Author Archive

Surprise Surprise O2 brings back subsidies to normal levals

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

A few months ago we reported that O2 had removed subsidies on its £35 tariffs and this resulted in phones being free only on the more expensive £75 tariff. O2 intended on the other networks on doing the same,  however the other networks didn’t.

It now seems that O2 has given into the market and reinstated all its subsidies on its higher end handsets, for full details check out the full article over at Mobile Today.

Well done O2 it only took you nearly 5 months to realise your mistake!

I have a feeling the current economic situation here in the UK, is the reason for this change of tactics. I think it is highly unlikely that O2 customers would be willing to pay £100 for a N95 classic on an 18 month contract!

Bluetooth Keyfob that prevents you from losing your phone

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Jonathan Morris over at What Mobile has written an interesting post about a new gadget that will be hitting the shops early next year!

Bluetooth is useful for many things, but the latest idea could be one of the coolest for some time. A keyfob sized gadget that backs up all your phone data and alerts you if the phone gets too far away.
The i-migo is a clever gadget that isn’t quite ready for sale yet, but should appear in 2009 when discussions take place between various handset manufacturers and network operators.

The idea is simple; the keyfob pairs with the phone and extracts content (contacts, messages, pictures etc) over Bluetooth whenever in range. Like the Sony Ericsson range of Bluetooth watches which have a ‘proximity detector’ feature, the i-migo will also warn you when the phone moves out of range (in other words, it loses the Bluetooth connection). This warning means you are no longer close to your phone. Perhaps you’ve left it on a desk or someone else has walked off with it?
The main purpose of the i-migo is to prevent you losing your phone (by vibrating and flashing if the phone goes out of range). However, if you do lose your phone, all is not lost. Firstly, with the appropriate support from the handset, it will be possible to have the phone completely locked out – just like a car with keyless operation. That gives peace of mind that nobody else is going to be able to do much with your phone. After that, when you get a new phone, the data you would have otherwise lost can be restored by simply pairing the i-migo once more.

The i-migo sounds like an awesome gadget and I think it will be really useful for those of us who have a tendency for losing things (not naming any names ;) ) The best bit is the ability is to completely lock down your phone, especially when your phone has some much valuable data about you.

Keep an eye on www.i-migo.com for more information!


Gold Numbers are only £10 on Ikea Mobile

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

If you are in need of a Gold Number then head over to Ikea’s Family Mobile.  Currently the have an offer where new people who join can chosse a free gold number in the 0755 000 xxx range, they are also only charging £10 and the sim comes with £20 credit!

Worth Checking out if you are in need of a memorable number!

What is classed as inactivity on a pay as you go (UK)?

Monday, December 15th, 2008

I have a question for you the readers!  Does anyone know what each of the networks class as valid activity to keep a sim active? My Student Radio Station, recently had there Vodafone number cut off due to not topping up, and I want to ensure this does not happen again.

Do any of the UK  networks (including MVNO’s)  class reciveing a call or incoming sms as activity, and therefore will not cut you off?

T-Mobile UK make me a very happy chappy!

Monday, December 8th, 2008

It’s upgrade time for my T-Mobile Flext Contract, and I have been looking at new phones. The G1 maybe? The INQ 1 is awesome but I not so keen on the three contracts.

I popped into my local T-Mobile shop and asking what was showing up on my account for renewing, and basically I was told I could take a £10 discount for the next six months or untill I decided to upgrade which ever was sooner. Not all customers are eligable for the £10 discount some will get £5, I am unsure of how it is calculated.

I was cautious at this point, I thought I would be agreeing to another 18 month contract and also I did not want to loose my extra add ons (unlimited weekend calls and £5 loyalty discount), but I was assured by the salesman that this would not happen.

The £10 discount is a tactic to stall its customers on upgrading until after Christmas, however you have to ask for it. So if you are due to upgrade in the next month or have an upgrade pending I definitely recommend you to pop into store.

On another related note for those of you who are paying £7.50 for web and walk as an add on, ring up customer care and ask to move onto a wnw tariff. This drops the price of web and walk to £5.

I love it when staff in stores and on the phone are 100% honest with you, and are nice to you. I want to personally thank the member of staff who served me in the Manchester City Centre Branch.

The best thing is I am now paying £20 a month for Flext 30 with unlimited weekend calls and web and walk.

T-Mobile UK you officially rock!

Nokia Build: Fancy a MIR phone?

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

Nokia Build is a service that allows you to customize your phone directly from Nokia. As reported by T3; this service is currently limited to the UK and France and currently you can only customise a Nokia 7310.

Sadly the 7310 is not the best handset in the world however if the quality is good then surely there will be demand that want to brand their own handset. I am sure that if this is a success that it will be rolled out to other handsets in the future.

What do you think to the Mobile Industry Review phone? Would you buy one? When I designed the above it would have cost £138 to buy and that included an extra two covers.

Twitter no longer to deliver outbound SMS to Canadian users

Friday, November 28th, 2008

The same thing that occurred to customers in the UK has now occurred to our friends over the water.  Full details are on the Twitter Blog, however I suspect this is due to the costs associated with maintaining the sms service as Canda, like Europe does not charge end users to recieve SMS.

However there may be some good news in the future on the twitter blog;

There is a realistic, scalable SMS solution for Canada (and the rest of the world.) We’re working on that and will post more details on the Twitter blog as we make progress.

UPDATE- Krystal (our resident Canadian) has informed me that you do pay to receive SMS in Canada

Blyk to launch a content portal

Friday, November 28th, 2008

As resident BlykWatcher here at Mobile Industry Review, I felt it important to bring you the following update;

from newmediaage

Ad-funded MVNO Blyk is rolling out a portal in January to direct its 16-24-year-old audience to relevant content.

The mobile operator, which offers free SMS and voice calls, will launch the On Blyk portal with content from providers such as Heat magazine.

Sean Gregory, UK CEO of Blyk, said the move was a response to demand from its 200,000 subscribers.

“We’re launching to provide a unique web experience to put our members directly in touch with the content they want,” he said.

As one of those 200,000 subscribers this will work only on the basis that the portal is free to browse and explore!I look forward to seeing this being rolled out in January!


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