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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Shebang ‘free phone’ offer falls foul of ASA advertising rules

UK mobile retailer Shebang Technologies Group has had a complaint against its advertising upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.

An email from the company and an offer on its website both promoted a ‘free’ mobile phone offer that was guaranteed for every customer. The ads were accompanied by images of several different handsets.

However, customers had to commit to a two-year minimum term contract with monthly payments. In addition, customers with lower credit ratings would either need to pay a deposit or generate a minimum spend of £50 before they could receive their phone. A Nokia C2-01 was the only mobile phone offered free to all customers.

The ASA noted that a number of significant conditions weren’t mentioned in the advertising and also discovered that the phones used to illustrate the offer weren’t all available ‘free’. In addition, it considered that paying a deposit to obtain a ‘free’ handset was not what most customers would expect.

Both the email and the online claims were ruled to have breached the Committees of Advertising Practice rules and must not be used again.

[ASA adjudication]

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Opinion Articles

MEF predictions: ten key mobile trends for 2014

MEF, the global trade association for companies engaged in mobile content and commerce, has revealed its mobile industry predictions for the next 12 months.

Its forecast combines insights from the group’s Global Board of Directors with research from the recent Global Mobile Consumer Survey.

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Top five mobile tech predictions for 2014 from Jasper Wireless

Macario Namie writes:

As the connected car phenomenon gains pace, 2014 will see global automotive firms embracing LTE. Machina Research predicts 90% of cars sold in 2020 will have some form of embedded connectivity – that connectivity roll-out continues strong in 2014 and LTE is pivotal to its long-term success.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 16th December 2013

A Happy Tranquil Christmas for HTC?

Mark Bridge writes:

HTC experienced a bit of Christmas cheer last week when the threat of a sales injunction against the HTC One mini smartphone and a number of other devices was lifted. Nokia had previously won a patent-related court case against HTC but it seems that a sales ban was deemed too harsh a penalty.

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Deutsche Telekom M2M predictions for 2014

Jürgen Hase writes:

Machine-to-machine communication (M2M) and the Internet of Things (IoT) run through all areas of life and work. Cars, cargo containers, parking spaces or even wristwatches and coffee cups – everything around us is on the verge of being connected.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 2nd December 2013

It's oh so quiet...

Mark Bridge writes:

It was a relatively quiet time for tech news last week, with many companies taking a day off to celebrate Thanksgiving in the USA and then planning for a present-buying retail frenzy on ‘Black Friday’. Today the focus on Christmas shopping moves online; a day that’s called either ‘Cyber Monday’ or ‘Mega Monday’ if you work for a news organisation.

Yet it wasn’t an entirely newsless week.

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