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Monday, August 4, 2014

Ofcom publishes a guide to help UK consumers unlock their mobile phones

UK communications regulator Ofcom has published an online guide to help customers unlock their mobile phones.

Mobile network operators may electronically ‘lock’ mobile phones to their network when customers buy the phone. This prevents the device from being used with another network at home or abroad.

It’s necessary to unlock these phones before they can be used with a different network provider… and this is sometimes chargeable.

Ofcom notes that EE (including T-Mobile and Orange) and Vodafone always lock their phones. By contrast, Three has stopped doing this since December last year.

Some operators will always charge for unlocking - for example, EE asks for £20.42 - while others will only charge if a customer asks for unlocking within the first 12 months of a contract. The amount of time between a request and the unlocking also varies.

A new law in the USA has just made it legal for Americans to remove this type of ‘SIM lock’; it had been prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) since last year.

[Ofcom: Mobile Phone Locking and Unlocking]

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Opinion Articles

The PlayStation mobile has arrived... among others

Xperia Play

Xperia Play

James Rosewell writes:

Tonight Sony Ericsson announced an impressive four new Xperia handsets based on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and the Bravia graphics engine more commonly found in TVs. I got hands-on with the much anticipated Play, and its 3 siblings Neo, Pro and Arc. Here's what I thought.

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This week at The Fonecast: 12th February 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Next week is Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – I’m sure don’t need me to tell you that! – and Nokia has given us plenty to talk about when we get there.

Author: The Fonecast
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Nokia - a burning platform or a red-hot hoax?

Mark Bridge writes:

On Friday morning, Nokia is hosting a Strategy and Financial Briefing in London. And on Sunday evening, it’s holding a press briefing in Barcelona. CEO Stephen Elop is expected to make some significant changes to the company - but what will he say?

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Poor Nexus S sales? Blame the Carphone Warehouse's deals, says Carphone Warehouse subsidiary

Mark Bridge writes:

Last December we reported on the launch of the Google Nexus S, which was being sold exclusively in the UK by the Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy UK (which is run in partnership with the Carphone Warehouse).

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This week at The Fonecast: 6th February 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Last year, mobile payments seemed a lifetime away. Even Visa Europe's head of mobile wasn't overly optimistic about the likelihood of the 'mobile wallet' becoming a reality in the short-term.

This week we have not one, not two, but three mobile payment announcements.

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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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