Mobile phones: Spanish troubles drag down Vodafone

Vodafone became the latest victim of the slowdown yesterday as the mobile group warned that its annual revenues would be at the bottom end of forecasts.

The revision - mainly caused by falling sales in Spain - shocked the City and sent shares down almost 14% to close at 129p, making it the biggest percentage faller in the FTSE 100. It cast a shadow over the departure of chief executive Arun Sarin, who is stepping down next week after five years at the helm.

Ericsson also suffered from a Vodafone effect, with shares down 11% despite reporting better than expected quarterly earnings figures.

Although Vodafone said results were in line with expectations, and reiterated guidance on operating profit and cash flow, it said full-year revenues were likely to be at the lower end of its previously stated range of £39.8bn to £40.7bn.

The company said trouble at its Spanish operations had dragged European organic revenues down by 0.2% year on year in the three months to the end of June. With more than 16 million customers, Spain is one of the company's four main European markets, along with the UK, Italy and Germany. Service revenues in Spain were down 2.5% in the quarter, contrasting with 8.1% growth over the course of last year.

Jonathan Groocock, an analyst at Investec, said the evidence of slowdown in Spain "shatters the widespread perception that the company is immune to an economic slowdown".

"Perhaps it was always too good to be true," said Mark James at Collins Stewart. "The Spanish and UK telecoms markets, resilient to the economic slowdown to date, finally look to have cracked."

Sarin said Vodafone had suffered from a "relatively severe macroeconomic environment". "We are not immune to it but we are much more resilient than most other companies. If anyone thought we were immune, that would have been a mis-thinking about how we operate."

He said one problem in Spain was that migrant workers who had been working in construction were returning home.

"Migrants and small-to-medium-size companies have taken a lot of share. But here comes the downturn - there's less construction work and some migrants have gone home. But it's not a business that's falling apart, it's a segment within that business."

He said in the UK - where service revenues for the quarter were up 2.1% thanks to data and messaging, but revenues from phone calls fell by 4.4% - the main difficulty was competition from other mobile networks.

Sarin said earnings would be protected by the company's cost-reduction plans and the strength of the euro against the pound could, on current trends, benefit the company by as much as £750m over the six months to the end of September.

Revenues for eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific were up 9.2% on an organic basis in the quarter. Overall Vodafone added 8.5 million subscribers in the quarter, taking the company's customer base to around 269 million. Group revenues rose 19% to £9.8bn in the quarter, with overall organic growth of 1.7%.

source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Yahoo signs U.K. mobile-advertising deal

Yahoo has signed up 3 UK, a mobile-phone network operator in the United Kingdom, to sell banner ads and sponsored links on the company's Planet 3 portal site for mobile Internet use.

Yahoo will begin supplying ads from its partners later this month, the company said Wednesday.

"We believe Yahoo has the experience to help us take full advantage of our advanced portal and unique all-3G subscriber base," Neil Andrews, 3 UK's head of on-portal advertising, said in a statement.

Yahoo already is the exclusive mobile-advertising partner for 3 UK competitor Vodafone.


source : http://news.cnet.com/

Review: iPhone deals

It might be best to stay on hold for an iPhone deal, reports Adam Turner.

Apple's iPhone 3G has finally landed in Australia, but choosing which telco to buy it from can be a challenge.

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are all selling the iPhone 3G. You can buy them from other stores, but you must sign up to one of these three networks. The 3 network is expected to offer the iPhone 3G in August. iPhone 3Gs are generally sold with a 12 or 24-month plan, although it is possible to buy a pre-paid iPhone 3G. It is, however, still locked to that network unless you download a hack from the internet or pay the telco yet another fee to have the phone "unlocked".

Like all smartphones, the iPhone 3G isn't cheap. Unfortunately the plans from the three networks are complicated, making it difficult to make direct comparisons. The iPhone is available with a choice of 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage.

While you're likely to have an idea of the monthly call and SMS allowance you require, choosing a data plan is more difficult. The data plan determines how much you can use the phone for checking email or surfing the web via the mobile phone network. If you go over your monthly allowance you'll get slugged with hefty excess data charges. Telstra and Vodafone didn't release full details of their iPhone 3G plans until less than a day before they went on sale.

The iPhone 3G's ease of use means you're more like to use the advanced features and chew through more data - especially because of the fast data speeds. The Google Maps feature is great for figuring out where you are, but downloading the maps uses data. It's also very easy to configure the iPhone 3G to check your email. The big screen and great web browser means you're more likely to use the internet while you're on the road. There's also a YouTube link on the iPhone's home screen, which can be a real data trap.

Even light users will struggle to keep their usage under 100MB a month. The iPhone offers the option of push email, which automatically forwards your email to the phone rather than waiting for you to check your inbox.

The iPhone 3G lets you connect to the internet via wifi, rather than the phone network, which is great when you're at home or near a public wifi hotspot as it doesn't count towards your monthly data limit. Unfortunately when the phone goes to sleep it disables its wifi adaptor to save power, which means it switches back to the expensive mobile phone network.

The iPhone 3G would chew through at least 5MB of data a month in the background, even before you use email or the web.

iPhone 3G owners using Optus and Vodafone won't get full 3G data speeds outside the cities.

The most dangerous thing about the iPhone 3G is that you can't disable the mobile data services. You can disable 3G, but this drops you back to 2G speeds rather than disabling mobile data completely.

If your phone is unlocked from your carrier, you might be able to disable data access in the advanced settings. If you change the APN setting to gibberish, you can still make calls and send SMS, but the phone can't access mobile data services. It's not elegant, but it works.

If your iPhone 3G is hacked to run applications that do not have Apple's blessing, a more elegant solution is to add a "DATA off" button to the menus. This can be done with applications such as services.app, iToggle and BossPrefs and - on our hacked first-generation iPhone - we got the best results from BossPrefs.

source : http://www.smh.com.au/

Mobile history in the making for Vodafone with LG

For the first time in Vodafone history Vodafone shops across the UK will have an LG mobile phone on their shelves this weekend.

As from this weekend the new LG KF750 “Secret” mobile phone is to be available on all networks in the UK with the exception of 3. This will be the first time an LG mobile phone has been paired with Vodafone since a deal between Vodafone and 3 was brokered some five years ago when Vodafone agreed not to source LG mobile phones in exchange for 3 not sourcing Samsung mobile phones.

Samsung’s new flagship mobile phone the Samsung Soul will be the first Samsung mobile made available to 3. Both carriers welcome this shitch which should open up new customers for both companies.

Vodafone’s first LG KF750 is a slim stylish slider with a 5 megapixel camera, no standard D-pad but instead has a central confirm key, with 2G network GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G network HSPDA, 2.4 inch touch-screen, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, FM radio with RDS, standby time up to 260 hours and talk time up to 4 hours, and measures 102.8 x 50.8 x 11.8mm with a weight of 116 grams.

So there you have it Vodafone history in the making, and it seems 3 history in the making too with their gaining the Samsung Soul. And really this is the way it should be in fairness of competition, no mobile phone should be exclusive to one carrier as this will lead to maintained high prices.

source : http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/

Vodafone Buys Mobile Phone Social Network ZYB For $50 Million

Vodafone has bought the mobile social networking service ZYB for €31.5 million ($50 million) in a move that will see the Danish company become a part of Vodafone’s Internet Services Division.

The Danish company started up in 2005 with investment of €3 million and offered a free online storage space for users to back up their mobile phone contacts. ZYB later developed into a social networking site when the company realised the potential of having all of a users mobile phone contacts stored in the same database: Users could, if they chose, link up to one another by seeing who else has the same contacts in their database.

ZYB also offers other services such as storing messages, calendar information, and a phonebook to launch later in the year that will display the real-time location of your friends and the time zone they’re currently in.

ZYB’s services, beyond the simple backing up of data, is to allow you to connect to other mobile phone users online and, increasingly, connect with them more easily on your phone using services such as the ZYB Phone Book.

source : http://www.tomsguide.com/

Vodafone targets ad dollars with new GPS

Vodafone New Zealand marketing bosses have eyes on next-generation Global Positioning Satellite software for mobile phones to boost advertising revenue.

But they say this latest mobile phone accessory - joining internet access, MP3 mobile players and cameras - will not be a big earner for some time yet.

GPS technology looks set to be the next big thing for premium phones, giving customers the ability to use phones to find where they are driving or walking and the location they are trying to reach.

In a deal with Australian online mapping firm Compass, Vodafone has started offering the service on Blackberry phones.

The market for GPS mobiles is likely to take off later this year with Apple's iPhone expected to be GPS capable.

Initially the Vodafone deal with Compass will be limited to revenue from corporate customers who would pay $2.50 a day for casual use or $10 a month to use Compass.

The service is an early sampling by Vodafone of the potential growth from the new GPS-capable phones.

As GPS technology for mobile phones develops - it has never met forecasts to take off in the past - so too will the value of the information it provides. For Vodafone, one of the big benefits will be developing advertising revenue.

Vodafone Products general manager Kursten Shalfoon said more money would be raised through attaching marketing information.

"What it means is that where we will now say, "Turn left at this street," we will give instructions to turn left at the, say, Caltex, and a promotion will spring up that says if you buy petrol there now you will be able to get a special price."

He acknowledged the dangers of including too many marketing messages on the premium service and annoying customers.

source : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

Vodafone Denies Plans to Buy South Africa's MTN

Vodafone has refuted media reports over the weekend that the company is considering a spoiler bid for South Africa's MTN - which is currently in talks with India's Bharti Airtel over a possible takeover.

Two UK newspapers has reported that Vodafone is working on a bid for the company. The Sunday Times reported that Vodafone's CEO, Arun Sarin had told his acquisition team, led by former UBS banker Warren Finegold, to seek ways to buy South Africa based MTN - while the Telegraph reported similar without naming its sources.

"We have no intention of pursuing a bid for MTN," a Vodafone spokesman said - denying the reports.

Earlier this month, Vodafone was understood to be in talks with MTN over proposals to acquire the company's international assets outside South Africa.

Vodafone - which jointly owns South African mobile operator, Vodacom with the landline operator, Telekom - was recently reported to have become increasingly frustrated with delays in a planed sale of 15% of Telkom. The sale would have pushed Vodafone's effective control of the company above 50%, giving it control of the business without having to spend a significant sum on an acquisition. Vodacom will also need to divest a substantial stake by the end of this year to a Black Empowerment group, further diluting both companies stake in the company.

The earlier talks were confirmed by an MTN insider and by an independent source in the South African financial services sector, who is familiar with the detail of the discussions. Although Vodafone denied any talks were carrying one, MTN did confirm that Vodafone is one of several companies they are talking to - as part of normal business relations.

MTN also has very little overlap with Vodafone in their respective international markets.

source : http://www.cellular-news.com/

HTC unveils new Touch phone

Mobile phone maker HTC has unveiled the next generation of its popular Touch device, the Touch Diamond, as the Taiwanese company looks to take on Apple's iPhone at the top end of the handset market.

The launch of the phone, which will be available in Europe next month, comes as Vodafone announced it would begin stocking Apple's iPhone across 10 markets, including India and Italy, later this year.

The HTC Touch, launched last year, has sold more than 3m worldwide through over 100 operators in more than 50 countries. HTC is hoping the next version of the device, which it has been developing since 2006, will be more successful.

The idea behind the phone is what HTC's chief innovation officer, Horace Luke, calls "thumbability". Unlike the iPhone, which users need both hands to access properly, the smaller HTC Diamond can be used easily with one hand.

"What we want people to be able to do is the equivalent of walk and chew gum at the same time; walk down the street and access the internet at the same time," he said.

The Diamond has a 4GB memory, which is smaller than the iPhone, but a more powerful 3.2 megapixel camera. Unlike the iPhone it also has GPS built in and works on the latest generation of super-fast mobile phone network technology, HSDPA. It has wi-fi and Bluetooth short-range wireless technology and is light-sensitive.

The phone uses the latest version of the Windows Mobile operating system but is far more intuitive than any Windows device so far seen.

Users navigate the phone through the touchscreen and a small iPod-like clickwheel. The thumb-rotation movement also allows users to zoom in on particular areas of the screen, while tapping the screen formats web text into columns, making it easy to read. The phone also has a stylus for notes and character recognition.

The phone's music service uses what HTC calls Touchflow 3D, which animates album covers a bit like flipping through LPs in a record store. Contacts also flow as if they were on a Rollerdex.

Getting music onto the phone is relatively easy. It is treated as a hard drive so users do not have to upload their music through a particular computer-based music player.

HTC's chief marketing officer, John Wang, said the phone was part of HTC's efforts to improve its brand identity. The company is a relative minnow when compared with other manufacturers in the far east, such as second-placed Samsung and number five player LG.

"In 2007 we talked about the Touch, in 2008 we are talking about the Touch Diamond. We have to come up with more great ideas in 2009, 2010 and so on. It's all about repeatedly demonstrating our leadership. That will gain us respect in this industry," he said.

Orange, 3, O2 and Vodafone will offer HTC's latest device. In the past HTC phones have been stocked under operators' brand names, such as the O2 XDA, or given generic names, such as the SPV. But most of the operators stocking the Touch Diamond phone will stock it under the Diamond name.

"Not because I have requested that they do that, but because they want to," said Wang.

HTC, however, still makes a lot of bespoke devices. It is looking to make a phone using Google's Android operating system, and is understood to be working with BT on a device that will work with its new Blackberry-style email and mobile internet service, to be announced tomorrow.

Vodafone gets the iPhone

As well as signing up for the Diamond, Vodafone has secured a deal to supply Apple's iPhone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Apple has already announced it will have other partners in some of these markets, including Canada and Italy.

The mobile operator is also understood to have signed a deal for the new 3G version of Apple's device, which is expected to be unveiled next month.

In a change of strategy, Apple has decided to dump the exclusive deals that marked the phone's entry into the initial markets of the US, UK, France and Germany in favour of having more operators stock the phone in the next batch of markets.

While Vodafone refused to comment, the company is understood to have struck a better deal than the original list of iPhone stockists. It does not have to give Apple as large a slice of ongoing revenues from iPhone customers as operators such as O2, who supply the handset exclusively in the UK.

source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/

The UK’s best (and free) mobile phones

Thanks to the subsidies offered by the likes of Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone and 3, there’s an amazing selection of mobile phones available for free. You still have to sign up for a monthly contract, but you can get hundreds of pounds-worth of mobile phone technology for absolutely zip.

Put it this way: the 8GB Nokia N95 costs over £440 without a contract on Expansys, but it’s free with a £35 contract at the Carphone Warehouse. A SIM-free Samsung Soul costs over £300, but you can get it for nothing at mobiles.co.uk.

All of which got us to thinking… What’s the best ‘free’ mobile phone you can get your hands on? What’s the best free handset if you want good music playback? What’s the best free phone for business? Or for taking photos? Here’s what we think.

The best music phone – Sony Ericsson W890i

As the successor to the W880i Walkman phone, the Sony Ericsson W890i has a lot to prove. An upgraded feature set offers enhanced 3G (HSDPA) high-speed data connectivity, a 2GB MemoryStick, FM radio and a 3.2MP camera. Crucially, the Sony Ericsson W890i has also maintained the essence of the W880i’s slim, stylish design, high quality finishing and overall desirability. (Free on: 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile)

The best camera phone – Sony Ericsson K850i

The K850i brings the best of Sony’s Cyber-shot brand to bear on a 3G (HSDPA) mobile. Like many other Sony Ericsson handsets, the K850i is a music and video player, FM radio and Internet gizmo. But its key feature is a 5MP digital camera with 16x digital zoom and a Xenon flash. 40MB of built-in memory is available for photo storage, but this can be expanded via MemoryStick or MicroSD cards. (Free on: O2, Orange, 3, T-Mobile, Vodafone).

The best touchscreen phone – LG KU990 Viewty

The LG Viewty (aka the KU990) is certainly popular – it’s consistently been the most-searched for phone on TechRadar. The star of the show is the Viewty’s iPhone-esque 3-inch touchscreen. You use it to type text and email messages, view images, browse the web, shoot video and much more. A 5MP camera, stylish design and 3G (HSDPA) connectivity all contribute to make the KU990 Viewty is one of LG’s best ever mobile phones. (Free on: O2, Orange, 3, T-Mobile)

The best business phone – Blackberry Pearl 8120

Until Apple decides to give the 2nd-gen iPhone away for free, RIM’s Blackberry phones still dominate the business market. Dubbed ‘Crackberry’ phones by email-addicted owners, the 8120 Pearlhandset is the best way to get your messages on the move – enterprise server integration and personal email accounts are both supported. Once you’ve got used to the SureType keypad (two QWERTY keys per button), the Blackberry 8210 is a cracking smartphone. (Free on: O2)

The best sat-nav phone – Nokia N95

Whether you get the original N95 model or the new N95 8GB variant, Nokia’s do-it-all smartphone pushes GPS modules as the next standard-issue phone feature. Nokia uses its own mapping technology as standard - Nokia Maps. But third-party software, such as ALK’s more advanced Co-Pilot Live 7, can be installed instead. Whatever you use, the N95 is capable of giving standalone sat-nav devices a run for their money and is ideal for last-mile pedestrian location-finding. (Free on 3, O2, Orange, Vodafone)

The best slider phone – Samsung Soul

Samsung has blazed into the mobile phone market with a series of slick slider phones. The so-called ‘Soul’ is one such handset. The build quality is excellent, while the handset boasts 3G (HSDPA) support and a 5-megapixel camera. There’s a gimmick too: the Soul boasts dual screens, with a mini touchscreen below the main LCD. The touchscreen features dynamic icons that change depending on what you’re doing. (Free on: O2, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile)

The best free phone – Nokia N95 8GB

Yes, the Nokia N95 is a bit of a brick, but just look at all the functionality you can get for free: 3G, built-in 802.11g, GPS (with A-GPS support), an FM radio, 5MP digital camera (with Carl Zeiss optics), music and video playback, plus 8GB of internal flash memory. OK, so all of this power can drain the battery pretty fast. But in its new 8GB guise, the N95 is one awesome all-rounder smartphone. (Free on: 3, O2, Orange, Vodafone, read our full review).

And the best free gift is…?

A trawl of the mobile phone sites and stores on a Friday reveals that sellers will significantly sweeten the deal if you’ll buy a phone from them. Mobiles.co.uk, for example, is offering a Samsung J700 and a free PlayStation 3 if you commit to a £35 per month contract. Buy an LG Viewty via the Carphone Warehouse and they’ll throw in a free Nintendo DS. It’s well worth shopping around. Offers currently range from games consoles to HD TVs, Apple iPods to camcorders. And there are always cash-back deals to be had.

source : http://www.techradar.com/

Vodafone offers unlimited web access

New monthly mobile price plans from Vodafone will offer unlimited internet access as a standard feature in a bid to meet the growing demand for access to email and social networking on the move.

The move makes Vodafone the first mobile phones UK operator to offer a flat rate monthly tariff for internet usage, although O2 offers a similar plan for iPhone customers.

Vodafone is keen to promote unlimited internet access to everyday mobile phone users as means of grabbing additional share in an increasingly saturated market.

"Many people already have phones that can browse the internet so they do not need to buy new ones," said Al Russell, head of mobile internet and content services at Vodafone.

Thus far consumers have been reluctant to embrace internet over their mobile phones in the face of complicated pricing structures and limits to the amount of data they are allowed to download.

"A lot of people are worried about how to use the internet on their phones. Our staff will put the phones in their hands and show them how to do it in two minutes. And they do not have to worry about the cost," said Russell.

Internet access will be bundled with all new plans at no extra charge, with prices starting from £25 per month.

Users will be subject to a 'fair usage policy' of 500MB per month, and will be contacted if they exceed this allocation.

Facebook, Google and the BBC are the top three internet sites on the Vodafone Mobile Internet, according to the company.

source : http://www.vnunet.com/

Vodafone's mobile phone lock-down

There's been mounting criticism in the tech blogosphere of Vodafone's move to lock new mobile phones so they can only be used on the Vodafone New Zealand mobile network.

Vodafone will charge $50 to unlock new handsets if people want to shift to another provider here or use someone other than Vodafone overseas for mobile roaming.

Check out the robust discussion on Geekzone where Vodafone has been slammed for what many see as anti-competitive behaviour.

Aardvark chips in here and asks whether the move "could this be the best thing that's ever happened to the grey market phone business".

Parallel imported phones are sold unlocked so can be used on any network. Will Vodafone's lock-in push people away from Vodafone stores?

We've already effectively got lock-in in this country when it comes to mobile. Telecom's phone's don't have SIM cards and use the CDMA technology of which there is only one network - Telecom's (though TelstraClear now re-sell the service). Vodafone has the only GSM network, but New Zealand Communications has built part of a network and even has some cell sites live.

It's no coincidence that Vodafone, after years of selling unlocked phones, is changing its policy as Telecom prepares to launch a GSM network and New Zealand Communications gets into the game as well.

It's speculated that NZC in particular will target Vodafone customers with cheap calling deals and urge them to bring their unlocked phones to the new NZC network. Telecom will be more focused on luring in converts with subsidised handsets procured through its new deal with global mobile phone distributor Brightstar.

Either way, Vodafone customers buying a new handset or people considering joining Vodafone need to be aware that they won't simply be able to pop out the SIM card and put in a rival operator's SIM card to get the alternative service. To allow that to happen you'll have to pay $50 (though I'm sure the geek community will soon have some easy unlocks widely available on the internet).

Vodafone's reasoning for the change is smirk-inducing at best: "This is being done to protect the customers' experience of the Vodafone brand. Vodafone brands its mobiles with both the Vodafone and Vodafone Live! look and feel. If a customers takes a Vodafone mobile to another network, the customer won't be able to access the Vodafone experience and services," said spokesman Paul Brislen.

But the reality is that this is the end of the good times for Vodafone mobile users in terms of having the freedom to roam overseas on other SIM cards to get cheaper local rates. Phone locking is widely practiced overseas where in the big markets there are as many as six operators competing using the same technology.

Phone locking is legal in most countries - apparently its banned by law in Belgium, but its common in the rest of Europe, Asia, the US and in Australia. Most operators charge a fee for having a phone unlocked. Vodafone Australia has a website for people wanting to unlock their phone

In places like Britain there's a bit of an underground market in unofficial mobile phone unlocking. You'll find people on the fringes of London's markets offering cheap and quick, though warranty-voiding, SIM unlocks.

Is phone locking fair? As some have pointed out, it seems reasonable that if you've received a subsidised handset as a result of signed up to a fixed term contract, say 24 months, its fair that you should be penalised for breaking that contract both in terms of early termination fees and an unlock fee.

But what about pre-pay users who generally get much less in the way of subsidies and people buying phones at full price? Those people have a right to be annoyed about having their phone locked and having to pay $50 just so they can take it elsewhere.

It's like Orcon or Ihug charging you to have your wireless router unlocked so you can move to another broadband provider. Anyway, I doubt the Commerce Commission will have a go at Vodafone over this, based on international experience.

So be warned. If you're travelling regularly and are used to buying pre-paid SIM cards overseas to cut down on calling charges while you are away make some careful decisions before you upgrade to a new phone. Your next handset may leave you locked out of the networks you've connected to in the past.

What do you think? Is this fair play for Vodafone or has the mobile operator crossed the line? Do you think it will hurt the company's handset sales? Anyone know any good SIM unlocks?

source : http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/

Madonna heads to mobile phones

Wireless operators Verizon Wireless and Vodafone have teamed up to simulcast a Madonna performance live to mobile phones on their respective networks. It's considered the first live simulcast across multiple wireless networks.

Madonna will perform songs from her new "Hard Candy" album Wednesday night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, which Control Room is broadcasting live on the MSN Internet network. The two wireless operators will air four songs from that performance as it happens.

Verizon also is giving away tickets to the limited-seating event (the venue holds about 3,000). The operator tapped producer Timbaland and collaborator Justin Timberlake to create a remix of the lead single "4 Minutes." Any Verizon subscriber who buys the song, ringtone or ringback tone becomes eligible to win free tickets.

Verizon will air the live event exclusively in the U.S., while Vodafone will air it in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Additionally, fans can access the performance after the fact for 30 days via the Verizon VCast Performances video channel.

This is the latest in a handful of live broadcasts made available on mobile phones in recent years. It's not yet clear what the advantage of doing so is outside of the media attention gained for engaging in the relatively rare process.

Streaming live video is incredibly bandwidth-intensive for mobile operators, hence the limitation to four songs. It's also of questionable value to subscribers, given the small screens of most mobiles. Archived live performances have proved popular after the fact, but the need to see a live stream from the phone is of lesser demand considering the full concert can be streamed online via the Control Room/MSN partnership.

source : http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

Text warning to mobile phone companies

Europe’s top telecoms official has warned mobile telephone companies she is ready to cut prices customers pay to send text messages while abroad, unless the industry lowers fees swiftly.

Viviane Reding, who last year forced operators to slash “roaming” call charges, said: “I have full confidence that the industry this time will manage to solve the problem. In the meantime, I’m preparing a regulation, so if the industry will not be ready, I will be ready ... to bring down prices.”

Her warning is the latest salvo in her battle to cut the cost of cross-border mobile phone use in the European Union.

The EU telecoms commissioner last month enraged many operators by calling for the industry to cut charges for sending text messages and accessing the internet while in another European country.

The industry claims regulation, especially of retail prices, is inappropriate for a competitive, fast-evolving market. Operators including Vodafone, Telefonica, KPN and 3, however, have cut prices.

Mrs Reding told the FT on Tuesday her deadline for industry action was July 1. “Some [operators] are moving in the right direction. Others make announcements and promises. Some have done very concrete things. I will see how the industry goes, not only in promises, but in facts.”

The pro-consumer commissioner says that the prices should not be substantially more expensive than domestic charges, arguing that “this is the logic of the borderless, single market”.

She seeks a retail limit of of €0.12 (9p, $0.18) on cross-border text messages, against an average price of €0.29 now, and wants wholesale charges for data downloading to fall to €0.35 per megabyte.

Mrs Reding, who releases an annual health report on the EU’s €300bn-a-year electronic communications market on Wednesday, is on a collision course with the industry over lucrative connection charges.

She plans legislative action to lower “mobile termination rates” – wholesale fees that companies can charge other operators for connecting calls to their networks. In the UK, the fees represent 15 per cent of mobile operators’ revenues

Wednesday’s report will show MTRs fell last year but vary widely across the EU. The lowest charge was €0.019 a minute, in Cyprus, while the highest was €0.224 a minute in Estonia. Mrs Reding argues that the charges can act as industry subsidies and wants prices to fall to between €0.01 and €0.015 a minute in the long term.

She says the true cost of the service is €0.01. “We need a level playing field. Big differences lead to market distortions.”

source : http://www.ft.com/

Easing up mobile phone market

The Commerce Commission says it's trying to make it as easy as possible for new players to enter the mobile phone market.

It has recommended that the Minister of Communications not regulate the price that companies charge each other for mobile roaming.

Roaming is when the customers of one network travel out of the range of that network and their calls are carried by another network.

The commission says government intervention is not needed because Vodafone and newcomer NZ Communication have reached a working agreement.

Commission director of telecommunications Osmond Borthwick says the deal set an industry standard, and will make it easy for companies starting out.

He says the arrangement is very similar to what would have happened if the sector was regulated.

source: http://tvnz.co.nz/

Vodafone Launches Vodafone Branded 227 and 228

Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator, occasionally releases handsets under its own brand, which allows Vodafone to build its recognition among consumers. The newly-launched Vodafone 227 and 228 are both entry level handsets designed to appeal to price-conscious consumers looking for a stylish handset.

The 227 is a clamshell, while the 228 comes in the slider form factor. Both cell phones offer basic voice and text services, along with a color display and included wired handsfree headset. Both phones will be made available throughout Vodafone's Europe and emerging markets.

Vodafone launched seven handsets in 2007 under its own brand, and these handsets make up 1/6th of the total handsets it shipped in 2007. Vodafone uses a consistent design across its own handsets, including the keypad layout and user interface, to build brand recognition among consumers.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com/

Vodafone Now Offering Satellite Navigation Service in UK

Through a partnership with Telmap, a navigation and mobile mapping company, Vodafone UK is now offering navigation solutions to its users. Vodafone Sat Nav is the first mobile navigation system offered by Vodafone on its cell phones in the UK.

The Vodafone Sat Nav service provides a full 3D map view of your route that turns, scrolls, and stops in unison with the driver or pedestrian. The software also provides instant live traffic alerts and points-of-interest such as restaurants, hotels, and major attractions.

Vodafone Sat Nav is available now on three of its GPS handsets: the Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia 6110, and the BlackBerry Pearl 8100. Costs for the service are set at 5 GBP with the first month free. For those looking to purchase a new BlackBerry 8100, the service is offered free of charge for the first year of service. Vodafone customers can apply for the service at any Vodafone retail store or direct from Vodafone live!.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com/