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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, April 22, 2011

Exactly how boring is the Samsung Galaxy II S?

Mark Bridge writes:

In July last year I wrote about the ‘geek porn’ of unboxing being taken to a new level with celebrity unboxing (which sounds rather like a challenge from a reality TV show).

Sony Ericsson had persuaded Maria Sharapova to give her first impressions of the X10 Mini Pro. The end result was entertaining, if not insightful.

And now Samsung have added a new facet to the trend with ‘extreme unboxing’. They’re promoting the UK launch of the Samsung Galaxy II S by throwing Dan Sung from Pocket-lint out of an aircraft clutching their smartphone, by putting TechDigest’s Gerald Lynch on a rollercoaster and by sitting Chris Davies from Slashgear.com in a rally car. There’s also a speedboat trip, a stunt plane and some abseiling.

Oh yes, it’s entertaining. However, all this doesn’t really have much to do with the phone. Sure, the Galaxy II S is ‘fast’ - but not in the sense of plummeting to earth or the 0-60 speed of a Subaru. And that doesn’t do the phone any favours if you think about it.

After all, if the best way to promote a product is through a variety of sensational videos that don’t really reflect the phone’s specifications and features, your audience could easily assume the product itself isn’t very interesting.

By all means show me a rugged phone on a mountain or a waterproof phone in an aquarium.

But when you have a versatile smartphone, please show me the versatility of the phone. Otherwise I might get the impression you don’t have much to talk about.

Okay, so I’m a little jealous of Chris in the Subaru. And I really shouldn’t grumble because there was much more ‘tech talk’ at the official launch of the phone in Barcelona. If you’d like to hear my interview with Jim Powell of Samsung at Mobile World Congress, click here or find us on iTunes.
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