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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

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Dual Core Smartphones only £7.70pm... whatever that means

Mark Bridge writes:

Don't sell the steak – sell the sizzle!  That's the mantra of many salespeople. It's all about emphasising the benefits of a product rather than its features. You don't tell people about the 13 megapixel camera when they ask about the new LG smartphone, you tell them it'll capture the first steps of their precious young nephew in pin-sharp accuracy. Or something like that.

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Which is why a hand-written whiteboard in the doorway of a national mobile phone retailer stopped me in my tracks. "Dual core smartphones only £7.70pm" it said.

Who's the target customer?  Certainly not someone who wants a particularly high-spec handset. The first dual-core smartphone was launched in early 2011. In fact Mobile World Congress 2011 was awash with the darned things.

A cynic might suggest the retailer is trying to blind their customers with science. 'Dual core' certainly sounds high-tech. It could as easily refer to a futuristic nuclear reactor in a James Bond film as a mobile phone. This once-unattainable technology can now be bought for just £7.70 per month. Never mind that it's already over two years old and will have celebrated its fourth birthday by the end of your 24-month contract. “If you're smart enough to know that dual-core is good but not smart enough to know that quad-core is even better, we've got a great package for you”.

Of course, it's not that simple. The new Moto X is dual-core... and that's certainly an innovative piece of kit.

Which, I think, is why the advertisement annoyed me so much. Ultimately it's meaningless. You might as well advertise "4-cylinder cars from £99 per month" or "Two dozen meat pies for £10". There are a lot more questions that customers need to ask before they'll know if they're getting a good deal. And if those customers think you're trying to mislead them by focusing on a feature that's too vague to mean anything, they won't trust you at all. Which would be a shame... because a dual-core smartphone for £7.70 per month could be a bit of a bargain.

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