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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

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Why I'm predicting success for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Mark Bridge writes:

The RIM BlackBerry PlayBook. Embarrassment-in-waiting or soon-to-be-success in the increasingly crowded tablet market?

Just before Christmas I stuck my neck out and predicted the latter. But that’s not a position I’ve always held.

When the device was first announced I aligned myself with the cynics when it came to the tablet’s name. The US definition of ‘playbook’ as something akin to the more-familiar ‘game plan’ gets lost in translation. In fact, I’d say it detracts from the business nature of the device.

And there’s plenty more that could go wrong. Battery life will be critical. Then there’s availability of the PlayBook versus the forthcoming iPad 2. The new Android Honeycomb tablet-focussed operating system. A possible lack of applications. Pricing, too.

However, I’ve been won over. The clincher was an overheard conversation with IT support staff looking forward to the device’s arrival. This is, after all, a tablet that promises to be more than merely business-friendly. More than enterprise-friendly. It’s IT department friendly.

Positioning the RIM PlayBook as part BlackBerry accessory, part tablet computer, separates it nicely from the iPad and Galaxy Tab (and indeed the Tab 2 and iPad 2). The potential lack of native email and calendar apps – instead it’ll wirelessly connect to the information on your BlackBerry – isn’t a problem for corporate users. In fact, there’ll be a sigh of relief from IT staff. Anyway, with research suggesting that 90% of iPad buyers already own another Apple product, it wouldn’t be too surprising to find the same thing happening with BlackBerry users.

As well as all this, there’s the impressive technical stuff. An attractive new OS. A powerful processor. Multitasking. A touch-sensitive bezel around a 7-inch screen that’ll all (just about) squeeze into a suit pocket.

Of course, as I said earlier, there’s plenty that could go wrong. But there’s also plenty that could go right.

And that’s why – despite some wavering – I’m sticking with my prediction. The iPad, like the iPhone, may take the glory. But there’s more to RIM’s business than just equipment sales… and I think the PlayBook could prove itself to be a well-crafted customer retention tool.

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The Fonecast

1/14/2011 1:48 PM

DigiTimes reckons RIM is planning to ship a million PlayBooks in Q1. www.digitimes.com/news/a20110113PD226.html

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