Mobile Stew

In the UK nearly 7% of all chart music bought this year has been
downloaded through a mobile service, according to the Official UK
Charts Company (OCC)  .That represents nearly 70,000 chart singles bought every week by people on the move.

I find this astounding and I think it proves that Nokia's assertion that its handsets will soon prove a threat to the Apple iPod's dominance may prove true.  I wonder how Apple will counter the threat of mobiles, particularly as many people pay nothing or very little for their handsets - why would you buy an iPod when your 'free' phone works just as well?

It's almost here.  The Nokia N80 will be available from Vodafone UK on April 20th.  I can't wait to get this phone as I'm certain I will be able to find a way to make VoIP calls using the Wi-Fi.  I also think it will be my last phone upgrade for a while as the phone's form factor is just right to fit in my pocket, without it being so small that I keep dropping the phone or sacrifice screen size for browsing.

One of my mate's is going for the N91 instead which previously was the phone I was waiting for, so I'll be able to do a comparison of the two when they come out.

Skype and 3 launched 3G data card, which enables subscribers to make cheaper VoIP calls.

Currently the card is priced at £ 39.99 and is bundled with the special
starter pack provided by skype which includes Skype software, a Skype
headset and a Skype starter voucher.

Users hoping to get the card at the cheapest price - £ 39.99 will have to opt
for the Web and Office 512 package priced at £45 per month. However users will
get half a Gb of data bundled in each month.



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This week, Sony Ericsson has signed a deal with Google, which enablesSony Ericsson to integrate Google's Blogger.com and Google Web Searchfeatures on all of its future mobile phones.

This meansblogger.com account holder with the new Sony Ericsson phone can writeand post content to his blog on the move using the bundles software. Soyou can post content to your blog even on a vacation, travel or awayfrom a computer. This is the first any mobile handsent manfacturerporviding this kind of features related to blogging. This shows howpopular is blogging in the present internet era and it looks likesurely this is going to be a hit feature.

READ MORE HERE

Vodafone is set to launch its own brand of handsets after signing a five-year deal with China's Huawei Technologies.  I'm surprised that Vodafone hadn't done this already.  I don't think we will be seeing cutting-edge smartphones, but rather good value mass-market phones.

This could have a major impact on the sales of Nokia, Sony Ericsson etc if Vodafone try to dominate the middle of the market.

I've been doing a review of my finances over the last month or so.  No item has been spared, no matter how small, and I noticed that I was hardly making any calls with my Vonage home phone.

I had a quick look around to see if there was a way to connect my DECT home phone to Skype and I found the uConnect VoIP Converter. This great little device will plugs into a USB port and can connect to any home phone, allowing me to make calls both to Skype users and SkypeOut calls using my handsets.  So, I've made the switch to Skype as there's no monthly service charge, and the international rates, which I need to call my folks in Jamaica, are just as cheap....

Fantastic.  I've been hanging onto my Nokia 6680 for quite a long time, firstly waiting for the Nokia N91 to upgrade to and then the Nokia N80.  Well Vodafone have just emailed me to say that the N80 will be available in the UK in April.

Did anyone ever pick up a N90 or a N91?  I think there must have been problems with these phones, or the networks showed little interest as these never phones never made it to the UK, with the second generation of N-Series phones launching before the first.

The Guardian Technology Blog poses an interesting question today:  'Is Mobile TV the new MMS?'

Do you remember how exactly a year ago the mobile networks were touting Video Calling as the killer app for 3G, and exactly a year before that they were singing the praises of MMS?  It's amazing how these new killer apps that require handset upgrades seem to occur at the end of the year when the majority of handsets get sold....

I've never been a big user of MMS as I find the interface too fiddly, although I'm a big texter - I probably send around 400 a month.  As for vid

Nokia have stated that they plan to launch phones with built-in SIP clients in the first half of 2006.  This would allow mobile users to make VoIP calls, potentially for free, depending on which VoIP service is used.  Unfortunately for all of you Skype users, Skype uses a proprietary protocol, so you won't be able to access your account.

In a move I think to appease the mobile networks, Nokia also said that users won't be able to roam between a mobile network and a WLAN/VoIP network i.e. you won't be able to switch between both types of networks and charging models whilst in-call.

I've just read AllAboutSymbian's review of the new Nokia N80 and if I wasn't sure whether or not to get one before, I am now.  The report couldn't be more glowing:

In November 2002, The Economist featured the Nokia 7650 onits cover, saying it heralded 'Computing's new shape'. Three years on,the N80 is the natural successor to the 7650, both in terms ofsignificance and iconic design. The 7650 signaled the coming of thesmartphone, I think the N80 heralds fulfillment of the early promise;to borrow a phrase, the 7650 was the beginning, the N80 is the end ofthe beginning.

This will be the ULTIMATE smartphone next year.  If you are planning an upgrade in the next couple of months like me I would hold out ...