Mobile Insight Vol: 8 Issue 344 November 30th 2006
Smartgroups users hit out at Orange
Users of a picture sharing service created by Orange Smartgroups are up in arms over its impending closure. They claim there's not enough time to pull their content out before it shuts down on November 30th. France Telecom even rejected a last minute bid by MailSpaces.com to buy the entire archive, and keep the SmartGroups service running indefinitely. One of the many thousands of people affected by the closure of SmartGroups, Victoria Norton, told Mobile Insight, "I was angry enough when I heard about the sudden closure. This news shows that all of Orange's talk of 'Togetherness' is a sham." Indeed an edited version of one of Orange's current Togetherness ads is doing the rounds on the Net. Nigel Cannings, md with MailSpaces.com, added, "We've designed a tool to enable people to move anywhere with their group intact." His company's negotiations with France Telecom broke down last Friday [17th November]. The requisite tool is freely available from the Mailspaces site.
Only days after Canning Fok, CEO of Hutchison Whampoa, denied that its 3G mobile network, 3, was up for sale, it's been confirmed that 3 is to sack about 130 managers in its UK operation. According to a report in The Mail on Sunday the redundancies would amount to around 15 per cent of the company's total workforce. Putting a brave face on it, a 3 spokesman told the newspaper that, "Following our annual planning process, 3 will actually employ more people in 2007 than this year." The newspaper is adamant that disposing of the managers is a clear sign that the company is actually up for sale, saying that 3's employees are now even more convinced of the fact. Obviously there's speculation as to who might actually buy 3 especially since Vodafone CEO, Arun Sarin, has publicly stated that he might be interested. The Mail on Sunday is also tipping France Telecom/Orange and (even less likely) BT to acquire 3. However, given the recent remarks made by O2 chief, Peter Erskine, Mobile Insight is tipping O2 as the most likely candidate. Firstly because 3's 3G customerbase would make a nice fit with O2. But mainly because O2's parent, Telefonica, is doing really well and would almost certainly look favourably on the purchase. By contrast, Sarin would probably have an uphill battle to convince his shareholders than purchasing another floundering network would add value to it UK operations.
Obscured by all the razzmatazz surrounding the launch of 3's X-Series handsets, is the fact that on December 1st when 3 goes live with its new service, there will be a version of Skype for Symbian. At the launch, Niklas Zennstrφm, Skype's CEO is quoted as saying, "With 3, I am very proud to say that for the first time, our users can now try out making Skype calls on the move using a mobile phone." Industry observers were therefore supposed to surmise from the fact that the X-Series is only available on the Nokia N73 and the Sony Ericsson W950, that there must be a Symbian client available. And only for the N73. Mobile Insight checked with Skype and a spokesbod said, "This [news] release was issued by Hutchison, not Skype." So he effectively confirmed it. But, obviously, there's no news as to when existing Symbian phone users might get their hands on the Skype client software. Talking of VoIP clients, Nokia's N80i will have a built-in VoIP client just like the E61 when it eventually ships. And the client will be available from Nokia's web site no doubt. Which means existing N80 handset owners will be able to run it and make VoIP calls. But here in the UK, the N80 is heavily subsidised. And if N80 users start making loads of cheap VoIP calls, then the operators won't get their money back.
In her determination that the European Commission should dictate cheap prices for mobile calls throughout the EU, Viviane Reding has scolded Ofcom for allowing high termination charges on 3G calls. The EU telecommunications minister is constantly blocking the operators' efforts to claw back the billions of pounds they spent acquiring 3G licenses from the UK government. One of their favourite money spinners is the high cost of making and receiving mobile calls while 'roaming' abroad. Now she's targeting call termination charges. Reding's worry is that if Ofcom allows these charges to be high, it will set a dangerous precedent across the rest of Europe. The fact that the operators overpaid for 3G is no concern of hers. "The Commission believes that such costs [termination fees] should not be calculated on the basis of prices paid during the spectrum auctions which in today's context are inflated," she told the FT. Considering Reding apparently believes the operators should only have paid one third of the money extracted by the UK government, what's she going to do? Tell Gordon Brown to pay the operators back around £14 billion? Somehow that isn't going to happen.
Given that it owns the largest stake in the company, Nokia's CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, is more than happy to talk up the prospects for the leading smartphone OS Symbian. "The Symbian OS accounts for around 70 per cent of worldwide smartphone shipments," he told analysts. "Sales of Symbian smartphones are expected to rise to around 250 million units by Q1 2011." A significant revelation concerns 'replacement' handsets whereby users are upgrading from older models. Even in emerging markets, replacement handsets now form more than half of all sales. The replacement market will account for about 65 per cent of the global market this year [2006] and that this figure is expected to rise to over 80 per cent by the year 2010," Kallavuo said. Seeing that people generally stick to the same make of phone when they upgrade, this should ensure Nokia's place as the top selling mobile phone manufacturer for quite a while. So Taiwanese manufacturers who are currently seeking to build up their own brand names will obviously be in for a tough time. Nokia's sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 65.9 per cent, year-on-year.
A small startup company, Berggi, based out of Houston but with offices in Madrid, Spain reckons it can take on the likes of RIM's Blackberry with its combined email and IM (Instant Messaging) software. Berggi says it is targeting consumers and small businesses with its email for mobile client software. The US site should go live today (November 23rd), followed by its Spanish counterpart the next day. Rather than being entirely browser based, the Berggi client runs on the handset itself. The promotional blurb says it will run on ordinary handsets rather than just smartphones. It doesn't say whether or not the client is actually Java based but Mobile Insight suspects it is. Where's the catch? Customers have to pay $9.99 per month to take advantage of the service. The advantage is that you can change (or lose) handsets and your data will still be on Berggi's servers. The benefits which Berggi's software include the ability to download email messages from multiple mailboxes as well as accessing most of the major IM systems all from the same user interface. Berggi even claims that 'text' messages sent between its own customers are 'free'. The software will also cope with regular text messages between phones on different networks. The biggest difference between Berggi and its big competitors is that Berggi doesn't intend to sell through operators but is going direct to handset owners. Mobile Insight is unsure how long it will take before the email IPR lawyers will start knocking on Berggi's doors.
WDS Global argues that handsets should be loaded with 'wizards' the same sort of help files which consumers are already accustomed to from PC usage. Doug Overton, WDS's head of marketing, reckons that the latest smartphones with their support for removable memory cards and graphics capabilities such as Flashlite are more than capable of running such applications. Handset debugging is normally associated with configuration problems. For example, a study of WDS' own customer service logs found that 40 per cent of calls related to configuration problems with WAP, GPRS, MMS and email. After that came problems related to connectivity between the handset and a PC with 32 per cent. Significantly eight per cent of service calls to WDS related to the general usability of the device. The old approach of telling consumers to RTFM (read the manual) doesn't always apply. Many existing cellular subscribers are putting their own SIM cards into second-hand handsets purchased via ebay, for example. Or they are passed the handset by a colleague at work and attempt to use it with their own SIM card. Such handsets can make voice calls and receive texts but MMS, WAP and GPRS settings often need re-configuration. The answer, Overton says, is to put the equivalent of 'handset usage for dummies' onto a memory card. These could then be supplied by independent resellers to customers who have little incentive to approach their network operator directly.
A British prison, Lowdham Grange run by Serco will be providing all inmates with the use of a mobile phone within their cells. They'll have to pay for the airtime, though. The idea is justified on the grounds that prisoners normally have to queue for ages to use the public telephones. If they have their own phones they can call loved ones at times of need. Critics say, of course, that providing such 'luxuries' to prisoners negates the whole point of imprisonment. According to the Mail on Sunday prisons should be a place "that people do not want to go back to." One ex-offender whom Mobile Insight consulted claimed that prisoners have been smuggling mobile phones inside for ages. The frightening thing is that they normally hide them up their backsides. It brought tears to our eyes to learn that this method of smuggling applied to the phone charger too. "The only difference this will make is that prisoners wouldn't be afraid to receive calls," he told Mobile Insight. "You always turned the phone off straight after you'd used it because if the phone rang then the [wardens] would know you had it."
An elderly woman who ran up a £190 phone bill mostly by calling ITV Play's The Mint show has sparked an inquest into TV quiz phone charges. Her son-in-law just so happens to be the new incumbent as chairman of ICSTIS the premium rate telephony enforcer.
Sir Alistair Graham told the FT that his mother-in-law "had a shock" after trying to compete in the TV quiz show. Consequently he's summoned the key providers Endemol (Big Brother), Freemantle Media (Pop Idol) and ITV Play (The Mint) for talks over their charges. Even a call which is unanswered can cost the caller between 60 and 75 pence. Some mobile phone calls users also don't realise it is costing them up to £1.50 to receive texts not just the cost of sending the message. Sir Alistair also railed against the name for the body he chairs, ICSTIS, which he described as being "bloody awful".
The problem goes beyond that, however. Strictly speaking ICSTIS isn't a regulator since it doesn't set any regulations. It just enforces them. But that will change in 2008 when it takes on the job of monitoring the use of 0871 numbers from 2008 when the responsibility is devolved from the actual regulator Ofcom. Graham also highlighted another danger. Since adverts will become increasingly popular as a means of targeting mobile phone users, strictly speaking they could complain to the ASA
(Advertising Standards Authority).
In essence, mobile phone users with a complaint could find themselves being passed between three separate agencies. Not an ideal situation.
Whilst it's blinding obvious that converged networks are the way to go, it's also apparent that C21 [21st Century] networks won't get rapidly rolled out until adequate business tools arrive. There's a general consensus that networks built around a set of standards collectively known as IMS [IP Multimedia Subsystem] will eventually replace the fragmented and single purpose - telecoms networks which exist today. Indeed the biggest advocate of this changeover is the UK's own BT with its plans for a C21N network. Yet chatting to a major supplier of IMS management software, Tektronix, showed that the industry's obsession with technology is once again clouding swift progress. Building a truly converged network based on IMS is generally recognised as extremely complex. Still, Sandeep Raina, product marketing director with Tektronix, revealed that most major players including BT are already building test IMS networks. So how are network operators going to know when the time is right to throw the switch and migrate to IMS? When's a good time to launch an Instant Messaging (IM) service which works across both fixed and mobile networks using IMS, of course? Raina could only hint that with serious data mining techniques, business executives could eventually determine when it might be cost effective to migrate to IMS. The answer, it appears, is to look at the mass of data a test IMS network can produce and extrapolate from there. In other words, until business tools are introduced building a business case for a C21 network ain't going to happen too quickly.
A Taiwanese company which has built much of its commercial success on
supplying components for Nokia, Foxconn, has revealed that Apple has placed
an order for 12 million handsets. Additionally, an American analyst is
claiming that there will be not one but two 'iPhones'. Although Apple keeps tight lipped over unannounced products, the report in
Taiwan's Commercial Times quoting sources within Foxconn's parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry, is given widespread credence. Rumours point to the initial iPhone (a name which Apple has trademarked) being a candy bar device with basic telephony functionality but capable of playing ITunes music tracks. However, Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, claims that Apple is definitely planning a second smartphone which will feature Apple's own IM [Instant Messaging] client iChat. Wu is even suggesting the second phone might be branded 'iChat Mobile'. Foxconn makes a sensible choice since it already has contacts with Apple as well as Sony.
Moreover it claims to be capable of building 50 million handsets a year. The news marks a major challenge to existing handset vendors like Nokia and Sony Ericsson which are positioning their own musicphones as a direct alternative to an Apple IPod. Even Alcatel has got in on the act with its OT-E801 handset which claims to be the industry's first sub-£50 prepay music phone aimed at teenagers.
The new Vodafone Mobile Connect USB
Modem will retail at around £49 (ex VAT). It plugs into a standard USB
port and provides 3G/HSDPA connectivity.
www.vodafone.co.uk/mobileconnect ...
I-mate,
has announced the latest addition to its range which will be nown as the JAQ3.
www.imate.com ...
According to Pocket PC Thoughts the latest addition to O2's wireless PDA range
will be known as the XDA Flame. the device will boast one of Intel latest
processors for the mobile world the Intel XScale PXA270.
www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=52548
In Site of the Week (by Tony Dennis)
This
week
Textandsell
Everyone knows that putting a picture against an item you wish to dispose of helps to sell it on eBay. But a rival UK service, Textandsell, intends to harness the power of cameraphones to do so.
Turning a photo into a digital image that can be uploaded to an auction site such as eBay isn't exactly within everyone's skill sets. By contrast sending a photo from a cameraphone isn't too much of a technical challenge.
With its new site set to launch by Q3 2006, Textandsell encourages potential vendors to snap the item they want to sell. Then simply create a picture message (MMS) or text (SMS) which includes a description the item plus an indication of the desired sales price.
Finally send both text and/or photo to the company's mobile phone number +447740827827.
The site intends to use location based technology which will enable vendors to search for items in their general vicinity rather than searching the whole of the UK.
Initially vendors will be charged a mere £1.50 to list the item for a whole week. Texts or picture messages sent to the company's number are charged as a single premium rate SMS.
The company hopes that its Internet site will be perused by the younger generation. Textandsell claims 20 per cent of 25-30 year olds spend over 20 hours per week on the Net while this figure rises to 25 per cent for 16-24 year olds.
The trick is ensuring that your mobile phone is setup properly for picture messaging (MMS). If it isn't, the correct settings can be downloaded via text messaging either from the handset vendor's site or the mobile network operator's site.
