Shout About Mobiles

Whilst at work today, I have had about 4 different conversations with the opening line “my contact is up for renewal and I need a new phone, what should I get?”.

I always ask, what do you want it to do - and 3 times out of today’s 4, they have said, “exactly what my old one does”.

ARGH!!!!

“Why change the phone if it still does what you need it to?” I ask. “Erm…” they say.

I like shiney new things, and a phone is one of the coolest new toys you can have, but why try to fix what is not broke??

Remeber the early days of mobile phones, when the “upgrades” included which handset had more options for changable covers?! Tigger or cars or patterns or naked ladies - whatever cover you could get decided what phone you chose.

And I quite liked that choice. I don’t think there is a new phone on the market you can customise (case wise) these days.

But the internal customisation seems limitless! I love the little spirit level on the iPod - I don’t need it in any way, shape or form, but it’s nifty.

But my inner chav sometimes says I should get a phone that I can put a Tigger case on…

With the release of the Toshiba TG01 this month in the UK, we will be subjected to the power of the Snapdragon hidden within its 10mm thin casing.
A snapdragon?
Yes, it’s the 1 GHz processer that rages within the three new super phones that Toshiba are releasing shortly.

This is big and new and scary - to think that my little netbook that I am typing this up on only has a 1.1ghz processor…. and the previous Smartphone’s all have around 500mhz or less with the odd one or two powerhouses storming around with a mere 600mhz… WOW!

We have to ask, why?

I know I’m not the biggest fan of Windows Mobile but I have to say I have never moaned about how slow to load they are. So why make it faster?
True, as a Smartphone the speed in which to turn one on is never great, but the general usage has never made me think, “hmm, could do with a good GHz of processor in here to make it work like a dream”. Don’t get me wrong, as soon as I get to have a play on the TG01 or any of its brothers, I will be loading as many applications as I can to see what it can take before it gives up the ghost, but I don’t think it would be needed too much in a general day to day use.

Windows 6.5 is coming soon!

With its release, most new phones that are currently running Windows Mobile are announcing whether or not they are going to come out of the box with the shiny new platform already installed, or if they are going to come with the option for their users to be able to get a free upgrade.

The new 6.5 software is meant to come with a new and better set up user interface. However, I think that it will just be a brand new face, rather than a good overhaul that the dying software needs to bring in new users.

As we see more and more companies are starting to use Google’s Android operating system (with Samsung expected to release theirs shortly, and LG and Sony Ericson having already announced that they are going to be releasing android powered handsets), the end may indeed be nigh for Windows Mobile.

As we approach the end of O2’s grip of the various forms of the Apple iPhone (we currently have the iPhone, iPhone 3g and the recently released iPhone 3GS), Apple has just announce that they have a good hold on the next all singing, all dancing phone - the Palm Pre.

Apple have now announced that they will be releasing it before Christmas -  so all us geeks will have a new toy to play with come Christmas morning! I have personally been waiting for this phone for ages, and will be glad when I get to try it out.

Now, the big question is; will everybody jump ship back to their preferred network now that everyone can sell the iPhone, or will it be a case of “Pre” fever hitting the UK and keeping O2’s sales up?

I know that in the USA upon release of the Pre, there were people queuing overnight to get hold of one. Reports were flooding America that Spirit and Palm knew they couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Will the same happen here in the UK or will it just be the Smartphone lovers that get caught in the headlights?
Palm has never been seen in a great light in the UK, and this maybe their day, but I have a bad feeling that I will be part of the minority, and not the majority, when I spend my Christmas wirelessly charging my Pre on its charging dock.

Well, my first response to this news article was “WHAT THE HECK?! I do not want my number given out to anyone!” I got very annoyed at the idea that anyone can get hold of my number - a name and address is not tricky to find, and from that they then have my mobile number, which is always on and always with me.

Very scary! It just adds to this feeling that Big Brother is watching you - not a fan at all.

I make sure all boxes on the ridiculous online forms are not selected or ticked to be excluded, so noone but those I give my number to should have it. Now though, it appears that if I missed one little box, or marketers have my number from places, then I could be “at risk”.

Freaky…

I had a look to see how easy it was to take yourself off the list, and I’m still no clearer on how to do it.

I went to www.mobile118.co.u, and then to www.118optout.co.uk and finally to the remove me inner pages of www.118800.co.uk- and I still do not know if my number is on the dratted service!