Verizon Wireless recently announced that they will be using LTE for their 4G network. Trials will begin in 2008, with joint-owner Vodaphone also moving to the same technology in Europe. LTE is the upgrade path for WCDMA/GSM networks, which is slightly odd due to the fact that Verizon currently operates the largest CDMA/EV-DO network in the United States.

LTE, which stands for Long Term Evolution, will better position Verizon and Vodaphone for global roaming agreements and the ability to compete in the global marketplace. Constructed to deliver lower latency, higher bandwidth, and more efficient use of the network, LTE is a logical step for both companies. Also interesting is that discussions with device manufacturers have not only included handset suppliers such as Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and LG, but also consumer electronics companies. These companies are quickly seeing that their electronics could benefit from being wirelessly connected to the internet.

This is a huge step for Verizon Wireless, who currently operates a CDMA network, which is incompatible with Vodaphone’s current network in Europe. Along with the recent announcement that Verizon will be opening its network in 2008, it is an exciting time for the U.S. mobile market.

It finally goes live…

Link: The Press Association: SMS help to find toilet

A “SatLav” mobile phone service which alerts people to the nearest public toilets has been launched.

Westminster City Council’s scheme works via text message requests from shoppers, workers and tourists.

Texting the word “toilet” to the number 80097 prompts a quick-response text with details of the nearest facilities and their opening times

Gosh it’s come round quick! I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone at the Number3Bar this Monday coming for Unlimited Drinks London.

Just as a reminder — the Key points:
The date: December 3rd 2007 (Monday)
The venue: Number3 Bar, New Burlington Street, just off Regent Street, London (Google Map)
The time: 6pm onwards

Get on the list
Would you like to come along? Email me at ewan@smstextnews.com with the subject UNLIMITED DRINKS = YES and I’ll add you to the list.

If you’re heading to MoMo, don’t worry about popping along later on — and if you don’t have much time, you’re still welcome to pop your head in and say hi. You’ll generally be able to spot me by the pinstripe suit.

I’ll be there from 6pm and we’ve booked out the whole ground floor venue (not to be confused with the basement nightclub) and if you say ‘Unlimited Drinks’ or ‘SMS Text News’ to the bouncers on the door, you’ll be pointed in the right direction.

I do try and hang around the front of the venue to welcome everybody but now and again I might be mingling so don’t hesitate to hunt for me and come and say hi. I thoroughly enjoy meeting people from the industry. Be sure to give me a business card as well — THRUST it into my hand! That’s very useful so I can write a bit about you/your company and get the web addresses correct.

We’re not doing labels either. No sticky labels with names. But we are doing food. Lots of food (as well as the unlimited drinks bar — well staffed, by the way). We’re doing food differently than last time. You see the majority of folk had left by 11pm when the serving team came flying out with mini pots of vanilla ice cream. So I’ve sorted that. More food will be circulating during the peak hours between 6-9pm.

Let me know if you’re coming — see you then.

I’ve already shared with you some of the struggles to be overcome in the US cellphone market, specifically when dealing with the general public. With the RAZR still being king, one might wonder if there’s any hope for this market. The answer to that question is a resounding yes, and here’s why. These are the good things about the US market.

1. We go all the way. While I did find that most US consumers initially reject any idea of mobile data services (SMS/MMS/Internet), I also noticed that the few who were properly introduced to using their handsets for more than just voice typically fully embraced it. *Note that it takes some work, and they must be fully persuaded and demonstrated of the benefits.* Personally I find it really refreshing that once I’ve invested the time to show someone how the internet on their mobile can be useful, they REALLY get into it. Before long they’re stopping back by to show me some cool website they found, or how they figured out how to send video clips to their friends, etc. For instance, 6 months ago, my mom could not figure out how to retrieve her voicemails on her cellphone. At Thanksgiving, she was sending pictures and videos of my nephew to my aunt via MMS!

2. Our data plans are unlimited, and cheap. Sure we may lack phones with real internet abilities, but an unlimited internet package can be had on a monthly contract for anywhere between $6/mo and $30/mo, with the latter including full HSDPA. That’s really not to shabby when you think about it. Also, 3 out of the 4 major carriers ONLY offer unlimited data for handsets. Only AT&T is stuck in the limited bucket-type mentality, though they do have an unlimited option. Prepaid data, however, in the US, is not readily available.

3. Corporate stores are overpriced. I have never once seen an instance where you could get a cheaper handset at the Corporate store than you could at an agent location. Why is this a positive thing? Because it means that there is TONS of price competition on handsets and contracts. Competition is always good for the consumer.

4. Handsfree headsets are not only extremely popular, but also used correctly, most of the time. Bluetooth headsets are especially popular here, and even entry-level handsets are now equipped with Bluetooth, so nearly everyone has a Bluetooth-capable phone. Also, it’s not socially ‘wierd’ to see people out and about with their headsets on. I see people of every age, gender, race, religion, etc with Bluetooth headsets, and they’re usually just wearing them, whether or not they’re actively in a call. This also means that a large number of people are familiar enough with their handsets to setup a Bluetooth pairing, and likely have left their handset in ‘Discoverable’ mode.

5. We spend lots of money on electronics. When the world’s largest retailer starts pushing iPods, laptops, and big-screen TVs, that tells you something. Toss in chains such as Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Fry’s Electronics, and it’s no secret that Americans like to buy toys. With entrants such as the iPhone and the Blackberry Pearl, U.S. consumers are awakening to the idea of a handset being a toy, and thus are willing to spend a bit more on it. Also, over the past 3 years, I’ve personally noticed an increase in people who, once their contract has expired, would much prefer to stay month-to-month and pay full retail for a handset. Note that this is a trend that is slowly happening, and the users are typically those mentioned in #1 above, as well.

6. We get disgusting amounts of minutes. I use nearly 4,000 minutes/month, however, I’m on AT&T’s $40/month plan with 450 Anytime minutes. How do I use so many minutes with no overage fees? Mobile-to-Mobile are unlimited. That means anytime I use my AT&T cellphone to call another AT&T cellphone, it doesn’t cost any minutes. I could call and talk continuously all month to another AT&T cellphone and not use a single minute. It’s amazing. However, we do pay for both incoming and outgoing minutes (as well as messaging).

7. The carriers are getting creative. This Thanksgiving weekend, T-Mobile unveiled the most aggresive and creative offer I’ve seen in the mobile industry in 3 years. Just for signing up for one of their new MyFaves plans (and a new 2-year contract), you get a FREE Blackberry Pearl, a $50 bill credit, an additional $50 Sam’s Club gift card (if you get it all setup at Sam’s Club), AND a Round-Trip AIRLINE TICKET!! Yes, that’s correct, an airline ticket. Amazing. How long will it be before other carriers start offering similar packages?

See, I told you the US market isn’t nearly as bleak as you once thought!

thestar.com - Lower cellphone rates ahead?

Citing a need for cheaper cellphone rates and better service, the federal government has taken a key step toward promoting competition in Canada’s $12.7 billion wireless sector by setting aside a slice of the airwaves for would-be service providers.

The government’s long-awaited decision comes amid rising concern about the state of wireless competition in Canada, where the three major national players – Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. – collectively control about 95 per cent of market.

Yay! Here’s hoping it gets better…

AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson was quoted by Bloomberg yesterday at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California as saying that the 3G iPhone will be available sometime in 2008. Stephenson was asked about when the 3G version of the popular handset would be available and responded, “You’ll have it next year.”

AT&T’s 3G network operates on the 850/1900MHz WCDMA bands, which are different from the 2100MHz used by the rest of the world. When asked about the lack of 3G in the current iPhone, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, maintained that reduced battery life was the main concern. The question remains, will a 3G iPhone be tri-band 3G, or will Apple create 2 different versions, one for the US, and one for the rest of the world?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend today regarding the recent announcement of France Telecom’s Orange and their pricing of the iPhone. According to sources, you’ll be able to purchase the iPhone unlocked for 749 EUR (649 for the phone, another 100 for the on-the-spot unlocking). Of course, you’ll still be hooked into a contract with Orange, but at least your iPhone will be unlocked, right?

Am I the only one who thinks that US iPhone owners should be IRATE? Here in the States, we’ve had the iPhone through 3 firmware updates, all of which relocked our iPhones, along with a warning from Jobs that Apple would continue to work against the unlockers. Officially, unlocking your iPhone in the US means a voided warranty, because apparently doing so could seriously damage your handset.

However, in France, it’s not only easy, it’s officially offered and endorsed. Rumor has it that they’ll be using iTunes to perform the unlock, as well! So somewhere between the US and France, Apple’s iPhone became safe to unlock? Does anyone else think that US owners should be marching themselves down to every Apple and AT&T store to demand their iPhone be unlocked on the spot, since it’s obviously able to be done?

Frankly I’m surprised there’s not more todo about the whole thing.

Yes, I am now named Antonio, living in Wood Green and studying Psychology part time.

Why?

Well that’s the persona that I’ve been assigned by the Blyk chaps. For a while I’ve been after an account on Blyk to check out the service properly. My younger brother Fraser hasn’t yet got off his arse and sorted out his Blyk account ergo I’ve been sat staring at the walls for a few months like everyone else aged 25+ wondering if the really cool stuff we saw at the Blyk launch was actually happening.

It is happening. I know because I’ve been added to the Blyk system with the following profile:

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Name: Antonio
Location: Wood Green, London, UK
Where are you living: Rented
Are you studying? Part Time
Where are you studying? University
What are you studying? Psychology
Are you working? Full-time
Relationship status: Dating
Do you have kids? No

So that’s me. But it’s not all. I’ve been kitted out with a whole load of other preferences (I like Hip Hop, R&B but not Pop) plus I watch Football, Winter Sports and Pool. I don’t go out to the theatre but I do eat at restaurants…

.. and so on, and so on.

It’s a hugely comprehensive persona that they’ve created.

My job? Live the life — virtually — as Antonio over the next few weeks and see how Blyk interacts with me.

Blyk’s given me a Sony Ericsson K800i for the time being, loaded in with a Blyk SIM:

That SIM is attached to my ‘Antonio’ profile. So, shortly, I should start receiving up to 6 communications per day that, if I check my profile (it’s like being a spy, this), should match with my tastes.

I’m going to document them as I go.

It’s all go at mobile advertising giant, AdMob. I had a note in from Jason Spero, VP of Marketing there.

Here’s his email text:

We’ve just released the second monthly AdMob Mobile Metrics with October data.  In response to overwhelming interest in the initial September report, we have added additional data to include the top 20 handsets per country market.

Some observations from the October data:

- AdMob Network impressions were up 3%, driven by growth in Europe
- Motorola KRZR gained US share to claim the top handset position
- Apple iPhone doubled US share from 0.4% to 0.9%
- The top 20 devices represent 50% of impressions in individual markets

If you’re not already familiar with the AdMob Mobile Metrics, this is a new report with market level data derived from data collected by AdMob.  We hope that this data snapshot will provide insight into trends in the mobile ecosystem and expect that this data will be valuable for site publishers, advertisers and content and application developers.

Find the report here

This is potentially one of the world’s most valuable pieces of mobile market data in the context of the mobile internet. It’s all very well getting a report from Gartner to tell you that a billion people ‘might’ do something… but this data from AdMob is straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were. The AdMob stats only cover handsets they’ve actually tracked from people using mobile internet. Yes there are issues if you’re a data realist (not all sites run AdMob etc etc) but it’s still a fascinating snapshot.

You can, with a reasonably accurate look of confidence on your face, explain to people that 31% of mobile internet users are browsing with a Nokia. Annoyingly, the Motorola RAZR is the most popular handset version, worldwide. Sony Ericsson, RIM, Samsung and Sanyo models also feature in the top 20. No LG handsets featured in the top 20. Oh dear.

A vomit enducing 14% of US mobile internet browsers do so with their piece of shit Motorola RAZRs and KRZRs. Goodness me. An AdMob advert must take up half the sodding screen on a shitty Motorola browser. We move on. Good to see the iPhone impressions lift from 0.4 to 0.9% in October which indicates the devices are getting a bit of use on the web.

More from the report?

Well, 65% of Indian mobile users are on a Nokia. Top marks Nokia.

But in the UK? Dramatically different. The top manufacturer for UK mobile internet browsers is Sony Ericsson (32%) followed by Nokia (24%), Samsung (9%), Motorola (Shit - 5%), NEC (3.8% — this must surely be the 3UK installed base of NEC handsets? Who else is flogging NECs? They don’t even operate in the UK handset market any more!), LG (3.5%) and ZTE (2.8%).

ZTE, in case you were wondering, are the China handset manufacturer. Although I couldn’t pick a ZTE out of a Police line up at 10 paces.

How in the world did a ZTE F866 handset get to be the fifth most popular handset in the UK for mobile internet browsing?

Ahh. Did a bit of research. 3UK launched the ZTE F866 model, way back.

Sony Ericsson K800i users are the most active mobile internet users in the UK according to these stats (5.6% of impressions).

And Windows Mobile? Rubbish.

Absolutely rubbish. They’re not even on the list. So bad, they’re lumped in with the ‘other’ category. To be expected though. They’re hardly consumer handsets.

You can have a look at the AdMob metrics here.

Lincoln Murphy emailed me to ask for some pointers for his research project. Whilst I’m always up for waxing lyrical about what I reckon is going on, I thought it might be a bit more useful to cast the net wider for him. Lincoln is wondering if aggregators and large ASPs take an active role in the success of their lower-tier clients. Some do, I know. However I’m not so sure if everyone does. In fact I can recall coversations with some aggregators who don’t want to do business with smaller clients (offering obviously less traffic and of course, less revenue.)

I’m going to plug him into SMS Text News sponsor, Clickatell too. However if you’ve got time, perhaps you could knock over your perspective to Lincoln. Here’s what he’s looking for:

I’m working on a research project based around the relationship between upper-tier mobile service providers in the United States (network aggregators and top-tier ASPs) and their clients (smaller ASPs, pureplay mobile companies, SaaS integrated, etc.) The goal of my research is to find out if aggregators and large ASPs take an active role in the success of their lower-tier clients. Do the upper-tier providers consider this a distribution channel relationship or do they look at it as purely a “customer/vendor” relationship?

Additionally, I am interested in what challenges clients of ASPs and network aggregators are facing, what type of post-sales support their service provider offers, how much assistance and/or guidance the service providers gives them, etc. I am aware of the network/technical monitoring that aggregators and ASPs will do, and that there might be notifications made by account reps if there is a drop in SMS traffic. However, that is not the type of post-sales support that I’m researching.

I am intrigued to see what the readers of SMS Text News have to say about their experiences in working with upper-tier service providers. Of course, I would also love to hear from aggregators and top-tier ASPs about what they do to help their lower-tier clients develop their businesses.

Thanks,

Lincoln Murphy
http://www.lincolnmurphy.com
lincoln[at]lincolnmurphy[dot]com

The fact my imported iPhone is stuck limping along on a T-Mobile connection is seared into my consciousness when I’m stood next to a few folk pressing, squeezing and flicking through their UK iPhones using o2’s Edge. My experience of Edge is reasonably good so far on the devices I’ve tried. Faster GPRS, basically — however it’s definitely second generation. There ain’t no third generation about it… not yet, anyway. A fact lost on the chaps at the Carphone Warehouse integrated into the Selfridges store. So reports Andrew Grill on his blog.

Andrew’s given me permission to replicate his experience thus (replete with photo live from the scene):

- - -

I was in the Selfridges Carphone Warehouse store on the weekend in Oxford street, and I happened to walk past the in-store iPhone stand (shown on the left). As I was playing with one of the iPhones on display, I overheard the sales pitch from one of the young sales people to a couple of young girls. What caught my attention was when he was showing the internet browser and said “…superfast internet…with 3.5G technology”. Hang on a second, we all know the current iPhone is limited to EDGE speeds (2.75G - 236Kbs maximum data rates). The other troubling part of the pitch was when he said it was locked to the O2 network. the girls asked “can’t we unlock it?”, to which the sales assistant offered “I’m not supposed to tell you this but you can”.

The girls walked off, but I asked him if he had said “3.5G technology” instead of EDGE and he shrugged his shoulders and just said “they’re girls…you know..” and then kept repeating the phrase “EDGE technology” as I walked off.

One wonders if this is the standard pitch when people ask about the data speeds when the iPhone is on a cellular network. Granted, when connected to a WiFi network the iPhone will provide superfast speeds but those not in the telco industry may not know the device is not a 3G device.

- - -

Gahhh. I suppose it’s OK telling white lies to ‘girls’ who wouldn’t care anyway?

Or is it? Does the Carphone Warehouse chap actually understand (or care) about the difference between 2/3G devices? I wonder.

Thanks very much Andrew. You can read more of Andrew’s blog here.

Following on from my previous post about Zyb, I wanted to publish that they are on the hunt for some new additions. If you’re on the hunt for a new challenge, do take a look at Zyb — they’re well funded and going places.

Here’s what they’re looking for:

LONDON
PR Manager
Business Development Manager
Operations Manager

COPENHAGEN
Information Architect
Interactive Designer

Interested? Let me to connect you to Chief Operating Officer, Ed, whack me an email and I’ll do so, otherwise contact Zyb directly to apply.

I had a note in from Oli at Daily Networker to let me know that his good friend Ed Bussey has just recently joined Zyb as Chief Operating Officer.

Zyb, everybody’s favourite mobile address book service (and thensome), are going great guns with over 10.6 million unique contacts stored on their service already (The 10.6m figure was from October to figure maybe 11m by now).

I’ve been a super fan of Zyb every since the launched and I found it a piece of simplicity to use — if you recall they got 3 million EURO from Nordic Venture Partners to develop the service.

The Zyb philosophy is one rooted in the belief that, in many ways, the address book is the centre of all things — and it’s a philosophy that I agree with.

I’m going to try and sit down with Ed shortly get an interview with him. Meanwhile, Zyb are recruiting so I’ll post the details in just a moment.

Ah hah! A flurry of Blyk-related news hits the web today. It’s been a while. They’ve not really been talking much, at all, to the industry until now, which has been a real shame. We’ve been Blyk-starved.

First, Carlo’s published an update:

Link: MobHappy » Blog Archive » An Update On Blyk

Jonathan MacDonald, Blyk’s sales director, got in touch after my post a few weeks back questioning some numbers he’d presented at an event. Jonathan got in touch offering some clarification and further details about Blyk’s performance.

More to come…

Cellphones as wallets? RBC, Visa test mobile technology

Royal Bank of Canada and Visa Canada announced Thursday they are testing technology that would allow people to use their cellphones as electronic wallets.

The bank and credit card company said they are launching an Ontario-based pilot project, to be conducted in three stages in 2008, that would allow consumers to simply swipe their phone in front of a scanner to make simple purchases.

See I told you! Canada is catching on!

Today Google released an update to its Google Maps Mobile application, and has added support for Virtual GPS. Dubbed ‘My Location’, the new feature uses cell tower triangulation and talks to the towers that you are using at the time. It then displays this information as an approximate location on the map, allowing you to easily figure out where you are, and then use Google’s already powerful Maps Mobile application to see where you want to go.

Google has also put together this fun little video, explaining how it works. Since this isn’t true GPS, the location is not going to be 100% accurate, but at least it gives you a better idea of where you are, and it’s alot easier than being in a strange place and trying to locate your current location for a navigation application.

If you don’t remember, Google recently purchased Jaiku, a micro-social-blogging service that uses a similar feature to update a users location via the mobile client. Hopefully we all see what’s coming next - the ability for advertisers to purchase mobile mapping ads. Since My Location does not require a GPS chip in the handset, it works with nearly any handset on the market.

The video, which you can watch here, states that personally identifiable information is not shared with Google, but what do you think? Is this a bit scary, or incredibly useful?

ROK, the UK based mobile technology company, has recently acquired Fun Little Movies (FLM) to jointly offer made-for-mobile video content to carriers around the world. Today, Reeltime.com, an internet television network, has announced an agreement with FLM and ROK to allow them to distribute ReelTime’s programs and content to its network of partners.

ROK has distribution deals with several US carriers such as Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T, as well as international carriers in China, Japan, Europe, Africa, and South America. ROK is also available directly to consumers on Nokia’s Eseries handsets through the Nokia Download! application.

ReelTime.com is in the process of rolling out high-resolution video streaming, and is excited to be able to offer FLM’s video ’shorts’ in addition to their library of feature films. FLM and ROK are also excited to be able to offer ReelTime.com’s library to their partners.

Sounds like a win-win situation, though I’m not entirely sold on watching feature films on my handset, at least while they’re streamed and not locally stored.

Nokia’s Latest ‘Music Phone’ The N81 8GB.

First off can I state, for the record, that I tried.
I tried and I tried and I tried.
I really did!

Whenever I get a new handset I am aware there’s that ‘bedding in’ period of a couple of days where you have to get used to the nuances in the UI and re-learn the layout of the buttons etc… (you can stop grinning now you there at the back with the iPhone) …so please believe me when I say I was chuffed to bits when I got an email from those lovely people (and friends of SMSText News) over at Nokia WOMWorld asking me if I’d like to Trial their latest music device - the Nokia N81 8GB.

My response? YES PLEASE!
Always happy to try out the latest handsets - they’ve sent me a couple before and irrespective of whether I liked the phone or not - it’s always been nice just having a play, y’know?

So, before I rant, here’s the good stuff:

The slider mechanism is the nicest to date. Every hand I’ve put it in has resulted in a ‘Ooooo… that’s nice’.
Taking photos is now easier. Simply hold down the ‘Shoot’ button to boot the cam and you’re away, (a’la the newer N95 models).
And that… is… Oop no - sorry - it’s got a really nice screen too. Yeah, that too.
Ok - that’s it.

Now for the bad stuff:

A complete lack of joined up thinking through the entire design of the handset.
Yes it’s a phone. Yes it does all the things a phone should do but it’s the little things that get me.

For instance:

The ‘c’ button is right next to the ‘play/pause’ music button. AARGH! Sorry. I say ‘right next to’ I mean ‘may as well be the same button’.
That’s right - a negative button right next to a positive button. By pushing the button that I want to stop doing something I accidentally push the button that starts doing something.
In this instance Kate Nash starts blaring out at me whenever I try and correct a misspelt SMS!

That ONE thing frustrated me SO much that within a week I went back to my N95. For the record you have NO IDEA how hard it was to not go back after day one. “No” I told myself “You must TRY and use it properly” -
(so good luck to Ewan on his ‘Normob Challenge’, I know I couldn’t do it)

There are a couple of other things that annoyed me - the overall ‘feel’ of the handset is a bit too plastic-like for my tastes. It’s like one of those dummy models you might find on the shelf of your local P4U.
The keylock system has changed. The N81 now features a ‘flick’ switch on the top that locks and unlocks with a quick flick. Which is fine up until it gets stuck in the flicked position where upon the phone continuously locks and unlocks until you un-jam the button.

*sigh*

Don’t get me wrong - Operators/Nokia will probably sell a bunch of them this Christmas as the cheaper alternative to the iPhone. What with it having an 8GB internal memory and being about £200 cheaper on an a similar contract. Yeah, why not?
It’s EVEN got the ipod-esque ‘Navi-Wheel’ - but even that has managed to become an annoyance…

(WHY have something as a USP on a handset and not even have it switched on out of the box?! YES. That’s right. You have to go in to your phone’s settings and manually switch the Navi-Wheel to ‘ON’ to actually get it to work)

The whole phone feels completely rushed and not thought through at all.
When shopping for a new phone this Christmas by all means have a look at the N81 and have a play too.. but I personally would not recommend it.

You (and Nokia) can do a whole lot better.

Have you checked out Fluc? I had a note from founder Tim Davis at the weekend. I’ve been taking a look in-depth and working out a piece in my head to post. However I haven’t managed to do that yet and I wanted to get the word out.

Here’s the background:

The Fluc Team is a small group of people that want to change the world of mobile phones. We believe if we know your interests and location, we can deliver free content to your mobile which is highly relevant. Better yet, this content will be about things you like, and we will pay you - and every friend you refer - cash for receiving it. The more relevant the information you provide us when you Sign Up, the more we can tailor and deliver content to your mobile phone which you will want to receive.

Who’s coming to Unlimited Drinks next Monday in London?

I’ve got tons of people on the list. Tons. There are not many places left so if you haven’t dropped me a note to say you’re coming, please do so — email ewan@smstextnews.com with the subject UNLIMITED DRINKS = YES.

The full event details are here.

(If you’re heading to MoMo London to talk voice and then planning on dropping by after, that’s cool, just make sure we’re expecting you!)

I just had a note in from Mark, CEO at Ticket Text to let me know that they’ll have some news tomorrow.

I’m very excited for them. I’ve always really liked the concept of just using my handset to get access to a venue, rather than having to worry about paper tickets arriving, then having to remember them.

So, should have some big news from Mark shortly.

The top chap at interactive production company, Endemol, was quoted in today’s Guardian saying that the recent premium rate scandals have permanently damaged the market in the UK. I’m not surprised given the amount of newspaper and TV headlines about it. That sort of thing gets into the consumer mindset very quickly and is extremely hard to change.

Link: Call-TV scandals have damaged UK market, says Endemol group boss | Media | Guardian Unlimited

The chairman and chief executive of the Endemol group has said the recent scandals surrounding participation TV have permanently damaged the market in the UK.

The KGB have either relented or, what’s more likely, been given the relevant access codes so they can decrypt the traffic. If you’re in Russia, sometime early next year, the Blackberry is coming soon…

Link: undefined

Russian mobile carriers MTS and VimpelCom will start selling Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry from next year, having finally received clearance from the country’s security services. The US company says it has approval from regulators including the KGB successor FSB, to start selling the smartphone in Q1 next year. The permission is valid for one year.

MTS and VimpelCom have tried for several years to sell the BlackBerry in Russia, but FSB required that RIM provides codes it uses to encrypt traffic, says Reuters. As a result, people could use the device in Russia only with foreign SIM cards. Last month, Ukraine was the first of the former Soviet Union members to sell it, through MTS’s network.

As much as I’m annoyed by walking into a supposedly ‘The Cloud-WiFi’ connected pub in Hartlepool and finding no connection, I really have to say I’m continually delighted by the fact that The Cloud does, generally speaking, work. Very well. When I arrived at Liverpool Street Station, I was able to do that very geeky but rather satisfying sigh. It’s an internal sigh of relief, of connectivity. If you’re an ultra geek, I’m sure you’ll understand.

I flipped open the laptop and did a further sigh of relief when I saw the “WiFi Zone - The Cloud” SSID flash across the top of my screen as I connected.

I would like to avoid having to login every time, although their cookie (or, perhaps Safari’s own password ‘rememberer’) fills in my details automatically. I would like it if all my devices suddenly got wifi access when they came into a The Cloud zone — multiple mac addresses per account. That would be a useful addition.

If you’re a bluepulse user, you probably noticed that they released a new version lately, and today they’re announcing the launch of their new bluepulse launcher. Bluepulse is a combination social network and instant messenger, right on your mobile handset. With a universal inbox and outbox, it’s easy to use bluepulse to keep in touch with your friends, family, and anyone else you want to.

Their new bluepulse launcher software allows one-stop messaging, without having to open the mobile site. It also remembers your username and password, making it even more convenient to keep your finger on the pulse. Mobile widgets are also now available through the launcher, including horoscopes, webcams, and whatever else you can think of!

If you’ve already got bluepulse on your handset, all you need to do is login, and it will update itself. If you don’t have bluepulse yet, direct your mobile handset’s browser to bluepulse.com, and get connected!