Thoughts from the Shelf

Fans of the iPhone were queuing up this morning to get their hands on the latest version of the iPhone , the second generation 3G equipped handset from Apple.

Customers had been advised earlier this week to pre-order their handset resulting in mobile phone operator O2 selling out four days prior to launch. This request resulted in the online O2 shop crashing with the operator having to suspend service.

Even with the site crash the operator still managed to sell out of handset, meaning late visitors were greeted with the following message:

“Due to huge demand for iPhone 3G, we’re currently out of stock online. Come back on July 10 for more information”.

O2 had said that more phones would be available from today but with demand so high shoppers had been advised to get to stores early.

Announced last month by Apple the new iPhone aims to combine a mobile phone with an iPod and an internet browser. Operating on the high speed 3G network, users can surf the internet much faster that they could with the previous iPhone.

Additionally the new 3G equipped iPhone has GPS build in, as well as push email meaning near instantaneous email is a facility it can boast. As a result this phone can handle Microsoft Exchange Email client, and calendars and address books can synchronise instantly with the handset putting the new iPhone in direct competition with PDA’s such as Palm Treos, BlackBerries and Window Mobile devices. This alone suggests that the corporate market is a clear target for Apple.

The development of 3G in the iPhone alone required a complete overhaul of the software that powers the iPhone, and Apple have stated that it will also be available for free to all existing owners of the first-generation iPhone, and to owners of the iPod touch for a small, as yet unknown, fee.

It is hoped that with the speedy 3G upgrade the second generation handset will help the iPhone shake of its luxury gadget statue and instead move into the mainstream.

The handset is also released with a much lower price tag then its predecessor, available for free on some contracts and £100 with others. The first iPhone cost £269 at launch.

The phone was not made available from July 11th on a Pay-As-You-Go tariff, estimated to be released later this year.

News has resurfaced that Sony is planning to release a mobile phone that will incorporate elements of its popular Playstation Portable or PSP. With Sony already lending its name to the Cybershot and Walkman Sony Ericsson mobile it would seem a logical step.

In the mobile market Sony is part of a joint venture with telecommunications giant Ericsson to make mobile phones, and last week launched the motion sensing F305 gaming phone. Motion sensing technology used allows the user of the F305 to play games such as bowling and fishing, imitating the movements required if actually playing the sport.

Although a break through in gaming facilities seem in mobile handsets to date, it had been predicted that the F305 model would include some Playstation branding or a PSP style design. However, leaked information suggests that the Sony isn’t willing to give their converted Playstation branding to a joint venture.

With Sony Ericsson lying a lowly fifth place in the handset market it seems Sony are not wiling to risk their closely guarded PlayStation brand on a joint venture handset quiet yet.

It is rumoured that such decisions has lead to the break down of the Sony Eriksson relationship, and sources have said that relation between the two are frosty.

This further fuels rumours that Sony is in fact working on its own PSP style mobile phone handset which is being tipped for release around Christmas 2009, however contrary to this the joint Sony Ericsson venture has filed a joint patient for a portable mobile communication device that mimics the PSP.

As usual there are no confirmed comments regarding any of the rumours so I guess time will tell.

A report today claimed that the software being developed for the iPhone 2.0 may introduce remote control and iTunes collection streaming.

The software that will be utilised by the second generation iPhone has been tipped by TUAW to allow the playback of various media from local iTunes sources. The technology could also be implemented in the iPod touch.

The reports also make mention to dialogue boxes that would allow users to choose their source library or media type.

The Apple TV-like feature would theoretically enable playback of the content within any iTunes collection over a local network, much the same way as Apple TV allows users to stream content from multiple libraries.

This streaming service could also take the form of a remote control that would then enable each device to control playback on an iTunes library collection, in essence using the handheld iPhone or iTouch as a fancy remote control.

At the current time the credibility of the reports is in question, and TUAW itself conceded that it is much founded on speculation. However it does ask some interesting question on what to expect from the software that is due for release in June.

The internet based instant messaging service Skype has launched a series of unlimited calling plans that will allow users to call landline numbers throughout the UK for as little as £2.25 a month.

Under the plans released today customers of the Skype service will able to make unlimited calls to a predetermined country of their choice for the fee of £2.25. The package can also be expanded to include calls to 20 European countries for £3.99 a month, or to 24 countries worldwide which will include US mobiles for £7.99 a month.

These call packages are also free from lengthy contracts, although customers who do decide to sign up for an annual subscription could say another third on the aforementioned prices.

As has been highlighted with broadband providers recently in the news, unlimited rarely means unlimited, and the deals are subject to a fair usage policy implemented by Skype which restricts the user to 10,000 minutes a month. Those 10,000 minutes however calculate to around 5 and a half hours each day!

In the calling plans that are being offered by Skype, all UK based landlines that start in 01 or 02 are included in the deal and places Skype as a direct competitor to BT as well as other established mobile networks that offer bundles of free calls for a monthly subscription fee.

“This move is a natural step for Skype. Skype was founded on the principle of making free voice and video calls available to people all around the world. And now we’re making it even easier for the Skype community to call their friends and family who are not yet on Skype.” – Skype’s vice president and general manager of telecoms Stefan Oberg.

Some analysts have seen the move as a clear indication of the companies eagerness to derive more regular income through monthly subscriptions after Ebay admitted to paying too much for the company in 2005 when it shelled out $4.3billion to buy Skype.

Mobile phone giant Nokia has launched its revamped internet service platform know as N-Gage, which enables holders of the higher end handsets to download videogames directly to their mobile phones.

N-Gage’s growing library of games will be accessible as users download software that connects their phone to their internet platform. With 30 games expected to be available by mid-2008, it marks one of the biggest moves by a mobile handset manufacturer to get into the content market.

“The games, the devices, and the community are all here for you to finally get your teeth into. The Forums are back up and the new N-Gage application is here”. - Nokia said on the N-Gage blog.

Currently the service is only available on the N81, N81 8GB, N82, N96 and N95 8GB, but Nokia is also planning to launch N-Gage for other phone models, including the N73, N93 and N93i.

According to Nokia there is a keen interest in gaming on mobile phones.

“People have been put off mobile gaming because there is nowhere to try games, gaming experiences have been poor, and the games are difficult to use, but all these problems have been solved with the new platform” – said Nokia’s Christopher Joyau

Officially the site is not being launched until April 7th, when select Nokia mobile holders will be able access the site and choose between six games. From then onwards two to three new games a week will be added to the platform.

The release date has already been pushed back twice, originally targeted for a 2007 launch, and after the initial launch of the service in 2003 which bombed, Nokia are hoping for big things.

Game publishers including Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Glu Mobile, have signed agreements to get their games on to the N-Gage service. In the UK, launch titles include Asphalt 3: Street Rules, Hooked On: Creatures of the deep, Brain Challenge and System Rush: Evolution. Many of the games are free to try and, in the UK, cost between £6 to £8 for a full copy.

Nokia made 40% of handsets sold in the last quarter of 2007.

It seems that in relation to a post back in December on The Shelf titled ‘Using Mobile Phone Contracts To Your Advantage’, telecoms regulator Ofcom are due to take increased action on mobile phone retailers offering cash back deals, after increased numbers of complaints have proved a voluntary code of practice that was put in place has failed to work.

Ofcom stated that complaints have risen from 460 to 700 complaints a month since the voluntary code of practice was put in place in the summer of 2007. In moves aimed at protecting consumers, Ofcom have now stated that tough action will be taken against mobile phone operators who fail to pay cash back that was offered when the contract was first taken out.

A general condition has now been proposed that will mean it is the network operator’s duty to “to ensure that the terms and conditions of cash back deals offered by their retailers are fair.” If operators fail to do this it could result in firms being fined as much as 10% of there turnover, a move that surprisingly some mobile operators have welcomed.

“We think Ofcom should be tough on offenders but not burdensome on those that are trading responsibly,” - O2 spokeswoman Emma Hart.

Operators are also responsible for carrying out due diligence and a number of checks in respect of their retailers.

In the voluntary code of practice that has seemed to have failed, there was a list of banned sales and marketing tactics, which were later agreed to by Britain’s biggest mobile phone companies. One technique that was featured on the list was the provision of inaccurate information to shoppers when purchasing mobile phone contracts.

“Strong competition is no excuse for marketing malpractice,” - Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards.

Following a post on The Shelf about the BBC’s new free on demand TV service being delivered through iPlayer in January, the BBC has today announced that a version of its iPlayer on demand service will be available for both the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.

Marking the first time the BBC’s on demand service will be available of portable media devices, the iPhone and iPod touch will stream shows from the iPlayer website over wi-fi networks.

“We started with iPhone because it is the device most optimised for high quality video currently available.” - Anthony Rose wrote on the BBC blog

Currently the iPlayer software is available in two versions, one which will download content from the BBC archive to a Windows PC, the other a streaming service available to all users over the internet.

The iPlayer version used for both the iPhone and iPod touch will allow streaming over a wi-fi connection, however the EDGE mobile network that the iPhone utilises is to slow to support a video streaming service.

Wi-fi firm The Cloud has recently secured a contract to provide all the BBC’s online services for free in 7,500 wi-fi hotspots across the country.

Plans of a joint pilot project between mobile operators Orange and T-Mobile have been announced that will provide a multi-channel TV service to mobile users in the west London area in late 2008.

The pilot service will be broadcast using NextWave Wireless UMTS MBMS based TDtv solution, meaning a mobile handset with TDtv technology will be required. Equipped handsets will be able to receive up to 24 channels of high resolution TV as well as 10 digital radio stations.

The pilot scheme will demonstrate how the cost of providing high quality mass market mobile TV and multimedia broadcast services can be significantly when mobile operators share widely-available unpaired 3G spectrum and a standards-based TDtv broadcast network.

Such unpaired 3G spectrums are available in over 50 other countries, and so will demonstrate an innovative model that can be easily replicated. It also hopes to prove there is a demand from mobile customers for such services.

The channels that are expected to be included in the line up are thought to include the most popular broadcast channels in the UK.

Orange and T-Mobile are two of the operators that currently have mobile TV offerings in the UK, but that is currently restricted to low resolution streamed content.

“The results from the technical trial of TDtv in Bristol last year were extremely encouraging, and this joint pilot of the service in London is an excellent opportunity for us to properly explore the great potential available to our customers from the technology,” said Orange’s product and innovation director, Paul Jevons, on Tuesday.

Mobile phone operator T-Mobile has recently announced plans with internet search provider Yahoo to place adverts onto its Web’n’walk mobile internet service, with the first adverts expected to be served before the third quarter of the year.

Mobile internet advertising has grown rapidly in recent years and Yahoo has been taking aggressive steps to sell and manage adverts, possibly making amends for the setbacks seen in its core web search and advertising business against competitors such as Google.

Yahoo also secured a similar deal with Vodafone in November 2006, and this deal with T-Mobile secure two of the big four networks in the UK.

The Web’n’walk service from T-Mobile allows users to have unlimited browsing and email facilities on their mobile handsets, with a contracted minutes and text allowance.

What Yahoo intends to do as part of the agreement is implement banner advertising through the internet onto Web’n’walk mobile handsets. The adverts served as part of the agreement will be exclusively sold and served by Yahoo.

The agreement is part of Yahoos plans to bring the ‘rich web experience’ it provides online, to the mobile handset. Other initiatives for enhancing web content on wireless devices include a mobile widget program aimed at bringing in more content and Web applications from third parties.

Yahoo is hoping by adding mobile adverts to its offerings it will be able to secure a larger stake of the whole internet based advertising market.

“Advertisers are fast recognising the value of mobile advertising as a core part of their digital campaigns.” - Yahoo’s Geraldine Wilson

Mobile deals are not restricted to advertising either for Yahoo, and dubbed the ‘portal king’ Yahoo has also signed agreements with wireless carriers in Europe, South America and Asia to make its OneSearch the default home page for subscribers who surf using a handset.

Yahoo does not currently have exclusive advertising or content partnerships with any wireless carrier in the United States, but the company has been working actively with all major providers to stake a claim in the US market.

Concluding The Shelf’s five part series featuring technology that could make it big it 2008 The Shelf examines mobile VOIP.

VoIP is a Voice Over Internet Protocol service that enables users to make voice calls across the internet. VoIP involves sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than by using the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The major advantage of VoIP is that by using the internet telephony users can avoid the charges existing telephone networks already have in place.

In addition to IP, VoIP uses the real-time protocol (RTP) to help ensure that packets get delivered in a timely way.

VoIP has already taken of in a huge way with the help of increasing numbers of domestic broadband connections, and users are already seeing the savings VoIP can provide, especially with international calling. Big names like BT are now even incorporating VoIP calling into their broadband and call packages.

With savings already being made in the home through VoIP, challenging existing domestic telephone networks, it is only a matter of time until VoIP services trickle into mobile phone networks too. Thanks to the increasing number of handsets fitted with 3G this look a certain development in 2008.

All that is technically required for mobile VoIP is a 3G speed mobile data service, a technology is readily available in handsets currently on the market. The next stumbling block is preventing mobile networks from prohibiting VoIP mobile communication, after all they want to protect their revenue stream. The only additional hold up for mobile VoIP after this is the requirement for a soft client on the mobile handset that a customer wishes to use. Skype is one example, and recently teamed up with 3 to release the first VoIP handset.

The catch here is the VoIP calls still have to travel over a mobile network, (unless made through wireless hot-spots or the like) so whether this remains true VoIP is a question the pessimists among us may like to ask. Truephone is a good example here.