Disqus - Latest Comments for timbelfall

Re: What was your best phone ever? Here’s mine!

smstextnews — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:48:07 -0000

Always loved the N90. Such a revolution.

Re: What was your best phone ever? Here’s mine!

timbelfall — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:03:36 -0000

N90 - Great speaker, camera, build quality, keyboard, features. Loved it.

Re: Nokia’s Ovi let’s the market decide. The market says, ‘no’ (and how to fix it)

timbelfall — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:33:32 -0000

Why does Ovi make finding applications so difficult! Gravity for instance can't be found or searched for under Applications, only under Recommended. The logic doesn't stack up, and as a consequence developers must be concerned as to how good a marketing platform Ovi really is.

Re: Why Mobileways were right to price Gravity at $10

timbelfall — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:50:00 -0000

When I change handset I just email an explanation as to why I need a new licence to Ole and he provides a new registration. If you are already registered the latest updates can be downloaded from http://support.mobileways.de/

Re: Why Mobileways were right to price Gravity at $10

timbelfall — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:27:22 -0000

I've been using Ole's software for the last 6 years at least, and it has always been well written. But creating any Symbian application is costly in time and money. He has to afford to create the apps, he can't live on thin air.

Three years ago he just stopped developing commercial apps and after waiting for a Symbian 9.x version of Remote I eventually had to buy an inferior product. But he's come back with an immensely strong update to RemotePro and now a great Twitter client. We all need to support small developers otherwise their skills and innovation will just vanish. With EMCC having just gone bust the last thing we need in the Symbian space is for another developer to disappear.

Re: UK01 the new kid on the MNO block

timbelfall — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:41:38 -0000

Thanks James. Looking at UK01's tariff structures and initial deployment It does seem they are targetting the same market as Lycamobile. I do agree with you though that it has a natural advantage in rural communities.

Re: UK01 the new kid on the MNO block

jamesbody — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:00:51 -0000

No - Rabbit was a 'One Way' service - offering outbound calls only - AND Rabbit handsets were good for only one thing - i.e. working through Rabbit base stations.

The big advantage that UK01 offers is that it will work with virtually any GSM handset that is within range of a Mapesbury cell, but the same handset can also operate as a 'normal' GSM handset in other areas.

This technology is particularly useful for those who are lucky enough to live in the rural wilds - where GSM signals just do not get to. In these scenarios one can deploy a UK01 cell to cover your residence and surrounding environs which will offer high quality service to all those GSM users that wander into range.

Whilst I am a great exponent of mobile VoIP over WiFi, the GSM Femtocell approach does have one major attraction - in that you do not have to possess a dual mode WiFi/GSM handset to operate!

Re: UK01 the new kid on the MNO block

timbelfall — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:49:05 -0000

Steve, won't this approach suffer from the same problems as Hutchison had with Rabbit in the 80's?

Re: Is that the Sony Ericsson X1 available now then?

timbelfall — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:43:39 -0000

I received my Xperia four weeks ago. Anyone interested in buying an Xperia should first handle it at a Vodafone store. There are a number of performance issues, battery drain with WiFi, screen size, touch screen sensitivity and keyboard usability that some may find unacceptable in day to day use. It's also very chunky. The screen also wobbles when the keyboard is in use, or indeed when using the stylus.

Re: Lotus Notes comes to Nokia handsets

timbelfall — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:30:49 -0000

S60V3 & V2 handsets have had access to Lotus Notes & Mirapoint email and calendar for a number of years using OpenHand. It also supports Windows Mobile. See www.openhand.is if you can understand Icelandic.

Re: What’s Your Favourite Mobile, EVER?

timbelfall — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:59:40 -0000

Nokia 9000i because I could send and receive faxes (it was the 90's) and had a great aerial that could be flipped back and forth. Super tension toy.
T68 with the T68i firmware. Classy looks with non slip back; small; bullet proof Bluetooth; basic email and great battery life.
N90. For build quality; speaker phone; great camera; inbuilt stand (the camera); big keys; Symbian V8; transformer shape that beats the N93; high res screen.
SE P990i. Still has everything apart from GPS/HSPA. Great with fring; touchscreen, very robust (inspite of memory issues), Opera Mini a breeze to use with touch; push email and a battery that lasts for days.

Re: Wanted: Your suggestions for a MIR Show location

timbelfall — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:20:22 -0000

For a PR office try Alastair Turner of aspectus in Gloucester Place www.aspectuspr.co.uk
or Kate could organise something at the Vesta rowing club in Putney.

Re: Ask Mr Operator: “When will WiMax become standard for carriers?”

Mike42 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:30:55 -0000

Spot on Tim - the only financially-feasible use is the originally intended one - as vendor-neutral microwave backhaul. Bring on dem Gigabit Ethernet radio links - we're gonna need them all over the place come LTE time in 2010.

WiMax's 'New Hope' is its raison d'etre.

/m

Re: Ask Mr Operator: “When will WiMax become standard for carriers?”

timbelfall — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:34:31 -0000

Rather than just for data, time and again I hear of an African or Asian state being flogged WiMAX as some wonderful alternative to GSM (yes mobile phones using WiMAX!). Quite frankly how many mobiles has anyone seen with WiMAX inbuilt (though a very few do exist). What would in fact be the point of selling expensive WiMAX handsets into an underdeveloped country when GSM/3G handsets are so cheap and ubiquitous.

WiMAX has gone the same way as Iridium (late to market, too much money spent and over taken by other technologies) so there is little chance that it will make much of an impact.

Yet some say there may still be hope for WiMAX as a cheap backhaul when deploying new GSM/WCDMA networks in remote areas. Some also say that Intel can not, will not, let WiMAX fail.

Re: Tonight we’re at Sony Ericsson’s summer party

constantine — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:51:16 -0000

that's a good question.

to add to that, ask them why they keep pushing their proprietary connectors on everyone!

walkman devices, made since the cassette player in the 70's, to now have had a 3,5 mm headphone jack. the sony ericsson brand doesn't believe in them apparently.

Re: Tonight we’re at Sony Ericsson’s summer party

timbelfall — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:40:28 -0000

With UIQ pretty much terminated, ask Peter Marsden or Simon Rockman if SE will launch an S60 Touch product next year.

Re: Mr Operator: How do I get my handset into an operator?

timbelfall — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:03:24 -0000

Rather than selling via a tier 1 operator, the distributors and large retailers will take a chance if there is something unique in either style or price.

Pink did CPW a big favour a few years ago and caught the operators off guard. Yet the Cath Kidston Nokia handsets were, comparatively, a bit of a disaster hanging around the shop floor for far too long.

Qtek & iMate were very successful niche brands that was usurped by their supplier HTC.

Philips, Trium, Sendo were to varying degrees successful in getting in to the operators at the low end prepay side of the business; but the cut throat nature of this sector, with minimal margins, invariably made their positions unsustainable.

Maxon, dBtel, Haier set up bases in the UK and after a year or so decided that it was not worth the trouble. Quality is such an important factor and none of these products could reach the exacting (or minimal) standards of the networks.

Niche manufacturers still have a chance though. Palm is still game for the challenge as are Sagem & Alcatel (via Virgin).

So rather than trying to sell into an operator, try the MVNO's; or a retailer CPW, Expansys; or a distributor Phones International (Data Select), 2020, Avenir, Fone Logistics, Frequency Telecom etc.

Re: I think I want a new mobile.

MaManfie — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:27:36 -0000

Hi Tim,

Thanks for that! I'll look into it!

Samantha.

Re: I think I want a new mobile.

timbelfall — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:49:02 -0000

What about a Nokia 6120 on Three Prepay £109,99 (sim locked of course). It's a proper smartphone so you can personalise it as much as you like, and it's very light as well.

Re: The mysterious phone I’m testing

timbelfall — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:21:24 -0000

Three's Skype Phone 2?

Re: No end in sight for Apple’s iPhone 3G woes

timbelfall — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:29:19 -0000

GPS performance is also very poor, especially against the E71, seemingly taking forever to provide a fix through AGPS let alone straight GPS. Yet its WiFi performance seems better than most other WiFi enabled handsets I have tried.

Re: HSBC placing a 200,000 unit iPhone order?

timbelfall — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:02:33 -0000

For any bank to consider the use of the iPhone 3G is rash, at the moment.
There is no encryption, the device is broken within days of a firmware release, the email software does not support many features that Blackberry and competitors have, e.g. out of office notification, update of reply/forward flags, priority flags, message sort or find. There are limited Bluetooth profiles (though this may be seen as an advantage), no printing or document editor, no direct Lotus Notes or Groupwise support. No external keyboard support. Poor 3G and GPS reception (when compared to the E71). The list of other concerns is very extensive.
Yet ease of use and sheer readabilty of the screen may be persuasive enough for some companies, particularly SME's, to make the iPhone 3G a standard tool.
Until Apple evolves the iPhone firmware with secure and productive business features I hope HSBC would not convert their BlackBerry's to iPhones. Perhaps next year though?

Re: The iPhone 3G battery is shit

timbelfall — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:08:23 -0000

I quite agree. So if there is a new battery in the pipeline it will be costly because of the time to replace it, but at least it is feasible and could, in theory, be carried out in store.
It's pointless waiting though, especially as there's the Mophie Juice Pack on the horizon which will solve the battery problem at the cost of size and weight.

Re: The iPhone 3G battery is shit

mostlythis — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:53:36 -0000

looks pretty full of hardware to me:
http://gizmodo.com/5023769/the-iphone-3g-gets-d...
just like the original

Re: The iPhone 3G battery is shit

timbelfall — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:11:00 -0000

That's not quite true. The iPhone 3G rear cover is removable (not the original iPhone). A rep from O2 suggested that there are plans for an extended battery but that owners would have to get the battery changed over by an Apple Guru.
A higher capacity battery has a significant effect on usability and would not require a pocket full of batteries. I had that experience with Motorola's A925 and would always be charging them up.