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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Hotel phone charges demonstrate the value of packing your mobile

Mark Bridge writes:

I like hotels. Free biscuits in your room and all the portions of UHT milk you can drink. But the phone calls... that's a different story.

Dearie me, you're paying for that hospitality tray when you pick up the phone.

I've recently spent a few days in a UK city centre hotel and was shocked at the cost of making telephone calls from my room. I was equally shocked at the cost of using the hotel's broadband connection.

Phone calls were 30p a minute for local calls. Local calls!  What's local?  Who uses a map when they make calls these days?  National UK calls were 55p a minute and mobile calls were £1 a minute.

Now, I've got a mobile tariff that includes an allowance of calls and internet use, so I wasn't going to pay that. But even if I'd left my phone at home, arrived from abroad or materialised from another planet, there'd still have been affordable alternatives.

Just over the road you could find a shopping centre containing The Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4U, ASDA and Tesco. At CPW, £12.95 would buy me an Alcatel OT 209 including a £10 Orange top-up offering 300 texts, free internet access and calls at 20p a minute. Stick that in your trouser press!

And the hotel's daily £15 broadband charge doesn't look so good when compared with MiFiClub's £29.99 for three days of mobile WiFi or picking up a USB dongle for around £20.

I know that convenience is something that's often worth paying for. But - even given the criticism that mobile operators often face about their charges – this hotel pricing really doesn't feel like a sustainable model. How long before hotels stop bothering with offering telecoms services... or start giving them away free?

Hotel room telephone

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Opinion Articles

Top tips in Mobile Device Management

David Akka writes:

The issue of choosing the right MDM solution has become more and more pressing, especially for companies implementing a Bring Your Own Device policy. The market place is becoming increasingly crowded with 50 or so vendors who now position themselves as MDMs. Some vendors offer application sharing, some multitenant management, other vendors have a heritage in security or a different strength all together. For organisations considering which option is best it is important to discern between the best known names or the most expensive solutions and select an MDM solution that is fit for purpose.

Author: The Fonecast
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Article rating: 5.0

Sensum audience insights tool wows at Mobile World Congress 2013

Tracy Dempsey of Sensum writes:

Northern Irish start-up Sensum gave audiences a taste of the future at the world's largest mobile industry conference in Barcelona last week.

Sensum co-creator Shane McCourt was invited to present the Sensum audience insights platform to a 1,000-strong crowd at the “Back to the Future: Mobile Innovation 2023” conference session at Mobile World Congress 2013.

Author: The Fonecast
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Last week at The Fonecast: 11th March 2013

Thrills for Tesco customers, chills for Android users

Mark Bridge writes:

As Mobile World Congress 2013 disappears behind us, so the frenzy of news releases about new products and services returns to relatively normal levels.

Author: The Fonecast
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4 mobile security tips for every smartphone owner

Satish Shetty of Codeproof Technologies writes:

Don’t underestimate the security of your smartphone. Here are 4 important but easy security tips to secure your iPhone, iPad, Android phone and Tablet devices.

Author: The Fonecast
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Article rating: 5.0

Smartphones are about to get smarter - in many different ways

Mark Bridge writes:

At Mobile World Congress 2012 I spent quite a bit of time talking about quad-core smartphones. The year before had seen a fair amount of 3D screen technology. Back in 2010 it was the growth of apps. This year I wasn’t hearing so much about mobile device innovation.

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Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

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Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
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Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

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Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

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