The pace quickens on converged services

In November Orange will launch a converged service of mobile fixed line and broadband in the UK called Unique. However it seems the service will not be standing out in the market for very long as other operators are hot on their heels.

Oranges Unique Phone is designed to combine fixed and mobile services within one handset. In the home customers will be connected via Wi-Fi mode to the Orange Livebox hub and calls are routed through the Internet.

Sanjiv Ahuja CEO of Orange said: With Unique Phone you can now enjoy the freedom of the Orange mobile network and get even better value when youre at home. With one phone one number one address book and one bill were making it simpler more convenient and more cost effective for our customers to communicate.

The Livebox can have up to six Unique handsets with up to three able to call simultaneously at any one time. Unique is only available on Canary 50 or Panther 65 tariffs so customers with families would have to pay at least 50 per handset per month. However Orange said that a family option would be available next year.

Customers on the Canary 50 price plan will receive 600 minutes and 400 texts as well as unlimited calls to UK landlines and Orange mobiles when at home.

Another drawback of the service is that customers will only have a mobile number. This means people who contact them will have to pay a higher rate even when customers are at home.

However the package does allow customers to move freely between mobile and home networks without interrupting their conversation a call that starts inside the home remains covered by the unlimited landline offer even when they leave.

The service is similar to BT Fusion which launched in June 2005 and currently uses Bluetooth to connect to the hub while at home and uses the Vodafone network when away.

A spokesman for BT Fusion said: Orange has now decided to follow a similar convergence strategy to BT so theres nothing unique about their service. BT launched a fixed-mobile service BT Fusion as far back as July 2005. Shortly we will be launching BT Fusion dual-mode Wi-Fi and mobile handsets. BT has been supporting our converged handset for more than a year and our strategy is to offer the best connectivity for customers at home through wireless Total Broadband out and about through WiFi and BT Mobile in other areas.

In the same week as the Unique announcement NTL Telewest and Virgin Mobile launched Britains first Quadplay package.

The Quadplay 4 for 40 package includes broadband with no limits on downloads digital TV with over 30 channels and on-demand service home phone with unlimited weekend calls to any UK landline and a Virgin Mobile SIM with 300 texts and 300 minutes a month plus free voicemail.

According to reports T-Mobile USA is expected to launch a host of new services including a new generation of Internet phones to attract customers away from both wireless and landline phone companies. Apparently the company plans to release cell phones that can roam onto wireless connections at home and T-Mobiles WiFi hotspots to become the first US carrier to provide an Internet calling service meaning less expensive bills for millions of customers.

<b><u>Sony Ericsson to open dedicated store</u></b>

Sony Ericsson will open a dedicated store in central London at the end of November. Store staff will sell contract pre-pay and upgrade packages with its devices across all networks through a deal with CPW.

The new store will be located on Kensington High Street and be the first of several dedicated Sony Ericsson outlets in key cities throughout the world. Sony Ericsson accessories and PC cards will also feature.

The store design and sales ethos will concentrate on demonstrating device features such as music imaging gaming and connectivity. At street level 7300ft of floor space will be dedicated to the consumer experience according to Sony Ericsson. The basement will be reserved for corporate meetings and demonstrations giving the company a permanent conference space in London.

Sony Ericssons head of global retail Salvatore Dangelo said: Consumers will be able to come in try products in a relaxed state-of-the art retail space experience the very best of the brand and then purchase or upgrade their phone just as they would in a regular store.

The announcement came as Sony Ericsson celebrated five years and introduced a facelift for its green logo. The new-look branding comes in a range of different colours and features with a worded message around the Sony Ericsson logo.

Sony Ericsson president Miles Flint said: The past five years are just the beginning. We intend to make the mobile a hub to a host of personalized experiences from entertainment imaging and music to communications and business.

T-Mobile promises Wi-Fi tweak

T-Mobile has released results from a survey which has prompted the network to shift its focus for its Wi-Fi services.

A shift from enterprise to more individual users means that the network is mulling over new ways of selling the service. In the last 12 months the company has seen a 60 per cent increase in user sessions and a 140 per cent increase in data throughput.

T-Mobile HotSpot manager Jay Saw said: There is also growth in the take up of the service proportionate with the growth in sessions and throughput.

More than half of the respondents said they want to be able to access Wi-Fi on trains. T-Mobile already serves the mainline between London and Brighton with a Wi-Fi network and Saw admitted that the network may look at extending to other commuter rail lines.

Saw also revealed that the survey has prompted T-Mobile to consider positioning the service as an entry level mobile data service to SMEs.

Bluetooth counterfeit clampdown

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) in cooperation with the Chinese police raided a factory in Shenzhen China last week and recovered 20000 counterfeit Bluetooth products.

The goods were seized from the Shenzhen Bluebird Hi-Tech manufacturing facility and included headsets components user manuals and packaging.

The raid is part of a wider education programme by the Bluetooth SIG to highlight the problem of fake Bluetooth products.

Bluetooth SIG executive director Michael Foley said: Bluetooth wireless technology is a global standard – and qualification is a prerequisite for applying the trademark to a product. Bypassing qualification and tests is unfair not only to members who have conformed to the qualification program but also to consumers who often end up buying poor quality products as a result.

Asia Pacific comprises more than half of all Bluetooth SIG members. China ranks among the top three countries in the region in terms of membership.

<b><u>Nokia launches Music Recommenders</u></b>

Nokia is launching a new online music community fronted by David Bowie in November.

Music Recommenders involves forty leading independent music stores from around the world creating customisable music recommendations to share their passions with users online.

Each month experts from stores like Pure Groove (London) Fat Beats (New York) and Hard Wax (Berlin) compile music from their specialist genre. Users can browse the music search according to recommender music or style listen to clips and read updates interviews and city music guides amongst other features.

Bowie will also contribute every month through features and podcasts. He said: Waking up to a new sound or band is something that makes my day just that bit more exciting.

<b><u>Drivers continue to flout phone ban</u></b>

The amount of drivers being prosecuted for using their mobiles while driving has shot up in the past couple of months because drivers are not aware of the legislation.

According to reports web site Wiltshire police have prosecuted 400 motorists in August alone prosecutions in the East Midlands have doubled (rising to 4248 this year from 2148 last year) and convictions for driving while on the phone in Scotland have reached an all-time high of 15000 convictions doubling last year.

The law changed on December 1 2003. However the number of drivers flouting the rules has increased in recent months. It is believed that the Road Safety Bill yet to become law may address this as when it is passed the penalty will be enforcible. There will be a 60 fine and three points put on your licence. However the Bill has already seen several delays and the risks posed by drivers flouting the law remain a major problem.

Andrew Sarssam director of sales at car kits installer Toad said: The message needs to be made clear and drivers should be more concerned about causing an accident than incurring a fine.

<b><u>Parrot launch hands-free with Renault</u></b>

Bluetooth accessories manufacturer Parrot has struck a deal with Renault to pre-install handsfree kits in its cars.

The Parrot CML TB will be available on the Renault Mégane as of October and on all other vehicles from the Renault range shortly. It allows drivers to display handset features such as phone book call log and contact details on the cars dashboard screen and features noise reduction and echo cancellation.

Parrot Group chairman and CEO Henri Seydoux said: This agreement confirms the recognition of our technological expertise.

Mainline dealer sweetener

Orange distributor Mainline Digital Communications is offering its five top-performing dealers in Q4 a trip to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year in January.

All 34 of Mainlines accredited club dealers – its elite customers in terms of volumes and quality of connections – are eligible. Participating dealers will receive air miles for Orange connections and upgrades between now and the end of the year. The five dealers that earn the most air miles at the end of the period will be able to exchange them for the Hong Kong trip.

Mainline head of marketing Gail Hollinshead said: This is the second major incentive that we have offered our club members as part of an ongoing package of benefits and privileges. All our club dealers have an equal chance of winning – regardless of their size.

Nokia launches the N95

Nokia has announced the next handset in their Nseries range – an all-in-one multimedia computer device called the N95.

Marketed under the tag-line what computers have become the N95 has a two-way slide integrated GPS a 5-megapixel camera and is designed to support high-speed mobile networks.

The two-way slide on the device is designed for a numeric keypad to slide out from one end and a dedicated media keypad to slide out from the other converting the screen into full landscape mode for faster transition from computer to multimedia player.

With a 5-megapixel camera the device can be used to capture edit and upload images and video to the Internet.

The N95 can also be used as a personal navigation system as it has built-in GPS and a maps application covering over 100 countries and 15 million location highlights. You can also purchase city guides and voice-guided navigation tools. The handset also supports a number of musical formats as well as a stereo FM radio and integrated speakers offering 3D effect.

It is designed for HSDPA networks with support for WLAN EDGE and WCDMA networks. This means the device is up to 10-times faster than 3G when browsing the Internet reading e-mail streaming video and downloading large files.

Nokias Annssi Vanjoki said: The N95 brings a range of multimedia ingredients together making it the ultimate multimedia computer.

T-Mobile launches Street Check service

From this week T-mobile has launched an in-store service to check signal availability for customers.

Street Check allows store staff to demonstrate the level of T-Mobile service over a chosen area from the store EPOS terminal. Customers can choose three postcodes to check. Areas with poor signal strength show up clearly in white.

According to T-Mobile marketing director Phil Chapman the service is central to the networks brand image: We are pleased to be the only network who offers this sort of information at street level. The brand is built on trust. You get trust when you are simple to understand.

Streetcheck is available in T-Mobile owned stores along with a 14-day grace returns policy if there are still availability problems.