Mobile Digest

Mobile phones, bees, and people. Radiation, nature, and health

The debate surrounding mobile phones and suspected health problems, has been rumbling on for years now, and whilst a Danish study has concluded that there's no cancer risk from mobile phone usage, a new study suggests that the increasing use of mobile phones could be having catastrophic effects on... the bumble bee.

You may already have seen on the news that beekeepers are noticing a decline in bee numbers, and while there are plenty of other environmental factors that are likely to be contributing to this, some scientists have suggested that radiation given off by mobile phones and other gadgets is interfering with bees' navigation systems. This in turn disrupts their pollination cycle.

The Guardian rather cruelly concludes that bees and other animals "are not made unwell by changing fields, they simply have their navigational abilities thrown out of line. That, in turn, can lead to death because they are insects."

In fact, the article is making the point that there's not yet any proven link between this and humans' sensitivity to Wi-Fi and other electromagnetic sources.

Regardless, I'm still very concerned about these poor bees - and not just because I'd be lost without Crunchy Nut Cornflakes.

Friday 13th brings six millionth question to mobile answering service AQA

At 10.17pm on Friday 13th April, the mobile phone answer service AQA (Any Question Answered) answered its six millionth question.

Paul Cockerton, managing director of AQA, said that the Easter Weekend had been a very busy period for the company, with the combination of the good weather, high profile sporting events, and a few extra days off, meaning that customers were "in a very inquisitive mood".

Some 60,000 questions were answered over the long holiday weekend.

And that six millionth question? The answer to "How tall is the 2nd tallest man in the world?" was "The second tallest man in the world is Pakistan's Ajaz Ahmed, who is a towering 8'4". The tallest man ever was Robert Wadlow, who was over 8'11".

"When AQA launched back in 2004 as the first premium text question and answer service in the world, it took us 18 months to reach our first million questions. This last million took only 10 weeks. By the end of the year AQA will be answering a million questions every month." said Cockerton.

The top 10 questions asked over Easter were:

1. What were the winning lottery draw numbers?
2. What's the meaning of life?
3. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
4. Who won the Oxford - Cambridge boat race?
5. Why am i giving someone an egg?
6. How is Easter's date set?
7. What was Man Utd's score?
8. What was the result of the Calzaghe fight?
9. Why is the sky blue?
10. What was the England Australia cricket score?

Hmm, I wouldn't like to have to answer question 2 in a short text message.

AQA offer a free question at their web site. Using the service from a mobile costs £1 per message, by texting the question to 83336.

Review: Sony Ericsson W880i - super thin 3G phone

The propaganda

If your image of 3G phones is super bulky handsets, then Sony Ericsson's W880i will make you think again. It measures just a tiny 9.4mm thick - thin enough to fit inside a CD case according to the accompanying blurb.

Despite its small size, it's still feature packed with a built in 2 megapixel camera, Walkman music player, a 1GB MemoryStick Micro for storing tunes and photos, Bluetooth and a nifty utility called TrackID that tries to recognise any music you play it by sending a sample to the internet and bringing back the results.

The good

Design-wise it's a stylish looking handset, finished off in brushed metal effect plastic - orange at the back, carbon black at the front.

The menu system is the standard Sony Ericsson fair, so whether you're a seasoned user or newcomer you shouldn't have any problems finding your way around. The layout is logical, with most items where you'd expect to find them.

Image quality from the camera is passable, with snaps good enough for sending to friends or emailing around.

The bundled earphones are noise isolation style ear buds that block out all external sound, creating decent bass. If you find them a bit intrusive, then you can attach your own to the 3.5mm socket on the hands free kit, which sensibly attaches at the side, rather than bottom, of the unit so you can leave it plugged in your pocket.

The bad

Sleek design is one thing, but it seems that some usability aspects have suffered to accommodate the W880i's good looks.

First up is the keyboard - the main keypad buttons have been replaced by thin horizontal strips, rather than full keys, making them awkward to use. The four-way navigation pad is fine for moving around, but to select an item you need to push straight down, which can be difficult at times.

The main camera lens on the rear of the unit is also positioned too close to the left hand edge when you're using the phone horizontally, making it tricky to take snaps without your fingers in and hold the camera at the same time.

Geek Sheet

Connectivity: 3G, 900/1800/1900MHz GSM, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB

Internal memory: 16MB, 1GB MemoryStick Micro

Display: 1.8in, 240x320 pixels

Camera: 2.0 megapixel

POP3 email client

Battery: 6 hours 30 minutes talk time, 425 hours standby

Dimensions: 46.5x103x9.4 mm

Overview

The W880i is a sleek, small 3G handset but what it makes up for on style it loses in usability. It's not that it's impossible to use, just that it'll take some time to get used to before you're fully up to speed.

It's got decent multimedia credentials and surprisingly good sound from the bundled headset. The TrackID music recognition utility is a nifty add-on, though you're unlikely to use it that much once the novelty wears off.

If you can live with its input idiosyncrasies, though, with prices starting from free with contact it's a good looking, feature packed multimedia mobile.

Related sites: Sony Ericsson W880i

Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold - handset with 18-carat gold plating

I was looking at the millionaire-friendly Vertu handsets at the weekend, which might impress people in the know, but to most people, probably just look like any other handset. That's not the case with the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold.

That's because it dispenses with all subtlety - coming encased in an 18-carat gold plating. And that's not all, there's also white gold accents and a sapphire-coated, scratch-resistant glass display - put together, according to Nokia, with the techniques of watchmakers and jewellers.

Oh yes, there is a specification - and one that could never live up to the outer appearance. You get a a sliding mechanism that reveals a two megapixel camera, ergonomic keypad, 262k colour screen, Bluetooth and a co-ordinating Bluetooth headset and desk stand.

So essentially, it's all about the looks. If you want one, Nokia is quoting a price of around 1,000 Euros. It's unlikely to appear as a freebie from your network operator.

Nokia website

Samsung and Nokia work together on DVB-H technology

Will DVB-H technology ever make it to the UK? Who knows - it's been talked about for years and numerous handsets have shown off its TV-playing capabilities. Samsung and Nokia are certainly keen - announcing today that they have signed an agreement to work together to accelerate the technology to market.

The two companies will work together on DVB-H-enabled mobile devices and the open standards based Nokia network services system. The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on the open OMA BCAST standard.

"Nokia warmly welcomes the collaboration in accelerating the adoption of DVB-H based mobile TV services to the market. We see that the OMA BCAST standard is essential in launching mobile TV services on a global scale," says Harri Männistö, Director, Multimedia, Nokia. "Further, the well-defined service and content protection profiles within the OMA BCAST standard such as the already now available OMA DRM, provides the ideal path towards standardized solutions enabling a coherent and open market for successful worldwide mobile TV deployments."

DVB-H technology offers high quality mobile TV broadcasts, but with low battery consumption and with the option to to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.

Nokia website
Samsung website

Londoners: Donate your old IT equipment to help others and stay green

Next weekend, 21-22 April, Maxitech.biz is encouraging London residents to donate their unwanted computer equipment and other technology, helping children, cash-strapped organisations, and being green - all at once.

In recognition of this year's International Earth Day, Londoners can drop off their old PCs, mobile phones, monitors, printers, digital cameras, and scanners at Maxitech's premises - 5 Clarendon Road, Haringey,
North London N22 - between 10am and 6pm on Saturday or Sunday.

The IT equipment will be professionally refurbished, with some being given to the NCH (National Children's Home), some being resold at low cost to UK-based organisations unable to afford brand-new computers, and those items which cannot be reused being recycled by a specialised recycling plant.

Proceeds from reselling the IT equipment will go towards Maxitech.biz's Edge Employer IT hardware training programme, which helps disadvantaged people
gain nationally recognized qualifications leading to jobs in IT.

The scheme is being supported by HP, and Dr Kirstie McIntyre, who heads up IT recycling and reuse programmes for HP in the UK, said, "“Refurbishing computer equipment and making IT accessible to the wider community is one of the most effective ways of reducing the impact of IT waste on the environment. It’'s something HP has been doing for many years, so we'’re really proud to be supporting Maxitech.biz in this initiative and hope that this will be the first of a series of events in the UK.”"

Related stories:
Green Phones recycles for fund raisers
There's gold in them there recycled mobiles (sorry)
Single-use cameras are environmentally friendly, Photo Imaging Council say
School computers are environmentally unfriendly and too powerful
Consumer electronics companies look to more environmentally friendly products

More on being an ethical consumer over at Hippy Shopper

OS X Leopard release slips 4 months thanks to iPhone

Last month we tried to stifle the rumours of an OS X Leopard delay, but now in an official statement, Apple has stated that its next generation operating system will indeed not ship until October.

The rumoured reason for the delay was to improve support for users wanting to use Vista, but the official reason cited by Apple yesterday is the iPhone.

Read on for Apple's official statement:

We can't wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS® X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October.

Given the iPhone has a version of OS X on board, it makes sense that Leopard will almost be ready by then, as I presume many of its features will be available on the handset.

Though it's disappointing that Apple's next operating system won't be around until the autumn, and I can imagine Microsoft firing back a few shots after the hard time Apple gave them about OS delays, it's understandable. With all the hype, and potential revenue, behind the iPhone, Apple need to throw all of their resources at the launch.

LG unveils KE770 candybar Shine phone

Following on from the 3G Shine phone, LG has launched yet another variation of the phone - the KE770 candybar Shine phone.

It's just 9.9mm thick, compared to the original's 14mm. And apart from the new shape, that's about the only obvious development. So expect a 262,144-colour, 240 x 320 display, two megapixel camera with auto-focus, Bluetooth, 50MB of memory and a Micro SD slot for up to 2GB of add-on storage space.

It was launched in Russia this week, but as yet, it's not clear if this will make it to the rest of Europe. You'll be the first to know if it does.

LG website

Via The Register

O2 offer limited edition Ice Black candy bar mobile

O2 has announced a limited edition Ice Black mobile phone.

It's a candy bar style design, fully 3G, with inbuilt MP3 player, 1.3 megapixel camera with zoom, Bluetooth, 32MB of internal memory, and a microSD card slot.

Available for £59.99 on prepay from O2 shops, it's not the most advanced phone around, but it probably won't break the bank and could add a little bit of shiny black style to your summer.

O2 Online

T-Mobile and RIM offer exclusive white BlackBerry Pearl

T-Mobile and RIM have announced the availability of the white BlackBerry Pearl smartphone, exclusively to T-Mobile subscribers and available within its stores across the UK. It follows a similar deal introduced to the US earlier in the year.

Feature-wise, it offers the same key features of the original BlackBerry, including Internet access, email, smart dialling, conference calling, speakerphone, speed dial, and call forwarding, plus quad-band network support. It also uses T-Mobile's Web'n'Walk service.

The handset features polyphonic and MP3 ringtones, Bluetooth support, and an enhanced version of RIM's SureType QWERTY keypad technology designed to make typing messages or making phone calls quick and easy.

The handset will be available free with appropriate price plans.

T-Mobile

Orange to bring Samsung i600 smart phone to UK say reports

I'm sure the official announcement will follow in due course, but details of the Samsung i600 smart phone on the Orange network are already out in the wild.

The details of the Windows Mobile-based device aren't linked from the Orange site, but are listed on an Orange web page, spotted by Coolsmartphone.com, with a launch date of later this month a strong possibility.

But we do know what the device will offer - 3G connectivity, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, QWERTY keyboard, 320 x 240 display, Micro SD card storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom, and a 0.3 megapixel camera for video calling.

We'll keep you posted on it.

Orange website

Via The Register

Orange offers two-year contract deals - with added benefits

I'll be honest, I'm tempted by a new mobile handset every single month - because every month, something new hits the market that seems that little bit better than the handset I carry in my pocket. So it's interesting that Orange want to tie us into contracts that little bit longer - although there are benefits if you go for it.

The reasons for a longer tie-in are obvious - it gives the company more value for their subsidised handset deals and cuts down the waste of perfectly-good handsets. But it has to be a two-way deal - and it is. Orange is offering voice and text benefits on top of its standard packages if you sign up for a two-year fixed term.

That could be between 50 and 450 voice minutes, depending on your choice of deal. What do you think? More minutes or more handset credibility?

It's a tough one.

Orange website

LG launches 3G Shine handset

LG's Shine phone has made quite a stir since its arrival at the start of the year - not least, picking up the Best Fashion Mobile award at this year's Shiny Awards. Check out our video review for various favourable noises - and if that impresses you, here's some good news - LG has just launched a Shine phone with 3G connectivity.

It's still a looker, with the same stainless steel finish and large LCD screen. And there's all the features you would expect - two megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens and continuous shooting mode, easy navigation via the scroll wheel and music/video playback using multiple formats.

There's also Bluetooth, a document viewer and storage via microSD card. No news on price as yet, but it's likely to be dependent on your contract - probably free if you sign up for enough talk time.

LG product page

3 launches unlimited mobile internet for £5 fee

Where you tempted by 3's X-Series package? Many where - but whether this translated into sign-ups is open to question. So here's another offer to get you on-board - £5 unlimited mobile internet use, available for all recently-launched 3 handsets.

The new deal seems to have no strings and includes use of Windows Live Messenger. Actually, reading the small print, there is one catch - unlimited actually means 1GB per month "fair use", so it's not really unlimited, it's just a healthy limit.

John Penberthy-Smith, 3’s Marketing Director, commented, ”Building on the innovation and success of X-Series, our latest mobile internet package gives our customers freedom to use the internet on the move and to choose a handset which really works for them.”

3 website

iStockphoto and AMUSE partner to give UK mobile users personalised wallpaper

iStockphoto, which is the world's most visited stock imagery and video site, has partnered with AMUSE Entertainment Group, to allow a selection of its stock photography to be used by mobile phone users.

A pilot phase is being launched in the UK and will allow mobile users to download wallpapers from a selection of 5,000 of iStockphoto's images. All major networks will be able to access the site.

“People want their gadgets to feel uniquely theirs, including their mobile phones,” said Garth Johnson, vice president of business development at iStockphoto. “Amuse and iStock have now opened a new range of personalisation possibilities with iStock’s diverse, global image collection.”

The pilot scheme launches this month, with plans to roll out to the US and Canada, and greater access to iStockphoto's 1.5 million images.

iStockphoto.com

Majority of business travellers don't want mobile phone use in-flight

A survey by Barclaycard Business suggests that any introduction of in-flight mobile phone use would be unpopular with the majority of business travellers.

Over 4,000 businesspeople were questioned, and found that six out of ten would not want such technology introduced.

62% of women were against it, compared with 57% of men, with chief executives being more keen on the concept (43%) than company managers (31%).

Flight operators planning to trial mobile phone use include Ryanair, BMI, SAS, and Air France.

Related stories:
Boeing Axes In-Flight Internet
Virgin to cure in-flight boredom with text Q&A
The £120k flight simulator set for take-off

Butterfly cell phone - designed by a 15 year old

I made my first documentary when I was 13, so I'm not entirely shocked by the idea that the Butterfly mobile phone concept was designed by a 15 year old - and looks better and has more sensible design principles than most stuff coming out nowadays. Using existing tech such as Bluetooth and touchscreens (unlike many concepts which are doomed to remain concepts for lack of tech) and sporting an impressively polished interface, this is definitely my favourite non-existent phone to date. [GT]

Butterfly: A Social Networking Solution [via Slashgear]

Vodafone uses Sagem for own-brand handsets

Sagem annouced a couple of weeks back that it was designing entry-level handsets for Sony Ericsson. Now it has announced another deal - producing own-brand handsets for Vodafone.

Jens Schulte-Bockum, global director of terminals at Vodafone, said: "[Vodafone's] strategy is intended to use Vodafone's size and purchasing power to engage with the best white label handset makers and then use the power of the Vodafone brand to bring their products to market."

The first of the Sagem handsets, scheduled to be launched in June this year, features a slim case and 65K colours - and that's about all we know. But with such a quick turnaround, chances are that it's an existing model with a Vodafone badge.

Sagem website

Via The Register

Chiltern Railways continues to develop mobile ticketing system

Chiltern Railways has entered the second phase of its mobile phone ticketing project following a successful three-month pilot where 6,000 mobile phone tickets were sold.

They are the first UK rail company to offer barcodes on mobile phones as an alternative to paper tickets. Stage two of the project will further automate the system, adding two scanning devices to ticket gates at London Marylebone station to allow passengers to scan their own phones and open the gates.

Chiltern's Commercial Director, Neil Micklethwaite, said that the scheme had been very successful so far, not only from a technological point of view, but with 99% of passengers saying that they would recommend the scheme to a friend.

The scheme currently works with Chiltern Railway's E-day product, purchasable exclusively online, and allowing travel between Birmingham and Stratford-upn-Avon to London Marylebone for £5. Following customer demand, it will be extended to other tickets and routes.

Vodafone to open Connectivity Centres in PC World stores

Dixons Store Group (DSG), the parent company of high street names Currys and PC World, seem to be in mobile mode at present. Last month we reported that Currys would sell mobile phones in up to 500 of its stores, and now Vodafone has inked a deal with DSG to open up 30 Vodafone Connectivity Centres in PC World stores.

If successful, they could eventually roll out to all 155 stores next year. The first stores would open this summer.

The stores would primarily focus on mobile phones and services for small business customers, backed up by The TechGuys, PC World's support service started in September last year.

Vodafone want to increase their share of the small business market from 31% to over 40%, and see PC World as an extra distribution channel that can provide 3G cards and modems to people buying laptop PCs.

Vodafone has UEFA sponsorship covered

Vodafone has signed a three-year deal to become the official technology sponsor of the UEFA Cup. It already sponsors the UEFA Champions' League, and the deal also allows them to put their name to the UEFA Super Cup for two years.

LG to upgrade the Prada phone to the LG KS20?

Interesting story over on Shiny Shiny concerning LG's Prada handset. It's only just gone on sale in the Uk, but of rumours are to be believed, the phone is set for an upgrade - boosting the specification, but dropping the Prada affiliation.

The new KS20 keeps the style (or rather, the touch screen), but adds in Windows Mobile 6.0, two megapixel camera, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Whether this is all true - and indeed if it's about to appear sooner rather than later, we don't know.

But it does make you think twice about signing up for the original.

Read the full story at Shiny Shiny

Top 10 Twitter spin-off applications and services

Have you got the Twitter bug yet? The 'micro-blogging' platform is taking the Web 2.0 world by storm, as Techscape explained last week.

Besides picking up users in their thousands, the service is spawning its own ecosystem of spin-off applications and services, from mobile clients and desktop updaters through to whizzy mash-ups with Google Maps.

There are already dozens to choose from, but here's a selection of ten of the most intriguing, with links to read more from Techscape's Twitter Special. Read on for all the details.

1. Twitterrific. Mac OS X application that's sleek and minimal, and lets you check on friends' posts ('tweets') and post your own, without cluttering your desktop. Read more

2. Twitterlicious. Basically Twitterrific (above) but for Windows, offering the same blend of easy reading/updating, but for PC users. Read more

3. Twittervision / Twittersearch. Two services from the same people. Twittervision plots recent tweets on a big Google Map of the world, while Twittersearch lets you enter a search phrase and see all recent tweets mentioning it. Yes, I know this makes this a Top 11... Read more

4. Twitterbox. A Twitter client for Second Life, so you can read friends' tweets and post your own from within Linden Labs' virtual world. Zeitgeist-tastic! Read more

5. Tiny Twitter. Small but perfectly-formed Java application for mobile phones, which lets you post tweets and check on your friends. It's bare-bones, but right now, that's what keen Twitterers need. Read more

6. Twitterfeed. Turns your blog's RSS feed into tweets at pre-defined intervals. Could tempt commercial blogs as well as personal bloggers. Read more

7. Post To Twitter. Another simple one, this – it's a Firefox plugin that lets you post tweets from the dropdown search box at the top of the browser. Read more

8. WHERE GPS Twitter widget. Part of the WHERE GPS widgets service for phones in the US, if you've got a GPS-enabled handset, this adds your location to your tweets posted on the go. Read more

9. TwitterBuzz. This online service tracks the links that people are posting on Twitter, sorting them by popularity and giving you hourly or weekly views. Read more

10. Twitteromatic. Another OS X application, this, but it lets you with one click post what you're listening to in iTunes, what URL you're looking at in Firefox or Safari, and a bunch of other variables. Read more

Glasgow tops mobile phone theft league

Taking your mobile phone out tonight? Well, if your big night is in Glasgow, Belfast or Liverpool, I'd keep a tight hold of your mobile phone.

According to CPP Phonesafe figures, the three cities top the mobile theft league - but it's not exclusively there - across the UK, one in five people have had their phones taken, with half of those questioned knowing a victim of mobile theft. And the most vulnerable location? That's the pub, with 22 per cent suffering on a night out. And the worst times of the year are early May and late July.

Does your city make the top 10? Read on after the turn for the full listing.

Top 10 Cities for mobile phone theft

1. Glasgow
2. Belfast
3. Liverpool
4. Chelmsford
5. London
6. Bristol
7. Manchester
8. Leeds
9. Sheffield
10. Cambridge

CPP Phonesafe website

Vertu offers limited edition Ferrari mobile handset

Remember Vertu? Its the company that offers high-end, high status mobile handsets for filthy rich. A market where looks are much more important than specification. Probably summed up by this Ascent Ferrari 1947 Limited Edition - celebrating 60 years of Ferrari.

To match the year, there's 1947 of the phones being made - each with very little to offer technically beyond Bluetooth, limited memory, four hours of talk time and 270 hours on standby.

But that's not why you're buying it - it's the little things that tell the world you have cash to burn - like the sapphire-crystal display, stainless steel keys with jewelled bearings, the red and black leather, Ferrari Prancing Horse logo and a scaled-down, high-grade aluminium, Ferrari brake pedal on the back.

No price yet - but if you're a contender for one, price really shouldn't matter.

Vertu website

Via Stuff

Highest phone call world record attempt

Mobile phone coverage in your home might be difficult to achieve, but spare a thought for Rod Baber, who is attempting to set a world record by making the world's highest phone call - from the summit of Mount Everest.

Weather permitting, the attempt will take place in late May, and is made possible thanks to a mobile base station installed in China that has line of sight to the north side of the mountain.

His phone has been tested to work in low temperatures, and of course he will be training so that he can scale the north ridge to the summit.

Let's hope that his mobile battery doesn't conk out halfway up.

Video review: Sony Ericsson W880i walkman phone

Sony Ericsson's new W880i is the latest Walkman phone, and it's pretty damn slinky. It's the slimmest music phone they've released yet, has a lovely big memory card bundled with it, and features the company's own Track ID service to identify tunes.

Susi's been playing with the phone, seeing how good it is, and whether she can stump the Track ID with a cunning blend of Johnny Cash, Morrissey and Gretchen Wilson. Does she succeed? Click below to watch and find out.

LG Prada phone now available on the UK high street

The LG Prada phone - I bet you are sick of hearing about it. It's been on everyone's lips for a good four months, but not on our shelves. Well, until now that is.

Yes, LG has finally unleashed the fashionista phone onto our shelves and the more stylish British public. Which means you'll be able to spend your easter weekend impressing your friends and dodging muggers.

If you're after one, it's now available via Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U, Orange, 02 and T-Mobile stores. If you want to know more about it, check out our preview from January.

The price, as you would expect, is dependent on your choice of contract.

LG website

Bebo Mobile to launch on Orange

Unsurprisingly, Vodafone were very chuffed when they got an exclusive deal to feature MySpace on mobile handsets. But Orange has struck back in the social networking battle with an exclusive deal with Bebo.

The media giant has struck a deal that will allow Orange customers to access Bebo with their phone, specifically to edit profiles, message online friends and update blogs. But it's not all good news for Orange - this is an exclusive deal for a limited time. After that, it's expected to be rolled-out across other networks.

Bebo access with an Orange handset is expected to launch over the summer months. Check with Orange for exact details.

Bebo website
Orange website

BBC trials TV and radio streaming to 3G handsets

Some of the BBC's biggest shows will soon be available to your 3G mobile handsets.

The corporation has announced a trail of BBC TV and radio channels for a 12-month period, which will be syndicated to the Vodafone, Orange and 3 networks. Subscribers will have access to BBC One, BBC News 24 and BBC Three - which means shows such as Dr Who, EastEnders and The Apprentice. The exceptions will be Premiership football, some films and bought-in shows, such as Neighbours.

After the 12-month trial, the BBC will assess the effectiveness of the 3G network and the demand for BBC channels. Also available will be BBC radio, including Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, 6 Music, BBC 7 and Asian Network.

The trial starts towards the end of April. Contact your mobile provider for further details.

BBC website

Dr Who flashing phone charm

The new series of Dr Who is on TV and the merchandising bandwagon is rolling - including these Dr Who flashing phone charms.

Sticking wisely to the traditional Dr Who icons (the Tardis and a Dalek) and compatible with most phone networks (with the exception of three), they spin and flash every time you get a call. That's certainly big on novelty, but if you're in a noisy environment (like a pub) or your phone is on silent, it can be very practical too.

Battery-powered (these are included), you can pick them up for £4.95 each.

Find out more

Microsoft reveal mobile Internet browser prototype

Microsoft has unveiled a prototype mobile Internet browser which it claims will mirror the ease of going online via a desktop PC.

Deepfish aims to solve the problems of slow loading, unintuitive pages that look different to what the user expects.

Microsoft has taken the approach of rendering the original 'designed for PC' web page, rather than relying on special mobile-friendly web sites.

Users will be able to zoom in and out on sections of web pages, making it faster and easier to navigate through a page.

The Deepfish technology has been released as a prototype in order to gain feedback from users, and will be available in limited numbers on a first-come first-served basis from labs.live.com/deepfish/. It seems that they've already hit their initial limits, though they may open up the project to more testers in the future.

It works on smartphones and Pocket PCs, though I couldn't find a detailed list of which phones are currently supported.

The site explains Deepfish's current status:

As a technology preview, Deepfish is early in its development cycle (still a few releases from beta quality). As a result some features are not implemented or are only partially implemented. Currently, the technology preview does not support ActiveX controls, AJAX, cookies, Javascript, and HTTP POST.

We'll keep you posted on how this technology develops.

EU mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber population

For the first time, mobile phone subscriptions in the European Union outnumbered its population, according to a European Commission report issued yesterday.

"With 478.4 million mobile phones in use, penetration in Europe is now at 103 percent of population," the Commission said in its 12th annual report on the EU's telecom markets.

That's up from 95% in 2005.

Luxembourg records the highest penetration, at 171%, followed by Italy (134%), and Lithuania (133%). France had just 82%.

The report also focused on broadband take-up, showing that the Netherlands and Denmark, with 29.8% and 29.4% of their populations signed up, now have the world's highest broadband penetration. Seven member states have higher broadband penetration than the US.

Mobile users become contortionists in bid to improve signal strength

According to the zBoost Cell Phone Signal Survey, mobile phone users aren't shy about doing weird things and getting themselves into strange positions for the sake of improving their signal.

69% of mobile phone users who made phone calls at home say they've missed or dropped calls thanks to poor signal reception or dead zones in their home, and 62 said they'd done something special to improve their signal reception.

Fairly ordinary responses you'd expect include going outside (46%), standing by a window (42%), or using their landline phone instead (30%).

Of course, there are always the wacky ones. We have no way of knowing whether these are genuine, or not, but they make for entertaining reading nonetheless.

Verbatim responses included:

* "Stood in the closet with the light off"
* "Stand in my daughter's room touching the chain from her ceiling fan"
* "Stand on higher things like a couch or chair"
* "Stood by metal [stuff]"
* "Lay perfectly still without moving"
* "Run back and forth"
* "Moved my arm around"
* "Held my head at a funny angle"
* "Gone upstairs"
* "Hang out the window"
* "Kept moving my cell phone until I got a signal...and ended up pulling a matrix move as I tried to keep the signal"

Not surprisingly, zBoost offer a range of products that are supposed to improve indoor cell phone signal strength. Still, some of those contortions sound quite fun.