Posts Tagged ‘SMS Text News’

Changes-a-foot to SMS Text News

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

We’ve got a lot of dust coming.

I favour the direct approach when you’re changing things around. I always like to have a poke about newly built stuff, whilst it’s being built, so we’re adopting that viewpoint with SMS Text News.

In the next few days — in fact, today, if you’re especially careful to look — you’ll see our new look. It’s a ‘big’ new look.

All will be revealed in our weekly newsletter that’s due to hit the virtual streets today at 3pm London time.

After that, you’ll start to see goodness knows how many changes and updates. We’re going to do it piecemeal. An update here, a change there — so if you’re sat watching, you’ll be able to see us building the new SMS Text News real time. Or if you check in at the end of the week, you’ll see an entirely different look.

This is, by the way, a really good time to have your SMS Text News niggles resolved. If something has been winding you up, now’s the time to tell us, so we can fix it.

Our news flow will be a little bit dry today as we hold back the good stuff for the rest of the week.

If you’d like to get the exclusive stuff, get on the weekly newsletter list here:

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Otherwise, we’ll see you on the other side.

Big news coming in this week’s newsletter

Monday, August 4th, 2008

I’ve been busy working on my editorial for the newsletter. There’s a lot moving with SMS Text News — including a name change. Final deliberations and confirmations are taking place right now — under the self imposed pressure of a newsletter announcement this week. If you’d like to get first dibs on the new site name and our way ahead for 2008-2009, you should get that about 3pm London time in your inbox, provided you’re signed-up to the Tuesday newsletter.

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Didya get the newsletter?

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

SMS Text News Screenshot

I hope all those who received the newsletter this week found it useful. I’m really pleased with it. We’ve got a lot more exclusive content arriving for it next week.

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We’re going to Beijing this summer

Monday, July 28th, 2008

Ben Smith, SMS Text News contributor and Podcast Master, is heading off to Beijing this summer for the Olympics.

He’s spending 10 days with the GB Paralympic team. And when he’s not looking after our genius basketballers (amongst others), he is hunting for things to review and test — think: navigation, city guides, language tools, social networking tools and related hardware.

Have you got any ideas for kit you’d like him to field test? Drop me a note.

The Original Mobile Industry Review Video Podcast

Monday, July 28th, 2008

Good morning and welcome to our first video podcast. We’re trying something different this week, as per my post last night.

We take a look at Sagem, we discuss 3, we cast a glance toward the inevitable iPhone availability discussion, we discuss the Nokia Tube — and Dan and Ben get overrun by some testosterone-fueled normob hoodies (who aren’t, actually, wearing hoodies).

Do not miss the hoodie bit. The video is 23:30 long.


SMS Text News trial videocast from Ewan MacLeod on Vimeo.

Featured SMS Text News people:
- Dan Lane
- Ben Smith
- James Whatley
(and me, Ewan, briefly — for my Sony Ericsson News)

Topics discussed:
-A look at Sagem’s new device (01:48)
-iPhone Availability (03:07)
-A note on Carphone Warehouse (04:38)
-MyAlerts.com (06:01)
-Normob Alert! (08:42)
-We’re missing James Whatley, Podcast contributor (09:00)
-Nokia’s S60 Touch UI, Leaked this week (09:26)
-3’s Christmas in July (14:09)
-An interruption from the Normobs of London (16:54)
-Things of the Week (19:00)

Do let us know what you think! We’ll be aiming to do something similar for this week’s podcast (at the AQA party) and, depending on feedback, we’ll be back with a real audio podcast the following week.

You can feedback to me — ewan@smstextnews.com or to Ben, the Podcast Master — ben.smith@smstextnews.com.

This week’s podcast… is a videocast

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

We’ve decided to mix things up a bit. Instead of sitting around in the virtual dark with just audio, this week we’re trialing video.

Contributors Dan Lane, Ben Smith and I headed off to the Centre of Her Majesty’s Empire (that is, Buckingham Palace) and talked-to-camera.

I’m going to see if we can rip the audio and serve it as a podcast as normal. We’ll publish the video tomorrow morning. It is most certainly a trial. A beta. A work in progress. There’s a squirrel and copious normobs. When a group of normobs came over for a chat, Ben was off his seat like an Olympic pro in case they were carrying knifes. Dan bravely demanded to see their mobile phones and, confronted with me pointing a camera in their faces, they were more than happy to oblige. It’s worth watching just to see the mild panic on Dan’s face as the hoodies (without hoodies) approached. They were, actually, very polite.

We wanted to have a practice in advance of this Friday’s AQA (63336) party that we’re filming — the SMS Text News team will be there in force featuring interviews, commentary and all sorts of devices.

There’s quite a lot of sensible conversation about the Sagem, iPhone availability, the Nokia Tube, 3’s Christmas in July event… and a blooper real at the end featuring occasional naughty language.

Standby for the video. It’ll be up shortly!

Awards deadline less than four hours away

Friday, July 25th, 2008

There’s just a matter of hours left before the entries close for the SMS Text News Awards close.

In a little under four hours the email address will be switched off and a small handful of dedicated people will examine each of the hundreds of entries to determine who has it and who, (in the case of one award) doesn’t.

Once again, the categories are:

  1. Best handset
  2. Best application in mobile
  3. Best marketing campaign
  4. Best public social use of mobile
  5. Best business person in the mobile industry
  6. Best user
  7. Best mobile marketing manager
  8. Best CSR story
  9. Best instant messaging tool
  10. Most innovative operator
  11. Best blogger
  12. Industry hero
  13. Industry villain
  14. Best service
  15. Best gadget
  16. Best reader
  17. Best use of SMS text message
  18. Best value product
  19. Best business use of mobile
  20. Best PR campaign

Everything you wanted to know about the SMS Text News Awards

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

Hello!

‘Tis I. Ewan. Your friendly mobile blogger from SMS Text News.

Ah hah!

You’ll have noticed that we’ve posted quite regularly about the upcoming SMS Text News Awards.

We’ve had hundreds of entries so far so thank you very much indeed to all who have taken the time to do so.

1. Entry. You need to be quick. We need a description and a note on the category(s) that you are entering for. The deadline is tomorrow. Quick! Email us a holding email if you like as we won’t begin the judging. The email is awards@smstextnews.com.

Don’t be shy. A few enterprising companies have entered for almost every category.

2. Prizes. We were looking at a 6ft bronze statue of SMS Text News contributor, James Whatley, posing with an N95 and an N82 in his hands, for all winners. Whilst we liked this concept and it could look rather fetching in the reception areas of the winners, we eventually decided on some kind of plaque/shield.

3. Award ceremony. Yeah, none of that. We won’t be doing sit-down dinners or black tie arrangements. Not yet. The overhead for this is a bit high. We’ll be announcing the winners on the site during a live chat event.

4. Profiles. We’ll be doing a piece on each winner and we’ll also be doing smaller pieces on the runner-ups. Everyone’s a winner!

5. Judging panel. The panel is being composed as we speak. Image rights are being negotiated. I’m on it, but other participants will be announced momentarily.

Any questions? Mail!


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