Making phone calls from your mobile, or even receiving calls, while abroad has always been a bit of a guessing game, having little clue what your monthly bill will look like when returning back home. However, from today onwards, mobile operators must offer EU subscribers tariffs of no more than 49 euro cents (66 US cents) a minute for cross-border calls within the 27-nation bloc, while receiving a call should cost no more than 24 cents.
The EU commission made it clear that they would not hesitate to name and shame companies who do not comply by the September 1st deadline, enabling users to lodge complaints with the national authorities.
“Also under the new rules, when a customer enters another EU country the subscriber will receive a text message saying what rate their operator applies there.”
This is the best news to come out of the rule changes – Enter a new country and rates will be presented to you in a clear manner that allows you to count exactly how much cash you’re burning when your mother in law phones while you’re roasting yourself on the Costa Del Sol.
All in all, a positive step for consumers. We can go back to spending our money on cheap local booze instead of saving up to pay the dreaded phone bill when we get back home!
I came across this quote this morning and find it rings very true. We’ve all experienced some great and some very poor User Interfaces on the web, at the cash machine, on our mobile. Things just get far more complicated than they need to be. Nelson Minar highlights how the iPhone takes a step towards simplicity.
While the sleek touchscreen defines the iPhone’s design, one of the things I like about it are the simple mechanical buttons on the side. There’s a dedicated volume rocker which instantly makes the iPhone a better music player than any iPod. But even better is the silent mode switch, an old fashioned mechanical two position switch. Slide it away, feel a satisfying click, and your phone is now in silent mode. There’s even an orange dot visible for visual confirmation.
You can measure the disaster of cell phone UI by how many button presses it takes to silence the damn ringer. My first Nokia phone took 2, the Ericsson took 3, and on the RAZR it’s like 17 button presses. You don’t need silent mode often, but when you do you need it quickly and without a bunch of screen reading distraction. The physical switch for that is lovely.
What can you do today to simplify the process your users go through?
The latest shipping of hard drives arrives to the office, ready to be filled with freshly crawled goodness.
Spending a lot of time commuting? Why not write the next great novel like Bernocco, who typed an entire novel on his mobile phone during his daily commute. Apparently done using T9 predictive texting, therefore not even written on a QWERTY keyboard. Phew, talk about RSI thumbs!
Om Malik looks at mobile email addiction in the US – RIM’s Blackberry tops the list of addiction-fueling devices, and 59% admit to checking their email in bed, 53% while in the bathroom. But more alarmingly, 37% check their email while driving.
Ken Y-N takes a look at how Apple could improve the iPhone to meet the needs of the Japanese market.
Dennis at WapReview has a look at ING Direct’s first attempt at mobile banking, and gives it a lukewarm review. Proof that if you build it, users will come, but they might not come back if the experience isn’t user friendly.
[tags]carnival of the mobilists, smart mobs, wapreview, whatjapanthinks, mobile, gadgets, technology[/tags]
The hour is grave, and we are all at risk. The Healthy Computing Volunteer Group has issued a warning that we must be aware of the risks of using a laptop computer at the same time as an N Series phone.
The Nokia N95 is a fantastic phone, launched in early 2007 in the UK, and arguably one of the favourite high-tech phones of the moment. Even with the iPhone not yet available in Europe, the two have duked it out in comparison reviews, where opinions are as varied as the number of features each phone offers.
I own an N95, and I’m very pleased with it, but I have a hopeless love-hate relationship with its camera. My main bugbear: It’s slow! And apparently, I’m far from the only one who finds that problematic. Steve Litchfield at All About Symbian writes about “not missing the moment”, giving a few practical tips to work around the N95’s lagging camera.
The workaround on the N95 if you’re waving it around at a party, for example, is to:
leave it in ‘landscape’ mode (in ‘Scene’)
turn off display of the captured image (in ‘Settings’)
set the image quality to 2 or 3 megapixels (in ‘Settings’)
I’ll remember this next time I try to catch a sneaky snapshot of our two designers monkeying around the office!
[tags]Nokia, N95, mobile phone, iPhone, camera, gadgets, mobility, taptology, taptu[/tags]
Being part of a startup is an experience, and a real opportunity. There’s a buzz and an atmosphere that can’t be mistaken, and the creativity is oozing out of everywhere. New relationships are being built every day, and there’s a constant feeling of being on a rollercoaster, hitting great heights and the occasional but unavoidable lows. This is the kind of story we want to share with you every day.
You’ll hear about it on Taptology from two people with very different points of view, both in the heart of the Taptu world. Steve is the CEO, and he’s a seasoned entrepreneur. He’s very knowledgeable about the industry, and will be contributing to the blog regularly, commenting on the new technologies, the operators and the events that happen within our bubbling and lively industry.
At the other end of the scale, there’s me, Vero. I’ve been blogging for years, and have been joined at the thumb with my mobile phone for as long as I’ve lived in the UK, but as an industry, mobile is all new to me. I’ll be capturing the special moments in the growth of Taptu, like a proud parent watching its littl’un taking its first steps. As an early disclaimer, I’m probably going to muddle my facts up every so often, so don’t hesitate to correct me. I’ll appreciate your insight, once I get past the initial embarrassment!
It’s still early on, but the excitement here is palpable and we can’t wait to start sharing the beta with our first real users. Not long until we can lift the curtain on a search engine that’s more than just another mobile search engine.
This week’s Carnival is hosted by C. Enrique Ortiz at …about mobility. Topics range from Jason Devitt’s Congressional Hearing on Wireless Innovation and Consumer Protection to Wapreview’s post on MizPee, the mobile toilet advisor.
This brings up a number of public etiquette questions as passengers with different cultural backgrounds are forced to cohabit in a cramped space for a few hours. Imagine sitting amongst a flock of rowdy lads all chatting on their mobiles, or next to a businessman who feels the need to broadcast all of his dealings to the rest of the plane. However, there are undeniable benefits to being able to quickly text a friend to let them know where you’ll meet them for dinner once you’ve landed, or call to warn them that you’re still circling above Heathrow.
The cost of a call, however, might make for short conversations.
While OnAir does not set the fees, Lake said the expected cost would be around $2.50 per minute for calls and 50 cents per SMS message.
“Instead of roaming in a country, you are effectively roaming in the sky,” Lake said. “We send your call via satellite down to the GSM network.”
Call charges will appear on customer phone bills in an identical way to international roaming, with revenue shared between the airlines, OnAir and the customer’s own phone company.
At these rates, passengers are likely to limit their use to essential calls unless they’re feeling particularly flush with cash.
How do you feel about this? Would you prefer a relatively quiet flight, or the ability to conduct business as usual while on board?
“a carnival of posts for all things related to the mobile telecoms space. You can read about industry trends, handsets and devices, mobile applications and services, mobile marketing and advertising – and all things mobile.”
The articles range from deep and thoughtful observations of the industry to practical everyday tips, and anyone with a blog of their own is welcome to contribute by sending their article to the host of the following week’s Carnival. Why not join in?
To visit Taptu mobile search engine on your phone, go to taptu.com. You'll find music, videos, news and more! You can share your search results with friends by SMS, email or Twitter.
Making phone calls from your mobile, or even receiving calls, while abroad has always been a bit of a guessing game, having little clue what your monthly bill will look like when returning back home. However, from today onwards, mobile operators must offer EU subscribers tariffs of no more than 49 euro cents (66 US cents) a minute for cross-border calls within the 27-nation bloc, while receiving a call should cost no more than 24 cents.
While the sleek touchscreen defines the iPhone’s design, one of the things I like about it are the simple mechanical buttons on the side. There’s a dedicated volume rocker which instantly makes the iPhone a better music player than any iPod. But even better is the silent mode switch, an old fashioned mechanical two position switch. Slide it away, feel a satisfying click, and your phone is now in silent mode. There’s even an orange dot visible for visual confirmation.
I own an N95, and I’m very pleased with it, but I have a hopeless love-hate relationship with its camera. My main bugbear: It’s slow! And apparently, I’m far from the only one who finds that problematic. 
You’ll hear about it on Taptology from two people with very different points of view, both in the heart of the Taptu world. Steve is the CEO, and he’s a seasoned entrepreneur. He’s very knowledgeable about the industry, and will be contributing to the blog regularly, commenting on the new technologies, the operators and the events that happen within our bubbling and lively industry.
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