iPhone and O2

So O2 has announced that they will be providing the mobile service for iPhone handsets but what is the tariff plan like?

Comparing iPhone rivals

Finally telecommunication is allowed in mid-air

Emirates will be the first to allow the passengers to use their mobile phones while in mid-air. It will finally happen in Jan 2007. Am I excited about it? I am not sure. I don't know if I will feel totally comfortable if I am on a long-haul flight and people on board the plane are using their mobile. Wouldn't that disturb the other passengers? I know it would disturb me. You can't just walk into another room or outside to speak to the person on the phone, can you. I think it will still take time for people to pick up the habit of using their mobile phone in the aircraft. It is stated that it will cost £2 per min. for calls and 60p for text messages. If this catches on we will be seeing BlackBerry services added on as another service on board an aircraft.

Phone providers - Canada

I was in Vancouver last week and noticed two main phone providers - Rogers Wireless and Telus. Since my return from my holiday, I decided to find out which other phone providers compete in the telecommunication service industry in Canada. The main 4 providers are:

Bell Mobility Fido Rogers Wireless Telus Mobility

Link below compares the service provided by the 4 companies

http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/mobile/overall_ratings.html

Virtual boarding pass

Airport check-in using a mobile phone is the next step in improving the check-in logistics for many airline companies. Equipped with a mobile phone you can check in remotely, a SMS/MMS message is sent to you with a 2D barcode. Just drop off your luggage at the fast bag drop-off counter, use the scanner to scan the barcode on your mobile and then make your way to the boarding area. Some argue that it will not save a lot of time for the passengers. That may be true but it will reduce the queuing time at the check-in counters. Passengers get to spend more time in restaurants and duty free shops, which will benefit the airports. With larger aircrafts and many more passengers, this will help in controlling queues in airports. Although the technology is available, not many airports will adopt virtual boarding immediately. Equipment and software will have to be replaced, staff will have to be trained and all this costs money. Unless airline companies have a big IT budget to spend, it will take time for a gradual adoption of this technology as the paper boarding pass is still a more cost-effective solution.

mobile blogger not available yet with my service provider

I tried emailing from my mobile phone to go@blogger.com hoping to set up a mobile blogger account and this is the email I get in return

 

Your mobile provider (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) is not yet supported.  (xxx denotes IP address)

Error code: 2.8CF467

T-Mobile in the UK does not provide the service yet.  Guess I have to wait :(
 

Useful information in case of terrorist attacks in London underground

A colleague sent us a useful information that everyone who lives in any country under terrorist attacks should take note of. In the London underground, in the case of emergency, you can use your mobile phone to call the police by dialling 112. What that does is it uses satellite signal instead of the mobile service provider to relay your call to the police (999). We know that using satellite signal (GPS), the authorities will be able to locate the exact coordinates of our whereabout. This is very useful in times of emergency.

'Forced Roaming' on mobile phones

I came across an interesting article about "Forced Roaming" or "traffic steering". The question is how does a mobile phone select a network coverage when you step out of the airplane in another country? It has been reported that although the phone automatically selects a network for us in a foreign country where we rely on roaming to communicate with others back home, we can overwrite the auto selection by selecting the network of choice. Steering has arisen out of the emergence of global carriers and brands, like Vodafone and Hutchison, that drive their customers to foreign networks in which they have a stake. TechNewsWorld reports : Mike Robey, chief operating officer for the Hong Kong operator CSL, says the competition for in-bound visitors in the mobile-happy Asian market has become fierce, and each carrier tries to get good coverage at airports and other crossings. Hong Kong roaming charges are a "nice premium, not a huge one," of about 10 percent to 15 percent over local call charges, he said. Operators jockey for position at airports and other border crossings, Robey says. But increasing the power of the network signal they send in an effort to be the first recognized by a handset is the crudest method. Instead, companies are resorting to commercial means like the alliances and code-sharing seen in the airline business. John Hoffman, chief executive of Roamware, a company that provides roaming software for operators, says up to 50 percent of roaming travelers will find themselves on the network preferred by their home network.

Samsung mobile phone with HDD

Samsung has released the first-ever mobile phone with an internal HDD. It is an 1-inch 1.5GB HDD. The phone also includes a MP3 player and a 1 megapixel camera. Currently on sale only in Korea. The phone model is SPH-V5400.