or having data services inadvertently switched off.

What can customers demand from operators?

Despite the many misconceptions of mobile faults, mobile phones do stop working, it’s inevitable. But data can live on with operators able to transfer all your data from the broken mobile phone to the new device. Phone-to-phone content transfer can be done in-store and in a relatively short space of time. It certainly doesn’t take days and there’s no need to send your phone away for repairs.

Many faults can, however, be detected and corrected in your operator’s store. This can involve simply changing the configuration of the email and phone settings. There is also a web-based service that consumers can use that will repair their phone remotely, involving a remote takeover and support via an operator’s call centre.

Put simply: you don’t have to relinquish your mobile phone. Operators have the solutions to most reported mobile phone faults, and this doesn’t involve sending the mobile phone away for repairs – it can be done in-store.

Time is wasted sending phones away for repair, especially seeing as many of the reported faults are ones that can be corrected in a matter of minutes. Even if there isn’t time to go to a store to get the phone fixed, it can be repaired remotely.

The increase in mobile phone subscriptions will lead to more reported problems with devices, but operators and customers alike should be aware that the culture of sending phones away for repair is fading as diagnostic solutions become more readily available.

David Heled is VP of research & development at Cellebrite.

We talked to Dave Golding of Cellebrite about smartphone fault diagnosis in a podcast last year. You can listen to the interview via the built-in audio player on our website or by downloading the MP3 file.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

Catch up with the latest mobile industry news, from CES to the UK 4G auction

Podcast - 9th January 2013

We have a particularly packed programme this week as we catch up with all the biggest mobile industry news stories since Christmas.

There's opinion on everything from the UK 4G auction to the current CES show and from open-source smartphones to wireless phone charging in cars.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Our mobile phone industry predictions for 2013

Podcast - 19th December 2012

It's the last podcast of 2012, so we're making some predictions about the mobile industry in 2013... and looking back to the forecasts we made twelve months ago..

Should we expect a renaissance at BlackBerry?  Is it the beginning of the end for SMS?  Will smartphones keep getting bigger?  Will the number of UK networks get smaller? 

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: 5.0

Gemalto and mobile financial services: we talk to Amol Deshmukh and Winston Yeo

Podcast - 14th December 2012

Today's podcast feature takes a look at mobile financial services, from the current state of mobile payments to NFC adoption and the developments we're likely to see next year.

Joining us are Winston Yeo, Vice President Marketing and Product Management for Mobile Financial Services at Gemalto, and Amol Deshmukh, Gemalto's Director of Mobile Financial Services for North America.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A manufacturing break-up, mobile WiFi hotspots, customer satisfaction... and more

Podcast - 12th December 2012

This week's podcast includes news of two more UK virtual networks, Nokia's property deal, a break-up for ST-Ericsson and Huawei's new partnership with Three.

We also look at WiFi hotspots in London taxis, Ofcom's research into customer service, pre-loaded security software on Android smartphones and a man whose iPhone may have cost him a job.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Keith Curran interview: challenges for mobile networks, opportunities for mobile dealers

Podcast - 7th December 2012

This week Iain Graham has been talking to Keith Curran about the problems facing mobile networks and the opportunities for mobile phone dealers.

Keith was a director of the Caudwell Group before setting up, running and later selling service provider Yes Telecom. He’s now CEO of Steadings Group.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First2425262729313233Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«December 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
2526272829301
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
303112345

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement