Apple, I never thought I’d say it …

Originally posted on The Really Mobile Project.

I never thought I’d say it but I much prefer my iPhone to my Nokia E63. I’ve played with the iPhone on a number of occasions and always been impressed by the user experience but felt it was lacking in a number of areas, for example the ability to customise it in the way you can with a S60 device and the lack of a ‘proper’ keypad. I also resented the ‘Apple tax’ and the closed nature of the way Apple operates, for example offering the device through one UK operator (who incidentally has the weakest 3G coverage, we learned this week) on expensive tariffs.

However all that changed when I received an iPhone (not the 3GS sadly) for business purposes. Using the iPhone every day made me realise just what a game changer it is. Much as I love the qwerty keypad on my E63, the iPhone makes Nokia’s S60 interface seem so dated by comparison. The App Store ecosystem changed the mobile marketplace forever and when compared to the Ovi Store … well let’s not even go there. From a business perspective, the Exchange integration for mail, contacts and calendar is excellent and very easy to set up.

I’ve been a staunch Nokia user, supporter and campaigner since 1994 when Orange launched in the UK and Nokia still produces some great devices in the E and N Series. However the user experience is in drastic need of an overhaul. Although I’ve yet to try the N97, Nokia’s latest flagship device, nothing I’ve read so far leads me to believe I’d change my mind about Nokia.

Where the iPhone really scores is in simplicity for the user. I’ve already mentioned the App Store with its wealth of compelling applications but other areas like WiFi with pre-configured hotspot coverage, SMS message threading, hardware switch to silence the device, to name a few, just make it easy for users. Not everyone is a mobile geek!

The iPhone certainly has some drawbacks. The battery life is rubbish - I don’t even get a day with a bit of use but maybe that will improve in the next firmware release. The inability to remove and replace the battery is ridiculous, unless you’re Apple who makes money out of it! The camera resolution, even on the 3GS, is low, although the photos are surprisingly good for the resolution. No option to expand the memory via a memory card is a limitation for some users. But on balance I can work round these issues.

Everyone has their own personal preferences but for me the iPhone has changed the way I see my handset. Over to you Nokia – surprise me!

The new way to communicate

A while back I posted the very entertaining .tel promotional video. Just come across this version on Telnic's website with an alternate ending!

Enterprise mobile VoIP from Agito Networks

Originally posted on The Really Mobile Project.

Last week I had a chat with the guys at Agito Networks. Agito has developed a mobile VoIP solution for enterprises that deals with the issues of poor in‑building coverage, ever increasing mobile costs, enterprise integration and the complex user experience of juggling multiple devices. Agito’s RoamAnywhere product uses the available wireless coverage at any point in time to deliver the best quality service at the lowest available cost. So in a user’s home or office environments WiFi may be used but in the car 3G or GSM. With the client installed on a handset, the handset provides both deskphone and mobile functionality, tightly integrated into the handset user interface using the standard dialler, so the user doesn’t have to learn how to use their handset again or need to load a separate app. The advantage of tight PBX integration is being able to optimise call routing, for example avoiding international call charges.

Last week Agito announced support for BlackBerry which takes their handset coverage to over 40 handsets across S60, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry platforms. iPhone support will arrive later this year. Agito also works with the usual operator provided handsets so there’s no requirement for an enterprise to buy SIM free handsets at huge expense. The client software uses standard APIs so no hacking or unlocking is required.

I especially like Agito because it addresses some key issues with mobile technology. The coverage deficiencies of both WiFi and 3G are addressed, the user does not have to make a choice about which wireless connectivity to use and cost control is central to the platform. There are some great mobile VoIP apps in the market but generally they involve the user making decisions about usage. Agito’s solution is designed to be used by anyone who uses a regular mobile phone in exactly the same way they already use their mobile phone. My only disappointment is there’s no consumer version!

Protection for an external hard disk - the LaCie Coat

If like me you regularly carry round an external hard drive with you then it's good to know it's well protected. Having recently acquired a new external drive I needed a case to protect it and got hold of the new Coat from LaCie. In common with a number of LaCie products it's been designed by Sam Hecht which makes the styling a bit more interesting than the average case.

The case is reversible with what looks like neoprene on one side and a suede finish on the other. The neoprene is finished with a bubble effect (I guess Sam Hecht had a hand in this!). It's very well padded and offers good protection for your drive.

The LaCie website has a useful compatibility chart covering all their hard drive cases to ensure you select the right case for your drive. This includes other hard drive manufacturers which is a nice touch from LaCie and shows they're after all external hard drive users and not just people with a LaCie drive.

I have to confess that I'm actually keeping a Western Digital hard drive in it at the moment but of course I am now in the market for a LaCie drive!

Reflections on mobile stuff in Amsterdam

Originally posted on The Really Mobile Project.

Last week I spent a few days at the BSS Summit in Amsterdam and just wanted to share some thoughts on the ‘roaming experience’.

The Vodafone Passport promotion whereby calls and SMS come out of your regular price plan bundle is excellent.  For the first time you can use your mobile abroad just as you would in the UK without giving any thought to a nasty bill racking up in the background. It’s worth just signing up for a Vodafone SIM for the Summer if you’re going to be travelling where Vodafone has a partner network.

I made a lot of use of WiFi, both in my hotel and at the conference venue, however yet again the user experience was marred by the challenges of using WiFi. When WiFi works, it’s fast and cheap (cheap compared to 3G roaming), however getting connected can be a real issue. Coverage at both locations was via Swisscom and using the iPass trial on my Nokia E63 I was able to make calls via Truphone and browse the web (including Twitter, of course) … some of the time. On some occasions the handset connected instantly but at other times I got a variety of connection errors. The conference venue seemed to be better than the hotel, despite both being Swisscom – why? I also experienced variable connectivity using Swisscom on my laptop so don’t believe iPass was to blame here. I think what it shows is that however comprehensive WiFi roaming coverage is; you never know what state the local network or local hotspot is in. One neat feature with iPass is the ability to enable or disable fallback to 3G, so when roaming disabling 3G is a must to avoid nasty surprises back home. Long calls via Truphone and iPass were a very satisfying experience knowing there were no big bills at the end of it!

I’ve used a number of WiFi services and good as they are, they only deliver a part of the wireless connectivity jigsaw. Wireless connectivity must be a transparent user experience; users should not need to make choices based on price and coverage, the technology should do that. Yesterday I had a chat with the guys at Agito Networks who are doing some clever stuff in this area and I’ll be blogging about them shortly.

Some mobile stuff for BSS Summit in Amsterdam

Originally posted on The Really Mobile Project.

Next week I’m heading over to Amsterdam for BSS Summit 2009. This is a key European billing event and worth attending if you’re involved in billing or payments. I’m speaking about ways for telcos to monetise the delivery of content over their networks.

Anyway, back to mobile! Vodafone’s recent announcement that Passport users will benefit from no roaming charges for voice and SMS on partner networks in June, July and August is great news. This means I can use my Nokia E63 on Vodafone’s Dutch network without incurring any additional charges. I was planning to use my SIM4travel SIM again but won’t need to this trip – I’ll be getting that out again when the Passport promotion has expired!

Unfortunately Vodafone decided not to include data charges in the Passport promotion so any usage will rack up charges at an alarming rate. However the team at Axicom has kindly organised a trial account with iPass which will definitely minimise my 3G bill. iPass is a WiFi connectivity app which has roaming agreements with a large number of WiFi networks and automates the whole process of access. Installing the iPass client creates a new access point which I’ve set as my default access point for handset apps that use data. Now all my apps use my home WiFi or commercial hotspots with a fall-back to 3G when WiFi is not available. When I’m in Amsterdam I’ll probably disable 3G fall-back to minimise the risk of nasty surprises when I get my next Vodafone bill! iPass will be great for web browsing, plus of course Twitter and Truphone. Truphone has always been a great alternative to pricey roaming calls but even with the Passport promotion will still be useful for international calls. The combination of Truphone and iPass could be a killer!

Also key for conferences is my .tel – being able to give new contacts a card with my .tel address on it or just tell them to check my .tel is so simple. It’s a business card in the ‘cloud’ with far more contact data than I could fit on a regular card. Nothing else I’ve found matches it for simplicity. I’ve tried various ID services but they tend to involve sharing data with third party sites, spamming contacts or installing annoying plug-ins; plus you never know how long they’ll be around for.

Let me know if you’re planning to attend BSS Summit and perhaps we can meet up.

Roaming with SIM4travel

This week's post from The Really Mobile Project - for readers who don't follow that site.

Vodafone’s recent announcement about scrapping roaming charges over the Summer for users on the Passport tariff is a bold step in delivering simpler and fairer charging to customers when they’re roaming (in a country with a Vodafone partner network).

When I travel abroad I try to avoid using my personal mobile as much as possible. It’s almost a matter of principle not to use it because charges are so much higher than in the UK. At home I’m in control of my spend because I have a decent bundle of minutes and texts and unlimited data. But roaming - anything can happen! A case in point was last week in France. Despite disabling all data features I still managed to run up around £5 of data charges in one day when launching apps and switching them over to WiFi. Puzzled how - but as many apps have a life of their own, anything’s possible and it does go to show the shocking price of data roaming!

I took a travel SIM with me to France from SIM4travel (part of Truphone) because I wanted to assess it in terms of delivering certainty and clarity of spend – essential components of a Normob user experience. The appeal of a travel SIM is that you don’t pay to receive calls in Europe (plus a few other countries) and charges for calls and texts are reasonably competitive and come off a prepaid balance; so no nasty surprises when you get home. Overall I was fairly happy with SIM4travel; my only hesitation is around the way you have to make outbound calls. You call the destination number and get the slightly confusing message ‘call not allowed’; the call is then dropped. Next you receive a call which when answered gives you a ringing tone for the person you’re calling. This sequence of calls allows SIM4travel to route calls using the most cost effective routing and once I got used to it, it wasn’t too unfriendly an experience. The other point to be aware of is that the SIM uses a Jersey number so friends calling you from UK mobiles will probably find the calls charged outside of their call bundle.

So what are the savings? SIM4travel charges 25p per minute to call the UK and Vodafone charges me 38p per minute. A text to the UK is 39p on SIM4travel and 25p plus 1 text from my bundle on Vodafone. Receiving a call is free on SIM4travel and 19p per minute on Vodafone. Note that if you're on an operator international tariff like Vodafone Passport then different rates apply so you need to check your own tariff. This shows that there are real savings to be made using SIM4travel and the pricing clarity is another benefit. Whilst I was using Sim4travel in France, the savings outside Europe can be much bigger - see these numbers from Ben quoted in a review he wrote last year comparing costs with Three’s prices:

Calling between Dubai / UK

1. Make call to UK from Dubai: 49p per minute with SIM4Travel / 180p per minute with Three (contract)
2. Receive call from UK in Dubai: Free with SIM4Travel / 80p per minute with Three

Calling between China / UK

1. Make call to UK from China: 69p per minute with SIM4Travel / 180p per minute with Three (contract)
2. Receive call from UK in China: 39p with SIM4Travel / 80p per minute with Three

If Vodafone’s new Passport pricing becomes the norm it will be interesting to see what the travel SIM operators do to compete. Travel SIMs are a feature of the high cost of roaming but with more competitive deals from the big operators plus continued EU pressure maybe we won’t need them, at least in Europe, in the future?

What’s on your handset?

This week's post from The Really Mobile Project - for readers who don't follow that site.

Flicking through the apps on my handset the other day made me realise that the key apps I use haven’t changed that much over the past year or so. The big change for me has been swapping from a handset with a regular keypad (Nokia E51) to a handset with a qwerty keypad; my Nokia E63. The E63 has transformed the way I use my handset. Now I find myself sending many more texts and emails because it’s so easy. And it’s not just contacting friends and family that easier; updating Twitter and Facebook is a much quicker and less painful experience. This week I’m going to look at some communications apps on my E63. I’ll take a look at the other apps I use in a future article.

I tend to use the Ping.fm SMS number for simultaneous updates to Twitter and Facebook and the Vodafone SMS number for Twitter only. Top marks to Ping.fm for using a regular Vodafone number for their UK SMS service as it’s included in operator bundles, unlike many other innovative services that use numbers from Manx Telecom or Jersey Telecom. When I check in with Twitter I either use Gravity or Dabr.co.uk via the handset’s browser. Gravity has a fantastic user interface, although I find the app a bit limiting because it only displays the last hour’s tweets and doesn’t always update when it’s running in the background (I’m not convinced this is normal behaviour so your experience may differ). Dabr.co.uk is a much better browser based option than mobile Twitter and has the advantage of allowing me to scroll back through several hours of tweets.

I’ve tried different email applications for accessing my personal email including the default email client on the E63, Nokia Messaging, Seven and Emoze. Having switched between them several times I’ve settled on Emoze as being the best one. Emoze is the fastest to update with new emails and seamlessly handles both text and HTML emails plus multiple mailboxes. Emoze is free for one mailbox and you can buy the Pro version if you want to download from multiple mailboxes. I’ve tried hard to like Nokia Messaging but two issues have stopped me using it; first it’s not possible to change the sender email address to my own domain name and secondly it has a habit of stopping receiving emails which necessitates a manual sync to pick them up. If Nokia can fix these issues I’d take another look.

Moving to the calling side, the main additional app I use is Truphone. Truphone is great for cheap international calls over home WiFi; plus Truphone Anywhere gives me the same prices via a UK access number when I’m out. I’ve set up custom filters in Truphone Anywhere so calls to 0800, 0870 etc numbers get routed via Truphone. So instead of the calls being charged at out of bundle rates by Vodafone, I pay Truphone for the call to the 0800 number and nothing to Vodafone for the call to the access number as it comes out of my call bundle.

The other calling service I sometimes use is Skype and currently I’m using it via Nimbuzz. Nimbuzz allows me to access my Skype unlimited UK landline calls package for which I pay the tiny sum of £1.95 per month (I also get a UK landline number for inbound calls included in the £1.95). I’m continuing to look at the options for mobile Skype and will come back to this in the future.

Let me know what’s on your handset to improve your communications experience!

Calling 0800 numbers for free from mobiles

This week's post from The Really Mobile Project - for readers who don't follow that site.

One of the ‘features’ that annoys me the most about UK mobile phones is the policy of all the big operators of charging to call 0800 numbers (with the exception of a few helplines). 0800 numbers are free from landlines and it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect them to be free from mobiles. I know there are issues around interconnect rates but that’s not the consumer’s problem and is the bad publicity for the mobile operators really worth it? From a customer experience perspective, the calls are free on landlines so they should be free on mobiles (they were on Orange in the early days). In fact the issue is even worse because not only are they chargeable but they aren’t included in call bundles so they always appear as an extra charge on your bill. If you make a lot of calls to 0800 numbers the costs soon mount up. Consumer Focus the UK organisation that campaigns on behalf of consumers is pushing for calls to all 0800 numbers to be free from mobiles but while we wait to see what happens here there is a simple way to avoid the cost.

Several service providers have sprung up recently that route calls to 0800 numbers via a 01 or 02 access number. As 01 and 02 calls come out of mobile call bundles, this effectively makes 0800 calls free (as long as you don’t exceed your call bundle). I’ve been using 0800Buster and have stored the access number in my handset so it's easily available. If there are 0800 numbers that you call regularly you can store them in your mobile using a pause between the access number and the 0800 number.

For example, to store 0800 123 4567 using 0800Buster, save the following number in your mobile:

01255840800p08001234567#

The 'p' represents a pause and is obtained by pressing + three times on a Nokia handset.

There’s always the risk that the mobile operators will bar the access numbers but if they do check back to the provider’s website and there’s bound to be a replacement. 0800Buster cycle through a series of numbers; if you clear your cookies you’ll probably see a different one on their site. I’ve found ten so far and I’ve only reached 012!

This 0800 tip is great because it’s simple and Normob friendly – you don’t have to be a mobile geek to use it!

Telco conference in Nice

This week I'm going to (the strangely named) Management World 2009 conference in Nice. Despite it's name the conference covers telco issues including billing.

On Thursday I'm taking part in a discussion panel looking at the future of billing. I'm especially interested in the opportunity to leverage more value from telco billing account relationships.

I'll be posting updates from the conference on Twitter. You can follow me here.

The iPhone: making life easy for Normobs

Last week's post from The Really Mobile Project.

Returning to my favourite theme of ‘Normobs‘, I’m intrigued by the way the iPhone has changed my wife Jo’s approach, not just to mobile telephony, but also to using her laptop.

Since buying an iPhone she’s tended to use it for most of her emails and much of her web browsing. For Internet use the laptop is very much a fall-back device rather than her first choice. A few days ago Apple COO Tim Cook suggested that if you want a netbook, buy an iPhone. Bias aside - Tim clearly doesn’t fall into the category of an independent observer and Apple doesn’t yet have a netbook offering - he does have a point. Jo’s use of the iPhone indicates that for some users and some activities an iPhone can be a PC replacement.

We all know the App Store has been a game changer and is being copied by Nokia, BlackBerry and Android and yes it’s great fun for us mobile geeks to dig up new stuff. However it’s also changed the way Jo uses mobile technology. She certainly never bothered to look for apps for her Nokia S60 handset. Who would unless you’re a serious mobile geek but now she’s customised her iPhone with loads of extra stuff from the App Store. Why? Because it’s so easy and it’s Normob friendly. Plus Apple’s accreditation process ensures that applications do what they’re supposed to do and don’t screw up your phone.

The way the iPhone manages connectivity is again perfect for Normobs. Why should users have to decide when and whether to use WiFi rather than 3G or GPRS? All they want is the best connectivity available and the iPhone’s seamless management of WiFi and 3G, plus bundled hotspot access to commercial access points, makes this an invisible process to users.

As a mobile geek it’s easy to criticise the iPhone spec; 2MP camera without flash, applications can’t run in the background, limited Bluetooth connectivity, no cut and paste, no user replaceable battery and so on. But users love it because it makes technology simple and the user interface is aesthetically pleasing. How often can we really say that technology is simple? Technology providers invariably make products and services over complex for their customers but Apple (and hands up I do criticise them for other transgressions) makes it easy.

Now where did I put my S60 handset …!

The Really Mobile Project launched this week

The Really Mobile Project launched this week with news and information about what's going on in ‘mobile’. It will be providing the style of content that many of us have been missing since MIR went subscription only. The team behind The Really Mobile Project includes several faces familiar to those of you who used to follow MIR – Ben Smith, James Whatley, Dan Lane and Vikki Chowney. I'll also be contributing on a (fairly) regular basis.

The team put a lot of work into launching the project and it's great news it's come to fruition. There’s already a lot to read on the site so head over and take a look.

BSS Summit 2009 - Amsterdam

In June I'm speaking at IIR's BSS Summit 2009 in Amsterdam. For me the principle attraction of IIR billing events is the opportunity to discuss the future of billing and payments and look at some of the trends in the market. These events always attract people who share this interest and it's good to catch up with some of the 'usual suspects' as well as meet many new faces.

This year I'll be sharing my ideas on the opportunity for telcos to extract more value from the billing relationship with their customers and looking at the unique opportunities that telcos have via their customer billing accounts. The current economic challenges make it more imperative than ever that telcos maximise the benefits of the relationships they have with their huge customer bases; and increase the value of those relationships to their customers.

Some background on the event from IIR:

IIR’s BSS Summit 2009 will mark the 16th anniversary of the flagship event in our Telecoms Billing, Customer Care and Revenue Management portfolio. Previously known as BIMS and Billing Systems, the event has earned its credentials as the essential meeting place for billing and IT professionals in the EMEA region.

The event delivers a comprehensive conference with an Operator-only speaker panel, interactive masterclass and discussion sessions, networking events and the leading exhibition of BSS suppliers. Attendees will benefit from a full update on how to effectively develop billing, IT, customer care and revenue management strategies and how it should evolve in the future.

The aim of the event is to discuss and define best practice and share experiences of achieving innovation in billing and BSS.

In addition to pre and post conference seminars and tutorials, the main conference will examine issues across the following topic streams:

· Driving Efficiency And Best Practice In Billing

· Strategy and Transformation In Billing And BSS

· Revenue Assurance and Collections Strategies

· BSS Strategies for Convergence

· CRM and Customer Experience

· New Business Models /  Mobile Broadband

· Real Time Charging

· Business Process Management

· Business Intelligence

The event will be held 8-11 June, Hotel Okura, Amsterdam. 

Using .tel in the real world

I've been using my .tel address for a few weeks now and have found it a great way to share my contact details. Before looking at the ways I've found .tel useful, just a reminder about what .tel is. A .tel address is a location where you store your personal or corporate contact data in a format that's easily accessible from any Internet enabled device. This data can also be accessed via applications to remove th need to even visit the .tel page. .tel data is stored in the web's DNS which means it doesn't require web hosting, isn't HTML heavy and can be updated and accessed instantly.

Today most of us have many contact methods and .tel is the ideal way to bring these together in one place. My .tel address means that my contact info is always up to date and available. No more second guessing the most appropriate contact data to give people. No more decisions about what to put on a business card. I've just had some Moo cards printed that just have my .tel address on them; lets people decide how to contact me. If I want to restrict contact methods at any point in time I can just hide them. Some of my contact data is hidden and only available to people who request it, although I've tried not to do this with too much data because it's less user friendly. Access via a mobile device is great because you just click on the number to call or SMS it. No need to re-key and you know it's a current number.

I believe we have only just started to scratch the surface here. As an example, .tel addresses use a common data structure, so in the future it will be possible to just enter someone's .tel address into your handset and call or email them without even knowing their number or email address! A .tel will become a universal contact method whether you're emailing, calling, instant messaging or using a social networking application.

If you want to register your own .tel address have a look at Domainmonster.com.

You can find me at jonathanjensen.tel

Bill shock and why the mobile operators need to be proactive

We often read about people who have experienced bill shock issues when they open their mobile bill and discover huge, unexpected charges, often from using data services when roaming. 

Currently the issue of unexpected charges is something that is generally very poorly handled by the mobile operators - I have first hand experience of children running up substantial bills because there were no warnings or alerts about expenditure. Where are the hooks that pick up unusual spending patterns? It's no good expecting customers to dig around your website looking for unbilled usage data - you need to push the information out to customers so that they remain in control. When a customer starts using data when roaming, warn them by SMS of the consequences, when usage hits a 'dangerous level' temporarily suspend usage until they confirm it's okay. When a customer approaches their call or text bundle limit, warn them they will start incurring extra charges. Help customers to help themselves. 

And don't do what one of the big UK mobile operators does, not make unbilled data available to customers until after the customer has received the first bill - by then it might be too late!

TruUnlimited flat rate calling plans from Truphone

Truphone has just announced new tariffs which deliver the flat rate unlimited calling plans that many of us have been waiting for. TruUnlimited offers flat rate calling for a fixed monthly fee. For £10 per month you get unlimited calls to landlines in 38 countries and for £25 you get unlimited calling to landlines and mobile phones in 64 countries. The landline tariff also includes calls to mobiles in the USA, Canada, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Geraldine Wilson, Truphone CEO, commented:

Many of our customers have asked us to help simplify their lives by providing the peace of mind that comes with the ability to make unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles and not have to worry about checking balances or fearing bill shock when they receive their statement.

Flat rate calling has for me been the missing piece in the Truphone line-up. Per call charging is fine for people who make a limited number of calls but flat rate calling is essential to get real benefit out of a telephony product. As you'd expect there are no contractual tie-ins with TruUnlimited and it can be cancelled at any time. It's also available to customers across all the handset platforms that Truphone support. Truphone appears to have decided against an in-country unlimited plan and gone with two simple tariffs that support their ethos of being the provider of choice for people with an 'international lifestyle'. As with all unlimited plans there will be a fair use policy.

Truphone's existing tariffs continue to be available alongside the new unlimited plans.

Mobile coverage - more important than tariffs?

Recently I switched mobile operators from 3 to Vodafone. In the past I tended to switch to take advantage of the most appropriate package for my usage. However this time the key driver was better coverage. I'm fed up with flaky (and seemingly getting worse) coverage from 3 in my house - despite promises of improvements. This location is flagged by 3 as 'excellent coverage' but of course that applies outside and in-building coverage is variable at best. I switched to Vodafone because I know it works well here and generally I haven't been disappointed so far. The only big coverage problem with Vodafone, as with all the operators, is coverage on railways. This is still terrible on the line I use, across all operators.

Real world coverage is for me a more important consideration than the specific tariff deal. The mobile operators all 'appear' to offer fairly similar coverage, certainly if their marketing is to be believed. However in reality there are huge differences, even in cities. The problem for consumers is that until you test the network coverage in your home or wherever coverage is important to you, you never know what the reality will be because operator coverage claims just can't be believed. Borrowing a friend's phone on your desired network, pre-purchase, is a absolute must but I think often overlooked.

It never ceases to amaze me how variable coverage still is, so many years after launch. I hope that the operator network infrastructure sharing deals will do something to address this but in this age of cost cutting I wonder ...

Just one request to Vodafone - please fix your online billing system. It's been broken for weeks and doesn't show accurate data.

Entertaining video about .tel from Domainmonster.com

Captures the essential simplicity of .tel

Some thoughts on the Nokia E75

Those friendly people over at WOM World have loaned me the new Nokia E75. When I first saw this handset announced I thought - 'that's the one for me' - and I haven't been disappointed so far. The E75 form factor is excellent and the build quality, in common with other E Series devices, is reassuringly solid. I love the 'clunk' the keypad makes when it slides in and out. One feature that caught my eye is the ability to set an application to open when the keypad slides out. I've set mine to launch the web browser which, with dabr.co.uk as my homepage, means to browse Twitter I just slide open the keypad.

In order to slide in and out seamlessley the qwerty keypad needs to be completely flat. So whilst the keys are a reasonable size, they are not as tactile as my E63 and I miss the feel of the raised keys that I've got used to.

Would I buy a E75? Very tempting as I think I could overcome my hesitation about the qwerty keypad!

Jonathan Jensen on Thursday – To port or not to port, that is the question

This week’s (and final) post from Mobile Industry Review.

This week I thought I’d look at mobile number portability having experienced it twice in the past month. Both experiences were very different but both were frustrating in their own way. My wife ported her number from 3 to O2 and from a technical perspective the process went very smoothly. However getting a PAC code in the first place was a challenge as the customer service agents tried every delaying tactic possible (including providing misleading information) and even continued to call her after she’d ported her number to O2! My port from a minor T-Mobile MVNO to Vodafone was a technical disaster. Initially everything worked on Vodafone but after a few hours the number went out of service. I could make calls but inbound calls and SMS failed. Callers were greeted with a ‘you have dialled an incorrect number’ message. Because of the weekend it took four days to resolve the problem! The problem turned out to be a failure on T-Mobile’s part to correctly port all the number data to Vodafone and it required considerable effort from Vodafone to resolve the problem. Both the MVNO and T-Mobile claimed everything had been done correctly, which only served to delay the resolution of the issue.

Talking to people it’s interesting to hear how often porting goes wrong and it wasn’t until I started looking at it that I realised how deficient porting is in the UK compared to other countries. Uniquely in the UK we have donor led porting where the customer has to contact the donor operator to obtain authorisation to port. Elsewhere in Europe and worldwide recipient led porting is the norm where the customer contacts the receiving operator and asks them to port in their number. One of the problems with donor led porting is it can be anti-competitive as it allows the donor operator to use delaying tactics, such as my wife experienced. The other issue we have in the UK is that we don’t yet have a central database of numbers for routing. Ported numbers are still routed via the original network which is inefficient and users can experience problems if there is a network failure in the original network. In addition, in the UK porting still takes 2 days whereas elsewhere in the world it is much quicker; 20 minutes in Ireland, 3 minutes in Australia! Belatedly, Ofcom is keen to move to all-call query of a common database of numbers (ACQ/CDB) to improve the management and call routing for ported numbers. I spoke to Ofcom for an update on their plans but they were unable to provide any information on the future of mobile porting, apart from stating their commitment to a two hour porting timeframe from 1 September 2009. This is an area I’m going to be keeping an eye on because it could work so much better.

The changes afoot at Mobile Industry Review mean that this will be my last weekly piece here. Thank you to everyone who's read, commented and supported MIR. However I will continue to write about pertinent mobile issues, Normobs and the rest over at Sevendotzero, so don’t forget to check in there!