Archive for the ‘Science and Technology’ Category
Monday, June 29th, 2009
Buying a cell phone handset remotely, that is to say online, over the phone, or by mail order, means that you have some extra rights as a consumer. Any complaints that you feel have not been satisfactorily resolved can be taken to an ombudsman service, who will fight your corner for free if they feel that you have a case.
Buying a phone service contract remotely entitles you to be able to cancel the order and be refunded up to 7 working days after the order was placed, with no reason having to be given. However, if you ask for your service to begin immediately, then you are waiving this right.
You can cancel the order for a handset that you have bought without a service contract up to seven days after receiving the phone, providing you have not damaged the unit or its packaging.
The majority of mobile phone handsets come complete with a guarantee that your phone will be refunded, repaired, or replaced if anything should go wrong with it that is not your fault.
Even if your phone does not come with a warranty, you still have some rights under the terms of the Sale of Goods Act, which entitle you to a repair, replacement, or refund if the phone develops a problem that isnt your fault. The strength of your claim will, however, depend on the circumstances of the case, and how old the phone was when the fault was noticed.
If you want to keep your old number when you switch to a new network, all you have to do is request a Porting Authorisation Code(PAC) number from your current service provider, give it to your new provider along with your old phone number, and the switchover should only take a day or two.
It might be worth your while finding out how easy it will be to get out of any contract before you sign it, as some contracts have long minimum terms and high cancellation fees.
Visit Vodafone today for your next mobile or for a great sim only deal.
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Monday, June 29th, 2009
In a nutshell, a camera phone is a mobile phone with an integral digital camera. It allows users to capture both still images and short moving sequences, store them on the phones internal memory or a removable memory card, and share them with other devices and users via a wireless internet connection.
The first PDA, although it was not termed as such at the time, was the Casio PF3000, released in 1983. Although this might have looked like a pocket calculator that had gotten too big for its boots, it was in fact a direct replacement for the paper based organiser, and was an immediate hit with busy people everywhere. More digital organisers followed from firms such as Psion and GO, and by the end of the eighties, the bulging Filofax was an increasingly rare sight.
The name PDA was coined by Apple to describe their new organiser, the Newton, in 1992, which differed from other organisers in that it did away with the need for a small keypad, using a detachable stylus, handwriting recognition software and a graphical user interface instead.
The concept was well ahead of its time, and huge sales were expected. Unfortunately for Apple, and even more so for those who bought one of these items, the handwriting recognition was somewhat less than reliable, making the entry of even simple information via this method something of a hit or miss affair. They did make subsequent revisions to the design which improved matters somewhat, but the negative publicity surrounding the initial models meant that the Newton was never destined to be a commercial success.
The next big thing in the world of the PDA was to come out of Finland in 1996. The Nokia 9000 communicator, dubbed the worlds first smartphone, combined the typical functions of a PDA with a mobile phone, allowing text messages to be typed using a QWERTY keypad amongst other things, and almost overnight became the biggest selling PDA of all time.
A modern PDA usually features a touch sensitive screen with a detachable stylus or a small QWERTY keyboard for data entry, a memory card slot for data storage, and wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, IrDA and/or WiFi. The inbuilt software usually includes an address book, to do list, diary, notepad, email and a web browser.
One of the most important functions of a PDA is that you can connect to a PC and share the data between them, a technique known as synchronisation. This means that you can export all of your contact details, messages, and diary entries from your PC to your PDA, and vice versa, at the touch of a button. Not only does this mean that you don’t have to enter any of the same information twice, but it also means that your valuable data is backed up, in case one or other device is lost or ceases to function.
The PDA has gone from being a simple pocket organiser to being a full blown wireless communications device with more computing power than a space shuttle in the space of less than thirty years. At the current rate of advancement, the mind boggles as to what form the PDA will take in the future!
Vodafone stock a large mobile phone range, including Blackberry for you to chose from.
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Monday, June 29th, 2009
Although the market is now awash with smartphones that combine advanced computing facilities with telephone functionality, the unit that really kicked off the craze was developed in the early 2000s by a Canadian firm called Research In Motion and called the BlackBerry.
The fact that the name BlackBerry is now often used to describe any smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard is a testament to the strength of the original concept. However, the very first BlackBerry, released in 1999, was not a phone at all, but rather a PDA with a paging function.
However, it was not until 2002 that the BlackBerry smartphone was introduced, which is the product line that is most commonly associated with the brand today.
BlackBerry smartphones are capable of mobile telephony, SMS text messaging, internet faxing, push emailing and web browsing as well as full PDA functionality.
Although there were already several devices on the market, most notably the popular Nokia 9000, that combined a QWERTY keyboard with a mobile phone to give it full PDA functionality, the BlackBerry smartphone introduced a number of innovations which allowed it to steal a march on its rivals within the business market.
The most exciting feature of the BlackBerry was its ability to send and receive emails on the move, using a technique known as push emailing. In a nutshell, push emailing allows you to use your works email account anywhere in the world, with automatic updating and downloading of new messages and contacts between the main server and the BlackBerry.
The name BlackBerry is derived from its unique keyboard, whose bulbous black keys made the unit look somewhat like the aforementioned small foodstuff. The first models came with a side mounted tracking wheel to allow navigation through the menu system, but later models came with a trackball, which allowed far more flexibility and ease of use, particularly for those used to working with a mouse.
Some models featured a Push-to-Talk function, which effectively turned the unit into a two way intercom system across long distances, which took the concept of the portable office that one stage further.
Companies with a large roaming staff, such as sales fleets, were among the biggest champions of the BlackBerry system, as it allowed a mobile workforce to be integrated almost as well as an office, and they were also particularly popular with jet-setting executives, who wanted to be able to stay in touch with their workforce even when they were away on business.
One of the great advantages of the BlackBerry email system is that messages could be written and replied to in circumstances where reception is less than optimal, such as on a train, as the unit can queue information to be sent and received whenever transmission is possible.
A handy feature of the BlackBerry is its trilateration function, which works a little like a GPS device, but without the need for connection to a satellite. It is particularly handy for bosses who need to know the whereabouts of their employees, or for finding people in busy thoroughfares that you have never met face to face before.
Vodafone stock a large mobile phone range, including Blackberry for you to chose from.
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Monday, June 29th, 2009
In a nutshell, a camera phone is a mobile phone with an integral digital camera. It allows users to capture both still images and short moving sequences, store them on the phones internal memory or a removable memory card, and share them with other devices and users via a wireless internet connection.
Although there have been landline based video phones for a number of decades, the first cell phone to be able to transmit, receive, and display digital images was a prototype device called the Intellect, which was designed in 1993 by the American inventor Daniel A. Henderson. The Intellect was, in essence, a hand held mobile phone with a large, high resolution monochrome screen, that was able to display images and video files that had been transmitted by a computer connected to a wireless transmitter. Many of the technologies and data transfer protocols that were pioneered by Henderson are still in use today, in our modern camera phones.
Other early experiments with wireless image sharing in conjunction with mobile telephony included Apple’s Videophone/PDA in 1995, and several prototype digital camera/mobile phone combinations demonstrated by Kodak and Olympus in the mid 90s. However, none of these devices were capable of connecting to the internet wirelessly, which was to prove a crucial development as it allowed instant media sharing with anyone regardless of their location.
The first image sharing infrastructure technology was demonstrated in 1997 by Philippe Kahn of US tech firm Lightsurf enterprises, who successfully sent a picture of his newborn baby to over 2000 friends, relatives, and associates from a prototype Sharp cameraphone. This phone, the Sharp J-SH04, finally hit the shelves in Japan in 2001, and appeared in the US and European markets the following year.
Needless to say, the camera phone was to prove a huge success, and by 2006, over half of all the mobile phones in circulation were cameraphones, which spelled the end for two of the worlds leading camera makers, Minolta and Konica.
Today, there are over two billion camera phones in use globally, and that figure is predicted to rise exponentially in the years to come.
Cameraphone footage has even started to be shown on TV, as their ubiquity allows citizen bystanders to film major events as they happen, rather than waiting for a professional camera crew to turn up. The Boxing Day Tsunami of 2005 was the first example of a major world news event where the majority of the breaking news footage shown on television was filmed by citizens using camera phones, rather than by professional crews.
With the advent of video sharing platforms such as Youtube, and its rapid acceptance as a format for breaking news footage, cameraphone footage has become an increasing part of the visual fabric of our culture.
Vodafone stock a great range of mobiles if you are looking to upgrade, or sim cards if you already have your phone of choice.
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
When you are looking to get a new mobile phone, you basically have two options: pay as you go, or a monthly contract. But with the myriad price plans and incentives that are around to help confuse matters, how can you know which payment plan is right for you?
Here, we shall go through the various plusses and minuses of each type of payment plan, in order to help you decide which one is right for you.
If you decide to go for a pay as you go plan, then you never have to face paying a big phone bill at the end of the month. You do, however, have to buy phone credits, available from most newsagents, or over the phone, before you can make any calls or send texts.
You usually have to pay a bit more up front to get a pay as you go phone, but they can work out to be cheaper in the long run if you are not a heavy phone user. Another advantage of prepaid plans is that, because you are not tied into a contract, you are free to walk away at any time.
The call costs are typically higher with a prepaid phone, and you could be left unable to make calls or send texts if you run out of credit and are unable to purchase more credit for one reason or another.
Monthly contracts usually involve far less in the way of initial outlay, allowing you to get a far more expensive phone than you might otherwise be able to afford. The calls and texts are usually cheaper, and if you are using your phone a lot, this type of deal is usually a lot better value.
You can use your phone as much as you like with a contract, although you should be aware that you could end up with a massive bill if you do not keep an eye on your phone usage.
All in all, if you are a heavy phone user with a regular source of income, then a contract phone could well be a better option.However, if you are buying a phone for a child, dont have a huge amount of money coming in each month, or dont plan to use your phone all that much, then a pay as you go plan could be a better option.
Vodafone offer some of the newest mobiles on a range of price plans including pay as you go if you do not want a monthly contract.
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
Some parents may bristle at the idea of buying a cell phone for their children, worried about astronomical phone bills and unrestricted usage.
The Firefly is currently the most popular cell phone on the market to be specifically aimed at children, and with its bright colour schemes, cartoony designs and screen animations, it is not hard to see why. It features three large, brightly coloured buttons that will allow even young children to contact mum, dad, or the emergency services at the touch of a button. There are a number of parental control features, such as a PIN protected phone book that lets parents set the numbers that their child is allowed to call, and an option to prevent incoming calls from numbers that are not on the list.
Parents who get nervous when their children are off on their own might want to have a look at the Wherifone, which features a GPS function that allows you to see where your child is at any given time via a computer connected to the internet. This can also come in quite handy if the phone gets lost, as the GPS can tell you where it is to within an accuracy of a few metres. It also features all the usual parental controls that you would associate with phones aimed at the younger market.
If you want to be quite specific about when your child can use a phone, and what for, then the LeapFrog TicTalk could be the phone for you. As well as providing all the usual phone functions, it also doubles as a handy camera, and a personal organiser to encourage your child to get their affairs in order.
The Disney range of mobiles are aimed at slightly older kids, with features such as a flip top design, text messaging, and content downloading. They still, however, feature all the parental controls that you might expect from a unit of this type.
The Tracfone is a cheap, durable phone with a pay as you go service, which makes it suitable for kids, although it lacks the brightly coloured stylings and parental control options of child specific cell phones, making it one for the older kids.
The ChatNow phone is really a walkie talkie dressed up to look like a phone, with a radius of two miles, and a number of phone-like functions such as text messaging. The best thing about the ChatNow is that after you have bought the unit, there are no additional costs, as all communication takes place on freely available radio frequencies.
Visit Vodafone today for your next mobile or for a great sim only deal.
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
When you are travelling around, it can be hard to stay up to date with the latest movements in the currency market, as you are often miles from the nearest internet-connected PC. However, if you have a smartphone such as a Samsung Blackjack, a BlackBerry, or a T Mobile G1, then you are in luck, as there are free currency converters available for all of these machines.
BlackBerry users should try and get hold of an app called Worldmate Live, which is available from the BlackBerry App World service. You will need to download App World to your BlackBerry first. This requires a trackball and a BlackBerry operating system version 4.2 or later, and takes around ten minutes to set up. After installation, simply go into App World and search for Worldmate Live. The app itself should take no longer than three minutes to set install after downloading.
Not only can Worldmate Live keep you abreast of the movements of over 160 world currencies, it can also tell you what the weather is like anywhere in the world, help you organise your itinerary, and compare international clothing sizes!
Owners of a Google Android equipped phone such as the HTC Magic or the T Mobile G1 should get a hold of an app called aCurrency. It only takes about sixty seconds to install, and is able to give you automatically updated exchange rates for over a hundred and sixty currencies.
You can download aCurrency directly onto your phone via the Android Market, Googles own version of the iTunes App Store. You can get it by searching for the word Currency and then clicking on the aCurrency download when it appears. The most impressive feature of aCurrency is that it automatically updates itself every time it starts, as long as an internet connection is present.
Windows Mobile-equipped smartphones, such as the Samsung Blackjack or the Motorola Q are able to get their own version of the BlackBerry app Worldmate Live, although the procedure is quite different.
You can download this by surfing to worldmate.com and electing to receive this app on your phone via a link in a text message or e-mail. As with the BlackBerry version, it takes around ten minutes to download and set up, but after that you are good to go.
Due to the fact that these programs all obtain their currency information from the internet, it stands to reason that if you are in a part of the world where you cannot get reception, then your currency information is unlikely to be up to date, so if you need accurate information, then make sure that you are connected when you check.
Vodafone stock mobile phones that are ideal for everyone including a great range of Samsung mobile phones that are available today.
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
Today, Nokia are the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. But back when the Nokia Company was founded, all they made was paper.
When Finnish engineer and paper manufacturer Fredrik Idestam hit up his friend Leo Mechelin for some extra investment capital to save his flailing paper mill business in return for a share of future profits, he could have had little idea that they would be starting a company that would go on to be one of the biggest in the world. The new firm, which they decided to call The Nokia Company was named after the river that ran past one of Idestams paper mills, which also lent its name to a nearby town. Their first major expansion took place in 1902, when they decided to go into the electricity production business, a growth industry which was to go on to prove far more profitable than making paper.
After the first world war, the Nokia company was facing bankruptcy, and were bought out by Finnish Rubber Works. In 1922, Finnish Rubber Works bought out Finnish Cable Works, makers of telephone, telegraph, and electricity cables. Nokia, Finnish Rubber Works, and Finnish Cable Works were merged into one large company, the Nokia Corporation, in 1967. Over the years, Nokia Corporation made tyres, footwear, paper products, personal computers, televisions, capacitors, aluminium, communications cables and electricity generation machinery at various stages.
However, they abandoned all their other interests in the 1990s to concentrate solely on mobile and land based telecommunications, a market that was on the cusp of explosive growth.
The first electronic device manufactured by Nokia was a pulse analyser, to be used in nuclear power plants. In partnership with another Finnish firm, Salora Oy, they developed VHF radio technology, and started the first Finnish radio telephone network, called ARP, which was the most successful of its kind in the world at the time.
In the late 70s, Nokia pioneered the worlds first digital telecommunications switch, the DX200. In 1984 they bought out Salora Oy and formed a new mobile telecoms division, entitled Nokia-Mobira Oy, releasing their first product that same year, the Mobira Talkman, which was a transportable phone around the size of a briefcase that could be charged from a car cigarette lighter socket.
They also introduced one of the worlds first hand held phones, the Mobira Cityman 900, which despite costing more than a family saloon car, sold like hot cakes, paving the way for their current dominance of the cell phone industry. The Cityman got a big publicity boost in 1987, when the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev was pictured using one to call his communications minister in Moscow from Helsinki, leading to the phone being nicknamed The Gorba.
The firm changed their name from Nokia-Mobira Oy to Nokia Mobile Phones in 1989, and soon became the sole focus of the entire corporation. Today they make and sell more mobile phones every year than any other manufacturer, and thanks to the camera phone explosion, is now also the biggest manufacturer of cameras in the world.
Visit Vodafone today for your next mobile or for a great sim only deal.
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
At the moment in the UK, no matter what mobile phone service provider you are with you will find that you get a perfect signal in some areas, and a weaker signal in others. While the situation has improved with most networks, it can still only really be described as patchy. So why is this, and what can we expect in future from our mobile phone networks?
A variety of things can adversely affect the signal strength of your phone. Whether you are in a bustling city or the remote countryside, you will find that there are things that can interfere with your telephone calls.
You will tend to find that phone coverage is more reliable in urban areas. Although, this is not always the case, as all urban areas, even busy cities like London, have dead zones where no mobile signal gets through. This does not mean that there are no mobile phone towers in the area, but that somehow the signal transmitted by the mobile tower is not being picked up by your phone, as it is being blocked by something.
In a bustling city, these interferences tend to come from obstructive buildings, in particular the tall variety. And if these buildings are tightly packed-in around you, then your phone signal has even more work to do to get through to your phone.
And it is not just cities that have problems. Villages and rural areas, remote or otherwise, all experience signal interference. In the green pastures of the UK countryside however, the culprits are the mountainous and hilly areas of land, and clusters of forest.
But in the countryside, the main bug-bear of mobile phone users is the lack of mobile phone coverage in general. These less-populated areas tend to be less well served by the mobile provision companies, basically due to the lower number of customers there. This hardly seems fair as we all pay the same mobile phone tariffs and call and text costs no matter where we live and work, so why should some pay for weaker service?
Mobile phone coverage is certainly improving, and at a rate faster than we have yet seen. 3G technology definitely helped things along, as mobile phone companies had to reach specific coverage targets in order to be able to supply their 3G product to customers.
And now we wait patiently for 4G, the next generation, which will mean crystal clear coverage for all of us, no matter what our location. So as technology advances, so continues to push coverage further, and to a better and better standard.
Vodafone offer great deals on mobiles and sim only deals if you already have your phone of choice.
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
It wasnt so long ago that no children had their own mobile phones. They were very expensive luxuries, even for adults, and parents were naturally reluctant to give their child something that would end up costing them the earth, or worse, landing them in trouble.
Since then, mobile phones have got a lot cheaper, and pay as you go contracts have become available that preclude the possibility of running up a massive phone bill. Recently, several phones have come onto the market that have been specifically designed for children, with bright colours, large speed dialling buttons and parental controls amongst other features. Today, nearly fifty percent of under 15s in the UK have their own cell phone.
A cell phone can provide parents with a method of getting in touch with their children in an emergency, or to let them know if they are going to be late. Some phones even come with a GPS device, which allows parents to track the movements of their children via a laptop or a PDA, which could be a lifesaver if they go missing.
Many parents see the act of giving a cell phone to their child as a good way to give them a little extra responsibility. A pay as you go phone, in particular, will give them a very real sense of how much their phone usage is costing in real terms.
One of the reasons why parents are often reluctant to let their children have mobile phones is that they worry that they will distract them from their schoolwork, or expose them to unwelcome influences.
Its perfectly natural that a child should want to talk on the phone for hours to their friends, and that they can do this without realising how much it is costing them, or more likely, you.
However, all of the child-specific phones currently on the market offer parental controls that can be set, with a PIN code, to control the numbers that can be phoned and that will be accepted by the phone, and prohibit the use of certain features such as internet access or online games.
However, you shouldnt rely merely on software controls to keep your children from abusing their phone privileges. It is highly recommended that you set down some ground rules for their phone usage, such as not letting them use it while eating, or when they are meant to be doing their homework.
Vodafone always have great mobile phone deals including exciting new Sony Ericsson mobiles.
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