The iPhone 4 is now available on the 3 network and offers are among the best we’ve seen.

For £45 per month you get 2000 xnet minutes, 1GB of data, 5000 extra minutes to mobiles on the same network and 5000 texts. For most customers this will effectively mean unlimited everything.

The offer is available with the iPhone 4 32GB, there’s £89 to pay upfront for the phone and £45 per month on a 24 month contract.

Highly recommended, but be quick as they have very limited stock.

Compare all iPhone 4 32GB deals

Back in May, Rupert Murdoch told investment analysts he would use a press conference “in about three to four weeks” to announce “an innovative subscription model” together with “a number of publishers, device makers and technology companies”.

The press conference never came. But that doesn’t mean News Corp (NSDQ: NWS) isn’t convinced enough of the chances online content subscriptions can work to make them a central pillar of its own business all by itself.


Photo by AMagill on Flickr. Some rights reserved

• About the same time, News Corp should have unveiled the subscription project, it made an alternative announcement… it acquired the IP to the Skiff e-reader platform…

• … And it took a stake in Journalism Online, the Steve Brill-Gordon Crovitz startup helping newspapers charge online. At the same time, John Houseman was appointed as president of News Corp’s digital journalism initiative, responsible for driving and managing new business efforts in “premium digital journalism”.

• The Times and Sunday Times newspapers websites relaunched and have become the first News Corp consumer titles to start charging. (News Corp acquired one of the most famed news subscription offerings in WSJ.com as part of Dow Jones and is expanding paid access to multiple devices.)

• iPad editions debuted for The Times (£9.99 a month) and The Australian, (AUS$4.99 a month) through iTunes in-app payments, each making a big splash initially and satisfying Murdoch’s big belief in mobility. The Times app has had some rocky moments with those in-app payments, with an unknown number of subs getting free months as a result.

• Hulu, in which News Corp has a stake together with Disney (NYSE: DIS) and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), also launched its long-expected $9.99-a-month premium service for online, iOS and consoles.

• Fox Mobile offered up Bitbop, an unrelated subscription effort compared to Hulu for mobile.

• BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) took its iPhone TV app on to iPad, but at a premium – the same price as a satellite subscription.

• News Corp’s UK newspapers have been blocking the Meltwater search crawler for not paying one of two new licenses required for the privilege.

• And now MySpace Music is apparently considering adding a subscription music service.

There was no industry-wide consensus working together with News Corp, nor even any big joined-up News Corp-wide project apparent – no Times delivery bundled with a Sky TV subscription (as some folks speculated), for example. One partnership that News Corp is taking part in – Next Issue Media, often described as (what else) Hulu for magazines, finally appointed a chief executive but has yet to make any public progress toward an online subscription newsstand or advertising model.

But each of these developments reeks of “innovative subscription model”, just without the “number of publishers, device makers and technology companies” Murdoch described.

Murdoch’s suggestion did succeed in firing up a News Corp that already has ample experience building its own content businesses with continuous, multiple income streams. BSkyB is one of the most successful pay-TV businesses in the world, with average annual revenue per customer now at £503 ($769) a year, and Fox is well used to getting subscription revenue, albeit in the form of license fees from cable operators.

There’s little which links together any of these initiatives as far as consumers are concerned, and the model is often delivered in executed in different ways across the corporation’s many distinct media brands. But, inside News Corp, there’s an increasingly firm belief it can go on validating the recurring paid content model in its own image.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Ofcom’s new code of practice will require providers to include information on all paper bills regarding consumer access to dispute resolution services

Mobile phone and broadband providers must notify customers that they can take their complaints to a free independent resolution service, under plans outlined by communications regulator Ofcom.

An Ofcom-approved resolution service has been available to consumers from two approved providers – the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS), and the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) – but last year 77% of consumers who failed to resolve complaints with their phone and broadband provider after 12 weeks did not know they existed.

From next year, communications providers will have to include information of the relevant dispute resolution service on all paper bills. They will also have to write to consumers whose complaints have not been resolved within eight weeks to inform them of their right to take their complaint to a dispute resolution service.

Nick Hutton, telecoms expert at Consumer Focus, said: “Each year, millions of customers experience problems resolving their complaints about phone and broadband services. Making it easier for consumers to find out about the help available to resolve their complaints is a positive step.

“A further welcome move would be for phone and internet providers’ complaints data to be published. If consumers could compare performance on complaints handling it would allow them to factor this into their choice of provider and act as a spur to companies to improve help for customers who have cause to complain.”

Ofcom research shows that dispute resolution services improve the outcome for consumers. Where complaints about mobile providers were not resolved within 12 weeks, 91% of complaints were subsequently resolved when taken to a dispute resolution service compared with 51% where the consumer did not go to a dispute resolution service.

Ofcom will also establish a code of practice with minimum standards for how providers must handle consumer complaints. The idea is that the code will provide consistency in standards and will give Ofcom powers to take action against providers who don’t treat complainants fairly.

The code will require providers to make sure the fair and timely resolution of complaints, and have procedures that are transparent and accessible so consumers can easily find out how to make a complaint.

Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards, said: “We want to make sure that when something goes wrong, consumers are able to find out easily how to make a complaint and can be assured that their provider will be able to handle their complaint effectively.”

The code of practice will come into force on 22 January 2011. The requirements to improve awareness of dispute resolution services will come into force on 22 July 2011.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

• Quarterly figures show steep like-for-like decline
• Underlying profits also down 27%
• Sales rise 1% but handset prices are cut

Profits at Nokia have plunged over the last three months as the company continues to struggle against rivals such as Apple and RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, in the smartphone market.

The Finnish handset maker reported today that profits fell 40% in the second quarter of 2010 compared with a year ago. Underlying profits were down 27%.

Although net sales were 1% higher at just over €10bn (£8.4bn), the profitability of its handset and service division slipped as the company cut the prices of its higher-end phones to make them more attractive to consumers.

Nokia’s failure to compete better against Apple’s iPhone and the growing number of handsets running Google’s Android platform has put chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in the firing line. The company is reportedly looking for a replacement, with analysts warning that Nokia needs to get its hands on a “European Steve Jobs” if it is to regain its dominant position in the mobile market.

Kallasvuo called for an end to speculation over his future, telling the US television station CNBC that it is damaging the company. “There has been a lot of speculation on my position, on myself, during the last couple of weeks and that is not good for Nokia and must be brought to an end one way or another,” Kallasvuo said. “At the same time, I’m not in a position here and now to really shed any more light on the topic so I guess this is a no comment. I really concentrate now on the task at hand.”

Kallasvuo also insisted today that Nokia, which makes roughly four out of every 10 phones sold worldwide, had reasons to be optimistic, although the company is only aiming to maintain its share of the mobile device market this year. “The global handset market has continued to grow at a healthy pace, led by some of the less mature markets where Nokia is strong,” he said.

Kallasvuo added that solid sales of cheaper phones to developing markets had boosted the overall performance of Nokia’s handset business.

The average selling price of a Nokia handset dropped to €61 (£52), from €62 in the previous quarter. For smartphones, average prices fell 8% quarter-on-quarter to €143, and are down 21% over the last year.

Today’s figures suggest that Nokia is having to cut smartphone prices to maintain market share at the expense of profitability. Its smartphone shipments were up by 12% quarter-on-quarter at 24m units, in line with Nokia’s estimate for the overall growth of the market.

The company is now pinning its fortunes on the new Nokia N8 smartphone, although its release has already been delayed until later in the year.

Nokia also maintained its prediction that the global handset market volume would grow by 10% this year.

Earlier this week, Apple reported its best ever quarter, partly due to strong demand for the iPhone.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Nokia has published its second-quarter results, revealing a 40 per cent slump
in profits compared to the same period last year.

Read Full Story…
(Source Yahoo UK News)

Data from the Android developers site suggests that lots of phones are running 2.1 – but there’s something missing from what we’re being told which may mean it’s exaggerated

How fragmented is the Android platform? Google knows. And it’s quite interesting. The problem is that it’s not quite ready to tell us in detail. Only with winks and nudges.

The chart above comes from data on its developer site about versions accessing the Android Market for apps. A point to note: there’s only one Android device out there which is running 2.2 (aka “Froyo”), and that’s the Google Nexus One. Which has been discontinued.

However, some of the other phones can be upgraded to 2.2; it will be interesting to see what sort of timescale there is on that.

But what must be encouraging for the folks at Google, and Android developers, is that 2.1 is so dominant in that pie chart. (There’s a tiny fraction, 0.3%, consisting of “incompatible versions” – not sure what those would be.)

Because certainly the biggest threat – and the biggest problem – for Android developers is platform fragmentation. Old version of Android can’t run apps that target more recent versions, though old apps can run on the new platform. (Think of it as being like Windows. Sort of.) But the later Android versions have all sorts of features that you don’t get on the others. (You can see the version feature comparison on Wikipedia.)

The timings of the version releases:

1.5: 30 April 2009
1.6: 15 September 2009
2.1: 12 January 2010
2.2: 20 May 2010

That means that this chart covers just one year (roughly).

The notable things that 2.2 has that 2.1 hasn’t? Adobe Flash 10.1 support [corrected]; “remote wipe”; Wi-Fi hotspot function; voice dialling over Bluetooth. So now the question is how soon operators (particularly UK operators) will be pushing 2.2 out to Android customers. The suspicion is that the answer is “not soon”, given that 2.1 only just made its way (via an over-the-air – OTA – update).

And be wary – very wary – of trusting these graphics as really indicating the preponderance of Android versions out there. What we don’t know, because these graphs don’t show us, is:

- whether people with newer versions of Android are more likely to access the Android Market (that would push the share for newer versions upwards: and it seems likely, since I’d be very surprised if Nexus Ones really were 3% of all Android phones sold)

- what proportion of Android apps are written for what version of Android. Although Android apps are forwards-compatible (ie if it’s written for 1.5, it will run on 1.5 and every successive release), you’d certainly be put off visiting the Market if you went there once on a 1.5 or 1.6 phone and found that pretty much everything required a later version: you wouldn’t go very much more. That would also push the numbers towards the later versions, and make it look like the more recent versions are doing better. (If you know any data about what proportion of apps in the Market target which version, do tell us in the comments.)

Here’s how the access has changed, according to Google. But again, the same uncertainties prevail: how many? Are people put off? What’s the real growth?

True, Android sales have accelerated this year and 2.1 is getting more prevalent. But that comparatively big chunk of 2.2 accesses indicates, to me anyway, that this is a distorted picture of what handsets out there are truly running.

Of course Google could help us to dispel this all by publishing how many accesses there actually were, and how many downloads. Whereas Apple likes throwing out numbers from the App Store, which gets lots of people going “ooo!”, the problem is that there’s nothing much to compare it with. Come on, Google, get into the game. You said there were 160,000 activations per day. Now tell us about Android Market transactions. It’s the least you could do.

Well, that, and pushing the network operators and/or handset makers to push out version 2.2.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Industry experts have heavily criticised the decision to delay the rollout of
universal broadband by three years, likening it to giving the UK no more than
dial-up technology compared with its global competitors.

Read Full Story…
(Source Yahoo UK News)

The new Nokia C6 is out now on T-Mobile and it comes with up to £240 cash back on an 18 month contract.

With a 4 row QWERTY keyboard and a 3.2 inch, HD touchscreen display the Nokia C6 brings social networking to the palm of your hand. The homescreen can be customised with your favourite applications and can display emails, messages and Facebook updates from your top contacts.

All the email accounts you could ask for are supported such as Yahoo Mail, Hotmail and Gmail. The C6 can store up to 10 different email accounts and let you simply flick between them. Access to the Ovi store gives a huge choice of applications for the handset including Instant messaging clients like Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger.

The built-in 5 megapixel camera features autofocus and flash and can also record video clips. A secondary video camera is also included for use during video calls. Nokia Ovi maps offers on-foot and driving navigation to help you explore new places. Other features include an expandable memory to 16GB, quad-band for international use and a multimedia player that supports all popular file formats. An FM radio is also included as well as Wi-Fi/WLAN for web browsing.

Compare all Nokia C6 deals

The Samsung Galaxy Europa i5500 is an affordable smartphone that allows even those on a budget to experience the intuitive Android 2.1 OS. With 3G HSDPA web browsing you can access your favourite social networks and web pages at broadband like speeds. Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE and Bluetooth ensure a comprehensive choice of connection options and with GPS support you can be sure to find your way. The multimedia player offers entertainment on the move and supports all popular video and music file formats.

The built-in camera lets you capture the moment with a choice of either still images or video clips. The bright touchscreen acts as a viewfinder for the camera and browsing the captured images is a joy. The Samsung i5500 offers the appealing and popular Android OS in a budget smartphone that will appeal to all pockets.

Compare all Samsung i5500 deals

Early experiences by various testers show growing interest in new interface experience from Microsoft – but excitement is restrained

The early previews of Windows Phone 7 – for which reference hardware has started shipping to developers – are in. What to make of them? I think the best way to describe them would be a crouching ovation: people who’ve tried it like the fact that Microsoft is trying something different with the mobile experience, but they really can’t decide if it’s going to be a success or not.

Engadget’s in-depth preview (an intriguing concept) is sort of positive: “Microsoft still has a few months before it intends to get the first volley of Windows Phone 7-based products to the marketplace, but we’ve recently been provided with reference hardware — a not-for-retail Samsung called “Taylor” that’s closely modeled on the Symbian-based i8910HD — to get a feel for where they’re at as the clock ticks down.”

Quick briefs: “We were extremely surprised and impressed by the software’s touch responsiveness and speed. In fact, this is probably the most accurate and nuanced touch response this side of iOS4. It’s kind of stunning how much work Microsoft has done on the user experience since we first saw this interface — everything now comes off as a tight, cohesive whole. It really put one of our major fears about Windows Phone 7 to rest. We haven’t seen any substantial lag while using the device, and the short transitions between applications or pages are well suited to the overall experience.”

Although: “the controversial cut-off text is still present, and while we happen to like the way it looks, it’s definitely an acquired taste, and there are times when it just doesn’t work, like in the Office hub where PowerPoint looks like it reads “PowerPoir.” And two other things: “There are two big omissions here, in our opinion. The device won’t support copy and paste, and won’t support third-party multitasking of apps. We knew this would be the case given what we heard at MIX10, but it doesn’t stink any less now. The former really doesn’t make any sense to us, especially since Microsoft did a good job of nailing text editing and selection (at least in Word, and really… you guys make Word), and it looks like it would only be a short walk to a contextual pop-over for copy and paste functions. The latter is practically inexcusable in this day and age — even Apple (which has been a complete laggard in this area) now supports basic multitasking.”

But they like the keyboard (“the keyboard in Windows Phone 7 is really, really good. We’re talking nearly as good as the iPhone keyboard, and definitely better than the stock Android option. It’s one of the best and most accurate virtual keyboards we’ve used on any platform — and that’s saying a lot”) and screen resolution (“the Windows Phone 7 standard 480 x 800″).

Then again, there are points where Engadget’s not so happy, which tallies with some of the doubts I expressed earlier (though I must point out that I’ve not held a WP7 phone, nor seen it demoed): “Windows Phone 7 doesn’t have “contacts,” per se — it has a People app, and there’s quite a difference. This is a thoroughly social platform, and it doesn’t really seek to make any sort of differentiation between people you talk to / text / email, those you just casually observe, and those with whom you’re “friends” in name only. If that kind of philosophy reeks of Motorola Blur or Palm Synergy, you’re on the right track; as soon as you add a Windows Live, Exchange, or Facebook account, it pulls in every contact associated with that account and disperses associated content throughout your entire phone — there’s nothing you can do about it. That means, for example, that your Pictures app could have a bunch of shots of your ex’s aunt’s new boyfriend’s dog in it (more on that in a bit), and there’s not a whole lot you can do to stop that behavior without completely removing your Facebook account from the phone.

“With Exchange, this strategy is probably fine in most cases — contact sync is one of the main reasons you use Exchange ActiveSync, really — but seriously, Facebook is another matter altogether. If you’ve got a lot of Facebook friends, this renders your People app all but useless as a traditional phone contact list.”

Over at ZDNet UK, there’s another preview which goes (like Engadget) into plenty of detail: “Microsoft has stripped away all unnecessary information (almost too much, actually — the status bar displaying battery life, signal strength, and so forth goes into hiding after a couple of seconds) and soft buttons, and created a Start screen that consists of ‘live tiles’, which are essentially dynamic widgets to your favorite apps, contacts and hubs, and also display alerts, such as new email and missed calls. You can rearrange the order of the tiles and remove them by doing a long press on the screen. You can also ‘pin’ new tiles, but to do so, you must first navigate to the list of apps or the People hub, find the item that you want to add and then pin it to the Start screen.”

OK, and those hubs… “The names of the hubs are pretty self-explanatory. For example, the People hub merges contact information from your various accounts and then displays them in one long list. A swipe to the right will show you Facebook status updates (unfortunately, Windows Phone 7 will not have Twitter or MySpace integration at launch) and lets you add comments, while another swipe will brings up the people you’ve contacted most recently.”

“This type of panoramic UI runs across all the various hubs with bold, attractive text splashed across the top to identify different subsections (a.k.a. Pivots) and in some cases, a small contextual toolbar along the bottom of the screen to help you perform app-specific tasks.”

“Some might complain that this type of navigation requires too much scrolling and can be overly complicated. Admittedly, this is true when compared to Apple’s iOS 4 and Google’s Android, and may be a turn-off for consumers. On the other hand, we appreciate the ability to do so many things from one place without having to launch several different apps, so we have to give Microsoft kudos for thinking of this kind of organisation. We also like the consistent UI, which makes it easy to work the other hubs.”

Another point which has been made elsewhere: “What’s interesting about Windows Phone 7, though, is that at times it feels as though you’re getting two completely different experiences on one phone. The Start screen/menu list and some apps — such as the phone dialer, email inbox and calendar — are completely minimalistic, while other aspects of the phone, including the aforementioned hubs and multimedia features, are more sophisticated and elegant. It doesn’t hurt the navigation, as such, but is doesn’t make the phone feel like a cohesive unit either.”

And the big question: “Will this resonate with users? Frankly, we think it’ll be a hard sell initially. Despite all the improvements made to the UI, it’s still more involved than other operating systems. That said, we’d also caution you not to dismiss it completely, simply because it’s different. Change is scary, but it can also be a good thing.”

It’s a long review, which you’re urged to read in detail.

Meanwhile the Wired Gadgetlab has put its sticky fingers all over the screen: here’s the video. Their principal comment: “Still the lack of any kind of real app store is a major hindrance. Also, Microsoft just will not give up on the Zune marketplace. It’s admirable, but maybe they should re-examine their reasoning for keeping it.” But surely the Zune Marketplace is Microsoft’s leg up to an App Store? Abandoning it would look weird.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer, certainly thought so. So we thought it might be worth a point-by-point comparison

Comparisons are odious. That’s why it’s usually journalists and marketing people who indulge in them. So indulge me while I pick some apart.

Quoth Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer – the man who makes sure that the money is coming in right, who makes sure that the wheels of the company’s bank accounts are turning fast enough to satisfy shareholders – earlier this week: “One of the things that I want to make sure that you know today is that you’re going to be able to use the Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how you’re holding it to make a phone call.” He said it at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, adding: “It looks like iPhone 4 might be their Vista.”

Though Turner wasn’t to know it, Apple was even then preparing its press conference to explain what (if anything) it was going to do about the whole iPhone 4 reception issue. 22 days after the release of the iPhone, Jobs led a press conference explaining that anyone who’d bought an iPhone 4 could have a free “bumper”. (The office joke: 1 day to diagnose the problem, 21 days to prepare and rehearse the presentation.) Those reception problems? Common to all phones, insisted Jobs, who deflected lots of questions in his customary expert way.

That leaves the “PR experts” who earlier this week told Cult of Mac that Apple would have to recall the iPhone 4 looking pretty stupid. Because they were stupid. Pause for a moment and remind yourself: on what grounds are items recalled? Oh yes, when they cause injury or death, or pose a hazard to the public. Losing your data reception because you (avoidably) covered the exposed antenna definitely likes in the category that Twitter calls #firstworldproblems. The idea that Apple would recall a device on that basis is simply laughable. In every newsroom, there’s a point early in the day when your news edior asks you what’s going to happen over some scheduled story: on Friday morning (UK time, before Cupertino was yawning and turning the alarm off) I was asked what would come out of the Apple press conference, and I said that Apple would portray problems with antennas as common to the entire industry, that it would offer free bumpers or cash refunds, or a full refund for anyone who wanted them, and that there was no chance of a recall. Do you think I qualify as a PR expert on that basis?

But let’s go back to the eminently sane and reasonable Kevin Turner. In his speech, he acknowledged that in the areas both of Vista and mobile phones, Microsoft had a bad patch. He’s happy now to praise Windows 7, and is full of expectation for Windows Phone 7. (Others differ, of course, but we have to wait and see.)

However, the idea that the iPhone 4 might be Apple’s “Vista”? Let’s try the comparisons.

Vista: fell seriously behind schedule, requiring Jim Allchin to take the project through a “reset“.
iPhone 4: released on the schedule everyone expected, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Vista: dropped much-promised features including WinFS as part of the “reset”.
iPhone 4: we don’t know what features were planned for it; we only know what we got, which is a ceramic case to (try to) improve signal reception, and a screen with a remarkable pixel density.

Vista: met enormous resistance from consumers, who couldn’t understand why it looked and ran so differently from its well-received and hugely popular (if insecure) predecessor, Windows XP.
iPhone 4: sold 1.7m in first three days, of whom 75% were owners of the previous version, according to data on both sides of the Atlantic from Bloomberg and AQA.

Vista: met even greater resistance from Microsoft’s main customers in enterprises, who didn’t like the fact that it didn’t run a lot of the software that ran on Windows XP.
iPhone 4: ran any and all apps that ran on previous iPhones and/or iPod Touches.

Vista: offered substantially greater security and reliability than predecessor.
iPhone 4: offered the same security and reliability as predecessor, plus cooperative multitasking.

Vista: was the subject of a court battle which exposed internal emails from Microsoft, revealing disquiet inside the company over OEM PCs which described themselves as “Vista-ready” even though they would not be able to run any but the lowest-specified versions of Vista.
iPhone 4: is the subject of a claim by the Wall Street Journal that people within Apple knew about problems with the antenna, but that Jobs nixed their criticisms because he liked the design. At the press event on Friday, Jobs called this “total bullshit”. Decide for yourself who’s telling the truth.

Vista: Microsoft never “apologised” for Vista, since it didn’t feel the need to.
iPhone 4: Jobs admitted that “we’re not perfect” but then added that nobody is. You’d be hard-pressed to really call it an apology.

Vista: Wouldn’t run on some Microsoft execs’ machines when they tried to upgrade them.
iPhone 4: Worked OK – though some people updating older phones have had problems with the latest (iOS 4.0.1) update “bricking” them.

So on balance, is the iPhone 4 really like Vista? It’s hard to overstate how monumental a screwup the development of Vista was. The entire development had to jettison key elements, such as WinFS (for search), and try to focus on getting the operating system out of the door. And as soon as it was released, people started complaining about its weird user interface experience; which led a Chinese Australian to set up a site where people could unload about it. (He was snowed under within days.) It’s still worth looking at that site, and seeing whether the points that people have made there have been fixed in Windows 7.

In short, the iPhone 4 antenna issue isn’t Apple’s “Vista moment” – despite what Turner might wish. It’s an annoyance to people who’ve spent that money, but Jobs’s numbers about the low level of returns (1.7%) compared to the 3GS (6%) – which will be pored over by analysts, and will have the force of a financial statement, meaning that if Jobs has fibbed then he’s theoretically liable to be hauled in front of the Securities and Exchange Commission – indicates that unlike Vista, users are actually very happy with it. (That’s also the anecdotal response I’ve had on Twitter.)

Sure, you might be annoyed, if you queued overnight or for hours in the baking sun, that the phone isn’t perfect. But there are lots of phones; personally I don’t have an iPhone or an iPad, because presently I think they’re too expensive for what they offer. You could easily choose another. The snark on view on Twitter indicates, to me, a strange sort of envy on the part of many people; a desire to see a company brought down because of its hubris, rather than its failings.

Certainly, Apple has never wanted for hubris, but it does try to live up to its own aims.

But what about the company that made Vista? There are still challenges ahead for Microsoft: the fact that Google is winning Office customers over to its much cheaper Google Apps products (something that Turner alluded to in his speech – search for the first mention of ‘Google’); the fact that it is only managing to grow its Bing search engine share by spending $1 for every $1 of business it brings in; the fact that Windows Phone 7 remains an unknown quantity which the company has all but staked its reputation in the mobile market on. (Sales of Windows Mobile licences, the previous generation, are dwindling; it would be interesting to see what the licensing revenue is for them. Apparently HTC, once – possibly still – the biggest licensee of Windows Mobile is going to go with Windows Phone 7 – though it seems to be doing rather nicely out of Android at present.)

Lastly, the point that so many people overlook about Apple relates to its ambitions for the iPhone. These are rarely stated. When Steve Jobs launched it in 2007, he said the ambition was a 1% share of the entire phone market: “10 million units and we’ll go from there.”

That’s not the sort of barnstorming that you expect from most companies; they talk about capturing huge chunks. Apple wasn’t looking to get huge share. But you can bet that, being Apple, the plan was to make a lot more than 1% of the profit out there. Apple doesn’t necessarily want to dominate the market for smartphones (though it would certainly be happy to do that, just like the market for digital music players, where it effectively has a monopoly). It just wants to dominate all the profit. The cost of issuing these free bumpers to iPhone owners is going to be about $50m at the most (assuming 5m buyers and a $10 cost to Apple for the whole transaction.) The issue might have cost it more – but you can bet it’s not going to stop it rolling on. That’s perhaps the only way in which the iPhone 4 is really like Vista: it’s not going to stop the next stage of its ambitions.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Firm offers free covers to owners and new buyers after signal problems sparked demands for recall

Apple’s iPhone 4 conference – as it happened

Apple is offering a free rubber “bumper” to owners of the iPhone 4 to head off criticism over problems with its signal reception but dismissed suggestions that the device should be recalled.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said the problems had affected only “a small batch” of phones, and that it was due to an “inherent problem” with smartphones. “We’re not perfect,” he said at a press conference at Apple’s HQ in Cupertino, California. “We haven’t figured out a way around the laws of physics yet.”

Nevertheless Apple will offer the “bumpers”, which cover the sides of the phone, around the exposed metal antenna which receives the mobile signal. When users have held the phones by the bottom and left sides it has led to a loss of signal. People who have already bought a case are entitled to a free cash refund.

Jobs headed off the suggestion that Apple would have to recall the phone, following a media storm which had seen some compare the problems to those faced by Toyota, whose cars suffered problems with the accelerators and brakes. However the iPhone has not met any of the usual criteria for a product recall, such as spontaneously combusting or causing harm through heat or emission.

Jobs revealed that Apple has sold 3m of the iPhone 4 since its launch on 24 June. That indicates that the rate of sales has slowed dramatically, after 1.7m were sold in the first three days. But he insisted customer satisfaction was higher than with previous versions: the return rate was just 1.7%, he said, compared to 6% for the previous model, the iPhone 3GS released last summer.

The company said it cannot make enough bumpers to satisfy demand, but will keep the offer of the free case open until September.

Jobs admitted that there had been complaints about the phone losing signal when held by the left and bottom sides – but said that they were natural for any phone. He acknowledged they were not perfect but insisted that every phone manufacturer had problems with antenna design and interaction with the body’s tendency to absorb the phone signal. Apple’s stock rebounded as Jobs began speaking at 6pm UK time last night.

Apple’s share price fell by 4% overnight on Tuesday, knocking $9.9bn (£6.5bn) off the company’s $230bn value, as speculation grew that the phone might have to be recalled.

Since the iPhone 4′s launch, there have been many complaints about the way that the signal appears to drop off dramatically when it is held with a hand wrapped around its left and bottom sides (a problem dubbed the “iPhone Death Grip”).

Apple this week said that it had made a “simple and surprising” error in the software that displayed the strength of the signal, and on Thursday night issued a software update which changes how many bars are displayed when the signal becomes weaker.

The iPhone problems now feature in dozens of jokes. Earlier this week Kevin Turner, the chief operating officer of Microsoft, spoke at a conference about its Windows Phone 7 software.

“One of the things that I want to make sure that you know today,” he said, “is that you’re going to be able to use the Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how you’re holding it to make a call.”

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(Source The Guardian)

Just 99p with free delivery, offer is subject to buying a £10 top up. Available on a choice of networks; Vodafone, T-Mobile or TalkMobile. Don’t delay as this is likely to sell out very quickly.

The Nokia 1661 is frequently one of our most popular phones. It costs less than £1 (limited stock) and it has some amazing cash back deals on contract too. There are no complicated features, it’s just the thing for people who want to make calls and send a few texts. Even though it’s an entry-level phone it does have a couple of nifty tricks. Such as a speaking alarm clock and a built-in torch. Nothing cutting edge but you will find these to be surprisingly useful features!

The Nokia 1661 has six classic Nokia games pre-loaded, including Snake Xenia, Beach Rally, Bounce and Sudoku. It would be unfair to compare them to the impressive 3D games found on high end phones, but they do have their moments and are just as enjoyable, even on the primitive 1.8 inch screen. There’s also a built-in radio and a basic wired headset is included in the box. What a wonderful little phone it is.

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The Sony Ericsson Zylo is out now on The One Plan from 3. For just £28 per month you get 2000 minutes to any network, virtually unlimited texts and free calls to other phones on the same network. It also comes with 1GB of data per month. Amazing value for money. Other tariffs are available from just £13 per month.

The Sony Ericsson Zylo has social networking at its heart and includes a Walkman player for enhanced audio quality. Facebook and Twitter come pre-loaded to get you to the latest wall updates and tweets quickly and easily. Web browsing with HSPA offers a speedy browsing experience with Google Search to help you find the information you need.

The 3.2 megapixel camera features Photo fix, 2x digital zoom and geo-tagging. You can post your snaps on Picasa and Flickr to share the moment with family and friends. The camera can also capture video clips and the pre-loaded YouTube application allows you to upload your clips or view a huge variety of other videos.

The walkman player features shake control, Clear Stereo and Clear Bass to make the most of your music. Listen to your favourite tracks out loud or enjoy stereo sound on a Bluetooth headset. The internal memory can be expanded up to 16GB so you can carry your music collection with you.

Entertainment options include a FM Radio with RDS, video player and video streaming. All message options are included with SMS, MMS, Email and instant messaging.

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This new Android phone from ZTE is available on The One Plan from 3. For just £28 per month you get 2000 minutes to any network, virtually unlimited texts and free calls to other phones on the same network. It also comes with 1GB of data per month. Other tariffs avaialble from £13 per month.

The ZTE Racer sports the Android 1.6 operating system that opens up a massive range of downloadable applications, many of which are free, to boost the already impressive feature set. Styled on a Palm type design the Racer offers an up to date look that will impress.

The front fascia is dominated by the large 2.8 inch QVGA touch-screen display thus providing plenty of space for operation and content alike. 3G Internet access opens up a world of virtual shops, news and sports sites wherever you are, and finally means the laptop can be left at home or in the office. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi and wireless Bluetooth, crucial for today’s need to connect with each other quickly and safely. The ZTE Racer provides entertainment with a FM radio and offers guided navigation with GPS support.

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We have an exclusive deal for you on the iPhone 4 with nothing to pay upfront. It’s on Orange Solo, costing £47 per month on a 24m contract. It comes with 1200 minutes, 200 texts, 750MB of mobile data and 750MB of Wi-Fi data.

Not familiar with iPhone 4? Want to know what all the fuss is about? The new Retina 3.5 inch display on the iPhone 4 hits you with a clarity of visuals not yet experienced on a smartphone. The individual pixels are so fine the human eye cannot see them and so brings an unparalleled high-definition experience. The 5 megapixel camera takes full advantage of this optical range and offers tap-to-focus, geo-tagging, LED flash/light, iMovie editor and video capture at 720p/30fps.

Multitasking no longer drains the battery and allows the built-in iPod to play music and videos whilst downloading the latest iBook or navigating your journey with the help of A-GPS, maps and a digital compass. The fun side of the iPhone offers 3D motion-sensing game play and the Safari Web browser gives access to more than 200,000 downloadable applications as well as putting the Internet at the touch of your fingers.

In-call features include 2 video cameras that can capture the user as well as their surroundings and dual microphones for a superior quality of sound. Messages are kept in one unified inbox and the menu assists in keeping things organised with applications that can be placed into folders.

The 16GB Apple iPhone 4 has a stylish design with a black stainless steel band and flat glossy surfaces with a fingerprint resistant coating. Truly the must have gadget for 2010, the iPhone 4 is set to make most other smartphones look rather mediocre.

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Plus development of “motoring masterclass” iPhone app costs only slightly less than brand new Audi TT Roadster, and you might be closer to Kevin Spacey online than you think

Enjoy the latest smattering of links, as picked by the Technology team

Dev aims to get Frash running on iPad >> CNET News
Canny developer brings out Frash – an application for jailbroken iPads allowing use of Flash in Safari. We await the tests on battery life etc.


Photo by mikealex on Flickr. Some rights reserved

Government spends thousands on iPhone apps >> BBC News
Freedom of Information request reveals iPhone app development costs ranging from £10,000 to £40,000 – a proposed DVLA “motoring masterclass” app (still in development) costing £40k.

On Twitter, a close-knit network >> New York TimesTell all of your friends: 98% of Twitter users are within six degrees of connection from each other.

Sony drops eBook reader prices – but UK still sky high >> PC Pro
No comment from Sony on why, despite UK price cut, we’re still getting a bum deal compared to our Stateside friends.

Everything you need to know about the fragmented mobile developer ecosystem >> TechCrunchVision Mobile’s extensive Developer Economics research report has some interesting findings, worth bookmarking for later reference. Interesting findings, for example, like app stores having reduced the average time-to-shelf by two thirds, and reduced the average time-to-payment by more than half.

Chrome OS gets ready for gaming >> ReadWriteWeb“Web browsers, like IE, Chrome, Safari and Firefox, haven’t traditionally been able to detect which way is up. That may soon change for Google Chrome”

The unstoppable “tech support” scam >> PC Pro
PC Pro investigate a cold-calling scam reportedly affecting UK PC owners.

Strong sales lift HTC profit 33% >> Wall Street Journal
Second-quarter unaudited net profit for the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer was $268m, up 33% year-on-year.

Facebook, Twitter, web enrich social lives, says Pew >> eWeek
“A survey by Pew and Elon found that 85 percent of 895 “technology stakeholders” and pundits agreed that the Internet has mostly been a positive force in peoples’ social lives.”

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

The Nokia E5 has an utterly superb battery life. With up to 29 days standby and up to 18 hours talk it’s perfect for perfect for anyone who needs an exceptional battery life, such as heavy users or those who travel on a regular basis. One-touch gives access to contacts and social networking sites and with live updates from Facebook posted straight into the contact list keeping up with the latest news and gossip has never been easier.

The latest version of Nokia messaging offers full instant messaging and support for multiple email accounts such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Ovi Mail. For business users Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveller applications are also supported. A-GPS and Ovi Maps with free walk and drive navigation boost the appeal of this 3G handset that additionally connects to the Internet and the Ovi Store in speedy fashion using the HSDPA Web browser.

The 5 megapixel camera works well in all lighting conditions, it has fixed focus and an LED flash. Images, music and video files can be stored onto the 256MB internal memory that can be boosted up to 16GB with a microSD card. Keeping up with the latest news, weather, sports and music releases is simple using the stereo FM radio with RDS and listening in private can be achieved by connecting your own favourite headphones to the 3.5mm audio jack. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and quad-band international roaming. The 4 row QWERTY keypad with dedicated nav-key fits nicely into the ergonomic design of the superb Nokia E5.

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Subscribers to discount website Groupola can pick up handset for £400 less than Apple charges – if they are quick enough

A discount website specialising in ‘city deals’ is offering users the chance to purchase the new Apple iPhone 4 on 1 July for just £99, compared to the £499 Apple charges . Groupola.com only has a limited number of handsets available and is offering them exclusively to its email subscribers.

It says it is able to offer such low prices because it relies on group-buying to regularly offer discounts of up to 90% on events and products across the UK’s major cities and tourist attractions.

O2 is selling the 16GB iPhone 4 for £209 if you sign up to an 18-month contract and spend £30 a month, while Vodafone wants £219 for the 16GB version if you also spend £30 a month for 18 months. You can compare packages here.

Mark Pearson, managing director of Groupola, says: “Given that the iPhone 4 sold out through pre-orders alone in just 48 hours through the Apple store, we thought it was only right to offer loyal Groupola.com discount hunters another bite of the cherry. We’ve proved that the concept of group buying can work within the UK.”

To purchase the iPhone for £99 you need to be an email subscriber, so you’ll need to visit the site and sign up to receive daily alerts. You will be sent a link on 1 July which will allow you to purchase the phone on 2 July on a first come, first served basis.

“My advice is to open the link the second the clock ticks over at 9.30am – by 9.31am you may already have been too late,” adds Pearson.

The firm has admitted that the deal is a loss-leader and there is only a limited number of phones available. It has also said that people can easily unsubscribe from the daily alerts should they wish to.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Free on Vodafone with 9 months half price line rental via redemption cash back. Great deal on Samsung’s stunning Android phone with its 4 inch Super AMOLED display.

The Samsung Galaxy S has the Android 2.1 operating system and a high performance 1GHz processor to provide a superb user experience via the TouchWiz interface. The 4 inch super AMOLED display and resolution of 800×480 pixels place this smartphone in league of its own.

Web browsing is provided by a 3G HSDPA Internet connection and ensures the experience rivals that of a home computer or laptop. Google Talk, YouTube and a media player are but a few of the features the Galaxy S gives access to and with A-GPS support and Google Maps nothing has been forgotten in this must have package. The 5 megapixel camera utilises image stabilisation and auto-focus to capture high quality pictures and has the flexibility to be used as a HD video recorder.

Connectivity options include Bluetooth and quad-band reception for a better experience when overseas. SMS, MMS, instant messaging and email access ensure you can keep connected by your choice of format wherever you may go. Dimensions of 122×64x10mm make this smartphone pocket friendly and at only 118g it can be carried around almost unnoticed. The Galaxy S comes with 8GB internal memory, which can be upgraded with an additiona 32GB microSD card.

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