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Thursday, December 9, 2010

European Commission looks at EU-wide telephone numbers

The European Commission has launched a public consultation asking whether there are benefits in a system that would allow businesses to use the same telephone number in all EU Member States. It suggests EU-wide phone numbers could reinforce the EU's Single Market, helping European businesses to offer cross-border sales more easily. In addition, non-geographic numbers in some member states are often not reachable from other states.

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, said “Today, businesses need to have a separate telephone number in every Member State where their customers need to contact them. This makes it difficult to develop EU-wide services for their customers. I urge all interested parties to help us formulate a policy that addresses the needs of businesses and provides more convenient access for consumers.”

EU telecoms rules currently offer two possible solutions. One option could be introducing an EU-wide ‘shortcode’ number that could be reserved for businesses; alternatively, a European telephone access code could be created along with a range of telephone numbers. The International Telecommunications Union introduced a European code of +3883 in 2000, although this was little-publicised and is due to lapse at the end of this year.

The consultation will run until 28th February 2011.

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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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