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Monday, June 18, 2012

Adding a little extra to every mobile sale will make a big difference

Mark Bridge writes:

Is there any product that offers as much potential for additional sales as the mobile phone?

When I visit a coffee shop to buy a coffee, I’m often asked “would you like any pastries or muffins with that?”

On the one occasion that I bought a new car, I was offered the option of paying extra for different colours, for floor mats and for a fancy stereo.

When you buy a DVD player or a games console, it’s pretty obvious you’ll be paying extra for entertainment.

Yet, when you consider the variety of add-ons available in the mobile industry, I’d say smartphones were in a league of their own.

Mrs Bridge bought a new smartphone at the weekend. Her aging Sony Ericsson developed software problems, so it was time for an upgrade.

First, credit where it’s due. Well done Carphone Warehouse. Our local branch dramatically outperformed the network-run shop we visited first, both in terms of customer service and price as well.

Upgrade complete and contract signed, we turned to the question of transferring contacts from the old phone to the new one. Would our new friends at CPW help us?  Yes, they would. They’d whip out their Cellebrite machine for a one-off charge. Alternatively, the service was available as part of a monthly ‘tech support’ Geek Squad subscription. Nicely done. However, as Mrs Bridge is under the impression she’s married to someone who knows about mobile phones, we declined.

Insurance we also declined, although it’s not been ruled out in the longer-term. Time for some comparison shopping before we commit.

Next came the case. Having just turned down insurance, putting the phone inside an attractive leather pouch definitely made sense.

Then there was the screen protector. Mrs B has skipped this for the moment; it seemed a shame to reduce the quality of the display by sticking something on it.

And still to come are any number of chargeable apps and cloud-based services - and accessories ranging from the Bluetooth oven thermometer to the remote-control helicopter.

What struck me after all this wasn’t the ‘hidden’ cost of buying a smartphone. Not the inherently incomplete nature of the new device.

No, it was a point made in the recent results announcement from Carphone Warehouse Group. Along with a slight drop in retail revenue, the company noted “our newer format Wireless World stores offer a wider range of mobile and other connected devices and an enhanced level of service. These stores have proved popular with customers and have delivered compelling returns.”

It went on to talk about “moving more deeply into tablets, accessories, and app-cessories”, adding that this non-cellular sector had significant potential for growth.

Ignoring the pain that the word app-cessories causes me, it seems that Carphone Warehouse is definitely heading in the right direction.

Back in the 1990s, some mobile phone shops would attempt to sell ‘value-added services’ that either added very little value or alternatively were almost-essential services that should have been included anyway.

Today, the smartest retailers are offering additional products and services that consumers actually want - and don’t mind paying for.

The UK may have reached saturation as far as mobile phone connections go. But the market for accessory sales and additional services just keeps growing.

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Opinion Articles

The cost of European roaming needn't be a worry

Mark Bridge writes:

Today’s podcast feature is a personal look at the cost of mobile ‘roaming’ in France.

At the beginning of July 2011 the rate for European roaming charges fell to a maximum of 38p per minute (incl. VAT) for calls made while abroad in the EU – and 12p per minute for calls received. There’s also a maximum 12p charge for sending text messages.

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This week at The Fonecast: 26th August 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Today's news summary is a little early because I'm on holiday this afternoon. I'll be leaving Iain and James in charge... and, even though it's traditionally the "silly season", they'll have plenty to talk about in Wednesday's podcast.

A week ago, the big news in our podcast was Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility. This week it was HP's move away from webOS devices. And now we hear that Steve Jobs has stepped down from the CEO role at Apple, although he's remaining with the company as Chairman of the Board.

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Power your laptop by taking a walk

Rosanne Skirble of voanews.com writes:

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a technology that turns human motion into electricity.

In this week's journal Nature Communications, they describe how to power a cell phone or other mobile device - like a laptop computer or GPS system - by simply taking a walk.

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Nokia prices: how low can you go?

Mark Bridge writes:

This week Nokia has announced the latest iteration of its Symbian software platform: Symbian Belle, which follows the alphabetical theme started by Symbian Anna. Whether we'll reach Symbian Zoe, Zara or Zsa-Zsa before Symbian support ends in 2016 is another matter. But I digress.

Along with Symbian Belle came three new phones - yet it was two other Nokia phones announced from Kenya on Thursday that caught my eye.

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Don't bother looking for a dramatically reduced HP TouchPad in the UK

Mark Bridge writes:

This weekend, you could have picked up a HP TouchPad webOS tablet for $99. Both the HP USA online store and Best Buy in Canada were selling the obsolescent devices at a substantial discount.

Yet over here in the UK, we've seen nothing except a prize draw from The Carphone Warehouse and a less-than-£90 discount from Amazon. And I don't expect anything much better in the short-term.

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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.

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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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