Throughout the incredible journey of the telecom OSS/BSS sector over
the last 10 years, VanillaPlus has remained a reliable source of both key
news but also informative, objective and thought-provoking assessments of
the key trends which have shaped our industry. I am looking forward to
VanillaPlus and their more recent Stream journal continuing to play a key
role in providing valuable insights as we enter one of the most exciting
phases of the telecoms OSS/BSS market evolutions.
Kieran Moynihan
Vice President & CTO Telecoms
IBM Tivoli Division
Games & Gaming
BT and Microsoft partner to deliver TV, games and movies through Xbox 360
US-based Microsoft Corporation and the UK’s BT are bringing together the next-gen TV service, BT Vision with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 games and entertainment
system. BT broadband customers will soon be able to receive the best in
high definition gaming, television and movies through an Xbox 360
console, in an “all-in-one entertainment experience”, as the companies
put it.
BT Vision, which is powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom Internet
Protocol TV (IPTV) platform, plans to launch this first-of-its-kind
device and service offering in mid-2008. The partnership will enable any BT Broadband customer to use an Xbox 360 console to access the BT Vision service and its extensive library of
on-demand content, giving instant access to hundreds of movies and
thousands of hours of sporting events, television programming, music videos and other digital content, such as BT Vision Sport’s English FA Premier League football matches. The service will be available to existing and future Xbox 360 console owners.
Xbox LIVE, described as “the largest online social network in the
living room”, will be integrated to provide consumers with a wide range
of community-based features, such as voice chat, sending and receiving
text and voice messages, and accessing Xbox LIVE Marketplace, all while
watching TV. For example, while a TV viewer is enjoying his or her
football game, they can receive a message from a friend inviting them
to join a voice chat, or play a game of their own with FIFA Soccer.
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Sony Ericsson’s sort-of-answer to iPhone really grows on you
OK, so it’s not as cool as the iPhone, and it’s
not hyped as much as Samsung’s F700 with QWERTY keyboard. But at the end of a
few days together the W960i was growing on Jeremy Cowan, who was in no rush to
send it back.
Perhaps we
got off to a bad start, it and me. It’s a little slow to boot up, well slower
than my trusty W850i. It’s bigger too; but then it would be, to accommodate a
39 x 52 mm screen. But it soon started to win back some ground with its 3.2
megapixel camera and high screen resolution. My first digital camera barely
matched the 960’s camera and it never matched the screen size.
The change of GUI was just annoying though. I’ve had a number of Sony Ericsson
phones and – though I’ve liked them all, more or less – the applications menu
alters with every iteration. Sony Ericsson is no more guilty here than other
manufacturers; they all annoy me with needless menu changes that erode the
pleasing familiarity of an easy search for the next function.
Pros
* Touch screen – many will opt for the W960i for this alone. It’s sensitive
without being overly so. Job done.
* Jog dial – Apologies to Jonny, the first person to call me after I received
it and who I accused of mumbling -- I’d brushed the side-mounted Jog Dial which
is both navigation tool and volume control when putting it in a coat pocket
inadvertently cutting the speaker volume (duh! Faulty operative; it didn’t
happen again).
OK, so the Jog Dial’s not strictly necessary when you’ve already got a good
touch screen and a finger or stylus as your OS. But it gives usesr a quicker
option when navigating the menu and works well; rotate the discreet wheel on
the side to highlight various options until you press the wheel, mouse-style.
* Stylus (I
started thinking it was a pain, and ended up using it all the time, even when a
finger might have been quicker).
* Better battery life than previous Sony Ericsson smart phones.
* Walkman is good (though I prefer downloads from Omnifone’s Music Station).
* 8Gb memory.
Cons
* Small-ish
screen means the touch screen is susceptible to (my not very) Fat Finger
Syndrome. Try the Jog Dial or Stylus instead.
*
Inconsistent GUI and applications menu: Memo to all handset makers: Find a menu
format that your customers like and flippin’ stick with it. Unless you’ve come
up with a genuine improvement, that
is. It took me a while to find the Silent mode. Eventually I even had to read
the manual. (I know, it’s a bloke thing!).
Verdict(s)
Day 1: I almost sent the W960i back.
Day 5: I may be out when they come to collect it.
Mobile service providers face challenging times in middle of next decade, iSuppli study says
El Segundo, California, USA, July 8, 2008 — The gloomy findings of a mobile social networking study have been released in a White Paper by its authors, iSuppli Corp. In it they predict that the Technology,
Media, and Telecoms (TMT) business will undergo a fundamental
transformation during the next 10 years, courtesy of the coming wireless social
networking revolution. Because of this, iSuppli Corp.
believes, content providers, advertisers, telcos and
electronics suppliers — must transform their business strategies as well if they
want to maintain their relevance in the coming years.
Said Derek Lidow, president and chief executive officer at iSuppli, “The shifts
will impact most value-chain participants, and will be highly
interrelated." With
today’s TMT business representing 5% of global Gross Domestic Product, these industry realignments will have
impacts far
beyond the value chain itself. Major
findings of this study include:
· Within 10 years, Social Networking + Me
(SME), primarily driven by wireless devices, will become ‘must-have’
applications and devices for global consumers.
· Although there have not been any
successful implementations of wireless social networking to date, the widespread
adoption of mobile Internet devices like the iPhone will spur an entirely new
generation of wireless social networking businesses and business models starting
in 2009.
· Many wireless service providers
will face very challenging times in the middle years of next decade as intense
battles break out against alternate providers of wireless access over who
controls the distribution of all the content and services that will be enabled,
and will be highly sought after by wireless subscribers.
· By 2020, there will be close to 7
billion wireless accounts, with many individuals having more than one account,
and with wireless communication devices being the primary communication, service
and content delivery channel for virtually all users.
· Basic wireless social networking
service could be provided for a global average of around $15.30 per month per
user, using constant 2007 U.S. dollars.
iSuppli has summarized the findings from
its wireless social networking study in a new whitepaper, entitled: Social
Networking Wireless Social Networking Revolution Set to Reshape Global Tech
Industry.
www.isuppli.com
IBM software mimics PC features on mobile devices
London, UK. August 8, 2008 -- IBM today announced new software and services for mobile devices that closely mimics desktop features hitherto found only on PCs. The new offerings are reportedly designed to help business users and consumers make better decisions faster, while connecting friends, work colleagues and teams beyond what has been available in the PC era.
According
to a recent report from IBM's Institute for Business Value, the number
of mobile internet users worldwide is projected to reach 1 billion this
year, a 191% increase from 2006 and a compound annual growth rate of
24%. Up to 67% of all workers now use mobile and wireless computing.
To
capture this market, IBM is combining its software, services and
research expertise to develop new mobile products and services. The new
software includes products with business intelligence, collaboration,
social networking and business performance capabilities. In addition,
IBM is providing developers with new tools to make existing software
applications run on mobile devices. Its software is built on open
standards, to be used with most mobile platforms including BlackBerry®,
iPhone®, Windows Mobile®, and Symbian.
The key points to note are:
-
The new software includes products with business intelligence,
collaboration, social networking and business performance capabilities.
-
Mobility@Work can help employers increase productivity by as much as 30
percent and cut real estate costs, the second largest corporate expense
after salaries and benefits.
- Using any type of device like an iPhone, BlackBerry or laptop, users can reach into the cloud for resources as they need them.
- A video of the technology is available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgUwvzLc3W8
Wild Jack Mobile Casino incorporates Payforit billing on Vodafone UK
London, UK. August 20, 2008: Wild Jack Mobile Casino (www.wjmc.com), has announced a deal which enables
customers of Vodafone UK to
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Before anyone can deposit and play a
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While playing, gamers can view their
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