At last Nokia appear to be launching their first NFC handset today in the UK. You can be fairly certian that NFC is going to take off big time in the next couple of years and could be the start of a decline in the usage of cash, especially for the younger generations who will start to grow up with NFC in their mobile devices.
Nokia has been weathering a series of glitches around the launch of its Lumia range of Windows Phone devices — the most recent of which saw the company issue credits to users affected by data connection issues on the new Lumia 900. It is pressing on with new devices, though, and we have confirmed with sources close to the company that it will be launching its first NFC-enabled Windows Phone in Europe, a version of the Lumia 610, at 1pm UK time today — along with a partnership with a European operator, France Telecom’s Orange, to launch the device “across Europe.”
…Read the full article by Ingrid Luden here: Nokia Is Launching Its First Windows-Based NFC Phone At 1pm UK Time Today
Let’s just hope the Apple decide to include NFC in the next iPhone that is released later in the year, it coud quickly turn frustrating for iPhone users as NFC is expected to spread across europe over the coming months, so to have the leading smartphone without such a feature would be disappointing to many Apple followers.
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Whether you are looking to purchase your first mobile phone, or have a great deal of experience, you should do some reading about mobile phones before you purchase one. With the advances in technology have come a large number of different options. The type of phone that you need depends on how you plan to use it. Read the article below to ensure that you get the kind of phone that you need.
The first thing you need to consider is cost. The cost of a phone can vary greatly depending on the features that you want. There are plans that come with a free or extremely discounted phone when you sign a 24 month contract, but it is important that you consider the cost of the plan over the whole term of the contract. To start you should make a list of the features you wish your new phone to have. Popular features include Wi-Fi, camera, large touch screen and slide out keyboards along with downloadable apps. After you have decided on the features you want you can compare the price and performance of individual phones and the plans they come with if this applies.
When thinking about how you will use your phone, and the type of phone you will need, the most important question is whether you will be primarily texting or calling your contacts. If you will be using the call feature for all communication you can save yourself a great deal on your phone. There are good phones for under fifty pounds and do not require contracts. Some of these cheaper phones also have Internet capabilities.
If you are looking for a phone that has all the bells and whistles you are probably in the market for a smart phone such as the iPhone. Smart phones usually offer everything currently available to the individual mobile phone consumer. If high-speed internet, a camera, touchscreen and applications are important to you then a smart phone such as the iPhone could be the right handset for you.
Depending on the type of features you are looking for you can spend a lot or quite little on your phone. Be sure that you are getting what you need from your mobile phone before you sign any contracts. Now that you have read this article, you will surely be better off on your search for the right phone.
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Here is a great article published by The telegraph about how you can learn to kerb your mobile phone bills to make ‘Bill Shock’ a thing of the past. The most common scene part is where Rosie mentions Ofcom suggesting network providers allow consumers to set their own bill caps and alerts. You will never be able to wipe out phone theft, but it looks like Ofcom intend to wipe out phone bill theft by the network providers before too long 
Confused about mobile phone charges? Here’s how to keep them in check.
“Some consumers told us that they had difficulty finding information about data charges or were given insufficient or incorrect information by the providers,” the regulator said. Ofcom added that customers should be provided with a description of key charges on their mobile phone contracts.
It’s not surprising that people are confused. Britain’s mobile phone providers have millions of tariffs – which on the plus side means that individuals can find a price plan that suits them. However, on the minus side it is hard to keep track of what you have and what you need.
What Ofcom is going to do Ofcom has written to mobile phone providers to remind them that they need to make tariffs transparent. It will also review the information that these providers put on their websites. The regulator is monitoring complaints about mobile data mis-selling and will consider taking action if issues of concern are uncovered.
What you can do: Review your contract. Check you know which tariff you are on and what it covers in terms of data, calls and text. Does it match your current usage? You can work this out by using monthly statements to see how you make calls and when, and if you are over or underusing your allocation.
The website Billmonitor.com can help you to work out which contract is right for you. When selecting a new plan, it pays to have a slightly higher monthly call or text allowance than you normally use, as charges can be costly if you exceed the limit.
Those in the middle of a contract won’t be able to switch providers without paying a penalty – which is likely to outweigh potential savings. But if you contact your provider it may move you on to a more appropriate tariff.
Data downloading at home and abroadData downloading is a confusing issue for customers – particularly those who are relatively new to the concept of ”smartphones”. You use up your data allowance every time you send and receive information from a website, but for many of us who are not familiar with the idea, it is difficult to know when you are doing this, and how much it is costing you.
Every time you connect to the internet and do something like check an email or Facebook page using 3G, rather than a wireless connection, it will use up your data allowance.
Even if you have an ”unlimited” data contract, or think you have plenty for your own use, you can still get stung with extra charges. Unlimited contracts come with a fair usage policy, meaning that they have an effective cap. If you go over this, bills can mount up quickly. Also, if you go abroad, data downloading is usually not included.Ofcom identified data downloading as one of the biggest causes of bill shock, because many customers do not realise what they are using. The problem is greatest when people are travelling outside the EU, where there is no cap on how big a bill you can run up; but it exists everywhere.
What Ofcom is going to do: Ofcom is supporting proposals to extend the EU Roaming cap to the rest of the world. At present, once your mobile internet bill reaches 50 euros in the EU you will be cut off until you call the operator. You must also receive an alert when you reach 80 per cent of your limit. If this were to apply worldwide then truly terrifying phone bills could be a thing of the past.
Ofcom also wants providers to develop ways in which customers can set their own financial caps and alerts, so that they know more about how big a bill they are running up.
What you can do: Understand how your data download limit works and keep an eye on it. Many mobile companies allow you to track your data usage online.
There are also free apps you can use such as Onavo, which works on Android and iPhones, and will tell you how close you are to your data limit as you use your phone. Use wireless hotspots wherever you can, especially abroad, and make
sure you understand just how much data downloading will cost you if you are travelling.Lost or stolen phones
Having your phone stolen is bad enough, but if a thief runs up a huge bill as well, the consequences can be devastating.
A consumer can be liable for the full amount – unlike if your cash card is stolen and used – and this may run into thousands of pounds. The Telegraph ran a story recently about a honeymoon couple who ran up an £8,200 phone bill from Vodafone and had to pay half of it (the rest was cancelled as a ”goodwill gesture”), illustrating just how scary this can be.
What Ofcom is going to do: Ofcom intends to work with providers to see if they can limit the amount consumers would be liable for if their phone was stolen.
What you can do: Take basic security steps such as locking your phone, and understand the serious consequences were it to be lost and used by someone else.
Mobile phone insurance may pay out toward a fraudulent bill but may not pay it all – check the limit on your policy if you have one. Also check what cover you have if you are going on holiday. Never leave your mobile phone or SIM card unguarded.
Article Credit/Full Article Here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/household-bills/9125142/How-to-avoid-mobile-bill-shock.html
You can compare iPhone Insurance on our home page if you would like to knock some money off your monthly bill.
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It seems the Office for Fair Trading has a valid point in the article below [published by The telegraph yesterday], however, the issue is never really going to be cleared up until the market is fully regulated as per the insurance industry, or, as The Telegraph mentions in the article, the removal of the right to sell warranties at the point of sale is implimented, but which will never happen.
What might help consumers more would be a better understanding of the difference between an extended warranty and an insurance product, as they really are two different products. If the consumer could clearly destinguish between the two different products, they might be able to detect when a superstore is attempting to sell an extended warranty dressed up as [or reffered to as by the sales person] an insurance product.
The Office for Fair Trading has ruled that extended warranties, sold alongside electrical products, still offer consumers bad value for money and shops must change their practices.
The Government watchdog is forcing the major electrical retailers – named as Argos, Dixons and Comet – to provide more information to shoppers and to agree to set up a price comparison website. If they fail to agree to these terms, the whole market will be referred to the Competition Commission.
Extended warranties are often sold by retailers alongside expensive domestic appliances, especially washing machines and televisions. The OFT estimates that £1 billion worth of these insurance policies are sold a year. They usually generate far higher profit margins than the electrical product itself.
The OFT, which has been investigating the market for the last nine months, found that only a quarter of shoppers looked around for a better deal on an extended warranty. To tackle this problem Argos, Comet and Dixons have agreed to set up a price comparison site where shoppers can analyse whether the warranty offers good value. They have also agreed to improve how they promote and sell these polices in their shops.
The stores have agreed to carry out mystery shopping exercises to ensure that shoppers are being given accurate information by sales staff.
The OFT raised concerns about a rolling monthly warranty, offered by Dixons. The retailer has agreed to make this pricing in annual terms clear.
This is not the first time the OFT has investigated extended warranties. Back in 2002 it referred the whole market to the Competition Commission, amid fears that consumers were being systematically ripped off. The Competition Commission found many of them were “unfair and uncompetitive” but many customers found them useful. It ruled that the retailers could carry on selling the policies, as long as shoppers were allowed to cancel within 45 days and the prices were made clear.
At the time, 80pc of warranties were sold by five retailers, who made between £116m and £152m a year profit on the business in 2002.
Some analysts said that the authorities would never be happy with the market. Nick Bubb, long-standing retail analyst, said: “Unless the OFT takes away the “point of sale” advantage the Electrical Retailers have in selling these products (or Customer Protection Plans as Dixons call them), and that would be grossly unfair, this saga will never end.”
Ann Pope, Director in the OFT’s Goods and Consumer Group, said: “Millions of extended warranties are sold in the UK each year and we remain concerned that, despite recent improvements, this market does not work as well as it could for consumers. We welcome the retailers’ initiative in offering undertakings and we now want to hear from consumers and others whether they think these will lead to improvements.”
Dixons said it welcomed the proposals, and in a statement, added: “Our Customer Support Agreements are designed with customers’ convenience in mind. Last year we relaunched our services under the KNOWHOW brand having made significant improvements to the services offered to customers, which include many features over and above a standard extended warranty. Further improvements to our customer service offer are continuously being made.”
Full Article Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9066374/OFT-extended-warranties-still-bad-value-for-consumers.html
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For all those Orange and T-Mobile customers around the UK who will have to get use to the imminent new brand name for their mobile phones, could you think of a worse brand name for a mobile phone network than ‘Everything Everywhere’?
It is a brand that is sure going to attract some micky taking, especially when you have broken down on the side of the road with no signal, everything everywhere? … or maybe something sometimes may be more fitting. I am sure they know best!
A strange name and a strange re-branding move that will sure run into millions of pounds, but we have to wish them good luck with the move. Hopefully they will have more luck with their new branding than Royal Mail and the Insignia brand a few years back.
Maybe this was the reason why Orange exercised their rights in the small print of their monthly contract customers and increased their tariffs by 4.34% two weeks back?
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Whilst millions of people welcomed in the New Year around the world, fun would not have been had by all. There will have been literally thousands of mobile phones of a variety of makes and models that will have been lost, stolen and damaged in all corners of the world.
Some folk will not be too worried as their handsets will only have been worth a few pounds and can easily be replaced. Yet owners of more advanced handsets, such as the latest Android phones and Apple iPhone owners will likely be kicking themselves at their bad luck or negligence.
Some of these people will have mobile phone insurance in one form or another. That could be with their network provider or an independent phone insurance company through to their home insurance policy or premium bank account.
Unfortunately, only around 40% of higher value handsets in the UK reportedly invest in an insurance policy to help protect the wallet against lifes unforeseen circumstances.
Some uninsured people who experienced a bad occurrence with their handset over the new year will attempt to purchase insurance after the event and then make a false claim over the next few day, in an attempt to have their iPhone replaced without having to take the full financial penalty themselves. This is not really the way to go, as it is classed as insurance fraud and if found out by the insurance company, risk being reported to the authorities and then face the possibility of a criminal record.
Insurance providers are getting increasingly tough on insurance fraud and have plenty of systems in place to decect and deal with bogus claims, so if you lost your mobile phone on New Years eve and then insured your handset at 3am on New Years day, think twice before you go ahead and make a claim a few days later!
On way to avoid this kind of situation is to purchase some mobile phone insurance before the accident happens. As mentioned earlier, you can get this from your network provider, online insurance companies, as well as from many premium bank accounts and via adding your handset to your home contents insurance policy.
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This is a novel new way to get your hands on the latest iPhone, yet you will still be able to get your hands on the next Apple handset without having to wait for your 24 month contract to end. Do be aware it can easily turn into an expensive option though. Another way would be to buy the iPhone 4s outright direct from Apple, put your own phone free sim in it, then when the new iPhone 5 is released you can buy it direct from Apple again and sell your iPhone 4s on ebay, where you will be supprised at how much it will still be worth. You will also be able to half the cost of your iPhone insurance, as you will not be tied into the expensive iPhone insurance that o2 provide for the lease handset.
Consumers desperate to get their hands on the latest iPhone 4S can rent the handset for 12 months from O2 – but it will cost them £55 a month for the pleasure of avoiding a lengthy contract.
The new ‘leasing’ scheme includes insurance as well as 740 minutes, 500MB of data and unlimited texts.
It will cost £55 a month for the 16GB model or £65 for the 32GB. That compares to the shortest 18-month contract free ownership phone deal with insurance of £64.50 per month.
However, it is only available on iPhone 4S handsets and must be taken out in-store or over the phone.
As many smartphone addicts will know, customers are often tied into lengthy contracts for 18 to 24 months, leaving them unable to upgrade to the newest handset when it comes onto the market.
Customers taking this rental deal will not ‘own’ the phone as they are just leasing it from the mobile network each year. At the end of the 12 months customers can choose to renew the contract, move or leave.
Sally Cowdry, marketing and consumer director for O2 UK, said: ‘This is the first time a UK mobile operator has adopted a leasing model. We know that customers and small businesses are used to leasing everyday items from cars and washing machines to photocopiers and office space.
‘They understand how it works and what the advantages of a leasing are. We have simply taken this idea and applied it to the smartphone market.’
The network operator warned that customers will need to take good care of the phone to avoid being charged for damage at the end of the contract.
If the customer loses the handset or it is badly damaged then they will need to claim on the O2 insurance policy which is set up when leasing the phone.
The insurance policy covers customers for theft, loss, accessories up to £200 and accidental damage, including water.
But there is an £60 excess charge for the first claim and any subsequent claim costs £120.
Lease contracts will also be available to businesses for more information visit the O2 website.
How does it compare to an 18 or 24 month contract: Is it any good?
Tara Evans from This is Money says: If you compare the tariff and total cost price to other similar O2 products then it’s a little bit more expensive.
For example, the total cost price of the lease phone for 16GB handset is £660. If you were to take out the phone for two years it would set you back £1,320 for 750 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data.
For a traditional 18-month ownership contract with the same handset and contract terms, except 600 minutes instead of 750, it would cost you £1005.99 for the two years. That comes out as £42 per month with a £99 fee for the phone, plus insurance at £12.50 a month.
This makes the lease contract £315.01 more expensive compared to the ownership fixed term contract. There are similar margins across other variations of the contract.
However, with the lease phone you are paying this premium so that you’re not tied into a long contract and are therefore free to get the latest handset at much shorter periods.
The flipside is that if you take a traditional contract whereby you own the phone at the end of the period you have an asset worth some money. iPhones hold value relatively well and a two-year old phone could sell second-hand for up to £200.
Of course anyone thinking about taking out this phone will have to work out how much they use their phone. Look at how many minutes, texts and data you use each month to see if a contract is suitable for you.
Then compare the lease contract with other types of contracts offered by mobile phone operators. You will need to calculate the total cost of the contract, looking at the first and second year cost.
Then you will be able to work out if you would rather pay this higher cost to have a shorter contract.
In some ways this is just O2’s approach to offer a 12 month contract at a slightly more affordable price as operators need to offset the cost of the handset against the total cost of the contract.
Full Storey Credit: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2072202/Rent-iPhone-4S-O2-12-months–youll-pay-privilege.html
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If you are looking for all of the basics regarding insurance plus some other tips that you might not have heard of, this article is for you. This can be a confusing subject with all of the different opinions and information that is available, especially when a lot of it is contradictory.
Phone
You can help make sure your insurance claim proceeds smoothly, by keeping full documentation and records of the whole process. Keep track of every conversation you have with the insurance company, so you have a timeline for the progress of your claim. Follow up on any face-to-face or phone conversations with written letters to confirm what they tell you.
To get a good price on insurance and to know what your options are, see if your state has a department of insurance. A lot of local governments have something like this, and there may be a phone number and/or website available with information that you can use to determine what products are available, as well as their respective price ranges.
Make sure your insurance provider is easy to contact before purchasing a policy. If you do need to make a claim in the future, you want to be sure that you can easily contact your insurance company by your chosen method of communication such as in writing, over the phone or by email.
When looking for insurance, make it personal. Meet with insurance agents from different companies and see what they have to offer. A lot of the time they have special deals and incentives to get you to buy theirs because they want to make the sale. If you meet with them personally, you are more likely to get a deal that you might miss out on if you just deal with a company online or over the phone.
As stated at the beginning, there is quite a bit of information in regards to insurance. Hopefully you will find these tips beneficial. You should now find yourself ahead of the game if you are working to become an expert, or just trying to get a bit of background information.
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It is no secret that iPhones can be rather expensive. Once you’ve finally gotten the device, it is your responsibility to protect your new investment. All iPhones differ from one another in a multitude of model versions and memory capacity, yet still share a fundamental weakness when it comes to their durability. Listed below, there are a few things to consider when it ‘s time to select your iPhone defences
Pay very close attention to the actual material of the case in question. Some iPhone cases look incredibly nice, but are made of cheap materials that wouldn’t help if the device was to drop more than a foot. The best choice is usually a rubber like casing that isn’t bulky, but will get the job done perfectly.
Different cases and phones have different methods for latching to one another. You may have an extremely durable case, but once you actually drop the phone, it pops off and serves no purpose. Ensure that your casing isn’t poorly constructed and engineered, or that hard shell won’t mean a thing.
Some cases focus more on design than durability. This is great in theory, but over time the phone will take damage and it will be reflected in the appearance of the case. While a normal, scratch-resistant case is usually a flat black complexion, it won’t look nearly as bad as the fancy dragon case after six weeks under similar conditions.
It’s crucial you check your case to ensure that it is shock resistant. Many people do not realise how little it takes to completely fry a phone. Be careful with where you leave it sitting and never take it close to any form of magnet, electrical or otherwise.
Consider iphone insurance as well as a protective case.
Every consumer has different needs or uses for their iPhone, but it’s always good to have a single idea we can all reach together. That idea is the very one that was discussed in the article above. Protect your phone from nature, electricity, water and most importantly, yourself!
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Vodafone says I am not covered since my iPhone contained my business sim when it was stolen
The article below, that was printed in The Guardian on 25/11/11 is a strange one. Also, a bit sad as it does not help fight the insurance industries side one little bit, it just helps convince the general public that they are being taken for a ride by insurance providers.
Maybe it is a clause that the FSA needs to look into, just why would a mobile phone insurance policy need to be void from theft cover just because the iPhone owner had decided they wanted to use a different SIM card in their own phone?
Terms and conditions need to be implemented to any insurance policy, or fraud would rocket to uncontrollable levels, but the SIM card issue is over the top and unfortunately far to common a clause within the mobile phone insurance industry.
You could compare this with purchasing Tesco car insurance and after a claim, you find your insurance was invalid as you had shopping from Sainsbury’s in the boot!
PB from Haverfordwest must also take some of the blame in this instance though as he clearly admits he did not read the terms and conditions of his iPhone insurance policy, he simply took the words of the sales assistant to be true. With any insurance product it is essential to read the full terms and conditions yourself, rather than listening to the advice of the person whom is attempting to sell you the service.
It does also raise the question if staff in phone stores across the country are [or need to be] FSA registered to give advice about insurance products to customers.
Glad to see that Vodafone did the right thing though and replaced the iPhone in question, as they had given incorrect advise in store, that is quite good of them, as many companies would normally start the three wise monkeys act and refute that such advise was ever given in the first place.
10 out of 10 to Vodafone for corporate integrity …
In June I visited a Vodafone store in a shopping centre in Cambridge to take out a contract with an iPhone 4. I have a company sim card with Vodafone Business, which is paid for by my employer. I wanted to purchase a contract and iPhone so I would be able to switch between my work and personal sim, as needed.
Being wary about insurance, I specifically asked the saleswoman whether my contract and/or insurance on the phone would be affected if I was using my company sim. I was told categorically that it wouldn’t be. For this reason, I signed the contract and began using the phone, and agreed to pay the £12.99 a month for the insurance.
In October, my phone was stolen. Having reported the theft to the police, I called Vodafone to block the number of my work sim, which was in the phone at the time. I was told I would have to contact the insurance people to organise a new handset. I rang the insurance company, told them my work sim was in the phone at the time, and was told my claim would be refused.
I was informed that the small print of the contract (which I did not read because of what I’d been told in the store) outlined that, in order to be insured, the personal sim would have to be in the phone at the time. Vodafone has since implied it is my word against the saleswoman. I now have a contract which doesn’t finish until 2013, and no handset. Should I really be expected to honour a contract for another two years when I have been misled in order to secure it? PB, Haverfordwest, Dyfed
Thefts of smartphones are causing the telecoms companies big problems because, unlike previous handsets, the latest phones are expensive to replace. Last week, Phones 4u told the City it had suffered a 25% collapse in earnings over the last 12 months because its traditionally lucrative insurance business had been hit by a big jump in claims values, caused by smartphones. This may be the reason why Vodafone’s insurers declined your claim, although we can’t see why the sim’s origin makes any difference to its validity, as you were only claiming for the handset’s replacement.
Happily, however, Vodafone now accepts you were misinformed in its store, and has put the matter right. “We will make sure our customer relations teams learn from this, and have arranged for a replacement phone to be sent to PB,” says a spokeswoman.
Source credit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/nov/25/insurance-claim-vodafone-wrong-sim
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