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May 31, 2009

Sony Ericsson Approves Idou

by Franz Bicar
Earlier this year, Sony Ericsson leaked a concept phone they named Idou. However, the Idou is now officially named the Sony Ericsson Satio. Though the name was changed, the candy bar handset however, doesn’t. It still offers a gorgeous 3.5-inch touch screen as your primary interface, and the few physical controls below the display and on the spines ...



May 29, 2009

Infonetics says VoIP will continue to expand

by Alan Harten
According to Infonetics analyst Diane Myers, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) technology will continue to increase in use among businesses. Speaking to Destination CRM magazine, Myers cited Infonetics' bi-annual report, which states that VoIP markets expanded by about 33% last year. The report also points the way for VoIP and unified communications (UC) to seamlessly connect customer service representatives and relevant experts ...



Ofcom in trouble over S Band

by David Allen
The UK telecom regulator Ofcom is being sued by the satellite services provider ICO Global Communications, in a disagreement over the EU's decision to award rival satellite providers with the licences for the European satellite S Band. Ofcom has been implicated in the matter because it initially recommended that ICO Global should be given the licence for the S ...



BSkyB goes for storm test

by David Allen
The satellite broadcaster BSkyB is testing the latest set top box technology, as is software technologies developer Irdeto. BSkyB intends to begin testing Storm Test, from Silicon & Software Systems (S3), a system that has been developed for the digital TV industry, in order to implement an automatic verification of set top boxes. Irdeto will use Storm Test to check ...



Sky talk’s screenings

by David Allen
It is a busy time in the US at the moment as all of the major studios are organising screenings, so that buyers from the various broadcasters can see what’s on offer and decide which shows will fit in where on their network. One such buyer is Sarah Wright, Head of Acquisitions at Sky One. She has been watching ...



BT offers faster broadband for Lincolnshire businesses

by Jan Harris
BT has launched a new ‘bonded-ADSL’ service in Lincolnshire that will provide a faster broadband service to businesses which have previously had to manage with low broadband speeds due to their distance from the local telephone exchange. BT has utilised technology from Sharedband Ltd to provide the service, which can support a variety of business applications, including Virtual Private Networks. This will allow ...



Easynet extends penalty free packages

by David Allen
The internet service provider for businesses, Easynet Connect, is extending the availability of its no minimum term business broadband packages. This service was first launched in March and was only intended to run through to the end of April, but due to the demand and popularity of the service, it has been extended. Easynet feels that extending the penalty free ...



Virgin Media rolls out new prices

by David Allen
As Virgin Media rolls out new pricing plans for its monthly contract mobile phone customers, it is those customers who are subscribing to Virgin Media's broadband and TV services which are coming out of the changes better off. These new mobile prices have already come into effect and include the £18 mobile handset tariff. This is said to be ...



Microsoft goes for Bing

by David Allen
Microsoft has not had much luck with search. First there was MSN Search, then Windows Live Search, which changed into Live Search and now the final instalment of the Microsoft search saga brings us Bing! They say that Microsoft is not trying to compete with Google which is the benchmark that all others attempt to reach, holding sixty four per ...



Sky unbundles broadband

by David Allen
Broadband provider Sky has decided to unbundle its phone and broadband services from BT, to give it complete control over its broadband network. This is a major landmark for the internet service provider as this will be the end of the relationship with BT from whom the current broadband & phone service is rented, and it gives Sky ...



Rural broadband speeds are too slow

by David Allen
The state of the broadband network, particularly in rural areas, is becoming a serious concern amongst people who are unable to get a broadband connection. According to the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), this lack of broadband service is damaging business, and could affect the economy as a whole if this is not corrected soon. There are ...



Be Broadband and O2 offers running out

by David Allen
Consumers looking for some free broadband only have a few days left to sign up to deals currently on offer from the internet service providers Be Broadband and O2. O2 is offering three months free broadband to all new customers who sign up for the Premium and Pro broadband packages before the end of the month. Premium customers can ...



Sky News appears on iPhone

by David Allen
There is no escape from the news anymore, as BSkyB is launching a new application for the iPhone that means Sky News reports being available no matter where the user is. This application is actually fully compatible with both the iPhone and iTouch. It will include many of the major stories appearing on the Sky News channel including the ...



Broadband Genie tests mobile broadband

by Janet Harris
Broadband Genie tests mobile broadband Broadband Genie, the broadband comparison service, has been checking out if mobile broadband lives up to the claims of leading ISPs. In its first ever ‘Road Trip Awards’, Broadband Genie tested dongles from O2, Orange, 3, T-mobile, Virgin Media and Vodafone, to see how they performed. The dongles were tested on a 350-mile ...



Verizon Wireless Gears up for Palm Pre, Android, BlackBerry Storm 2

by Franz Bicar
Verizon Wireless will be swimming in hot new smartphones this summer if everything goes according to plan. The company plans to roll out a bunch of cutting-edge smartphones this year - and leading the pack, is the much anticipated Palm Pre. The Palm Pre will debut on June 6 exclusively on the on the Sprint network,but, it will be available ...



May 28, 2009

Areas between cities and suburbs broadband notspots

by Alan Harten
A recent survey by the BBC shows that junctions between commuter towns and suburban areas have a high incidence rate of slow broadband connections. Hampshire is one of the worst counties in the UK, where most speeds average below 1Mbps, because in order to receive high broadband speeds, homes need to be about 4km from telephone lines or where the exchange ...



Faster downloads from ID Net

by Alan Harten
ID Net, a UK broadband provider, has announced its brand new 24MB internet package to deliver high speed internet with increased data allowances. Additionally, the high speed broadband also allows users to upstream data at a stunning 1.4Mb if there is a standard 4km of length between the user and the local exchange telephone line. Plus, by increasing data allowance by almost ...



Nokia 6210 in stormy Far East waters

by Alan Harten
SK Telecom, which planned to start selling Nokia mobile phones, is rumoured to be reconsidering the proposition after rival KTF was inundated with bad customer reviews. The Korea Times reported that Nokia phone sales have been sluggish since KTF first offered them to the Japanese and Korean market in April, due to a large amount of poor mobile reviews of the ...



New free security for iPhone users

by Alan Harten
The iPhone reached a new level of security today, as the non-profit Centre for Internet Security announced the release of a product that is free to all users at the CIS website, to help reduce the risk of the loss of sensitive data stored on the device. The security benchmark is available to users who have an iPhone that uses OS ...



Conficker virus now infecting 6 million

by Alan Harten
Conficker was the main concern of many computer users last April. Also known as Downadup and Kido, the virus was reported to have struck between five to six million computers. The virus, which is one of the most malicious to attack Internet users in recent years, allows the masterminds behind it to execute DDoS attacks, distribute spam or other unsolicited content through ...



TalkTalk offers home mover service

by David Allen
The broadband arm of the Carphone Warehouse, TalkTalk, has launched the Home Mover Service, which it says has been created to make moving broadband services easier, when the consumer is moving home. The internet service provider claims that broadband users who are moving home face the prospect of having to sign up for a BT line and then switching ...



Cybermoor turns up in Cumbria

by David Allen
Currently there is a lot of talk of broadband notspots or black holes. There are some communities in the UK that will not accept the internet service providers' claims that broadband cannot be supplied to their areas. Therefore, they have looked into creating their own broadband networks. Cybermoor is the name of the community broadband provider supplying the homes and ...



4G in Sweden next year

by David Allen
A joint project between Ericsson and TeliaSonera has just opened up the world’s first commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) site in Stockholm, Sweden. This is a fourth generation mobile broadband project that actually has the potential to offer some spectacular connection speeds for users of mobile broadband and other mobile data users, making this a milestone for the industry. In ...



Twitter attacked by worm

by David Allen
Some users of the micro blogging site Twitter are being tricked into giving away their login and password details while visiting a website. Twitter users have started to get messages from other users who appear to be friends, which include a link suggesting that by clicking it, they will they will be able to get more followers. The ...



No back up for Brits

by David Allen
Computer users are always being told to make sure that they back up their files and other data, yet it seems that in the UK, computer users are more likely to check the oil and water in their cars, rather than backing up valuable data on the computer. These finding come from research done by the security company Symantec, ...



BT stops home working staff

by David Allen
BT used to pride itself on offering its staff the option to work from home. This has inspired many businesses to follow suit and now working from home is a real possibility, unless the employee works for BT. In order to save money and revive the company, BT has put the word out for around two hundred employees who ...



BSkyB links up with Microsoft X-Box

by David Allen
It has been a long time coming, but finally it seems that the link up between BSkyB and the Microsoft X-Box is on the cards and is due to be announced today at a special press event where they will be unveiling what has been known as “Experiencing the Vision”. The satellite broadcaster is looking into how it can ...



Terrestar to challenge Solaris decision

by David Allen
It is only a couple of weeks since the EU awarded the licences for the S Band satellite service over Europe to the providers Solaris and Inmarsat, who will be providing satellite services all over Europe. The two failed licence applicants, ICO Global and TerreStar Europe, said that they would be considering taking legal action over the decision, and ...



Google Gives Away 4,000 Phones

by Franz Bicar
It's not for everyone, and only if you are one of the delegates of Google I/O 2009. To entice developers toward its Android Platform, Google gave away new, unlocked HTC Magic to all 4,000 attendees of its Google I/O 2009. By far, this announcement drew the loudest applause from the delegates. On its opening keynote, Google spent most of their time on ...



TiVo Reports Loss of $4.1 Million

by Franz Bicar
tivoThis really isn't quite part of the normal news and/or reviews that is commonly posted on this site, but still, this bit of information is interesting specially for those who pegged their interests on the current trends and issues of the consumer entertainment market. For the first quarter of fiscal year ...



May 27, 2009

Microsoft fined $200m for patent infringement

by David Allen
Microsoft has been fined $200 million for patent infringement by verdict of a US jury. The world's largest software developer was ordered to pay the fine to Canadian software firm i4i. The fine, issued by a federal jury in Texas, is the fourth largest jury verdict in the US and the second-largest patent jury award. i4i alleges that Microsoft knowingly infringed one of ...



Government invests £1m in fast broadband

by Alan Harten
Government establishment the Technology Strategy Board reported today that it will invest £1m to help forward innovation in the UK by helping companies research ‘ultra-fast’ broadband. The Technology Strategy Board is backed by the Department for Innovation, Universities, and Skills which will determine how the money is distributed. The new broadband speeds will be hopefully anywhere between 100 to 1,000 times faster ...



C&W loss and gain

by Alan Harten
The telecom firm of C&W (Cable & Wireless) was forced to absorb £189m in losses as it watched its profits for the year fall by 13% due to high costs for a recent acquisition, and costs related to overhauling its London office, which forced the company to lay off 25% of its workforce. Outside of the losses due to the one ...



Footie league final more important than IT failures

by ISACA
A survey has shown if you’re unlucky enough to suffer a major security failure during the last 5 minutes of a major football match like tonight’s UEFA champions league, 39% of IT professionals say the problem will have to wait until the footie is over! That’s according to a survey conducted at Infosecurity Europe, by Tufin Technologies, the leading provider of ...



Orange jumps out of Kangaroo deal

by Alan Harten
Despite engaging in talks with the catch up TV service Kangaroo, Orange has decided not to purchase the media player technology. Kangaroo is owned by France Telecom and is an online on-demand media technology. Kangaroo states that the project will not benefit either company and is not worth the £20 million it would cost to implement. Orange publicly stated that even though it ...



BBC4 goes for female trilogy

by David Allen
The digital satellite channel, BBC4, has commissioned a series of female biopics of Gracie Fields, Margot Fonteyn and Enid Blyton, with Anne-Marie Duff, Jane Horrocks and Helena Bonham Carter taking the lead roles. These programmes follow on from the success of the other biopics that BBC4 has produced, following the lives of famous people including comedians and politicians. These shows ...



BSkyB signs David Beckham for Champions League advert

by David Allen
David Beckham will join in with the Champions League cup final tonight, but this time he will not be on the pitch with his former team mates, he will be fronting an advertising campaign that is set to raise awareness of the fight against malaria. The advert will be aired during the run up to Sky Sports coverage of ...



Sky Arts to bring back live TV plays

by David Allen
The satellite broadcaster, Sky Arts, will be commissioning six new theatre plays, which will be the first to be screened live to air in the UK for around twenty five years, although there have been some live editions of TV shows. Live plays used to be aired on a regular basis on TV until “Play for Today” was cancelled ...



Full BBC shows may appear on YouTube

by David Allen
Soon BBC viewers will be able to view some of their favourite shows on YouTube, following talks between the user generated content service and BBC Worldwide. If this deal goes ahead, then for the users in the US at least will be able to continue to view BBC programming without any time restraints placed on the clips either. At ...



Windows 7 Beta to begin shut down

by David Allen
The software producer Microsoft is getting ready to end the beta test of its latest operating system with the introduction of the infamous two hour shutdown mode for the Windows 7 Plus: Beta 1 install. This will means that, as from the 1st of June, all users of the Windows 7 beta will begin to experience the pleasure of ...



Motorola and Virgin Media join for faster broadband trials

by David Allen
The cable broadband provider, Virgin Media, has come to an agreement with Motorola that could improve the internet connections that the company has to offer. The deal with Motorola, which specialises in communications infrastructure, could allow Virgin Media to bring in new broadband cable standards, which could mean DOCSIS 3.0 and channel bonding. For Virgin Media’s customers this could mean ...



UK workers happy to be flexible

by David Allen
It seems that more businesses throughout the UK are happy to encourage their staff to take advantage of working from home, according to a study conducted by YouGov on behalf to the mobile broadband provider Orange. The study found that thirty nine per cent of those businesses asked were happy to offer their staff flexible working. The main sectors ...



Mobile broadband still moving

by David Allen
Throughout Europe mobile broadband is getting stronger and recent figures from Telecompaper, the market research firm, show that there were around 10.5 million sales of mobile broadband devices during 2008. A lot of this can be put down to the deals that are around at the moment. In fact within the findings it can be seen that around 4.3 ...



Where are the broadband notspots?

by David Allen
A plan to find the UK’s broadband black holes has been launched by ThinkBroadband.com. The object of the scheme is to find all of the places in the UK that have a broadband service below 2 Mbps, and those areas that have no broadband at all. It is estimated that around one per cent of UK households cannot get ...



Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 42-inch LCD

by Franz Bicar
philips-42pfl7403d1Philips is a great company who has been around for several years now. Of course, we all know that one their main products is in the field of audio and video entertainment. So, it is quite surprising that the Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 is not up to par with what most people ...



Vizio VF550XVT 55-inch LCD

by Franz Bicar
vizio-vf550xvtVizio usually gives us reasonably priced LCDs with adequate features that is perfect for those consumers content on just watching television. However, the VF550XVT is a surprise for everyone. The VF550XVT packs a 55-inch LCD screen at a reasonable price, but its image, sound, and extra features don't add up ...



May 26, 2009

Vodafone set to restructure European roaming fees

by Alan Harten
Due to a lack of customer interest, Vodafone Business has decided to remove its current mobile broadband packages for overseas mobile use from the market. Vodafone said that new tariffs for roaming will be announced in a few days. The previous overseas mobile broadband packages were the only available overseas packages from any European mobile broadband provider but they did not draw ...



Free suburban Wifi

by Alan Harten
Freerunner launched yesterday across the country. This is the first free public Wifi network to be created in the UK. Controlled by industry specialists in Wifi, Freerunner will allow consumers to get broadband access for free in areas of the suburbs that might otherwise not have Internet access. Freerunner will primarily target community areas such as transport hubs, schools, libraries, and community ...



Survey Reveals Workaholics Work 2-6 hours In Bed

by CREDANT Technologies
Over a quarter of UK employees are so work obsessed they can’t resist using a mobile device such as a laptop in bed before they go to sleep according to a survey released today by CREDANT Technologies – the endpoint data protection specialists. The survey discovered that of those people who do work in bed, 57% do so for between 2 ...



Terabyte of US National Archives data goes missing

by Origin Storage
Reports that the US National Archives has lost a hard drive containing an astonishing one terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) of data containing government procedures and employees from the President Clinton era, has staggered Origin Storage, the secure data storage specialist. "The fact that the US National Archives' drive contained employee Social Security numbers, addresses, and Secret Service plus White House operating procedures ...