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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

Monday, October 24, 2011

Last week at The Fonecast: 24th October 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

If there’s one theme that dominates the last seven days – and, let’s face it, I like to find a theme wherever possible – it’s new mobile devices.

We started the week with Apple having sold over four million units of the new iPhone 4S in the first three days since its launch. This was followed by Motorola Mobility reinvigorating its RAZR brand by applying it to a high-spec Android smartphone – which in turn was followed by Google and Samsung revealing the Galaxy Nexus. It’s the first phone specifically designed for Android 4.0, also known as ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’, and will start hitting the shops next month.

Finally, in terms of product announcements, Casio turned up at the end of the week with a new Android device... but it’s not a phone. It’s not a tablet, either. No, the VX100 is a cash register (or ‘business support terminal’, if you prefer). We await the first reports of retail staff playing Grand Theft Auto III on the till.

We’ve now moved into quarterly results season, with Apple, eBay, Microsoft and Nokia all publishing loads of big numbers. I’d say the only real surprise was that Nokia didn’t do as badly as many people expected. Still, with the company’s new Windows Phone launch expected at Nokia World in a couple of days, it’s the next few quarters that’ll be really interesting.

Research In Motion has been easing its way back into the affections of its customers, starting with a free app giveaway to compensate for the recent service failure and then moving on to the announcement of a brand new operating system. It’ll be called BBX, being a combination of the BlackBerry phone operating system and the QNX platform used by the PlayBook. We’ve not seen much detail yet; it’s still a case of ‘watch this space’.

And I’ll end with another couple of unresolved questions. One is a report from Denmark, where some new research has found that mobile phone use seems to result in no increased risks of tumours to the central nervous system. More research is, of course, needed before we can be sure this doesn’t just apply to Danes.

And the other unresolved question comes from Vodafone, which is closing down the Vodafone 360 service. Although it reminded me of the ‘Pop Idol’-loving Vizzavi and its fluffy chick, Vodafone 360 was much more about connectivity and sociability. It was, in many ways, a social network aggregator. So if that didn’t work, what’s next?

Last week’s special podcast feature looked into mobile financial services - from banking to NFC payments - with contributions from Gemalto. Listen on our website, via iTunes or by downloading the MP3 file.

You can receive this news summary by email every week. Simply register at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page.

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Recent Podcasts

Podcast - 4th August 2010

This week we discuss the UK government's forthcoming mobile spectrum auction, BlackBerry problems in the Gulf states, universal mobile chargers, the new Amazon Kindle ebook reader and the 'religion' of Apple. There's also an interview with Milly Allen, who's planning to broadcast her London talent shows via mobile phone.

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Podcast - 30th July 2010

In a special extended interview, Ross Catley speaks to Mark and James about smart metering in the UK. He explains the basics of 'smart meters', talks about the benefits for consumers and discusses the ways this technology will affect the mobile phone industry.

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Podcast - 28th July 2010

Iain, James and Mark take their regular look at the week's mobile industry headlines - from quarterly results to texting sharks - and also talk to Ross Catley about the problems and opportunities with smart metering.

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Podcast - 21st July 2010

Apple's "antennagate" press conference, Microsoft lets developers see Windows Phone 7, Motorola sells much of its network infrastructure business, Vodafone goes open source with sat-nav software, the Spanish go mad for SMS when they win the World Cup... and much more!

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Podcast - 14th July 2010

The week's mobile industry headlines - from mergers and partnerships to legal action and departures - plus a review of the BeeWi solar handsfree car kit.

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