Disqus - Latest Comments for squawkBOX

Re: Poll: What’s the best network for the iPhone?

smstextnews — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:01:50 -0000

That's a very interesting point Squawk, do you think Vodafone really will need to upgrade all 2Gs to Edge for the iPhone?

Re: Poll: What’s the best network for the iPhone?

squawkBOX — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:05:23 -0000

Voda have one thing holding them back: They only use GPRS and HSDPA. They really need up upgrade all their 2G cells to EDGE...

Re: Hands-on with the 3UK MiFi wireless hotspot unit

smstextnews — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:57:28 -0000

Yeah you can change that -- see this screenshot of the software: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smstextnews/392081...

Re: Hands-on with the 3UK MiFi wireless hotspot unit

squawkBOX — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:55:35 -0000

I'm guessing you are able to change the SSID as well?

Re: Why are 3 UK blocking Wapedia?

squawkBOX — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:53:46 -0000

This may be out of date as I no longer work for them... but I believe if you are using any of the Add Internet Max or similar addons they are filtered using bluecoat technology which is controlled by an external party.

If you are on the older X-Series addons, they don't have any filtering on them. 3 have still not got a feature available to bypass this filtering if you are on Add Internet Max.

Thankfully I'm now with vodafone who are a little better in this regards (albeit more stingy with their internet allowance for handsets).

Re: Verizon and AT&T defend the indefensible (text charges)

squawkBOX — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:58:49 -0000

QUOTE "Not surprisingly, industry association CTIA echoed the sentiments. "The U.S. wireless industry is the most competitive and innovative in the world."

Haha haha hahaha haha haha - what a load of bull. However, I suppose they are spokesgroup for the industry so they are going to say that.

Competition is brilliant for reducing prices - look at the UK when 3 entered. The US needs more of it or for some restrictions to stop the likes of AT&T buying anything thing with the word "mobile" or "cell(ular)" in it, as they have been doing recently.

Re: Thoughts on O2’s iPhone 3GS offering

danlane — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:58:34 -0000

Presumably they will use a different APN for tethered use and they'll charge based on that. If that's the case then my prediction is that shortly after release of 3.0 we'll very quickly see an app for jailbroken handsets that changes the billable APN to use the unlimited one.

Re: Thoughts on O2’s iPhone 3GS offering

jimwild — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:56:57 -0000

Yeah, I'm interested on this one too. My guess is that Apple have put in a way to alert the network if the iPhone is in tethered mode.

Re: Thoughts on O2’s iPhone 3GS offering

squawkBOX — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:55:11 -0000

I'm very interested to see how they can tell the difference between handset and tethered use?

Re: STOP PRESS: ShoZu to start charging!

squawkBOX — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:02:28 -0000

Yuck! "going forward." They should be shot for using that phrase - it is nasty.

Re: Search for N: Final Clue [Waiting]

squawkBOX — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:00:07 -0000

Well done! haha - I read on facebook that you ended up jumping in a bush to find it! I think that shows dedication!

I wonder what lengths people will go to get something (*squawkbox wanders off with potential TV show idea...) :)

Re: Search for N: Final Clue [Waiting]

squawkBOX — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:33:36 -0000

Hmm... I'm in Scotland so no chance of getting one :( Even though I have all the answers!

Good luck to those in:

London (x2)
Oxford
Dorset
South Wales
Manchester
Birmingham

Re: Special Report: Sony Ericsson Summer Announcement

squawkBOX — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:39:39 -0000

The joys of Sony Ericsson churning out more crap... They got the K800i right and kinda stopped development there...

Re: Exclusive: The search for the N…

squawkBOX — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:46:14 -0000

In true Nokia spirit: Tarrat ja T-paita minulle! :)

Its interesting Nokia are doing this, do you think they are taking a leaf out of Vodafone's book? :P

Re: Three and BT launch ‘Terminate the Rate’

squawkBOX — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:56:11 -0000

I'd argue that its a ploy to really increase the cost to the end user. The mobile networks in the UK have been suffering from falling ARPU or ARPC (average revenue per user/customer) and at the moment you can get unlimited SMS, same network calls and data for around £20-£25 depending on which network. Even with that, you get a good number of cross network minutes, so this £35 is simply IMHO a way to extract more revenue from each customer.

Re: Calling 0800 numbers for free from mobiles

sevendotzero — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:42:07 -0000

I agree that the 07 situation is confusing. 070 personal numbering was a neat idea but a pricing / cost to call nightmare. IOM, Guernsey, Jersey numbers have allowed some innovative services to appear but again at a (nasty) cost to the consumer. People like Truphone with their own 07 numbers have also suffered at the hands of the big mobile operators in terms of tariffing. Unfortunately the mobile operators don't seem keen on looking at the customer experience & what this pricing mess means for the consumer. I'd like to see Ofcom take a less laissez-faire attitude to pricing where it confuses the user.

Re: Calling 0800 numbers for free from mobiles

squawkBOX — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:33:22 -0000

To be honest, I think the issue we have is really due to the large number of number ranges we have in the UK.

01-02: Regular landlines
03 - Nationwide non-geographic code
04: No use at the moment
05: VoIP/Corp numbering
06: No use at the moment
07: Personal Numbering / Mobile
08: Freephone or 'national/local' numbers
09: Premium

Whilst I find the charging of 0800/0845 extremely annoying, there is one that I rate even more irritating. The 07 number. Anyone that has called a 'Personal' number beginning with 070 or a number from the Isle of Man (07624) will know that you'll be charged outside your bundles. There is far too much confusion surrounding them.

I would ideally like to see a standardised approach taken by all networks. For all number ranges (bar 09) to be included in any minutes and possibly for 0800 numbers to be free.

I'd also like to see a different approach to dealing with Personal numbering and those "British Crown dependencies," which appear to be very similar to UK mobiles (i.e. the twitter SMS number +44 762 480 1423 - which is an Isle of Man number, as Manx Telecom run it) but are charged at international rates.

Re: Google Latitude: An ‘insidious threat’?

squawkBOX — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:31:40 -0000

"In summary, the danger arises when a second party can gain physical access to a user’s phone and enables Latitude without the owner’s knowledge. So, we expressed concerns about the settings and urged Google to set up a daily text message which would reach all devices enabled with Latitude, mentioning the status of Latitude (OFF or ON) by default."

So is he suggesting that with every app we have that tracks us, we must receive a daily SMS to indicate that its still sending information out about our location? Rubbish. Imagine if you use a number of these services.

I think a better solution would be for the industry to come together and come up with some common symbol which could be shown on the handset's front screen (i.e. similar to the SMS alert icon or 3G symbol) to indicate that the location is being broadcast.

If only the UK government cared about its citizen's privacy rights... they would be making Phorm illegal first...

Usually the European Commission are the source of wisdom on these things, I'll await their views with interest. (Viviane Reding et al...)

Re: Video Diary: Ben on the future of ‘The Really Mobile Project’

squawkBOX — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:54:18 -0000

I'm really liking the site, especially the mobile version of it - the design works well with the content and I don't think there is any other mobile site that beats it.

Can't wait for the more content to start coming through!

Re: 3UK ‘e-bill’ text message notification FAIL

squawkBOX — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:37:48 -0000

I'm also guessing if the handset was on wifi mode, this would have prevented it from accessing the Planet 3 version of My3.

For example, if you are using 3G connection and go to mobile.three.co.uk, that will take you to Planet 3. If you are using wifi and connect to mobile.three.co.uk, it will take you to 3's homepage.

Maybe the issue above was the case?

Re: ‘And a 3.5mm jack’ - Why isn’t this a standard?

Abul — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:52:50 -0000

Nokia's E Series have always had 2.5mm as standard, only recently has this trend started to disperse (thanks to bloggers around the world!) :D

Re: ‘And a 3.5mm jack’ - Why isn’t this a standard?

squawkBOX — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:26:46 -0000

I currently use both a Nokia N95 8GB and a Nokia E71. I love the E71 and I find I'm using it more and more (due to the keyboard) - however the one thing that I dislike is the use of a 2.5mm port. Even though the phone is newer than the N95 8GB, I feel it is going back a step by including these old school connectors!

I know I can get an adaptor, however I feel that at the planning stage it should have been changed to a 3.5mm connector.

Re: Global Broadcasters To Carry Historic American Moment - mediabistro.com: TVNewser

squawkBOX — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:57:05 -0000

There are a few errors in this document.

England is wrong, it should read 'United Kingdom.' The channels that are carrying it here are: BBC One, BBC HD, BBC News Channel, Sky Arts, Sky Arts HD, Sky News.

Also we will get coverage from Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN International, Al Jazeera English, FOX News, France 24, NDTV and EuroNews. (I am not sure whether Russia Today, CCTV-9 or NHK are showing it).

Re: From today, you can use your mobile on the underground

AJ — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:36:15 -0000

Fully operational mobile service in Kuala Lumpur's metro system. It makes London Underground seem so backward.

I know there are all these weirdos who don't want mobile phones to work on the Underground but I think we should move with the times. I love the idea of all these people looking for peace and quiet, supposedly, on the Victoria line between Oxford Circus and Kings Cross or wherever.

Re: NokiaWorldWatch: Press schedule – Day 1

squawkBOX — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:46:46 -0000

What is this countdown timer for: http://events.nokia.com/countdown/ ?

A new handset being unveiled ?

EDIT: The main page states: Desktop. Laptop. Pocket.

Interesting...