Mobile Insight Vol: 8 Issue 342 November 9th 2006
Telephia's TV research was impossible
A recent survey
of mobile TV usage from market researchers, Telephia, was not merely misleading, some of its results were totally impossible,
Mobile Insight has finally discovered.
Following our original story, the research company in question issued a 'clarification'. This stated that "the channel findings quoted in the press release should be interpreted in the context of all mobile video platforms – videoclip downloads, video streaming applications and video served from WAP sites."
Where Telephia really falls down is that it also claimed that, "Within this broader context, all of the video brands discussed in the release are indeed available to UK mobile users in some format."
However, Mobile Insight has just spoken to Andrew Watt, UKTV's head of New Media. UKTV is a network of 10 channels, including UKTV Gold.
In the survey UKTV Gold took tenth place as most viewed on a mobile phone with a 17 per cent market share. A fact which Andrew Watt described as "more than a little surprising."
He confirmed that not only was UKTV unavailable right now, the company had even felt unable to participate in a trial of DVB-H (a leading mobile TV format) in the UK because of DRM issues.
When asked whether UKTV might still be viewed via an HTML browser on a mobile phone, Watt confirmed, "We don't even have a streaming service either."
Rumours have reached Mobile Insight's ears concerning the fact that no music station featured in Telephia's Top Ten. Rival research companies have consistently placed music station MTV as the top most viewed station over Vodafone's network, for example.
Mobile Insight was unable to reach MTV for a comment.
The full Inquirer story ... Mobile TV research confirmed as impossible
www.telephia.com
Carphone blames Virgin Mobile France
In a rallying cry to the troops,
the Carphone Warehouse is
blaming Virgin Mobile for its
first half loss of £4.7 million.
Virgin Mobile France, that is.
In a message to the City,
Carphone said, "This is no
surprise and is simply down to
the start up costs that we had
to invest in order to launch our
free broadband [Talk, Talk] and
Virgin Mobile in France." Virgin
Mobile France just illustrates
how complex rivalries in the
mobile space are becoming.
Virgin Mobile is, of course, now
owned by NTL/Telewest. An arch
rival to Carphone in the
broadband market. In France,
Virgin Mobile actually runs over
the Orange network. And Orange
is, of course, owned by France
Telecom which is in the process
of re-branding its broadband
operation, Wanadoo, as Orange.
Thus Carphone is making a big
loss on its own broadband
operation while simultaneously
helping its broadband rivals,
NTL and Orange, set up a virtual
mobile network in France.
The full Inquirer story ... Carphone blames Virgin for woes
www.virginmobile.fr
Sony Ericsson to acquire UIQ
Few will be surprised to learn that UIQ – the Symbian user interface specialist, is to be acquired by Sony Ericsson, its biggest customer.
Currently UIQ is owned by Symbian, but unlike Psion's move to sell all its Symbian shares to Nokia, this decision is highly unlikely to be challenged.
Besides Sony Ericsson, only BenQ and Arima have used UIQ. Besides Motorola, of course, but Motorola's support for Symbian is been half-hearted anyway.
The benefits of Sony Ericsson's ownership are obvious, too. As UIQ's CEO, Johan Sandberg, commented, "It [the purchase] will give us the additional investment needed to compete in the rapidly expanding software market for advanced phones."
Plus UIQ's main base is in Sweden. And Symbian's largest shareholder, Nokia, doesn't use UIQ anyway.
The full Inquirer story ...
Symbian specialist snaffled up by Sony Ericsson
www.uiq.com
Recovering a lost handset in London
How do you go
about getting a lost phone, PDA or laptop back in London? As Michael Cain put
it, "Not a lot of people know this but the Immobilise web site covers more than
just mobile phones. It also covers laptops; cameras, iPODs;
and pedal bikes. OK. So let's assume you know which train
and when you lost your phone on. What next? Well, in our case you go onto
the South West Trains web site and fill out the lost property form which is
carefully hidden away behind the 'Contact Us' menu. Next problem. You ain't that organised.
You never got around to keying *#06# into your GSM handset and taking a note of
the handset's unique IMEI number. Normally that's a disaster since it's
virtually impossible to tell handsets apart unless you have the IMEI number. But Mobile Insight had kept the
box the handset came in and good ole Nokia had printed its IMEI number on the
side. So Mobile Insight reported the
lost phone to the local police station; Immobilise and South West Trains. If it ever does get handed in there's
more good news. The metropolitan Police have set up what it has called he
National Mobile Phone Registry (NMPR). This
searches: - The Immobilise National Property Ownership Database; The National
Mobile Phone Register; The Central Equipment Identity Register; The Stolen
Equipment National Database; The Lost Equipment National Database; The MFound
Recovered Property Database; and The Mobile Phone Type Approval Code Database.
The full Inquirer story ...
Financial
Services Authority loses 17 laptops
www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/CustomerService/_Lost+property.htm
http://www.immobilise.com/
www.menduk.org/nmpcu/ (
NMPR)
BenQ fallout to affect Nokia Siemens Networks
The fall out from the continuing implosion of the BenQ/Siemens handset division could affect Nokia. A German trade union may disrupt Nokia Siemens Networks.
The IG Metall union is far from happy about recent events in the former Siemens handset division which became BenQ Mobile. According to recent reports around two thirds of the division's German workers have already lost their jobs.
The German company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection back in September [2006] after its Taiwanese owners decided to stop providing funding.
This action has affected BenQ's operations in the UK which is reportedly down to 14 people out of the original 30 employees. The UK depends on Germany for its handset stocks.
According to a report in the FT, IG Metall is threatening to disrupt
further disposals from Siemens former Enterprise Networks division and that
uncertainty could spread to the 50:50 networks joint venture with Nokia.
The full Inquirer story ... BenQ fallout could hit Nokia too
www.benqmobile.com
Nokia hides UIQ phone
Following our story about Sony Ericsson's move to buy UIQ, a sharp-eyed reader pointed out that Nokia has, in fact, shipped one handset with a UIQ interface – the 6708.
This handset is conspicuous for its absence from UIQ's own web site. Plus a UIQ spokeswoman told
Mobile Insight we'd have to talk to Nokia about the 6708.
Details of the 6708 are indeed posted on Nokia's Asia Pacific site but, again, there is no mention of UIQ supplying the user interface.
The Nokia China site isn't much help, either.
Luckily specialist web site, Symbian-freak.com, provides some insight. It reckons the 6708 is basically a re-badged BenQ P31. Indeed, the 6708 is almost identical save for the missing antenna stub.
The 6708 appears to be on sale only in Asia Pacific although it does have FCC approval for sale in the USA.
It seems strange that Nokia should be so tight-lipped about the fact it has used UIQ
technology, though.The full Inquirer story ...
Nokia apparently ashamed of UIQ phone
web.nokia.com.cn/cn/about_nokia/press/press_releases/2005/10/2005-10-18-001.shtml
www.symbian-freak.com/news/1105/nokia6708_fcc.htm
Snippets
First International Computer (FIC) has just announced the Openmoko - which
claims to be the world's first truly 'Open' Linux based handset.
www.openmoko.com ...
The tovo t450 PocketFone uses WiFi where available and the normal mobile network
everywhere else. The dual mode handset is
manufactured for Mobiboo by Pirelli Broadband Solutions. It can be
purchased from selected Tesco stores for £159.95.
www.mobiboo.com
In Site of the Week (by Tony Dennis)
This
week
Textandsell
Everyone knows that putting a picture against an item you wish to dispose of helps to sell it on eBay. But a rival UK service, Textandsell, intends to harness the power of cameraphones to do so.
Turning a photo into a digital image that can be uploaded to an auction site such as eBay isn't exactly within everyone's skill sets. By contrast sending a photo from a cameraphone isn't too much of a technical challenge.
With its new site set to launch by Q3 2006, Textandsell encourages potential vendors to snap the item they want to sell. Then simply create a picture message (MMS) or text (SMS) which includes a description the item plus an indication of the desired sales price.
Finally send both text and/or photo to the company's mobile phone number – +447740827827.
The site intends to use location based technology which will enable vendors to search for items in their general vicinity – rather than searching the whole of the UK.
Initially vendors will be charged a mere £1.50 to list the item for a whole week. Texts or picture messages sent to the company's number are charged as a single premium rate SMS.
The company hopes that its Internet site will be perused by the younger generation. Textandsell claims 20 per cent of 25-30 year olds spend over 20 hours per week on the Net while this figure rises to 25 per cent for 16-24 year olds.
The trick is ensuring that your mobile phone is setup properly for picture messaging (MMS). If it isn't, the correct settings can be downloaded via text messaging either from the handset vendor's site or the mobile network operator's site.
http://wap.textandsell.com
