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Thursday, April 22, 2010

The iPhone and its data are still uneasy bedfellows

Mark Bridge writes:

Being an optimistic cynic isn’t easy. But, hey, I do my best.

Which is why I smiled benignly when I heard this week that WiFi provider The Cloud was offering a free app to O2 iPhone users. It's a simple tool called FastConnect and it'll make it easy for those O2 customers to find free WiFi access via hotspots powered by (you guessed it!) The Cloud.

FastConnect's features include a directory and automatic connection to all The Cloud's WiFi hotspots.

Lovely.

Except... hang on a mo... O2 UK iPhone customers already get free WiFi from The Cloud. And the iPhone is famously easy to use. So why has The Cloud bothered to create this app?

Here's what Steve Nicholson, The Cloud's CEO, has to say.

“We strongly suspect only a fraction of O2 iPhone customers are aware of this free service and would consequently encourage them to download the app from the app store to get quick and free access to our network.”

A-ha. So most of O2's iPhone users – either through accident or design – don't care about their free WiFi. Yet they're still going online. And that means they're probably hammering O2's data service. Not a good thing, as O2 has already admitted.

Which brings me to today's puzzle. Now, you might think that each O2 customer who didn't use free WiFi was good news for The Cloud. Unused capacity is money saved, right?  Which would mean The Cloud had little incentive to encourage uptake of the free offer. Yet here's 'WiFi made simple', with CEO Steve promoting WiFi as “the only solution in delivering an acceptable service” for mobile video and even daring to knock his mobile network mates by suggesting “that traditional cellular networks will struggle to deliver acceptable quality”.

So... whose idea was this app?  O2, I'm just asking...

 

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Opinion Articles

Maybe mobile phone tariffs aren't a rip-off after all

Mark Bridge writes:

Oh, those nasty mobile networks. They're robbing us blind… at least, that's what you might think if you've been reading the headlines this week.

Mobile users 'overpaying by £200', said the BBC. £5bn 'wasted' on mobile phone bills, said the Financial Times. It's the wrong tariff, Gromit!, said Telecom TV after hitting the Wensleydale.

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The latest victim of mobile phones: Cisco's Flip video camera

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile phones are vicious creatures. First they delivered a mortal blow to landline phones.

Emboldened, they began roaming the world looking for victims. They found plenty.

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This week at The Fonecast: 9th April 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

We head into the weekend with the News of the World admitting voicemail hacking was more widespread than previously thought. Mobile networks had already made it much harder to access voicemail remotely… and now the NotW is saying sorry and preparing to pay compensation.

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Demolition Man, meet the Apple iAd Gallery

Mark Bridge writes:

We all have guilty pleasures. One of mine is the sci-fi film Demolition Man. Sylvester Stallone is 20th-century police sergeant John Spartan, who finds himself fighting crime in 2032 alongside the delightful Lieutenant Lenina Huxley, played by Sandra Bullock.

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This week at The Fonecast: 3rd April 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Welcome to this week's news summary from TheFonecast.com.

In Wednesday's podcast Iain joked that we ought to have a regular Olympics news story because everyone else was talking about the event constantly. Well, following the headlines about introducing WiFi to tube stations in time for London 2012 comes another Olympic news story.

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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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