Anthony, over at the FRESH PLASTIC blog, has spotted that 3 are selling Vuzix Video Glasses on their accessories site.
Vuzix glasses are the kind of gadget that lets you walk the fine line between cool and ridiculous - you might even say they are ‘polarising opinion’. Ho ho. Thank you, I’m here all week. Tip your waitress.
A thin pair of sunglasses with integrated LCD display and headphones, they will let you watch video from any compatible device with only a slight risk that someone will see you and mutter something derisive about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I tried a pair of these a few months ago on a video iPod and the picture quality is great - the ’screen’ appears to float in front of you and you can just about see around/through it to avoid walking in to things.
What is interesting about this from a Pocket Picks point of view is that, although they will work with any AV-out capable device, 3 are pushing them for use with mobile phones like the N95.
While these definitely make watching films easier, I’m not sure if they will take off in a big way due to the embarrassment factor. Who knows, though? A common complaint about mobile video is the titchy screen, so perhaps train carriages will soon be stuffed with silent, shade-wearing movie fans.
MoConDi, the Italian firm behind viral mobile marketing service MeYou reckons it’s set for substantial growth as it readies a wider European launch.
The company reckons it’s attracted 1.3 million subscribers on 3 and Vodafone in Italy. Good news considering it’s soon launching across Europe and the US.
Basically, MeYou is a recommendation-driven platform that operators can offer through their mobile internet portals to drive traffic among like-minded users, who can send recommendations to each other.
MoConDi has gone on record claiming that 64 percent of its users send recommendations to mates, and 24 percent of these actually result in a purchase of content.
If true, these figures are highly promising for MoConDi. No wonder operators are keen to take it onto their services.
[Via Mobile Entertainment]
Woo! Hoo! Britain’s set to get complete 3G/HSDPA coverage from T-Mobile and 3 after they agreed to collaborate on the rollout of their 3G networks.
They reckon that by the end of 2008, they’ll offer almost complete population coverage for 3G in Britain, with noticeable improvements in 3G coverage in urban areas and inside buildings by 2009.
The agreement is the largest of its kind in the world and will speed up the operators’ rollouts of their 3G networks while creating Europe’s most extensive HSDPA network. Aren’t we Brits lucky?
The networks’ 3G licence commitments call for 80% population coverage, which will easily be exceeded by the deal. To handle the logistics and make sure everything runs smoothly, the two operators have also set up a joint venture company called Mobile Broadband Network.
This will run until 2031, so presumably it’ll be handling the rollout of 10G networks or whatever we’ll have by then…
3’s Skypephone users can now call more friends in more countries for free now it’s expanded its Skypephone service, making it available in Sweden, Denmark and Austria. With the UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Italy already covered this means 3 customers can make calls to other Skypephone users across eight countries.
Of course, you can also use your Skyphone to make Skype calls using VoIP to any other Skype user, but at least this time you can both be using your 3G internet phone rather than one person having to be at their computer.
3’s also revealed the top five destination countries its Skyphone users are calling, revealing the types of people who have bought its phone are most likely immigrants calling friends and family back home:
1. UK
2. USA
3. Poland
4. Germany
5. France
Mobile email provider SEVEN is moving into consumer services after a deal to pre-load its Mobile Mail service onto certain 3 handsets.
SEVEN’s Mobile Mail provides push-based mobile email from Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino, as well as access to contacts, calendar and corporate directories. This is the first time the predominantly business-centric service will be available on a consumer device.
Now, employees can use their consumer handset to access their work email while out of work (At least, if they really want to instead of enjoying their time off).
Mobile Mail will be available through 3’s X-Series software platform, while the first consumer device to get Mobile Mail pre-installed will be the Sony Ericsson W660i. Mobile Mail will be found in the messaging menu, accessed with a few keystrokes.
So how much will it cost? Well it’s £5 per month as an add-on, or there are Silver and Gold X-Series packages offering more features for £5 and £10 a month respectively.
Fed up with Vodafone and Nokia getting all the attention about their new music services like MusicStation and Music Store, 3’s launched its own unlimited music service.
3 does offer music downloads through MusicStore, but its Non Stop Music now offers 24-hour music streaming to your handset for a mere 49p a day. Unlike the above services, this is more of a mobile radio service but one that offers a dip-in-and-out user experience.
There are eight genre-based music streams (or ‘stations’) and each plays tracks on a four-hour loop. You can switch between stations at any time and new music will be updated every week.
It sounds like a neat idea but with only four-hour loops it could get a little repetitive very quickly if you listen to it a lot.
3 is launching its own version of T-Mobile’s Flext tariffs on 1 October, called Mix&Match.
Mobile Today has claimed that Mix&Match, dubbed a ‘Flext killer’, will offer much better value to customers who opt for cheaper handsets, compared to those taking the latest hi-end models.
Flext offers bundles that can be divided between minutes and texts by customers. It has proved a massive success for T-Mobile since its launch last year.
The Mix&Match tariffs will come with 100, 300, 500, 700, 900 and 1,100 bundles and like Flext will allow customers to decide how to use their allocation of minutes and texts (One text will equal one minute). For instance, someone on Mix&Match 500 will have 500 minutes to divide between calling minutes and texts as they wish. Customers will also get 300 free on-net (i.e. 3-to-3) minutes a month and free voicemail.
The bundles will range between £15-£27 a month, although this will differ depending on the handset chosen. Mobile Today cited a Sony Ericsson K610i on Mix&Match 500 would raise the cost to £18 a month, while a Nokia N95 on the same tariff would cost £30 a month.
3 website
Sling Media has released its SlingPlayer Mobile application for all Symbian S60 devices after the conclusion of a testing period.
According to Register Hardware, Sling Media has posted a version of SlingPlayer on its website for owners of all Symbian handsets, not just those using 3 X-Series devices, to download.
In November 2006 Sling posted its first Symbian version of SlingPlayer and then in August it announced testing of a new, more open Symbian version, alongside existing versions for Windows, Palm and X-Series Symbian devices.
Of course, Symbian owners still need to own a Slingbox and a Series 60 phone, but at least non-3 users can now stream video from their TV to their phone. However, it seems this new version is slightly different to the original UIQ version released in 2006, which is still only available to 3’s UK customers.
There’s a full list of officially supported S60 handsets, and the download itself, on Sling Media’s website. The software costs £20 to buy, but downloaders get a 30-day trial period to try it out before they have to pay.
UK operators 3 and T-Mobile are reported to be in discussions about sharing their HSDPA high-speed 3G networks in order to cut costs. The deal, which could save the two companies millions in network investment costs, would also speed-up deployment of HSDPA in the UK. Which is good news for us punters.
However, lurking in the corporate bushes is the prospect that T-Mobile could go on to swallow 3 whole, with the latter having been up for sale by its parent Hutchinson Whampoa for some time. If a buy-out by T-Mobile lead to an expansion of 3’s innovative services, such as its X-Series, then we’d be wholeheartedly behind it (there’s nothing worse than a company lingering on the point of sale for months or even years on end).
But corporate acquisitions often lead to less consumer choice rather than more — and for Hutchison to flog-off mobile internet evangelist 3 as the industry stands on the cusp of a mobile internet explosion (thanks to HSDPA) seems perhaps a little short-sighted.
(Via Mobile Today)
Sony Ericsson… What’s wrong with your eyes? The K770 is a nice handset — perhaps a little dull looking — but technically, it’s pretty sweet. The original brown one was vaguely minging, but this purple one (that 3’s shouting about having the UK exclusive rights to) is full-on ming dynasty!
…but if you really must, the purple K770 will be out on 3 this autumn.
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