mobile network operators
59% of mobile consumers want operator deals by SMS
Reports commissioned by technology companies to advocate their solutions rarely throw up huge surprises, but a YouGov survey conducted for Upstream has generated a couple of interesting stats. It reveals that most consumers want to receive mobile deals by text message (61 per cent), and within service messages such as top-up confirmations (9 per cent), [...]
Unlimited mobile data: RIP
O2 announced the end of unlimited mobile data tariffs and left several breathless towards the end of last week. But it was foreseeable and understandable. Smartphones and predominantly iPhones are the first devices which have properly sold mobile content to a mass audience. As a result, data traffic has scaled leading to congested pipes and [...]
Apple’s adult ban underlines Age Verification flaws
Apple’s new blanket rejection of adult content in mobile applications, (apart from Playboy’s), again brings home the sorry state of age verification on mobile devices.
iPad. LTE. Any connection?
In the bygone days of last week Apple unveiled a new device. Remember? (I’m late to address this post, sorry). People got excited, then most got disappointed, like a build up to a big sneeze that never came. Ah ahh… AHHH.. Oh. Really? That’s it? A bigger iPhone / iPod Touch akin to a netbook [...]
Nexus One reignites smart pipe debate
The neverending debate surrounding whether mobile network operators should be dumb-pipes or smart-pipes has been reignited in this highly mobile newsy first week of 2010. In very short: the debate concerns whether mobile networks should concentrate first and foremost on supplying robust, reliable connectivity to their customers, and relegate the priority of services which they [...]
Purple patch for mobile money
The past week or so has seen the launch of no fewer than three new twists on mobile money from the UK’s leading players in the mobile billing space. Increased flexibility and choice for brands and businesses, or just added confusion? Those capitalising on peak summertime releases, when new solutions can be publicised with reduced [...]
MDA delivers VAT-free charity short codes
The Mobile Data Association has announced a dedicated Charity SMS Short Code range (70xxx), together wth a framework for managing donations through the UK’s mobile network operators. In short, this new standard sees VAT (Value Added Tax) waived on donations made to registered charities via text messages to specific numbers: the 70xxx short code range. [...]
Payforit's nervous twitch
Does the variety of on-device payment methods and the emergence of app stores pose any threat to Payforit, the UK’s cross mobile network billing standard? Payforit was developed by the operators “to promote a trustworthy and consistent standard for paying by mobile, so that consumers can buy with confidence when they are making one-off payments [...]
18% CTR offers latest evidence of Idle Screen power in Mobile Marketing
US-based Idle Screen mobile marketing supplier, Mobile Posse announced that a recent campaign for the Ace Hardware chain generated an average click-through rate of 18 percent, with customers who viewed the promotion apparently almost 30 percent more likely to visit their local Ace store. The Memorial Day campaign was delivered by Horizon Media and powered [...]
Swedish fears: roaming – deal or no deal?
I’m heading to Sweden for a long weekend with friends, Under 21s football, sobering beverage prices and sketchy mobile data rates. The latter is least predictable. According to this page on the 3UK site, courtesy of @3mobilebuzz, the mobile data rates should be just “Like Home” until June 30th when the offer expires. Presumably for [...]
