Mobiles News
July 31, 2009
US-based mobile network Sprint Nextel has acquired Virgin Mobile USA for a reported fee of $483 million. Sprint, the US's third largest carrier, said it made the acquisition to increase its market share in the prepaid segment. Virgin's five million customers, the majority of whom use pre-paid services, will join three million pre-paid customers on Sprint's Boost network. “The acquisition of Virgin Mobile ...
Sprint acquires Virgin Mobile USA
by David AllenUS-based mobile network Sprint Nextel has acquired Virgin Mobile USA for a reported fee of $483 million. Sprint, the US's third largest carrier, said it made the acquisition to increase its market share in the prepaid segment. Virgin's five million customers, the majority of whom use pre-paid services, will join three million pre-paid customers on Sprint's Boost network. “The acquisition of Virgin Mobile ...
Africa now has a fair share of broadband pipe
by Alan HartenInternet users in Southern and Eastern Africa received good news last week, as an optic line linking Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, and Tanzania to each other, Europe, and India was completed. Future improvements include linking Ethiopia and Rwanda to the fibre optic line as well and onwards into the interior countries of Africa. Seacom was responsible for the line and said ...
Can Micowave, Satellite & E-Band Backhaul work?
by Alan HartenThe Micowave, Satellite & E-Band Backhaul: Growth Prospects has been released: a study on the new developments in these sectors and the current market opportunities for growth in these areas. It also discusses vendors’ responses to customers’ needs and the demand for less costly and flexible bandwidth and deployment. Research analyst for Light Reading Insider, Danny Dicks, stated that backhaul is a ...
Team Elite creeps into MI5 website
by Alan HartenHackers have found a breach in MI5’s website that allows them to attack surfers who are visiting the website and steal personal information that is stored on their PCs. As alarming as the threat may have sounded, it is now resolved and is generally thought to have been of little value. According to the article, a hacking team known as “Team Elite” ...
McKinnon’s last chance before extradition for hacking
by Alan HartenThe US authorities are asking for an extradition of Gary McKinnon to place him on trial for hacking into American military computers. McKinnon has admitted that he was responsible for the hacking, but maintains that it was not with a malicious intent or that he is responsible for damages totaling up to $800,000 as the US claims. He is currently challenging the ...
VoIp on Palm Web OS
by Alan HartenVOXOFON has announced the launch of a new mobile VoIP application, designed for use with the Palm Web OS platform, that officials of VOXOFON claim will increase the diversity and reach of international calls. Chief Executive Officer of VOXOFON, Alexey Goloshubin, stated that in the past the company has launched similar applications for Blackberry, iPhone, and Android Smartphones, making this another ...
Sky Channel in 3D on the way
by Alan Harten
Sky has released news that a Sky Channel in 3D will hit airwaves in 2010 with an entire list of 3D shows through the Sky+HD box.
The 3D channel is supposed to have a wide range of broadcast offerings from sports to news to entertainment so you will have plenty of ...Virgin Media pushes Channel 4 HD
by Alan Harten
Virgin Media announced that as of today Channel 4 HD will be available to subscribers to the cable TV network.
The announcement came yesterday that Channel 4 HD will become part of the digital Virgin Mobile television line-up with the same level of upscale high definition programming as all other offerings.
Since the ...Virgin follows Tesco unlimited plan
by Alan Harten
Virgin Media will soon launch an unlimited mobile phone contract on an 18 month term that provides for unlimited texts and calls, in the wake of yesterday’s news that Tesco Mobile has launched a similar plan.
The new ‘unlimited’ plan, titled the ‘ultimate’ by Virgin Media, will cost users £65 a month, a ...Now Five backs Project Canvas
by Alan HartenProject Canvas has announced a new partner as Five has thrown its hat into the ring of companies participating in the joint venture to produce technical standards for all broadband enabled television set boxes. Other partners in the IPTV project include BBC, ITV, and BT. Overall, the BBC expects Project Canvas will require about a £24 million from each involved ...
Lessons learned from the lunar landing
by Edgar VillalpandoFirst, some full disclosure: I wasn’t around when Neil Armstrong made his “giant leap for mankind.” But I’ve heard my parents’ accounts of the space race; I’ve seen “The Right Stuff” and “Apollo 13” (where would our space program have been without Ed Harris???); and I’ve understood how the public view of space travel has changed since the race to ...
Ofcom’s claims are out of date
by David Allen
Five goes IPTV with Project Canvas
by David Allen
Microsoft plans UK video streaming on MSN
by David AllenVirgin Media to offer subscribers Channel 4 HD
by David Allen
Ninety two per cent of all email is SPAM
by David Allen
BBC will teach kids if schools close down
by David Allen
ESPN signs up the UFC
by David Allen
Sky’s 3D channels announced
by David Allen
HD drives BSkyB’s profit skyward
by David AllenMotorola Q4A Review
by Franz BicarWe haven't heard much from Motorola these past few months. But they released one phone that could certainly pique your interests. The Motorola Evoke Q4A comes in slightly different form from what we are used to for Motorola handsets. It now has a sleek slider design and a few smartphone-like features such as a full HTML browser and a widget-based ...
Unofficial Google Voice App Surfaces for the Palm Pre
by Franz BicarIts been the news all over, Apple rejected the Google Voice iPhone application. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application and in fact, went as far as pulling down several apps that mimic or duplicate the functionality of the Google Mobile app. Well, as they say, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. A homebrew app called the dkGoogleVoice is ...
July 30, 2009
For the first time in the UK, a mobile provider has offered an unlimited data plan to consumers allowing mobile consumers to text, browse, and talk for as long as they want.
The plan was announced by Tesco Mobile and is priced at £30 per month and is only for SIM activated mobiles.
The ...
Tesco Mobile unlimited data plan
by Alan Harten
For the first time in the UK, a mobile provider has offered an unlimited data plan to consumers allowing mobile consumers to text, browse, and talk for as long as they want.
The plan was announced by Tesco Mobile and is priced at £30 per month and is only for SIM activated mobiles.
The ...Multiple USB can ports work from one USB connector
by Alan HartenIntersil Corporation, which manufactures semiconductors, announced yesterday that it will soon introduce a new integrated USB circuit to the market that allows for internal USB high speed ports to work jointly from one USB connector. The aim of the device is to allow one USB host port to allow access between multiple devices such as laptops, desktops, printers, and docking stations. The ...
Vodafone says no to T-Mobile
by Alan HartenRumours that T-Mobile and Vodafone remain open after both companies refused to make public comment. Sir John Bond, Vodafone’s chairman, told those in attendance at the company’s 25th annual meeting that he was not aware of a sales process, despite the comment by Chief Executive Vittorio Colao that consolidation in the UK would be a good move. Currently Vodafone, which is based ...
Pay for a coke with your finger
by Alan HartenHitachi is set to debut a new biometric authentication technology aimed at allowing customers to purchase a soft drink from a vending machine with just their finger print. The new technology can read the finger veins and then match the customer with the credit card they have pre-registered, so that exact change is no longer needed at the vending machines. After swiping ...
More on Microsoft's IPTV launch
by Alan HartenMicrosoft has announced that it will launch a trial TV streaming website for MSN's UK audiences offering longer videos. The pilot TV website streaming project will host 350 hours of programs that are from All 3 Media and BBC Worldwide for the most part, including the Young Ones, Hustle, Peep Show, and Shameless among others from all genres. End users will not ...
Cash boost for broadband in rural Northern Ireland
by David AllenMobile broadband users face heavy penalties
by David AllenWireless spectrum expansion gets EU approval
by David AllenFreeview reminds viewers to retune
by David Allen
Scotland gets digital switchover date
by David Allen
BT and Sony sign deal over VoD
by David AllenCNN and BBC allowed to report from Zimbabwe
by David AllenESPN plays ball with Virgin Media
by David AllenSetanta about to return to the UK
by David Allen
Microsoft and BBC announce VoD Deal
by Janet HarrisMicrosoft has entered into a deal with BBC Worldwide and All3Media which marks the software giant’s entry into the UK VoD market. This could be a good time to make a move into this area, where there is currently a huge demand for new content. Through its MSN Video Player, due to launch next week, the latest deal allows Microsoft to offer ...
Samsung to Open its own Web App Store in the U.K.
by Franz BicarYou have Apple's App Store, the Android Market, Nokia Store, (to name a few) just recently, Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Samsung's joining them with its very own App Store. Samsung plans to launch a mobile application store in Europe this quarter and already has a beta version of its application store in the U.K. early this year. But once ...
Apple gets ready for iPhone SMS Exploits
by Franz BicarSo you think your iPhone's safe? Think again. Hackers have devised an exploit to the iPhone that could allow hackers to take over the entire phone - and this is done by just sending and SMS (Short Message Service) message. This exploit was discovered by the infamous (Pwn2Own winner) Charlie Miller. In the SyScan conference in Singapore, he mentioned something ...
July 29, 2009
The EU telecoms ministers announced on Monday that they approved new legislation that will open 900MHz radio frequencies to 3G mobile internet services, as well as to GSM technologies that are used widely by mobile phone service providers. The legislation replaces an old 1987 law that allowed 900Mz frequencies only to be allocated to GSM technology. The result of the new legislation ...
EU opens up new mobile airwaves
by Alan HartenThe EU telecoms ministers announced on Monday that they approved new legislation that will open 900MHz radio frequencies to 3G mobile internet services, as well as to GSM technologies that are used widely by mobile phone service providers. The legislation replaces an old 1987 law that allowed 900Mz frequencies only to be allocated to GSM technology. The result of the new legislation ...
Ofcom condemns broadband providers over download speeds
by David AllenOfcom has slammed UK broadband providers for exaggerating the download speeds advertised to customers. Research by the telecoms regulator found the average household receives broadband at 4.1Mbps, compared to the advertised average of 7.1Mbps. Fewer than 10% of households signed up to an 8Mbps connection receive a speed above 6Mbps. A fifth of homes signed up to this speed actually receive less than ...
Twitter kills off spam accounts
by Alan HartenMany people found out on Sunday that they had less Twitter friends than before due to the disappearance of several followers and friends overnight. This is due to the fact that Twitter took advantage of the past weekend to clean its user database and delete spam accounts that were created by automated bots. The company did not state the algorithm it used ...
Spinbox rebuffs security allegations
by Alan HartenSpinbox, a speech to text messaging company, finally replied to the BBC news story and blog post from Rory Cella-Jones, a BBC technology correspondent, with its own company blog posting. The belated post reply states that the article posted Wednesday by Cella-Jones contained inaccurate allegations against Spinvox concerning its technology use, privacy standards, and finances. According to the BBC post, Spinvox is ...
Malware down but SPAM on the up
by Alan HartenSymantec MessageLabs Intelligence’s latest report looks bright at first glance as it appears malware writers are laying low on the internet. Spammers, on the other hand, have increased their efforts by venturing into multi-lingual messages that seem to work out disastrously, or well, depending on whose side you are on. Symantec reported that spam levels are higher than they have been in ...
Big fine for European Spammer
by Alan HartenSpammers beware, as the punishment for spamming online is starting to have financial repercussions. Dutch regulator OPTA recently fined Reinier Schenkhuizen €250,000 out of which €150,000 was punishment for sending out junk emails and €100,000 was because he did not provide a way for recipients to opt out of the messages. According to the OPTA, Schenkhuizen was able to send out 21 ...
Nokia 6760 Slide review
by Alan Harten
For those who like the style of the Nokia Surge that is now available exclusively with AT&T win the United States, you may be glad to hear that Nokia has released a replica model almost named the Nokia 6760 Slide that is available for global use.
Coincidently, the global model also comes equipped with ...No Google Voice on iPhones
by Alan Harten
Bad news for those who have been waiting for VoIP on their iPhones, as Apple has put the end to the incorporation of the Google Voice application.
Google confirmed the denial on Monday saying that Apple did not approve of the application but that Google would continue to offer its other applications, such ...Samsung to launch Europe-wide app store
by David Allen
Samsung is set to launch a mobile application store for handset owners across Europe.
The move, an attempt to emulate the success of the popular iPhone App Store, expands the beta version of the Samsung store launched earlier this year in the UK.
The store will offer applications for Symbian and Windows Mobile ...LG Embeds Vudu BX100 Set-Top Box on their HDTVs
by Franz Bicar
Earlier, we reported that Samsung completed a deal with Blockbuster’s ONDemand service. LG, on the other hand, will have Vudu. LG won the privilege of embedding the functionality of Vudu’s BX100 set-top box into their televisions ...Ofcom points finger at slow ISPs
by David Allen
