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Saturday, May 28, 2011

This week at The Fonecast: 28th May 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s often said that timing is everything. Or is it size?  I’m never sure.

Both came into play this week as online giant Google announced the forthcoming launch of its much-rumoured mobile payment service. Expect Google Wallet to arrive on the Nexus S 4G in the USA this summer. Is it a big deal?  Bearing in mind the lack of any UK information, I’m inclined to think it’s less exciting than the launch of Quick Tap last week... or the US-based clearXchange partnership.

Anyway, there wasn’t much time for Google to bask in the glory of its announcement. PayPal, while not mentioning Google Wallet specifically, is taking legal action against Google and two Google employees who’d previously worked at PayPal. Mobile payments, trade secrets and breached contracts are on the agenda.

Let’s head to Cornwall, where there’s news of a happier partnership. Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale are planning trials of 4G LTE mobile broadband later this year. If you live in the St Newlyn East area of Newquay, you could be looking at speeds of up to 100Mbps.

If, however, you live elsewhere, you’d be more likely to get 1.5Mbps. That’s what Ofcom reckons the average UK mobile broadband speed is on dongles and datacards.

It may not be close to the maximum possible - but it’s a darn sight better than GPRS, which was launched in the UK just ten years ago. Talking of improvements, the latest J.D. Power Mobile Phone Customer Satisfaction Study shows that mobile phone customers in the UK are more satisfied this year than they were in 2010. Tesco Mobile topped the chart for prepay and post-pay service.

Finally this week, some operating system news. Microsoft announced the details of Mango, its forthcoming Windows Phone OS update. Apparently there are 500 new features - and there’ll also be new manufacturers. Joining Microsoft’s new best friend Nokia will be Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE.

Meanwhile there’s good and bad news for Symbian. Bad news that the EC has closed down the multi-million pound SYMBEOSE Symbian-based development project - but good news that Nokia will support Symbian until 2016 at the very earliest. Anyone splashing out 800 Euro on the brand new gold-plated Nokia Oro will undoubtedly be reassured.


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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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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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