Which is why I didn’t send a newsletter on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Of course, the thing is referred to on the site as ‘the Friday newsletter’ but sometimes it’s quite difficult to deliver a perspective or an opinion to the quality that I’d wish to, in a defined time period.

The thing that’s really been winding me up of late is Foursquare. Not the creators, per se, but the users and how rubbish mobile location still is. That subject, I think, might well form the basis of the next newsletter. Either this evening, or I’ll wait until Friday.

If you’re not signed up to The Application Review, by the way, you’ve been missing the weekly updates that I usually send out on a Wednesday. That’s far easier (in the context of not having to summon up a huge amount of bile) so it typically goes out on schedule. Sign up for The Application Review — it’s free of course, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

At the event, the team also announced the INQ1 had been short-listed as one of five devices in the GSMA Global Mobile Awards ‘Best Handset / Device‘ category to be announced at Mobile World Congress in a fortnight and the launch of a media and blogger-relations programme ‘INQ+’ intended to provide a forum for feedback and beta testing of forthcoming software / devices.

Just an update on the content from the MIR Developer’s event last week. The videos of each attending company will be published this week — the first one is due to go live later today. Standby!

Work is also progressing on tariffs, and flat rate tariffs will be launched within a couple of  months to give users a choice of either per call pricing or fixed monthly charges. Truphone users who have multiple devices have found it frustrating to have to manage separate accounts for each device. This will be fixed shortly, allowing a single Truphone account to support multiple handsets. As one of Voxbone’s iNum partners, Truphone is looking at how best to exploit the potential of iNum to support its aim of delivering products for customers with an international lifestyle. Expect to see more on this shortly.

The update bumps up your phone to Firmware v11.0.008 from the previous Firmware v10.0.010 and brings in overall stability of the phone’s OS. The update should be available through the Nokia Software Updater, but I’ve come across a couple of people who’re reporting no activity at their end. So if you’re lucky enough for the update to show up at your desktop, remember to back up your data before proceeding.

A complete list of changes, courtesy of S60Inside.com:

• Homepage is not defined for Vodafone Live!
• Last word disappears when selecting receiver in SMS
• My Nokia: phone displays “#” in front of Application name.
• During Back-Up & Restore operation, calendar entries are not restored
• Operator menu link within Welcome application
• Invalid message pops up before playing the file received via Bluetooth.
• Input Method, VKB just display number when selecting a WLAN access point which contains a password.
• Chinese box HWR control buttons and FS HWR control bar are too small.
• Unable to add image to Contact bar from Gallery when there is about 5 GB of data in memory card
• In Arabic UI, in calendar, the arrows on the top are reversed in week view and day view
• UI-rotation is too sensitive
• Search: Google search service is missing in Search.
• Contact could not display when switch numbers in Singtel 2-in-1 SIM card
• Maps: Wrong layout of the strings in the Maps search and favorites views
• Could not send new email if user name and password is not pre-defined
• Phone drops from service when both A5/3 +GEA3 used simultaneously with WLAN
• The Messaging application crashes a lot specially when replying or trying to send SMS you have to remove battery to be able to use the device again
• License Manager for Maps is not integrated to SW
• 5.0 Touch: Phonebook crashing when adding detail: Birthday, Anniversary
• Web screen is messed up
• Non stop Music Player “Library update”
• Clock, Alarm is inactive when phone is power off.
• APN Configuration Settings Update to be used for the Setting Wizard
• Ex-Factory settings are wrong
• UE unable to open Setting Wizard
• StartUpSettings version updated.
• Phone lost correct time during power off
• USSD – “Call Control Send USSD” command
• UE drops from 3G, then cannot sync to 3G cells
• Browser: Flash objects causes problems while browsing

[Via MobileBurn]

I phoned them on Friday, received a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery returns envelope on Tuesday, posted the handset on Wednesday and received a brand new handset by Royal Mail Special Delivery on Saturday.

Top marks to 3 – great customer service!

Coming after the variable performance of the INQ1’s applications this hardware failure has confirmed my view of the INQ1 as a disappointing mobile device.

Most of the followers on our @MIReview Twitter feed do so because they want updates from Mobile Industry Review. Specifically, updates whenever we post an article.

You don’t need to know my shoe size or whether I’m having a good day.

If you do, you can now get that on my personal Twitter account, @ew4n. Go ahead and follow me, I’ll follow you back (provided you continue to meet the relevant context requirements discussed in this post!).

Housekeeping over.

I’ll keep you updated…

The latest fix for the iPhone has just arrived, version 2.2 hits the Google streets from today.

The new firmware update includes the likes of Google Street View, with public transport guides and walking directions. These allow virtual walking tours at street level for one, with the ability to check transport timetables too.

Although not everyone will benefit from these of course, the last we’ve heard they’ve only just started mapping out Google street view for London.

There are some plus sides to upgrading, with the supposed improvement to HTML based emails and issues resolved over scheduled email download.

Apparently there’s also new support for downloading podcasts over WIFI and the carrier network. Also there’s better stability and performance around browsing, plus improvements to do with sound quality on those visual voicemail messages.

Other issues they’ve resolved surround, better battery life, less call failures, improved performance in text messaging, plus an option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts.

None of which we’ve found an issue in the past, but if there’s an issue for some we’re glad it’s been fixed.

Jailbreak 2.2 anyone?

Over The Air (“OTA”) update of the T-Mobile UK G1 from Mobile Industry Review on Vimeo.

While the popular word is that the build number is RC28, one reader over at Engadget has come across a mystery RC29 update. His device now runs the RC29 after his device rebooted “a few times”, according to the post. Another user, however, required only one single reboot and only about 5 minutes of his time.

Have you come across such updates yet?

For the lesser mortal phones, Access also unveiled the ALP mini. The ALP mini operating system is like a stripped down version of the new successor and is intended to drive smaller devices.

The official availability of ALP 3.0 is yet to be announced, though ALP mini has been made available to the manufacturers already.

• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of 3rd party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

If that was the update’s intention, then it doesn’t seem to have succeeded. Some iPhone users are reporting a slight improvement in their 3G connections, others are reporting the update is more the software equivalent of a chocolate teapot. Any iPhone users out there tried the update? And if so, what did you find?

I got this in from Bruce at ROK just now.

ROK Talk is indeed a fabulous service delivering easy to use, low-cost, ad-hoc, multi-person calling.

We have learnt a great deal from the Beta trial and, while that continues, we have been busy marketing the concept to several selected mobile operators and handset manufacturers worldwide.

We plan to begin deployments of ROK Talk in the last 3 months of the year and expect ROK Talk to be operational with more than a dozen operators worldwide by the middle of next year.

The reaction of the operators and handset manufacturers has been incredibly enthusiastic. Everyone �gets it� immediately � particularly when, in meetings, we call everyone in the room and all their mobiles ring at exactly the same time.

We have crafted a number of business models for the service based upon the individual requirements and deployment plans of the operators and manufacturers � from the bundling of the service for free for post-pay business users, to the deployment of a pre-pay service for pre-pay customers.

Interestingly, we are seeing ROK Talk being used, typically, to call an average of 4-5 people at a time and each call being for 4-5 minutes duration, on average.

I’m disappointed that they’re taking so long to roll out. It’s going to be another 12 months before anything is live?

Thankfully, I did!

I got an e-mail telling me about another company called Doro � they specialise in simple phones for the elderly and disabled. The best thing about this company is that they sell in high-street retailers, such as Currys.

I also got another e-mail about keypad sizes. This is an issue which infuriates me, I have the least-nimble fingers known to mankind, and I find small buttons near impossible to use. It has actually got so bad, that no matter how brilliant a phone is, if its keypad is useless I can�t buy a phone.

And Kip, who comments a lot around SMS Text News suggested the Sagem Ice?

So I�ve gave my Mum the Sagem Ice to play around with for an hour, and I gave her a couple of tasks � write a text message, take a photo, change the ringtones, and listen to a song I put on the phone.

Simply, my Mum was able to do those tasks. I gave her no guidance whatsoever, and she managed it. She even said �I even managed to change the ringtone, and if I can do it, anyone can. It took me half a year to work out how to do it on my Sony!�

So there you go, maybe the Sagem is the perfect solution for some of the Baffled but equalled styled out people of today?

I�ll be doing a full review on the Sagem phone shortly.

• O2 are sold out of all iPhone 3Gs online.
• There are no white 16GB models to be offered from launch.
• The PAYG version won’t be launching any time soon – possibly not until Christmas.
• Carphone Warehouse are selling new connections on-line, but upgrades must be done by phone or in-store. The telephone line is busy(!)
• Neither O2 or Carphone Warehouse stores will take advance orders. However, staff seem poorly briefed and are complaining they haven’t even been told the information published on the respective websites.
• There are unsubstanciated rumours that numbers of units available in-store on launch day will also be very limited (this could, of course be part of th ehype around Friday so take with a massive pinch of salt).

Favourite moments of the day so far:

“You can’t upgrade your original O2 contract hasn’t finished yet” – Carphone Warehouse store manager.

“Our upgrade site broke because we don’t have enough iPhones. It’s Apple’s fault for not sending enough” – O2 store staff.

I suspect the world won’t end if I (or plenty of others it seems) don’t get new iPhones on Friday, but as an enthustic customer I’m irritated that after several hours of trying I wasn’t able to place an order or even get a unit reserved somehow. O2’s site says ‘first come first served’ but that’s not been the case today… and that’s a great way to piss off customers.

Critical Info
The date: July 10th (Thursday)
The venue: Magic Glasses Bar, The O’Callaghan Stephen’s Green Hotel, Dublin (map)
The time: 6pm onwards
Get on the guestlist: Email Ewan at ewan@smstextnews.com with the subject UNLIMITED DRINKS = YES as soon as you can.

The background
The Dublin Unlimited Drinks is a chance to meet Ireland’s mobile community. Some of you we know already, many of you we don’t. So we’re really looking forward to meeting you; finding out more about you, your company, your products; then watching you grow. Also, it’s a chance for you to meet other likeminded individuals. We think it will be valuable and interesting for us all.

Who�s supporting it?
This is where thanks are due to Anam, Arantech and ChangingWorlds who are supporting the night. More will be posted about each one of them shortly, but if you see anyone from these three companies on the night don’t forget to say ‘thanks’ and also maybe have a listen to what they do.

What�s happening on the night?
We’ve got an area of the Magic Glasses Bar set aside especially for us. Once you arrive you’ll be met by Ewan – and he’ll insist on taking a card from you and that’s the formalities over. The rest is up to you, it’s all about networking and drinking. No presentations, no announcements, no speeches, no hassle. Just remember to bring your business cards.

The Venue
They say it “is a very trendy spot decorated in warm terra cotta tiles and soft copper lighting. The contrast of the Georgian architecture of the bar with a contemporary setting, brings a unique ambience to the Magic Glasses Bar.” We say it’s all about providing a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere that will allow you to chat, mingle and enjoy yourself.

Here are some photos:

The Drinks
I named the evening �Unlimited Drinks� because, genuinely, We�d like to offer unlimited drinks to everyone. It�s posssssssible that could overload Ewan’s capacity to fund it. All things being equal though, you will not pay for beer, wine or soft drinks. Spirits, however, will be chargeable at the bar. Therefore, like many of our big mobile networks with their data plans, there is a fair use policy at Unlimited Drinks.

There will also be a little bit of finger food provided to help the drinks go down.

The other attendees
Expect to meet people with opinions! Expect to meet mobile entrepreneurs, industry executives, analysts, public relations supremeos and those who work in and around the mobile, wireless and web 2.0 industries.

Come on along!
By default, you�re invited. But please email Ewan so we can control the numbers. If you want to come please email right-away with your name (and other guest names and job titles). Mail Ewan, ewan@smstextnews.com with the subject �UNLIMITED DRINKS = YES� and he will reply to confirm.

After the event
You must be sure to give Ewan your business card on the evening as, soon after the event, he will write up a one-liner on every attendee and link to their respective websites. This is one of the highest trafficked elements of the site so do remember this.

We hope to meet you on the night!

Meantime, I’ve been in touch with Mirshan at the main local mobile network here, Dhiraagu. He’s going to send me out a sim so I can check out their data services. The other provider here is Wataniya — I’ve dropped them a note too.

The new functionality looks like this

� Have friends� newest Facebook photos sent to the mobile as soon as they are posted, with the option to receive a collective feed of the latest photos from all friends and/or individual feeds from specific friends on the ShoZu screen.
� Request automatic delivery of friends� Facebook status updates to the handset for retrieval from the ShoZu interface, making it easy to keep up with friends� activities while on the go.
� Have their latest Facebook event listings forwarded to the phone on a regular basis for display on ShoZu, ensuring that users won�t miss the newest event posts as well as providing convenient reminders of parties and other events.
� Change their own Facebook status from the ShoZu screen without the expense of sending a premium SMS, whether they�re packing for vacation, in a new relationship, or looking for a friend to hang out with.

More nice ideas from ShoZu – they seem to have rather smartly picked up the most addictive and expensive elements of mobile Facebooking and then played up to that. More please.