Mobile & Wireless Roundup - Innovation & Industry News

A follow up to my previous post: Proximity Marketing or Spam?

In response to an article posted on mocoNews.net

In my opinion, Bluetooth marketing, otherwise known as “Proximity Marketing” is only suited to certain situations to take of in a way that will benefit the end user. Banking is not an exciting medium for mobile, as there are few application usages currently for banking using mobile services. Companies that should be embracing proximity marketing are restaurants (only broadcasting their bluetooth messages during eating hours) and entertainment retail stores. The application for bluetooth is much larger, as they can offer money-off coupons as image push, or advertise the latest albums and dvd offers with video and audio clips to get the users attention.

There are many reasons for choosing an unlocked phone in the UK, it offers users the choice of network that they wish to use.
Many people purchase a Pay as you go device which are subsidised by the networks over a truly “SIM FREE” which do not offer any form of discounting.
It has been seen in the past that the network operator “3″ have physically glued their SIM cards into their phones in an attempt to curb the number of users taking advantage of their pricing structures for the PAYG devices.
But the option to have an unlocked phone extends further than cost and carrier availability. Some networks heavily brand the UI’s and in some cases limit the functionality of the device. The most recent example of this is Orange and Vodafone blocking the WiFi capabilities of some HTC OEM devices, and also blocking the usage of VoIP through their network, and removing the supporting software from the device (Nokia N95).
But to support the operators decision for this practice, it does allow the operator full control of how the UI can be extended to all devices allowing a “familiar experience” across the range. It also allows the operator to guard against malicious software, and network hacks. Not to everyones taste, granted.

I feel that the approach to locked devices in the future should be made at two different levels, a device that has been fully tested by the carrier and contains their branding, and limitations, and one at a higher cost that does not come with the same guarentees, but does not limit the user to the operators desired functionality.

I look forward to your opinions on this provocative issue.

Its the time of the year again when I’m due an upgrade on my phone. Having been keeping a careful eye on the market, I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing that grabs my attention at the moment. The UK mobile market seems to have hit a stale patch.

In my opinion, the following devices are the only worthy competitors

• Nokia E65
• SonyEricsson’s K810i
• Samsung U100
• LG Prada

However, they do not strike out to me. The Nokia E65 has all the features (WiFi, Sleek, Series 60). The SonyEricsson K810i is a simple upgrade to my current device (K800i), with a new fascia. The Samsung U100 is the Ultra slim 5.9mm thick phone, but lacks 3G but packs in a 3.2mp camera! And the LG Prada is beautiful as phones go, but…. its just not for me.

So what do to?

Well, I’m patiently waiting for the release of two new Samsung devices (in my opinion, the understated device manufacturer!). The Samsung U700 (Ultra Slim Slider with HSDPA 3.6Mbps) and the Samsung F700 (Great looking with a slide out full keyboard, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, and a unique user interface)

I suppose I should keep on waiting

I have just read a newly released document by Nokia and found that their Opensource browser found on their Series 60 DP 3 range has an interesting Javascript call.

The function getScreenSize allows the developer to check the display size on the mobile device

Example:

if(getScreenSize(240,320)){

//do mobile rendering

}

Should provide an excellent way of determining the device features when a unique user-agent is not available in the header

After months of speculation, the Meizu MiniOne has a full set of specifications on its website. Not wanting to be out done by the Apple iPhone, or LG Prada, the MiniOne features every technology to date in its slim and sexy package.
The top specifications are:

• 533MHZ processor, 128MB of DDR SDRAM !
• Touch Screen 720×480 resolution
• 3MP rear camera
• Wifi
• DMB Tuner
• GPS
• 4-16GB Internal Memory

Meizu announced their concept phone way back before Apple announced the iPhone, and now with a few cosmetic changes and final specification list, I can now confirm that this device will be an extremely strong contender in the Asian market, and will no doubt be imported on the grey market for European use.

Initial pricing seems to suggest that it will sell for between $330 (4GB) - $450 (16GB), BARGAIN!
Photos can be found here
Meizu MiniOne