What does your phone say about you?

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0500

I was reading this article earlier on my iPad (via Flipboard, of course) and it got me thinking. How do we use the items we equip ourselves with to extend an image of ourselves to those around us? What do the items we choose to carry really say about us? I'd bet that, more often than not, what people actually perceive is different to what we intended, if we had a conscious intention at all.

The iPhone divides opinion as well as any Apple product. That's a risky proposition for those who carry them, as holding an iPhone is likely to result in some sort of snap judgement about the owner. So lets start with that.

How would you change Apple's iPhone 4?

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:49:00 -0500

Reading my tweets this morning, I saw one from technology site asking its readers 'How would you change Apple's iPhone 4?'

Unfortunately, the discussion descended rather quickly into chaos with Apple minions on one side and Android drones on another preparing to have a war to end all wars!

So, I thought I'd ask the community on Talk3G - How would you change iPhone 4?

Huawei to pop out Android 2.2 smartphone

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:50:00 -0500

Dongle darling, master of MiFi, and equipment maker extraordinaire Huawei has another smartphone on the way. Huawei manufactured the Pulse, available on T-Mobile, which appears to have been relatively successful.

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2...ew-smartphone/

I think Huawei could become a real force in handsets running Android if they choose to be. I doubt we'll see anything too innovative or high end, but what we will see is low cost and decent performance.

Mobile Broadband Shootout: Vodafone vs Three

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:34:00 -0500

The Test

Both networks will be tested at the same location at approximately the same time of day, both in good HSPA coverage. Each will undergo a total of 4 speed tests followed by two ping tests.

Summary of results

http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/
Vodafone: PING 249.5ms, DOWN 4790kbps, UP 1157.5kbps
Three: PING 179ms, DOWN 5079kbps, UP 1190kbps
Winner: Three. 70.5ms less latency, 289kbps faster

Mobile WiFi has arrived on Vodafone!

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:53:00 -0500
Vodafone's Mobile WiFi option is go thanks to another little branded Huawei modem/router. While looking very different, the insides of the device are probably the same as Three's latest MiFi.

As always seems to be the case with Vodafone these days, there's a catch. The cheapest option will see you pay �49 for the device and then �15/month for 3GB of data.

On Three you'll pay �39.99 for the device and �15/month for 5GB of data. On a network that'll have 98% 3G population coverage by the end of the year. Yes, that's more than Vodafone - I'd bet a lot more.

Could the Nokia N8 and Symbian 3 win me back?

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:06:00 -0500
Well there's a question. And one that I find myself asking having seen a preview video on YouTube that actually shows the device and OS in a rather appealing light http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrRr_p6Au4s

Although published in June 2010 the video does have my interest sparked. If for no other reason that it could represent a fairly important response from Nokia to Apple and Google's partners in crime. For a few years now, these two new upstarts have had the smartphone field mostly to themselves as the notion of smartphone ownership was turned from niche to commodity.

The N8 is visually interesting and appealing

Oracle sues Google over Android patents

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:43:00 -0500
Oracle is going after the use of Java technologies in Android. But what implications will this have for the new king of mobile OS's at this critical stage in its development?

"Oracle has filed a lawsuit with a US court accusing Google of copyright and patent infringement in the Android mobile platform, stating that the company �directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle�s Java-related intellectual property.� From the outset, Java has been an integral part of Android, and is used as a way to enable application development for Android for developers who do not want to write native software for the platform, providing it with access to a wider pool of potential programmers. Oracle, which gained a number of Java patents through its acquisition of Sun Microsystems,

Kevin Russell: Mobile ads poor, 'unlimited' wrong.

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:50:00 -0500
The BBC has an article about Three's recent victory over Orange regarding misleading adverts about coverage. Interestingly, we also get Mr. Russell's view on the term 'unlimited':

Kevin Russell at Three said he regretted using the term "unlimited" to describe data packages as it was not "the reality of the market place".

"One of the dumbest things I've done is talk about 'unlimited' data when it's not," he said.

Bill limits for EU data roaming usage begins

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:55:00 -0500
Greater protection to prevent mobile phone and computer users from running up large data bills when overseas has come into force across the EU.

New rules mean that users will be automatically cut off when their monthly bill for using the internet abroad reaches 50 euros ($61; �41), excluding VAT.

Customers will receive a warning when they have used 80% of this limit.

They can set their own monthly cut-off point by contacting their provider.

Continues http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10462298.stm

UK ops trial new mobile TV technology

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:58:00 -0500
UK operators Orange, O2 and Vodafone are to trial Integrated Mobile Broadcast (IMB) technology in a move that could see the system used for commercial mobile TV services. Dow Jones Newswires notes that the pilot will run for three months from October in central London and Slough and will assess how mobile broadcast services can be deployed using shared network infrastructure.

Backed by the GSMA and vendor IPWireless, IMB is a 3GPP standard that claims to enable �spectrally-efficient delivery of broadcast services� in both FDD and TDD spectrum bands. As well as offering broadcast services to customers, it can also link with traditional unicast or on-demand services delivered over 3G networks. In the case of the pilot, the three operators will use TDD (unpaired)

http://www.talk3g.co.uk

What does your phone say about you?

How would you change Apple's iPhone 4?

Huawei to pop out Android 2.2 smartphone

Mobile Broadband Shootout: Vodafone vs Three

Mobile WiFi has arrived on Vodafone!

Could the Nokia N8 and Symbian 3 win me back?

Oracle sues Google over Android patents

Kevin Russell: Mobile ads poor, 'unlimited' wrong.

Bill limits for EU data roaming usage begins

UK ops trial new mobile TV technology