Monthly Archives: August 2009

Social networking and mobile usage : what is guiding usage of mobile net

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Clay Shirky, the digital educator and commentator has explained how mobiles, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites are creating history. These advanced technological tools are permitting people to bypass censors, hold politicians to account and end the strict top-down news model that has specified information flows since the printing press came into use.

He claims that their standards of communication has attained new heights with the first use or the introduction, and now betterments in mobile internet access. A third of young people frequently browse through the Facebook and Twitter via their mobile, a new report has found displaying just how popular social networking has become in our today’s world. The extreme level of information provided is surprising and easy and comfortable tasks such as birthday planning, sharing holiday snaps or even the most minimal of things like chatting with a friend wherever, whenever are just separated by a few clicks. Also, the height of information found, not only by your friends but celebrities in particular on networking sites such as Twitter where you can keep up to date about all the necessary and important information for example, the current city Paris Hilton has visited or seeing who is the one Lilly Allen now dislikes. One thing that cannot be denied is the firm balance between mobile and gossip.Nokia N97

A study, published by mobile research industry CCS Insight, discovered that access to social networking sites has currently turned into a huge incentive when teenagers in particular come to buy their mobile phone or handset, favouring mobile internet compatible devices such as the HTC Hero or Nokia N97 which feel proud themselves on their abilities of facebooking. The suggestion that Facebook is much more popular than Twitter chimes with a newly published Morgan Stanley report on internet and mobile usage. Processed by a 15-year-old intern, the report stated that teenagers liked Facebook more than Twitter which, I feel is a touch unfair, as to be honest the two are nothing similar. One is for remaining in touch with friends and the other is used to stalk, I mean go after celebrities.

Matthew Robson (the 15yr old intern) said “Teenagers do not use Twitter. They realise that no-one is viewing their profile, so their tweets are pointless.” And you actually can’t find any fault with that comment.

Facebook, however is actually the common name in the social world as the CSS report also revealed that it is more popular than Bebo, MySpace and Twitter together! Maybe, to a few peoples’ astonishment, but Facebook slightly fell short of the top spot for biggest incentive. The study revealed that for mobile usage among sixteen to thirty-five year olds, the service most youngsters liked to have on their phones was preferably BBC iPlayer. A shock to me to, yes, however when you think about it, it makes a kind of sense. I mean that, how else can you get knowledge for definite you will be able to keep an eye on the latest nail biting tails lines from Albert Square?sony ericsson c905

The stiff challenge operators now have to meet is creating balance on demands for these services with the bandwidth they use. Networks are going to have to give a thought carefully about how they charge for mobile internet access as this is clearly the path users are walking on. CCS Insight forecasts that by the end of 2009, some 44% of mobile phone users will find data through their handsets! Here at mobiles we are presently providing a few of great deals on all the big iPlayer and social networking compatible gadgets such as the Nokia N97, 5800 and N85, the Samsung Omnia 2, Sony Ericsson C905 and last but by no way least the infamous Apple iPhone 3GS. Click on the handset name to find a deal that best matches to your surfing needs.

LG launches its Watchphone along with Price Tag

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The LG GD910 first appeared at the CES show earlier this year and since then we all have seen it in the pictures. After getting the exclusive rights over this gadget, Orange is prepared to launch it on 27th August at their Bond Street Station store in London at 9am. Looks, exciting?

In a way, yes. The GD910 will be available for a limited time only and Orange has not given any indication about how long this limited time will be. Orange is promoting this handset as a ‘handmade’ luxury gadget. With the luxury gadgets comes a luxury price tag and there is no reason for the LG GD910 to become an exception to this rule. Earlier it was reported to cost £1000 and luckily its not going to be that high. Still it will cost £500 on pay as you go to get this gadget on your wrist.

Orange surprised everyone by making the GD910 available on first-come-first-serve basis. One customer will be entitled to buy one handset only. There’s no doubt that the handset will attract overwhelming response. It is somehow nauseating the way this phone has been associated with endless references to James Bond and words like ‘timepiece’.

Interestingly, these words are not good enough to explain the features in watchphone. The list of features is limited to 3G video calls, Bluetooth and a touchscreen. Still, it’s very attractive and difficult to resist!

Click LG Mobile Phones for latest mobile phones from lg.

Sony Ericsson goes fashionable with Ed Hardy’s designer W595 mobile phone

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If you are a fashionista and loves sporting all sorts of branded stuff then this one is for you to know. Now with all your Von Dutch baseball cap, Police watch and Prada sunglasses you can flaunt your Ed Hardy mobile phone also. Surprised !! Thinking.. how did you miss that Ed hardy also designs mobile phones. Hold your horses. The news is that Sony Ericsson has teamed up with Ed Hardy and fashion designer Christian Audigier to present its designer Mobile range called Sony Ericsson W595 Ed hardy Edition. The range is dedicated to the premier and elite segment of the society who are not only fashion conscious but also have the potential to afford hi fashion. For those who would like to know a tad more about Ed Hardy, Ed Hardy is a world renowned tattooist who, in coaction with fashion designer Christian Audigier, has his own clothing range and has a large fan following. His fans range from Footballer David Beckham, Pop Star Britney Spears, Lil Wayne to name a few.

Ed Hardy’s design has given the mobile phone – Sony Ericsson W595 a new lease of life. The otherwise shy phone has now become loud due to its newly revamped looks. The front of the mobile phone sports classic Ed Hardy artwork such as snakes, skulls, tigers and floral patterns that intermix with the phone keys. The blank space at the back of the phone accommodates big motifs like the military style”Death before Dishonor” badge and the trademark Ed Hardy signature. The designs and patterns on the mobile phone makes it look extremely gaudy, striking and loud. So if you are looking at something subtle and shy then this is not an opt option for you. The tattoos are framed on a nice silver metal finish case while the keys and the Walkman logo are framed in nice Bronze color. The phone is a stunning piece of artwork, of course, the name attached to it leaves no scope of questions and doubts.

Talking about the phone specs, it is almost a replica of the original W595 except for some Ed Hardy wallpapers and other Ed Hardy’s specific precisions. The mobile phone is kitted up with a 3.2 Mega pixel camera with video recording and an another front facing camera for video calling. The mobile phone also features a number of data systems with HSDPA being the prominent one that facilitates speedy internet access at a speed of up to 3.6 Mbps. As it is essentially a Walkman phone, it is equipped with features like impeccable Walkman player that acts as a potable music player.

Other than these, the Ed Hardy phone also comprises of a number of other intriguing features. To name a few, the Track Id, which identifies songs from a short clip you record, SensMe that facilitates setting up of play lists for different moods and Shake control that enables you to skip the tracks with a flick of the wrist. The phone’s memory is expandable up to 8GB via micro Sd card and can store a slew of your favorite numbers. The phone can prove to be a good replacement of your old MP3 Player.

The original W595 is laced with a number of excellent features like good size, great spec list, weight and great build quality. The new Ed Hardy range will only add more spice to the original phone. Imagine having a phone with great features coupled with stunning, designer looks. The Ed hardy Sony Ericsson W595 phone is scheduled to launch in September this year.

Consumers are getting ‘more for their money

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As stated by a recent study, the Broadband services are offering consumers better value for money. There is a huge competition prevailing in the broadband market. This is the reason that the broadband operators are working die hard in order to make big improvements to their offerings in the face of competition. According to the research conducted by Internet analysts Point Topic concluded that for ADSL connections, consumers now need to pay 40 per cent less than 18 months ago for each Mb as well as above 30 per cent less over cable. According to some of the ISP’s, the best way to convince the average customer for buying the broadband service, you have two primary selling points, price and speed. Both price and speed plays a vital role in attracting the customers towards broadband service. While some of the providers feel that it is the customer service that matters a lot. It is seen that the service providers come forward with an array of strategies to entice the customers.. They are offering faster speeds at lower prices. Virgin Media has upgraded its overall network for the purpose of offering a 50 MB service at a premium price. Similarly, BT Broadband will also offer offer 40Mb or even more than that by implementing fibre-to-the-cabinet. If we talk about ADSL, it is still regarded as the dominant access technology, with 65 per cent of the world market against 12 per cent for fibre and 21 per cent for cable. It has been reported that despite recession, Broadband is one of the few household bills to fall down. The fall in the prices is even as faster as download speeds are being offered.

Ways to increase the broadband speed

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Today, the Broadband market is quite similar to a battle ground. The only difference is that it is fought with mobile broadband speeds and attractive offers instead of guns and swords. The famous broadband suppliers, like Virgin Media , O2, Orange, BT, 3 and Vodafone are competing with each other in order to entice consumers with their several enticing broadband packages.

Promises made by them…

The first priority of every single person while choosing a Broadband connection is Internet access speed. All prefer a high speed Internet access. Presently, the Broadband providers like Vodafone and BT are rolling out bundles providing speeds of 8Mbps and 7.2Mbps in order to fulfill the demands of people using Internet heavily. This section mostly includes business men or gamers.

Apart from this, for those people who are not heavy Internet users, ISPs like O2, T Mobile and 3 provide packages having access rates of 4.5Mbps, 3.6Mbps and 1.8Mbps. Not only this, there are few mobile broadband providers that come with offers bundled with various interesting free gifts that include laptop and many more.

The real fact

keeping the excitement aside, it is mainly observed that the practical Internet access speeds are very less as compared to the advertised speeds. Some of the websites permit the owners to go through small tests just to find out how much broadband speeds they are actually getting. It is found that most of the consumers receive only about a quarter of what they have been promised. But it is important for everybody to know that is is not always the broadband supplier’s fault.

Who should be blamed?

The Mobile broadband data transfer is governed by several factors. The main factor that affects the broadband speed is the quantity of people that are using the broadband services in the surroundings, or in the same house at a same moment of time. Apart from this, the mobile broadband is also influenced by temperature, components present in the earth’s atmosphere and also the equipments used by the consumer. Might it sounds odd to you, but the software on the laptop or computer of the end user is also responsible for finding the download rate of web pages.

How to make Things Better…

The first step to improve your broadband speed is assure that you’ve got the right hardware. Modems that are used for mobile broadband come with various speeds. Always keep in mind that the modem which you are using should support the speed of the package that you are willing to subscribe to.

It is clear that the hardware companies keep on updating their software frequently. So, the second way to improve the speed is by keeping a regular check about these updates. It can prove beneficial.

Signal strength keeps on changing in the household itself. Some modems make use of the 2G technology for the transferring of data in case if the signals are weak. But in case, if the signal is strong, they go for the faster 3G technology. You can simply move your modem within the house to an area with high signal strength, close to the window.

The other ways include using a faster browser and tweaking your Internet Browser settings. These could also help.

There are several users that feel comfortable to use Windows XP on their computers as well as laptops. However, while using the mobile broadband, this operating system needs to be tuned. Newer OS like Linux based ones or the Windows Vista, protect you the trouble of tuning.

It is seen that in some cases, the performance level goes down because of the unwanted software. Few of these software may be designed for automatic start-up while boot-up of the computer. Such programs end up with eating up the valuable memory, thus resulting in the slow down of certain applications. If a person is willing to find out whether he has got unwanted applications that are bringing down his or her broadband speed, then you can use a different OS on a CD in order to boot up. By doing so you can start a broadband speed test. You need to do cleaning up in case you are getting higher speeds with the new OS. In case if it is nit clear to you what applications you need to remove, you can take help from the professionals.

The mobile broadband speed is also affected by the presence of other radio-wave devices in the surroundings. In few cases, mobile phones, televisions, Internet radios or microwave ovens can also affect the broadband speeds. These devices make use of the radio signals in the similar frequency range as the mobile broadband. The other thing that could help is plugging them out or keeping a fair distance from them. Mostly in urban areas, Neighboring Wi-Fi networks can also interfere with Internet access rates. In that case, the best way is tweaking your router settings or you can also change the channel of your network.

The best way for getting the fast download speeds is to use the network during off-peak hours. If you will use it early mornings, it will offer high broadband speeds. As it is said that ‘the early bird gets the worm’. In order to compare you can also compare the broadband speeds, offers and packages by going through the broadband suppliers website.

O2 broadband to provide free services for the two months

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O2, one of the leading broadband providers in UK has come with a fantastic plan for all those users who sign up before the end of July. This packages ensures broadband services for the two months, absolutely free.

The users can avail the deal with all the possible packages of O2 broadband (www.O2.co.uk) as well as with the Standard, Premium and Pro packages. In addition to this, the plan can be availed by even those users who are not there on the O2′s local loop unbundled network (LLU).

With this cost-effective plan, the users can save as much as £44on their home broadband plan with the advantage of 20 Mbps speed. Apart from this, the broadband supplier has taken care of the LLU customers as well and has come up with three packages. These schemes vary with prices for the O2 mobile customers and non-customers.

The regular users of O2 broadband can enjoy hassle free service at the speed of 8 Mbps for £7.34 a month. Apart from this, there is another plan called Premium package which assists the users with the high speed of 20 Mbps for £9.79 a month. In addition to all such plans, another Pro package comes at the monthly rental of £17.13 and ensures 20 Mbps speed with the added advantages of dedicated customer service, an enhanced wireless router and McAfee security software for up to five computers. It also allows the users to enjoy uploading at the speed of 2.5 Mb.

As far as non-customers are concerned, the provider also takes good care of them and provide all the three plans namely Standard, Premium and Pro, but at different prices. To avail the first package, the users are required to pay £12.23 a month, for second plan, they have to pay £14.68 a month and the third package can be availed at the price of £14.68 a month.

The non-LLU Access package of O2 assists the users with the speed of 8 Mb and that too at the affordable price of £17.13 a month for the current users. The same package costs £22.02 a month for the non-customers.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director threw light on the achievements of the O2 since 2007 and emphasized on the awards won by it. Moreover, he stressed on the recent BroadbandChoices.co.uk customer satisfaction survey where O2 emerged right at the top. He declared the service, a better choice for the home broadband users.

Samsung i8000 Omnia 2 arrives soon

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In the beginning, we had the actual Samsung Omnia, a touchscreen mobile phone working on the Windows Mobile operating system which was released earlier in the summer of the previous year. At the time, we were a bit impressed by the i900 Omnia, comfortably the best equipped handset of its time that appeared to do a bit of everything. Next, we had the Samsung i8910 HD Samsug i8910 HDSamsung Omnia. Earlier, billed as the Omnia HD, Samsung chose to be out of the Omnia franchise for the i8910 as it worked on the Symbian operating system. So, what was to come in the Omnia range? Was it targeted for the dirt heap? Of course not, say hello to the true list to the i900; the Samsung Omnia 2.

The Samsung i8000 Omnia 2 goes after in its Windows mobile predecessors types with a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. For those among you who have worked on the Windows Mobile before and found it a bit obtrusive and not particularly user friendly, you’ll be happy to find that Samsung has offered it a total overhaul for the Omnia 2 and brought in the TouchWiz user interface (similar to how HTC sit TouchFLO 3D ontop of their Windows Mobile Phones) which aids to make an extremely comfortable to use environment without dumbing down the phones smarter features. The Omnia 2 does get an impressive push in power with the processor rising to 800 MHz from 600, which should aid the i8000 stand against the iPhone 3GS. Screen size and quality is better with the i8000 revealing a 3.7 inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen coming with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels for one of the sharpest, brightest and clearest screens ever seen on a mobile phone, better performing the present best in class, the Samsung i8910 HD.

As with any smart phone worth its salt, connectivity is well accessed with the i8000 profiting from HSDPA and Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth version 2.0 with A2DP support, used for streaming music to a supporting wireless headset, and a MicroUSB port, further proof of the steps towards multiple format connectivity with the Omnia II supporting USB charging.

The Omnia 2 features an impressive 5.0 megapixel camera that comes equipped with extra features such as a powerful Dual LED flash, face, smile and blink detection, geo-tagging and, of course, Autofocus. Video capture has been provided with a much required update with the i8000 presently shooting in D1 resolution at 30 frames per second for approximately DVD like quality. This together with an attractive multimedia player that offers support to MP3, MPEG4, DivX and Xvid proves that the Omnia 2 isn’t all work and no play and with 8GB of internal memory and the option to append a memory card, you can turn your phone into a powerful portable multimedia player.

Not too dirty. It appears as if those of you Windows Mobile fans who thought Samsung had not remembered about it that you can sleep a bit easier tonight. Expected to be found towards the end of the summer, click here so that you can register for updates and we’ll make you know as soon as the Samsung i8000 Omnia 2 is provided on order.

British gas introduces the cheapest online tariff- Web Server 4

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Now the Web saver 3 tariff of British gas has been replaced by WebSaver 4. It has been reported that the British Gas has introduced its cheapest online dual fuel tariff called as WebSaver 4. It is mainly for those customers who agree to maintain their bills online and take paperless billing. This new tariff is available from today only. The dual fuel customers switching to the online tariff will observe average savings of £134 than its standard price tariff, with 6% discounts against Standard tariff rates till 30 November 2010. This new tariff will prove a strong competitor in the race of other online tariffs from EDF and E.ON. This web Saver 4 is provided to the existing as well as new Gas customers. This new tariff introduced by British Gas will cost the average user £994 per year for their gas and electricity. It comes with paperless billing and online account management. This plan is available in all areas. But the EDF Energy’s online plan is only available in 10 out of 14 energy regions. This is the reason that beside being the cheapest tariff, not all households can benefit from it. In case, if a person cancels Web saver 4 agreement and move to another gas or electricity supplier at any time prior to 28 February 2010, then he or she needs to pay a cancellation charge of £30 per fuel. But if the agreement is called off because of a home move, then this charge will not be applied.

Mobile Broadband: Is it time to change over?

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Freedom to choose Internet lies in your hands

The mobile broadband became an overnight success when it hit UK for the first time. This was the time when people felt they were truly connected. As the time progressed, development in terms of speed and reliability took place. It lead to the perception that people started thinking of getting rid of their landline net access. On one hand, the industry experts tried to assure that the mobile broadband is not the replacement of fixed line access but people were puzzled that whether to replace landline Internet with mobile Internet.

How does the mobile broadband function?

The user connects itself to similar wireless data network to there phone. Sometimes it is confused with Wifi but there is a wide difference between the two. In wireless system, it is the wireless router that makes it possible to access Internet in the close vicinity. It actually works on the fixed line internet that has been passed through a wireless router. The mobile broadband providers provide USB dongle which comes in USB stick which can be plugged and Internet can be accessed from anywhere. The speed is dependent on the package of the broadband. Although speed is a matter of concern while choosing broadband but priority to bandwidth is also given which describes how much data is travelling through the network. Some broadband providers provide 20-40 gigabytes of data transfer which is reasonably good for those users who have limited usage of few hours daily but will not probably serve the purpose of those who might be spending most of their life in front of Internet.

Who are mobile broadband providers?

The mobile broadband providers include O2, Vodafone, T mobile etc. There are obvious differences between the products and services of the broadband providers. For instance length of the contract may vary. The price of the hardware seems to be different. Sometimes the providers are so kind as they send the hardware free. The 3G network determines the strength of the network in the area.

When and why should you switch from one mobile broadband to others?

Times have changed but accessing Internet through fixed line remains most sought after option as it offers superior value for money but that does not mean that no one is opting for mobile broadband as nowadays people travel extensively and they need Internet while on the move. Strong segment of consumers is seen in form of students as they can not remain at one single place for too long. Moreover they do not want to be held up in a contract for too long

Importance of social shopping networks

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With the growing of Americans researching products on the internet before they are brought in stores or on the web, it’s general that a modified form of shopping trend is emerging. “Social shopping” is the alluring part of social networking and online shopping, and it can provide users business a marketing push up that it requires.

Unlike the some of retail protocols that display product for sale , many accelerating famous social shopping protocols ( some still in early stage) composed of users favourite product list, often with a impetus on what’s new and trendy and exciting. An insiders aware of the the fact that display of list of favourite product on the right social shopping website can increase excitement level that ultimately leads to sales.

This new and easy form of marketing provide a beneficial opportunities for entrepreneurs with restricted budget. Before plunging into this new ventures, lets understand reason and procedure social shopping works.

1 online research help in hiking sales. Most of the respondents to a BIG research ” Consumer Intentions and Actions”
survey conducted in June 2006 stated that they sometime or regularly find about product before purchasing them from store. On online purchasing, a research by yahoo! and OMD revealed that about three quarters of the people use trusted and familiar protocols when they buy online , and majority said that the Internet is the most convenient way of finding shopping information. So, in case you sell your product online or through store, making impact on online users can leave a long lasting effect on sales.

2. people to people suggestion yields credibility. Social shopping protocols enable word of mouth marketing at its best. The Internet give power to users and speed up the exchange of information. Product suggestion that come from friends or relatives may be more reliable , so more often users from sites advertise the positive word and buy the product they came to know on site. Social shopping protocols implies user’s liking or disliking and also provide online interaction. Visitors can get shopping ideas, what’s famous and can surf links of products that they are unable to find.

3. Sites have specific characteristics. Here ‘s list of the popular social shopping websites.

* ThisNext.com: Users can find their products, add them to their wish lists, search places where they can buy them and also create themed lists of their own.
* Crowdstorm.com: This protocols measures the popularity of products based on user recommendations. Popular items go to the top of the list.
* Kaboodle.com: Users create wish lists with photos and links to products for sale online. It’s easy to post a summary of anything found on the Internet.
* Stylehive.com: This is the good site for women’s fashions and interests.
* Wists.com: Users tend to focus on interesting new products and share links to the ones they want to buy.

4. Social shopping protocols are excellent opportunities for entrepreneurs. At present, an entrepreneur can use them to endorse their product that will leads to sales. But you d better move fast. There are some protocols that are testing free models for generating traffic and after that they would adopt paid structures as they will come in contact with target mass, but the revenue generated by marketing deals with vendors and retailers or by giving the trend information generated by users.

For any marketing campaign , firstly you have to know the media. Make a list of your favourite social shopping sites and get acquainted with their way of working. For testing, post one or two products with their links, be alert to send your clicks to landing pages , so you can measure your outcome. Then enjoy and participate actively -and make your posting exciting by giving a chance to others to share products that they want to talk about.