CompareMobiles.com

Holidaymakers are being milked by extortortionate charges to access the internet on their mobile phones

We are planning to go on holiday next month to France. Which is nice. I am also planning to take my phone now that the mobile internet is exploding. Which is also nice. The trouble is that I am actually planning to use my phone in order to access the web (email, Twitter, Flickr etc), and that’s where the problems start. I have been ranting about excessive data charges abroad for years so I was interested to see how things had changed now that “unlimited” data packages are widely available in the UK.

The man in the T-Mobile shop said they charged £1.50 a megabyte in data charges for mobile phones accessing the internet in France. To give some idea of what that means, I recently uploaded a three-minute video to YouTube, which was over 80MB. For nothing. If I had done that on T-Mobile’s tariff, it would have cost me £120. A single song these day could be 10MB, which would cost £15 to download.

I decided to ring my current provider, O2, to get a comparison. An extremely helpful assistant quoted me £3 a megabyte for France – twice the rate of T-Mobile, which was starting to look cheap. She pointed out that “bolt-ons” to my existing tariff were available offering a package of 10MB for £20 or 50MB for £50. A bit better, but still crap.

My final port of call was Vodafone, which used to be my operator of choice until they tried to charge me £250 for the privilege of staying loyal to them when I upgraded my phone. I wondered whether they had changed their spots. The man in the shop quoted me £4.25 a megabyte – which would have pushed the cost of uploading that video to £340 and a single track to £42.50, with no special bolt-ons to bring down the price.

So what is going on here? This is not something happening in a computer game, it is the real world. Unsuspecting people going abroad regularly get milked by those extortionate charges. And savvy people get caught as well. I know someone in the business who checked before he left for eastern Europe that he was not going to be exposed to these charges only to find out he had run up a £600 bill the first morning.

It is happening because the operators have treated their customers with scarcely concealed contempt for years. Not only did they build walled gardens around their phones, thereby shutting out rival products but they also paid content providers a pittance to create games and other stuff for their sites. This was not only bad manners but bad business. If they had paid content providers decent prices and had cheaper data charges they could have built up a market for apps years before Apple came on to the scene. But it took Apple to break their monopoly by popularising “all you can eat” data charges and letting developers keep 70% of the income (before VAT).

But where is the white knight who will ride to the rescue over data charges abroad? The European commission has done much to improve roaming charges, but hasn’t so far made much impact on data. It would be called daylight robbery except that it goes on through the night as well. It is not even in the interests of business because if international charges were capped it would lead to an explosion of data traffic, which would more than make up for the willful exploitation of their so-called customers.

There is an alternative – to use free Wi-Fi hotspots – but not everyone has access to them. The other possibility is that I may have missed something and there is actually a sensible argument for high data charges. Is there anyone out there from the operators who would care to put the argument for the defence? If not, then they should immediately put a stop to this outrageous scandal.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Tags: 10, 12, 3, all, apple, blog, charges, cheaper, compare, comparemobiles.com, comparison, email, free, line, maker, mobile, Mobile News, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobiles, new, o2, phone, phones, prices, roaming, service, sol, t-mobile, tariff, three, twitter, uk, vodafone, world

Despite pressure on networks to drop roaming rates, MVNO Truphone is convinced of its business model, and the potential of a 125m global market

Read Full Story…
(Source Mobile News CWP)

Tags: 10, 12, compare, comparemobiles.com, global, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, networks, new, phone, roaming, sol, uk

New Mobile & Latest Deal News!

The Samsung Monte has a 3 inch capacitive touchscreen to bring messaging, photos, videos and the Internet to life. The TouchWiz user interface employs intuitive graphics to guide the user from menu to application with ease. Social network integration with live updates ensures the latest gossip and pictures are only a touch away, while texts, emails and Palringo instant messaging provide a complete communication package. Access to the Internet is fast and seamless with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and a full HTML web browser. In addition to browsing, multiple applications can be downloaded to personalise and expand the functionality of the Monte.

With operation in either landscape or portrait views the 3.2 megapixel camera offers quality imaging. The use of the camera is further expanded with smile detection, geo-tagging, self timer, night mode, image editor and QVGA video capture at 15 frames per second. Once your media has been captured it can be stored onto the 200MB memory, that can be expanded up to 16GB with a microSD card. The media player handles all popular music and video formats, and can be enjoyed using the built-in speakers, via a Bluetooth headset or on your own headphones connected to the standard 3.5mm audio jack. The audio quality is exceptional and boasts 3D sound effects and DNSe (digital natural sound engine). Live music 24 hours a day can also be obtained using the built-in stereo FM radio with RDS.

Further notable features include Google Maps 3.0, A-GPS support, Wi-Fi, a document viewer and quad-band international roaming. The Monte weighs only 92g and has dimensions of 109×54x12mm. The battery standby of up to 760 hours is superb and matched by the talk-time of almost six hours. The Samsung Monte S5620 is almost unsurpassed for functionality and has a sporty design with its visually striking colour stripe.

Compare all Samsung Monte deals

Tags: 10, 12, 3, all, card, compare, compare deals, comparemobiles.com, deal, Deals, email, google, latest, latest deal, mobile, mobiles, new, new mobile, phone, phones, roaming, sam, samsung, sol, test, Touch, update

New Mobile & Latest Deal News!

HTC continue to amaze with their latest offerings the Legend and Desire. Both handsets offer a fast processor and the intuitive HTC Sense interface. These powerful Android smartphones have very similar specifications, with the same processor, OS, 5 megapixel camera, HSDPA web browsing and GPS.

So which road to take?

The HTC legend is simply stunning, formed from a single piece of aluminium giving it a premium polished look. The 3.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen has a resolution of 320×480 pixels, giving images a sharp appearance. The handy Friend Stream feature brings all your social networks together in one place with updates and posted images brought into a single stream on the homepage. The 5 megapixel camera has autofocus, LED flash and widescreen photo capture. Photos can be uploaded straight to Facebook and Flickr. The Legend also has GPS with Google Maps and a digital compass.

The innovative G-Sensor lowers the ring volume when the handset is picked up and mutes the ringer when the phone is put face down. Entertainment features are abundant on this phone and include an FM radio, video player and MP3 player. It’s quad-band for international roaming and has Bluetooth, as expected. The HTC Legend weighs 126g and measures a compact 112 x 56.3 x 11.5mm.

The HTC Desire offers all the same great features of the Legend with a bit more oomph. The Desire features a larger screen at 3.7 inch that excels when viewing videos and web content. The optimised browser offers seamless content loading and the text reflow feature allows you to zoom into text at a size you want for easier reading. It still has a great look and at only 12mm thick its very pocket friendly. The Desire is a little heavier at 135g and is slightly larger (119 x 60 x 11.9mm) to incorporate the bigger screen.

If you are looking for high-end specs and don’t mind the larger proportions the Desire would be the best choice for you. If you admire the finer things in life and don’t want to compromise on functionality then the Legend’s blend of beauty and power is the way to go.

Compare HTC Desire deals
Compare HTC Legend deals

Tags: 12, 3, all, android, best, compare, comparemobiles.com, deal, Deals, google, HTC, latest, latest deal, mobile, mobiles, networks, new, new mobile, phone, phones, roaming, sam, sim, sol, test, Touch, update

New Mobile & Latest Deal News!

The HTC Legend is reminiscent of the popular Hero with a slim design and the trademark chin. The Legend’s 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen is surrounded by a sleek alloy casing and feels great in the palm. Running on the Android 2.1 (Eclair) OS and a 600 MHz processor the device can easily cope with running applications quickly and users can easily navigate through the phone with the multi touch Sense UI. For live contact updates, images and messages, the FriendStream service offers a fantastic social networking experience.

The super sharp AMOLED touchscreen is perfect for viewing movies on the go and the 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash enables users to take brilliant photos every time. Being a smartphone, all the usual connectivity options are included including HSDPA and Wi-Fi for fast web browsing so sharing your photos with friends via Twitter, Facebook and Twitter is easily done.

Other features include aGPS, Google maps and quad-band for international roaming, MP3 player and ringtones and a nifty G-sensor that lowers the ringer volume when it detects the handset has been picked up.

Compare all HTC Legend deals

Tags: 12, 3, all, android, compare, comparemobiles.com, contract, deal, Deals, free, google, HTC, latest, latest deal, mobile, mobiles, new, new mobile, palm, phone, roaming, service, sol, test, Touch, twitter, update

The International Telecommunication Union has released a new standard which
it claims will boost mobile services in the areas of roaming and compatibility.

Read Full Story…
(Source Yahoo UK News)

Tags: 10, 12, 3, compare, comparemobiles.com, launches, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, released, roaming, service, sol, uk

Mobile operators must allow customers to set a limit on how much they spend on data roaming in the EU, or impose a €50 cap

Read Full Story…
(Source ZDNet UK)

Tags: 3, all, compare, comparemobiles.com, google, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, roaming, sol, uk

The Travel Pass range of data-capped and time-limited mobile broadband bundles aims to help people avoid ‘bill shock’ when travelling in the EU

Read Full Story…
(Source ZDNet UK)

Tags: 3, compare, comparemobiles.com, google, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, roaming, sol, uk, virgin

The mobile operator has introduced a package that allows customers to get 2MB of data for a day, while they are in Europe

Read Full Story…
(Source ZDNet UK)

Tags: 3, all, cheaper, compare, comparemobiles.com, google, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, orange, roaming, sol, uk

• Chief executive “very interested” but refuses to say whether talks have taken place
• Vodafone reports better-than-expected third-quarter profits

Vodafone has set its sights on selling the Apple iPad in the UK after its success with the iPhone, which it started selling in the UK last month.

Speaking after the world’s largest mobile phone company by sales announced better-than-expected third-quarter results, chief executive Vittorio Colao said he was “very interested” in the iPad, which Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled in San Francisco last week.

“I have not, personally, touched one but I really look forward to it. I believe it is going to be another important piece of the [mobile] data experience.I think anything that improves the customer experience with mobile data is welcome and as such I would be very interested in having it.”

He refused to say whether any talks have actually taken place, but Apple is understood to be scouting for UK wireless partners for the device. Earlier this week O2 UK chief executive Ronan Dunne said he is also interested in the iPad, but it is unclear exactly how it will be sold this side of the Atlantic.

There is speculation that O2 and Orange have already put in an order for the micro-SIMs needed to provide 3G wireless connectivity in the iPad.

Orange has already started talks with Apple to sell the iPad in the UK. The company, owned by France Telecom, was also the first British network to break O2′s exclusive hold on the iPhone. It started selling the handset last November and is understood to have sold over 200,000 by Christmas.

Vodafone’s third-quarter results yesterday were boosted by sales of smartphones, which pushed the company’s revenues from mobile data services – such as internet browsing – over £1bn in the quarter for the first time in the firm’s history. In the three months to end December, 25% of all new phones sold by Vodafone across the world were smartphones, up from 20% in the second quarter of the year, with the bulk of those sales in Europe. Colao said he expects smartphones to make up between 30% and 40% of all the phones the company sells in its next financial year to end March 2011.

The figures were warmly welcomed by the City as showing signs of recovery in some key European markets such as the UK and Germany, where the company has lost ground to rivals and been battling against the tough economic climate, while its cost-cutting programme is also bearing fruit. Shares in the company were up almost 5% after the company raised its forecast for free cash flow for this year by £500m to between £6.5bn and £7bn and forecast annual operating profits of £11.4bn to £11.8bn, rather than its initial forecast of £11bn to £11.8bn.

On a like-for-like basis, revenues fell slightly in the quarter but the decline was far less than in previous quarters. Overall third-quarter revenues were up more than 10% to £11.5bn as the company benefited from currency fluctuations.

Colao said he was conditionally optimistic about the group’s prospects. “I keep my feet on the ground; I see what I see. I see a few things going in the right direction. I see mobile data continuing to grow. I see a good performance in [fixed-line telecoms]. I see in some markets like the UK and Italy a good performance, but I still see a lot of price pressure in voice and I still see unemployment being a concern in Europe.”

There had been some speculation, ahead of the results, that shareholders were pushing for a break-up of the company as it has consistently underperformed its publicly quoted peers. Colao, however, said the size of the company – which has operations from western and central Europe through to Turkey, India and South Africa as well its Verizon Wireless joint venture in the US – not only gives it scale in purchasing, but also an advantage in international roaming rates and helps it to attract business customers”There is a full set of opinions on how to structure Vodafone and we take due notice of all of them,” he said. “The board regularly reviews our corporate structure but there is unanimous consent now that in our opinion the current structure serves shareholders well.”

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Tags: 10, 3, all, apple, compare, comparemobiles.com, free, gadget, iphone, largest, line, mobile, Mobile News, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobiles, months, new, o2, orange, phone, phones, review, reviews, roaming, service, sim, sol, talks, three, Touch, uk, venture, vodafone, world

Running on Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones, the update provides free voice-guided navigation in almost 75 countries, without data-roaming charges

Read Full Story…
(Source ZDNet UK)

Tags: 10, 3, charges, compare, comparemobiles.com, free, global, google, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, nokia, phone, phones, roaming, sol, uk, update

iPhone creator believed to be in talks with UK phone networks over subsidies for the much-anticipated tablet computer

Apple is understood to have approached several UK mobile phone networks, including Orange, about selling its forthcoming tablet computer to British customers.

The device, rumoured to be called the iSlate, has created a buzz among mobile phone operators not seen since Apple pitted several networks against each other in the race for the exclusive British rights to sell the iPhone in 2007. That deal was clinched by O2 at the last minute when it barged aside Orange and Vodafone.

The Californian technology company is expected to unveil the iSlate at an event in San Francisco on 27 January and it is likely to be on sale in the US in March. British gadget fans will have to wait until much later in the spring, according to UK sources, but the price of the device could be reduced if Apple can persuade a mobile phone company to subsidise it.

Rumours abound about the iSlate but it is expected to have a 10-inch touchscreen, no keyboard and allow users to surf the web, watch TV shows and read digitised magazines and newspapers. While it is expected to have short-range wi-fi access to connect to the web, it will also have the ability to connect to mobile phone networks, meaning users will have to sign up to a mobile broadband package to get the most out of the iSlate.

Already several UK mobile phone companies subsidise the cost of laptops to persuade customers to sign up for long-term mobile broadband contracts. Anyone signing up to a two-year mobile broadband deal with T-Mobile at £40 a month, for instance, gets a free Sony Vaio laptop worth £499.

Apple is looking for mobile partners willing to bundle a mobile broadband contract with the iSlate. The UK’s mobile phone networks, meanwhile, also have deals that allow their mobile broadband customers easy access to thousands of public wi-fi hotspots across the country.

Any such tie-up with an operator, however, is unlikely to make the iSlate free because the basic price of the device in the UK is expected to be only slightly less than Apple’s cheapest MacBook laptop, which costs £816. Apple initially sold the iPhone through exclusive partners in the US, UK, France and Germany, but for the iSlate the company is not believed to be offering an exclusive deal. Orange is one of the networks talking to Apple about the iSlate but O2 and Vodafone are also believed to be interested. It is also expected to be available in Carphone Warehouse stores. Neither Apple, nor the networks, nor Carphone Warehouse would comment.

A deal is by no means certain. Amazon has yet to sign up a British wireless partner for its Kindle e-reader. As a result, Amazon’s American network partner AT&T has been forced to thrash out roaming deals with four of the UK’s networks, which makes it more expensive for British users to download books on to the device.

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Tags: 10, 3, all, apple, cheapest, compare, comparemobiles.com, contract, deal, Deals, free, gadget, gadgets, iphone, mobile, Mobile News, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobiles, networks, new, o2, orange, phone, phones, roaming, sol, sony, sony vaio, sony vaio laptop, t-mobile, talks, Touch, uk, vodafone

Orange says the three men had failed to understand the conditions of the ‘unlimited’ 3G package they had signed up to

Opening your bills is rarely a pleasant experience. But mild irritation turned to incredulity for three French mobile internet users when they were confronted with charges running to tens of thousands of euros.

The customers, who had all signed up for an “unlimited” 3G internet package offered by Orange, were stunned to receive monthly bills ordering them to pay huge sums of money.

Jean Spadaro, a hospital doctor from Fontainebleau near Paris, today said he had been charged almost 160,000 euros (£143,000) by the France Telecom-owned phone giant for four weeks’ use in May.

His case came to light after two other Orange clients, cafe owner Eric Gernez and insurance executive Christophe Aupy-Fargues, made public their complaints earlier this week. Having also been impressed by the offer of unlimited access, they had been left with bills for 46,000 euros and 39,500 euros respectively, they said.

When Gernez and Spadaro contacted Orange about their astronomical bills they were told they had failed to understand the basics of the internet package: that, while it was unlimited in terms of time, anything downloaded beyond one gigabyte would be charged.

The customers insisted this was not explained to them properly when they signed their contracts. Spadaro, who after months of negotiations has avoided paying almost all the money, also claimed Orange failed to inform him that the amount he owed was rising steeply during the period in question. “How is it that I never received any warning or alert as to the size of the bill?,” he asked on French radio today.The cause of the other case stemmed from roaming charges, the fees incurred by using the service abroad. Aupy-Fargues admitted his card was being used by a colleague in Spain, but insisted he had not been told that it would be so expensive.

“If we had known that the unlimited package didn’t apply outside France he wouldn’t have taken the 3G with him,” he said. A spokesman for Orange said the user had been repeatedly warned of the rising bill.

Gernez, who lives in the village of Petite-Foret near the Belgian border, may also have fallen victim to the roaming fees by accidentally connecting to the foreign network from France.

Laurent Vitoux, France Telecom’s regional director, said the company was in a ‘constructive dialogue’ with the customer. “It’s obviously not about fleecing a customer,” he said.added

Read Original Story…
(Source The Guardian)

Tags: 10, 3, all, card, charges, compare, comparemobiles.com, contract, lg, mobile, Mobile News, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobiles, months, new, orange, phone, phones, roaming, service, sol, three, uk, world

The EC’s imposition of roaming caps on Vodafone and other mobile operators did not stifle competition, according to the European Court of Justice’s advocate general

Read Full Story…
(Source ZDNet UK)

Tags: 3, compare, comparemobiles.com, google, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, roaming, sol, uk, vodafone

IPass has
released a software client for RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones, providing easier
access for BlackBerry users to the huge number of worldwide Wi-Fi hotspots
covered by iPass.

Read Full Story…
(Source Yahoo UK News)

Tags: 12, 3, Blackberry, compare, comparemobiles.com, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, phone, phones, released, roaming, sol, uk, world

O2 network problem causes for roaming customersSecond network problem for O2 in a weekO2’s network hit more difficulties over the weekend, when roaming customers were unable to make calls while abroad.Customers in Hong Kong, Paris, America and Canada were unable

Read Full Story…
(Source Mobile Today)

Tags: 12, 3, all, compare, comparemobiles.com, mobile, mobiles, new, o2, roaming, sol, uk

Callers left speechless in numerous languages

Updated  A mere day after cutting data access for domestic users, O2 has managed to leave those customers travelling abroad without even a voice service to keep them connected.…

Case Study: WhatsUp keeps Legoland turnstyles ringing

Read Full Story…
(Source The Register)

Tags: 3, all, compare, comparemobiles.com, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, o2, roaming, service, sol, source the register, uk, update

Recent European Union legislation aimed at
capping
roaming charges on making calls and sending texts while abroad does not go
far enough, according to comparison site
Broadband
Expert.

Read Full Story…
(Source Yahoo UK News)

Tags: 12, 3, all, charges, compare, comparemobiles.com, comparison, comparison site, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, roaming, uk

Limits on the tariffs charged for mobile calls, text messages and data usage will end the ‘roaming rip-off’, according to Commissioner Viviane Reding

Read Full Story…
(Source ZDNet UK)

Tags: 10, 3, all, compare, comparemobiles.com, google, mobile, Mobile News, mobiles, new, roaming, tariff, tariffs, uk

Mobile phone comparison site is first to be accredited by communications watchdog

An internet service that allows consumers to compare mobile phone companies to find the lowest tariffs has become the first website of its kind to be accredited by the communications regulator.

Ofcom today said BillMonitor was awarded its price accreditation scheme logo after meeting the terms of a rigorous independent audit, which checks whether information given to consumers is accessible, accurate, transparent, comprehensive and up to date.

BillMonitor uses advanced statistics to find the best mobile price plans for consumers across the five network operators – 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone. The comparison engine, developed by BillMonitor’s team of mathematicians with scientific advisors from the University of Oxford, shows consumers how much they can save if they switch phone plan or supplier.

Consumers supply details of their bills and the website analyses them for a tailored recommendation.

Alternatively, users can do a one-off tariff search by entering the amount of minutes and texts they use, as well as any overseas calls and data usage they make, to find the most suitable tariff.

BillMonitor also analyses historical usage patterns to predict future usage, and can keep consumers updated on the money they could save as networks change their price plans.

According to Ofcom, 57% of mobile users are more likely to shop around if there is information available to calculate the cheapest supplier based on usage, and 50% are more likely to trust an accredited price comparison website.

Audrey Gallacher, head of company performance at Consumer Focus, the statutory organisation campaigning for consumer rights, said: “Accreditation for comparison sites is vital. With tens of thousands of mobile phone tariffs on the market consumers need peace of mind that before they take up a new deal they [can] get comprehensive and unbiased advice.

“We hope many other mobile price comparison services compete to earn Ofcom’s accreditation and help make pricing decisions easier for mobile phone users.”

Ofcom receives thousands of calls a week from dissatisfied consumers. Earlier this week, the regulator announced a reduction in the time consumers will have to wait to seek an independent resolution of disputes with their communications providers. From 1 September consumers will be able to use the dispute resolution service eight weeks after making an initial complaint to the communications provider instead of the current 12 weeks.

How much could you save?

Consumer A is a light user on a contract with more inclusive minutes/texts than she uses, paying on average £31.33 a month. BillMonitor recommended she switch provider to reduce her average bill to £16.34, which would still leave her with free minutes most months. Without switching provider she could save £11.41 a month just by changing price plan.

Consumer B has a monthly contract with no add-ons. He calls and texts Turkey, France, the US and Greece, and has roamed while in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Greece. On average he pays £83.96 a month. When BillMonitor analysed his bill it recommended he switch providers and use their free roaming add-on which would reduce his average monthly bill to £67.52.

Consumer C is rarely off the phone. He uses an average of 2,179 minutes and 853 texts, for which he pays £209.50 a month. Using BillMonitor he managed to cut his bill to £68.68 by changing price plan with his current provider.

• Internet, phones & broadband
• Consumer affairs
• Household bills
• Mobile phones

guardian.co.uk © Terms & Conditions

Read Original Story…

(Source The Guardian)

Tags: 10, 12, 3, all, cheapest, compare, comparemobiles.com, comparison, comparison site, consumer, contract, deal, free, HD, mobile, Mobile News, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobiles, months, networks, new, new deal, o2, orange, phone, phones, price comparison, roaming, service, sol, t-mobile, tariff, tariffs, uk, update, vodafone