Staff Reporter

UK Broadband a subsidiary of Hong Kong telecoms provider PCCW has bought the network sites belonging to the failed company for an undisclosed fee.

We have made a purchase of Dolphins sites said a UK Broadband spokesman. A pilot project is under way in the Thames Valley. We are going to see how that goes and we will make an announcement at the end of the summer.

Administrator KPMG had put Dolphins assets up for sale after it failed to find a buyer for the company. London Buses could take on part of Dolphins network and KPMG said it was close to finding a buyer for the rest of Dolphins infrastructure assets.

Dolphin went into administration on March 26 and we brought about a significant sale on June 18 said Richard Heis administrator and partner at KPMG.

Initially we did try to sell it as an all-in-one solution. We came pretty close but some of the interested parties had difficulties with the money while others saw problems elsewhere.

He went on: It is by no means a dead option and there are still various things we can do with the Tatra equipment. We are hopeful that a deal will still be done and we are in close discussions with one party.

Dolphin distributors remain confident they can switch Dolphin customers to other wireless services.

They have been delighted with the service said Tom Quigley managing director of Dolphin distributor Airsys. Sadly there werent enough customers to make it a viable business.

He went on: The market shows that there is a need for Dolphin but not enough of a need to justify the level of investment. For us its just one of those things.

We will provide Dolphin customers with other solutions and enjoy the profits from the alternatives. There are cellular and private radio networks. Solutions will be found on a case-by-case basis. Were talking to Dolphins customers who remain philosophical said Quigley.

Dolphin launched in August 1999 on the promise of cheap push-to-talk services and mobile telephony in one handset.

It went into administration two years later after accumulating debts of $1.2 billion. The firm came back out of administration when specialist wireless operator Inquam eventually bought the business and its assets for 25 million.

The UK operation that Inquam acquired then included a 45000 customer base a number of offices including the headquarters in Basingstoke a network that covered 93 per cent of the UK population and more than 1000 base stations.

By April this year however the customer base was down to 24000 and base station numbers to 980.

Inquam Telecom too went into administration earlier this year as it had been unable to develop the business as it wished.

Vodafone will open 10 new Vodafone Experience Stores this financial year and refurbish existing ones.

Vodafone Experience stores include interactive demonstration areas and plasma-screen TVs to let customers trial services.

The first of the new Experience stores opened in Basingstoke last week. Among the new features is a business lounge to showcase the networks 3G data card and other business solutions.

Staff at these flagship stores undergo four weeks of training which focus on business as well as consumer solutions.

The layout of the shops has been redesigned as well said a Vodafone spokesman.

The Basingstoke store features curved areas and softer lines instead of the angular look of old. The design of the store is to ensure that the customer environment is the best possible experience.

Prime locations across the country will be chosen for the roll-out of new stores.

Basingstoke was chosen because of the high footfall and its proximity to the M4 corridor.

As well as opening 10 new

Experience stores Vodafone will start a refurbishment programme of existing stores starting with its premier site on Londons Oxford Street.

An unemployed woman has been charged with dishonestly handing a stolen Samsung phone for the benefit of another.

Frances Ntansah (21) of Maida Vale London was remanded on unconditional bail at Horseferry Road Court until today (June 14).

3 has partnered with Sky Sports to offer two-minute video clips of sports bulletins and highlights through its 3G portal Today on 3.

The Sky Sports service already available on the portal adds to the 2003/4 season Premier League highlights already offered by 3 and Barclaycard. Content is edited specifically for 3s 3G videophone technology and can be viewed as it downloads to the handset through 3s QuickPlay video player.

3s football coverage will include game previews and highlights as well as archive footage. The Sky Sports service also offers text information on English and Scottish club sides.

Motorola veteran Richard Evans has left after eight years to take a position with recruitment specialists Wickland Westcott where he will be setting up a telecoms and technology division.

I wanted to pursue a different career and do something different where I could create some business value and get into something more entrepreneurial he said.

To stay at Motorola long-term you have to be dogged and tough. You reach a point when you get to your early 40s and decide whether or not you want to be a corporate citizen or do something different and develop some new skills.

Evans joined Motorola from now-defunct service provider Talkland where he was purchasing director.

At Motorola he was a national sales manager account director and business development director.

Most recently he had been leading various mobile applications businesses in Europe covering areas such as telematics and location-based services.

With all my years in the mobile industry Ive built up a big network of contacts and done a lot of public speaking he said.

With the industry knowledge I have and having done the jobs myself Im able to help people find the right positions.

UK mobile software company Anthropics Technology has made its animated picture-messaging service compatible with mobile phones in the Americas and the Far East.

Anthropics FaceWave Messaging allows users to send picture messages that move in time with their own recorded voice message. Consumers can download the FaceWave application from the web for 6 and choose face bundles to illustrate their recorded message.

The FaceWave application has been available in Europe on UIQ-enabled Sony Ericsson handsets and Symbian-enabled Nokias since December 2003. Anthropics has now made FaceWave available to mobile phone users in the Americas and the Far East on the BREW platform.

O2 will offer marketing companies the opportunity to send bulk MMS messages for the first time through its partnership with mobile solutions provider Netsize.

Picture messaging has presented limited opportunities for brand marketing because it has been restricted to person-to-person messaging.

O2s partnership with Netsize makes it possible for companies to send bulk messages combining image sound and text so that marketing agencies can connect to Netsize and send bulk MMS messages to end users.

The new service claims it will not encourage spam because UK safeguards protect users and it is an opt-in service. Netsize runs the risk of being fined and cut off if it makes the service available to spammers.

Orange has brought out its tiniest smart phone.

The SPV C500 is a third of the size of its predecessor the SPV E200 and is comparable with the size of conventional phones.

The handset weighs 100g measures 108mm x 46mm x 16mm and has a 65000-colour screen.

It launches in the UK and seven countries in Europe next month

The SPV C500 is a marvel of miniaturisation said Orange vice-president of global product management Martin Keogh.

It targets a specific as yet untapped segment of the smartphone market – the professional consumer who wants their world in their pocket not their briefcase.

Because its the size of a consumer phone it bridges the divide between the two and brings all the applications normally associated with a smartphone to a broader consumer market.

Customers told us that they loved the functionality of previous SPV handsets but they wanted a smaller form factor. We havent compromised on performance.

Apart from the smaller size the new smartphone is similar to its predecessor but boasts features such as improved camera resolution and soft buttons that access the camera and the Orange World portal.

The C500 also comes with a memory card loaded with trial Orange business and travel software such as phrase books interactive maps and city guides.

The SPV C500 will be the first of 20 new Orange-branded phones for launch during the second half of 2004.

The network has added Samsung and Siemens to the list of manufacturers of its Orange-branded phone portfolio. The others include Motorola Nokia LG Sony Ericsson Sagem Alcatel and SPV maker HTC.

Phones 4U has kicked off its June promotional package in time for Euro 2004 to encourage more use of content and information on mobile phones specifically via 3G services.

Phones 4U is heavily promoting 3 this month in the hope of a heightened response to its 3G services.

The retailer is offering a free LG u8110 when customers sign up to 3 and a monthly cross-network tariff of 25 for 500 minutes. Phones 4U is also discounting the NEC 313 videophone on ThreePay to 49.95.

Euro 2004 will capture the imagination of the public and is an opportunity for both the consumer and the technology said Phones 4U managing director Peter Green.

The event is very exciting and will receive a massive amount of interest from our target market.

Once people see what kind of information and content they can access through a mobile phone they will be amazed.

The whole value of 3G is the quality of the content Green went on. And on 3 and anywhere else you have video capabilities Euro 2004 offers a great opportunity.

Phones 4U is also offering the Motorola V500 for free on Orange with 50 cashback and double minutes for six months on Orange tariffs of over 25. The Orange 8 text bundle includes double the number of text messages for three months.

Phones 4U will offer a similar promotion to coincide with the Olympics in July.

Phones 4U will run a similar promotion at the Olympics which is another major international sporting event that stimulates public interest. It appeals to a wide range of people each with a specific interest in the event.

A receiver on the Orange tent responds to an SMS message from the camper by glowing orange. The colour is first flashed from an antenna that rises 50cm from the top of the tent and then the whole tent glows orange to guide the camper home. The limited edition tent called the Text-Me-Home Dome will be made available to consumers through 10 festival competitions that will run in UK youth and music magazines.