Business Mobiles & Business Mobile Phones

Scientists are pioneering technology that could allow people to hold silent phone conversations. Professor Tanja Shultz of Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is one such scientist. The idea came to light when Shultz was sat on a train next to a person incessantly talking on their mobile phone – a scenario that everyone is familiar with nowadays.

The new technology cleverly measures the electrical pulses created when our muscles move in order to speak, creating a Morse code of pulses. By transmitting these and turning them into text, users can hold silent phone conversations. Ingenious – and yet, it’d be so much easier to send a text message.

Motorola and Microsoft – apparently bosom buddies over the past few years if we’re to believe the statements of both companies – have signed a deal that will make Bing the search engine of choice on the Motorola Android-based smartphones.

The agreement will kick-off with the Bing-loaded smartphones being sold in China this month – the biggest mobile market around. Bing’s search and map facilities will no doubt be extremely popular in China.

Opera Software has announced the availability of a new beta version of its popular Mini browser for users that have Android-based mobile phones. Opera Mini 5 can compress data up to 90% so loading pages and data to phones is a lot faster. The new Opera Mini 5 is easy to use and resembles a desktop browser complete with favourites, tabs and speed dial. Should prove to be a popular choice!

Ovum’s Smartphone Capability Tracker for 2009 has revealed that Nokia is falling behind in the smartphone stakes because of the type of chips it uses in its mobiles. Most mobile phones now use the Snapdragon chipset by Qualcomm, however, Nokia is still using the ARM11 chip for most of its mobiles which has only 128MB of RAM. If Nokia wants to keep its market share where it is, it’s going to have to up its game – and its chips!

T-Mobile is about to gain a lot of good press as it moves ahead with plans to introduce ‘International Pass’ next week. For anyone who has received an astronomical phone bill after calling phone numbers abroad, this little gem will be properly appreciated.

T-Mobile will be cutting the costs of international calls and texts. Calling another mobile phone number will cost from 5p-20p per minute, 5p-10p for landline calls and texts will cost a flat 15p – that is, if you’re a pay-as-you-go customer.

International Pass currently applies to 50 countries, the list of which can be viewed on the T-Mobile website. To opt in to the scheme, simply text INT to 441. Simple and affordable!

Google has once again caused major excitement amongst mobile phone users by releasing a new mobile search tool called the Gesture Search. The search tool is currently only available on Nexus One mobiles, the Motorola Droid and the Milestone.
So what is Gesture Search, you may ask. Well basically, if you want to search your contacts for ‘Gary’ for example, you simply draw a ‘G’ on the touchscreen. The mobile will then bring up all G contacts, allowing you to access who you like with the minimum of fuss! As excited as people with Android 2.0 mobiles are, the new tool has caused controversy by not being more widely available. Good marketing tactic Google – the best way to make people want something is to say no, you can’t have one.

Finally some sense! After hearing of horror stories where mobile phones used on holidays had bills that cost more than the holidays themselves, the European Union has finally taken notice and done something about it.

From July 1^st 2010, mobile phone customers can specify their data roaming charge limits or a default charge of €50 will apply. After a warning at 80% of your allocated limit, your internet connections will be cut once you reach your limit. Which can save you an arm, a leg and a whole lot of money. Bravo.

As the excitement of the CeBIT technology fair builds, Deutsche Telekom has decided to let the world know that it’s changing its brand name in its home market of Germany.

In a move that will unify Deutsche Telekom’s brand, the company’s mobile operations and its fixed-line business will now be consolidated under the brand name ‘T’ rather than T-Home and T-Mobile. What with its new brand name and its new merger with Orange, T-Mobile seems to be having quite the spring clean!

Apple has sadly succumbed to the political correctness that has been sweeping through the country like a virus. Over 5,000 iPhone apps from the Apple App store, that have been good for a giggle or a snigger, have been removed from store after being deemed “unsuitable for distribution.” Due to a few complaints here and there, the apps have been labelled as overtly sexual.

One of the removed apps is the Wobble iBoobs application where breasts within a users chosen image could be made to wobble. Hardly hardcore pornography but Apple is succumbing to the pressure of a few lingering Victorians – and of course, priming its customer base for a family-based iPad tablet. If we organised a mass complaint over apps that are too sex-less, I wonder what Apple would do?

France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom the parent companies of Orange and T-Mobile, are growing more and more confident that this week should see the approval of their proposed merger. The merger would see the two companies grab a mobile phone market share of around 38%, placing the merged company ahead of the other 3 prominent mobile operators in the country. Initially it seemed as though the move would not gain regulatory approval, however, due to certain concessions made by the companies, approval now seems almost guaranteed.