Jonathan Jensen
Last week I met up with Dave Fraser and Simon Wynn at Devicescape to talk about their plans for the future. I’ve blogged about Devicescape before - it’s a simple software client that manages WiFi connections for mobile devices across private and public WiFi hotspots. It automates the sign-in process using pre-stored security credentials for [...]
Continue ReadingThe Sunday Times picked up the story that 3 is planning to add SkypeOut to their Skypephone package, on top of the existing Skype to Skype and Skype Chat offering. However, buried away in the detail, I noticed that SkypeOut is only supported for international calls. Calls to UK destinations can only be made via [...]
Continue ReadingInteresting to read about Google’s wireless vision. They see an open wireless future where your mobile device or smartphone will use the best available wireless connection, based on a combination of price and availability. Devices will no longer be tethered to one network. This would include 3G, GSM, WiFi, WIMAX, LTE and anything else that [...]
Continue ReadingYesterday I met with Jeff Rice the CEO of DeFi Mobile to discuss the launch of DeFi Global Access. DeFi offers carrier grade VoIP via your mobile handset with flat rate subscription pricing.
What really struck me about DeFi is that in a single service it addresses a number of the gaps in existing VoIP propositions [...]
A few days ago my son dropped into the conversation that he’d like the new iPod Touch for his birthday. Great, I thought, as I’d been looking for ideas (although a little pricy!). However last year he had an iPod Classic and already that’s ancient history (although my wife is going to have it, so [...]
Continue ReadingIf you’re interested in billing then you might want to attend Next Generation Billing 2008 in Budapest.
I’ll be taking part in a discussion on developing a customer-centric approach to billing.
Next Generation Billing 2008
24 – 26 November 2008,
Corinthia Grand Royal Hotel, Budapest
You can find out more details here.
Last week I wrote about Twitter, why I’m a fan and how I use it. This week I’m going to look at some of the applications I use to improve the Twitter experience and make it easier to use. The Twitter API has generated a vast number of Twitter related applications and these are just [...]
Continue ReadingTwitter cropped up in the news recently here in the UK with the announcement that it could no longer justify the cost of delivering Twitter messages by SMS outside the US, Canada & India. Whilst this was a useful feature, the announcement was hardly surprising given that it was costing Twitter up to $1,000 per [...]
Continue ReadingIn my post last Thursday I commented on Rebtel’s dispute with O2 Germany over access to Rebtel numbers. Rebtel has just announced that O2 is no longer blocking these numbers. There’s no detail in the annoucement as to how this was resolved but it would seem that common sense prevailed. This is great news for [...]
Continue ReadingO2 Germany’s recent move to block Rebtel’s access numbers looks like yet another attempt by the big operators to preserve ‘their world’ at the expense of competition and customer choice. Other recent examples include Truphone’s interconnect issues, disabled VoIP clients on operator branded Nokia handsets and specific 07 number ranges excluded from call bundles.
It reminds [...]
Recently I asked readers for their comments on what they think about the mobile service they receive and what they’d like to change. I received some interesting feedback and would like to thank everyone who responded.
There’s no doubt that mobiles have changed peoples’ lives and we all take increased contactability as a fact of life [...]
Continue ReadingI’ve been using Devicescape for a while now on my Nokia E51 and it dramatically improves the WiFi user experience. So what is Devicescape? It’s a free application that runs on your mobile device and automatically logs you in to WiFi networks without the need to enter ID and security credentials each time. This includes [...]
Continue ReadingOver the past few months I’ve written about areas and issues that intrigue and sometimes irritate me. This week I’m going to ask you some questions.
What is it that you like about the mobile industry and what do you hate? I’ve written about what mobiles mean to me and to Normobs but what do they [...]
Continue ReadingI’m on holiday this week so even more dependent on my mobile than usual! Here are some neat tricks for saving money on calls that invariably cost extra …
If you’re on a mobile contract the chances are you will have a bundle of minutes that covers calls to landline (01 & 02) numbers plus mobiles. [...]
Continue ReadingJonathan Jensen’s Thursday slot – SMS, the ultimate Normob service
—
Today I return to the world of Normobs. Everyday there are announcements about great new mobile services, many of them picked up here at SMS Text News. However it puzzles me that one of the oldest and most mature mobile applications still seems to be overlooked [...]
Everyone knows about email phishing and increasingly we’re being warned about the threat of voice phishing. So what is voice phishing? Your phone rings and the caller says he’s from your bank and needs to verify some transactions on your account. But first he needs you to confirm your date of birth and password. Well [...]
Continue ReadingThis week we go to press early because there’s been a lot of debate over the past few days on the subject of voicemail and its future …
—
Fellow SMS Text News contributor (and mobile geek extraordinaire) James Whatley (aka Whatleydude) recently organised some SpinVox accounts for my family. I know I wouldn’t be without SpinVox [...]
Jonathan Jensen’s Thursday slot – Roaming tips for both Normobs and geeks.
—
This week I’m returning to the theme of Normobs and some ideas for saving money when using mobile phones abroad. Last week an email from Ofcom dropped into my inbox. It linked through to a PDF that Ofcom has produced offering consumers (Normobs to [...]
Jonathan Jensen on Thursday – National roaming for 999/112 emergency calls from your mobile?
—
Back in 1991 the EU mandated 112 as a pan European emergency service number and since then its availability has spread across Europe so that now only Bulgaria, among EU countries, has yet to implement it. The idea behind 112 is that [...]
Continue ReadingThis week Jonathan looks at the old issue of mobile coverage and asks what the networks are doing to improve it.
—
It’s been a busy week with Nokia’s launch of the new S60 E71 and E66 handsets. However I’m not going to be covering them here as Ben Smith is already doing them justice elsewhere for [...]
The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get by my inability to tie all my voice messages together in one place. I have several fixed lines, including home and home office, a couple of VoIP services and several mobiles. Whilst I don’t dish out all the numbers to callers, I still receive [...]
Continue ReadingLooking back at customer service in the early 1990’s
—
The other day I was talking to Ewan about customer service and it made me realise just how much this aspect of the mobile world has changed. The move from providing a niche service to going mass market inevitably removed the personal service that the operators offered [...]
Is it time to go mobile only and cut off your landline?
—
More and more I think to myself – do I really need a landline phone at home? A landline always feels to me like a hangover from the days when people called a location, not a person. They phoned the home number and asked [...]
Jonathan Jensen (or Sevendotzero to his friends) looks at Twitterfone – what does it mean and how does it make Twitter more accessible to normobs?
—
Earlier this month, TwitterFone went live. This is the latest venture from telecoms entrepreneur Pat Phelan and adds a new dimension to Twitter by making it simpler to post messages to [...]
Jonathan Jensen’s Thursday slot – this week he’s taking a look at mobile billing and how it’s now part of the drive for convergence.
—
Today I’m looking at mobile billing and some of the factors that make it different to billing for landlines. As the market evolves towards a converged future, mobiles are starting to become [...]
Edgar1013 on 