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Friday, May 9, 2014

Vodafone adds loyalty cards to its mobile wallet app... but still no UK launch

Vodafone is enabling customers to add loyalty cards and membership cards to its ‘mobile wallet’ app. Although the application hasn’t yet been launched in the UK, it’s already available in a number of European countries.

The NFC-equipped Vodafone Wallet - and its associated Visa-powered Vodafone SmartPass mobile payment app - was launched in Spain last November.

Customers can now load supermarket loyalty cards, paper coupons and other membership documents into the app as well, thanks to a deal with Austrian software company Bluesource. This new service will be rolled out to Germany, the Netherlands and Spain this month. Over a million people have already downloaded the original Bluesource mobile-pocket app.

Stefano Parisse, Group Consumer Services Director of Vodafone, said “Our customers want to take advantage of as many club, retail and membership offers as possible, but the number of plastic cards often exceed the capacity of their physical wallets. Vodafone’s mobile wallet, when used with the mobile pocket app, removes that problem by allowing a user to load a limitless number of loyalty cards directly onto their phone. Participating retailers also benefit since they will be able to send vouchers and special offers directly to the Vodafone mobile wallets of their regular customers.”

A UK release of the Vodafone wallet is expected soon; the company had originally promised UK availability by Spring 2014.


UPDATE: Vodafone has contacted us to advise that it’s no longer talking about a spring launch for the UK. Instead, the Vodafone wallet is described as “coming to the UK later this year”.

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Opinion Articles

Review: BeeWi BBS020 solar-powered hands-free Bluetooth car kit

Mark Bridge writes:

Persuading mobile phone users not to hold their phone when they’re driving should be a simple task. It’s dangerous, it’s against the law and the penalties include a fine plus points on your licence.

But even then, there’s often an excuse about convenience and usability. Some people don’t like wearing headsets, some don’t like wires and some simply forget to charge the batteries.

That’s why a new hands-free Bluetooth loudspeaker from French company BeeWi caught my eye.

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The simple case of the disguised iPhone 4

Mark Bridge writes:

I remember the launch of Carweek back in the 1990s. It was a motoring magazine produced as a weekly glossy newspaper; a novel format, although one that probably led to its demise. 'Spy shots' of prototype cars seemed then – as now – to be much sought-after, despite them often not showing much resemblance to the finished product. Indeed, I often wondered how you could possibly road-test the handling of a new car when it was covered with unflattering body parts that served to disguise its shape.

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Maria Sharapova and the 'geek porn' of unboxing

Mark Bridge writes:

'Unboxing' is - or was - the new geek porn. We know this because The Register told us so in 2006, when the practice of video recording the unpacking of new consumer electronics products started to become popular. Just over two years later The Independent tried to tell us that unboxing was still the new geek porn but, by then, conventional porn had probably returned to... er... pole position.

Why do I mention this?  Well, Sony Ericsson has just published its own unboxing video featuring tennis player, model, charity worker and Sony Ericsson brand ambassador Maria Sharapova.

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Scaremongering news stories? There's an app for that

Mark Bridge writes:

Here’s a news headline that caught my eye.

Shotgun certificate up for renewal?  There's an app for that

Or, if you prefer…

Police to allow gun users renew licences with iPhone app

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Mobile payments: solutions get dumber while cards get smarter?

Mark Bridge writes:

Last week I spotted a couple of mobile-related news stories that involved payment company MasterCard. One came from CPI Card Group, which had introduced a “next-generation, MasterCard-approved payment tag” (a.k.a. 'sticker') that enabled “any mobile device to be used to make payments anywhere using the worldwide contactless MasterCard PayPass standard” (by sticking it on the back).

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Recent Podcasts

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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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