Mobile Phone News:

You may remember that I mentioned here about the war brewing between the Apple iPhone and, well, all other mobile phones on the planet. Well, we’ve recreated this in our own little way, today, as me and Dan W Esq (one of our ever-awesome web team, who unfortunately insists on the Esq at the end of his name) decided to have a row about it. No fisticuffs or anything, you understand, just two friends having a friendly, spirited debate about mobile phones, arguing like cat and dog, and then, somehow, miraculously, agreeing at the end!

And yes, it was about the Apple iPhone 3G. Y’see, Dan W is the second biggest Apple fan in the known universe after Chewie. It was inevitable he’d buy an iPhone at some point, and quite frankly, I’m amazed he’s waited this long. He will be getting the new Apple iPhone 3G when it comes out.

So, what was our argument about? Well, it started with a simple question: now the Apple iPhone 3G is on its way, is it going to be the mobile phone that brings about a whole new perception shift in how we look at, think about and use mobile phones? Or, taking the opposing viewpoint, is it simply a massive hype exercise, for a product that isn’t actually that good?

Well, things started off well, as we both agreed that the iPhone, in its first incarnation, is still one of the best looking mobile phones ever made, and it seems likely that the Apple iPhone 3G will follow suit. Of course, I had to point out it’s also probably the biggest fingerprint-magnet in the history of mobile phones. Yes, Dan, I know you can wipe the screen, but that’s the problem, you end up wiping it about 93 million times a day…

“Ah, but look at the screen,” says Dan, and here I have to concede he’s right, because the screen on the iPhone really is magnificent. Even I have to agree the interface is all swirly and pretty, and rather intuitive, too. I dispute that it’s better than all other mobile phones, but I’ll let that slide for now.

And then it all went wrong. We were being so civil up till this point, but in hindsight, it was one sentence that started the debate properly.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said, “Aye, but the camera… it’s crap, isn’t it!”

This immediately led into a five minute debate about whether you need a top-end camera on mobile phones, and how it shouldn’t be called crap, because 2 megapixels is actually average for mobile phones. Erm, yeah, but the iPhone 3G is being billed as the best phone in the universe, average doesn’t cut it! There’s no way you can argue it has a good camera.

That’s why I tried to stay on the camera argument. I had a horrible suspicion I knew what he was going to mention next, and it could ruin my argument completely. Please don’t mention the feature I think you’re going to mention, Dan…

“How about the web, then? You can’t beat internet access on an iPhone!” says Dan.

Damn.

Alright, I’ll concede the Safari browser is exceptionally nice to use. And alright, I’ll concede that with 3G built in, the Apple iPhone 3G probably is the best internet mobile phone out there. I hate you for bringing that up, Dan, why couldn’t you stay on stuff I know I can beat you on??

Sigh, no way out of it, the internet experience on the Apple iPhone 3G will be like no other. It keeps the Safari browser from its predecessor, and it includes 3G (which, let’s be honest, the first iPhone should’ve had, since so many other mobile phones do), so it’s going to be a damn sight faster than its predecessor!

And then, something miraculous happened. Me and Dan actually agreed on something. Despite our separate feelings on the iPhone, we both agree that it IS going to change the way people use their mobile phones for the internet. The Apple iPhone 3G really can change the mobile world, not just by people buying it for themselves, but by the simple fact it will give all the other manufacturers of mobile phones a massive, much-needed kick up the ass to do new, innovative things. Annnnnnnnnd we’re already seeing that, with things like Nokia buying Symbian.

But as for the Apple iPhone 3G… well, Dan will 100% definitely get one. And I’ll take great delight in telling him he can’t forward on stupid sound clips because his Bluetooth won’t let him.

It keeps him grounded, don’t you know!

Do you agree with Dan, and say the Apple iPhone 3G will be the best thing since sliced bread? Or do you agree with Technical Markus, and say the Apple iPhone 3G is STILL underpowered, and made by a company whose CEO is the smuggest man on the planet, and deserves a good slap. Either way, leave us a comment and have your say!

Anyone who’s used an N-Series mobile phone will have used an interface called Series 60 (or just S60, if you’re lazy), which is what Nokia’s smartphones (mobile phones like the Nokia N95 8Gb) are built on, and which is itself built on an operating system called Symbian. You’ve probably heard me mention Symbian, as it’s what Sony Ericsson’s smartphones (like my P1) are also based on (in the form of UIQ).

The big news is that Nokia have splashed out the cash and completely, 100% bought out Symbian. So, all mobile phones with Symbian in them will be Nokias from now on??

Well, actually, no. It’s bigger than that. This really is something that will have MASSIVE repercussions throughout the entire mobile spectrum. Nokia bought Symbian, and then donated the whole lot to the Symbian Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose sole aim is to make Symbian into a completely open-source, and free (to the Foundation’s members, anyway) operating system.

But it won’t JUST be built on S60, because Sony Ericsson are chucking UIQ into the mix, and DoCoMo (big in Japan…) are throwing their version of Symbian, MOAP-S, into the equation, too. So, in essence, what we’re getting is going to be a standardised, hyper-advanced operating system for mobile phones, that’s completely open source, get the massive levels of software compatibility that S60 has, along with UIQ’s touch-based loveliness, and MOAP-S’s super-advanced-ness. And because of its different heritages, it should work just as well on keypad OR touchscreen-based mobile phones. The cynical amongst us will say that Nokia have only done it because they can’t get S60 Touch right, and want UIQ…

The thoughtful among us think they should just call the whole project ‘Operation Shaft-Google’.

Why is this news important, then? Think about it. A whole brand new operating system, that’s built on the back of the best operating systems that are in use by 3 massive companies, standardised to allow developers a massive foothold into the huge Symbian mobile phones marketplace (remember, 77 MILLION Symbian mobile phones sold last year…)

But wait it’s even bigger than that, too. Take a look at the list of companies who’ve signed up to be part of the Symbian Foundation (and this isn’t even the full list!):

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Samsung, NTT DoCoMo, AT&T, ST Microelectronics, Texas Instruments, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, EA Mobile, Fujitsu…

That’s… that’s basically EVERYONE!

If you’re still wondering why it’s massive news: what is being set up here is a whole new breed of mobile phones.

What is about to evolve is a single, optimised operating system, that is built on 3 proven-to-be-stunningly-powerful ones, that is backwards compatible with the most popular operating system in today’s world of mobile phones. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Nokia’s Series 60-based mobile phones dominate the world, so any operating system that is compatible with their applications, user base, and developer base, has a massive leg-up over the competition. And it’s open source, so any manufacturer can fiddle about with it, to make it perfect for their mobile phones. And it’s totally free, once the company is in the Symbian Foundation, meaning they don’t have to pay crippling licence fees.

Or, in other words, Google and Apple should be cacking themselves about now, as the big boys have just declared war!

Leave us a comment and have your say!

Every so often, a story pops up about mobile phones that just makes me go, “Yeeeeeeeeeeah, I have to blog that.” Usually, it’s something stupidly hilarious, or something that could be a massively big deal in the mobile world. Every once in a while, though, it’s something that’s both, just like a story from TheStar.com. Apparently, mobile phones aren’t just everywhere in our waking lives, but they’re even taking us over while we sleep.

Well, that is, if you believe the claims of people who say that they have found they actually send text messages, from their mobile phones, while they’re asleep.

Now, at first, this does indeed look like it’s come out of one of the loony papers, and should share the page with stories about buses on the moon, and aliens abducting people to play ‘hide the implant’. Surely these stories of people using mobile phones in their sleep are the same, urban legends or made up to make fun out of (or make money from) gullible people?

Those are the things you’re all expecting me to say. I know you’re all thinking I’m going to say that, I can practically smell it.

Well, you’re wrong.

Because, believe it or not, there is a vast amount of evidence that suggests it is actually possible and plausible, and let’s face it, sleep disorders are a lot more plausible than ‘Redneck gets a probin’ from aliens’ stories. After all, sleepwalking is a recognised phenomenon, and you might not realise that sleepwalking can frequently involve acts much more complicated than using mobile phones. Cleaning the house is a common one, or sleep eating, or binge drinking in your sleep. It’s a recognised phenomenon, and has even been used as a defence in the case of Kenneth Parks, where he drove to and killed his in-laws, all whilst asleep, and having no conscious memory of it.

When you look at it like that, sending a message from your mobile phone, mimicking your dream, saying, “Wofbah, I’m running the sheepy bicycle shining on my knees,” is not such an unlikely thing.

So, in conclusion, yes I think it’s entirely plausible that people can grab their mobile phones, send a text, then roll over and go back to whatever dream they were in, and do all that without waking up.

It’s just a mercy they don’t wake up with their Apple iPhone 3G rammed up their nose, I suppose. Still, it’d stop the aliens playing ‘hide the implant’ up there…

Have you ever sent a text message in your sleep? Do you think it’s all a load of rubbish, or are you a regular sleep-texter? Leave us a message and have your say!

If you use the internet on your phone, then a story from Engadget Mobile, this morning, may get you as excited as it made me. It’s well known that Mozilla are working on a version of Firefox specifically for mobile phones. It’s fair to say this has a lot of people excited (myself included), as it promises to bring a much nicer, faster and easier browsing experience to your phone.

If the new concept that was shown online last night is anything to go by, this could well be the browser that really makes the internet on your phone something you’ll crave.

It starts with what they call an ‘infinite 2D plane’. Imagine, basically, a big black sheet, and on that, you have your pages, shown in tabs. Just like your get on the desktop version of Firefox, but on mobile phones, they’re shown as graphic representations of whatever page you’re looking at. And you’ve probably noticed the massive great big plus button. That’s the bit that lets you add a new tab. Oh, and the cool bits when you zoom into a page is having hidden controls that you can pan the page across to see, meaning you never get cut off web pages… oh, and when u flick through a page, it keeps scrolling till it runs out of steam, slows down, and stops, just like on the iPhone.

Which looks fabulous!

Actually, you know what, it’s kind of hard to describe what I’m seeing here, without getting stupidly techy, so I’ll just go by gut and say how cool it is. I’m already getting a sense of how easy it’s going to be to scroll round pages, and flick pages about with just your fingertips. And god, do I want to try it out!

Tell you what, I’ll just show you the video, so you can see for yourselves how lip-lickingly fabulous it looks.

How cool is that…

You can probably tell what browser this is going to go up against (well, aside from Opera, its main rival): Safari. They’re after getting the feel of the browser on the iPhone 3G, but with all the good stuff you get from Firefox, and the speed of something like Opera Mini (which is what I use and is, frankly, the best browser I’ve ever seen for mobile phones).

If they pull it off right, even if it looks NOTHING like the concept in that video, I can say categorically, that it WILL be awesome. I know at least one guy who says that Firefox Mobile will be the thing that gets him using the internet on his phone (big shout out to my mate down in Surrey), and I can’t help but wonder how many people feel the same way…

Could Firefox Mobile be the thing that finally gets everyone using the internet on their mobile phones…?

Are you drooling with excitement at the prospect of Firefox Mobile? Do you use Safari on the iPhone and think it’ll be interesting to see the two browsers fight it out? Leave us a comment and have your say!

Way back when, the first people in the UK to whack a camera module on a mobile phone were Sony Ericsson, so it seems fitting that it’s them who are going to be releasing the UK’s first 8 megapixel camera phone, the Sony Ericsson C905.

Combining jaw-dropping looks with phenomenal power, I reckon it’s fair to say that when the Sony Ericsson C905 is released over here, it’s going to be the single best camera phone that the UK’s ever seen.

Mind you, Sony Ericsson do have a pedigree with camera phones, so the fact that this one looks like it’s the bee’s knees and various other good bits of other animals (I’ll just say “dog’s” and we’ll leave it at that) should come as absolutely no surprise whatsoever. Back from the days of the old clip-on Ericsson camera module, through the more recent K-Series mobile phones and onwards into today’s dedicated Cyber-Shot ‘C-Series’ phones, Sony Ericsson have proven, time and again, that they don’t muck about when it comes to mind-blowingly good phones.

Oh, alright, granted, it’s not just about the camera in this Sony Ericsson masterpiece; it’s got WiFi, media player (presumably very much like it’s predecessor, the K850i) and HSDPA data speeds, so it go like a rat up a drainpipe when you go online (that’s very fast, for anyone who doesn’t get the metaphor).

But, as you can guess, it’s mainly going to sell on the strength of its camera. You know that, I know that. But, whilst it’s been upgraded to 8 megapixels, is it actually any good, or have Sony Ericsson over-reached themselves?

No.

It’s not good.

I’d have to invent a new word for how good the camera is.

Oh, you’re the discerning sort, eh? Want some proof? Well, then, courtesy of the Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog (also, in fact, where the big pic at the start of this post came from, so a big thanks from us), some samples of photos taken by the Sony Ericsson C905. And these aren’t even full size. I had to shrink them by half before I could fit upload them.

That’s some ruddy big, detailed photos!

How sharp?! And bear in mind, that’s prototype software, which is why everything’s got a bit of a red tint to it. That will be fixed in the final release version. Which means… gawd knows how good the final production camera’s going to be! It might actually be powerful enough to photograph an evil demon-dog in another dimension (massively obscure Stephen King reference for the win!)

Finally, as if my Sony-addicted fanboy ranting (and I really mean addicted) isn’t enough to sway you, check out the official Sony Ericsson product video for it, that shows off the C905’s other features… well, specifically, it shows off the face recognition, but the camera also packs in red-eye reduction, Smart Contrast (whatever that is), image stabiliser and BestPic. So, in other words, then, this really is a Cyber-Shot camera in the shape of a mobile phone!

Have a look, and prepare to be stunned:

The Sony Ericsson C905 is due to be officially announced on the 17th, and released later in the year. And it’s going to sell sh- erm, bucketloads. Mark my words.

Now if only they’d hurry up, finally settle on a spec for the Paris and get it announced. I’m starting to get impatient!

Leave us a comment and have your say!

Oooooooooooooooooh, I reckon we have a major war shaping up here. You may well have read (since it’s all over the internet) that the 3G iPhone was finally announced yesterday, ending months of speculation about what it will be like and so on.

And here it is, in all its glory (source: Engadget Mobile)

So, what’s it like, is it any good, and do you want one? Well, there’s an easy way to describe what it’s like. It’s an iPhone. But with a 3G antenna in it, and a GPS unit, and a higher capacity battery. Other than that, it’s the same iPhone we all know and love (or loathe, depending on your viewpoint). So, it’s got the same zippy, zingy interface, the same massive screen, the same OSX operating system (with Safari web browser) and the same camera (which isn’t necessarily a good thing, as it was never that good a camera on the original).

Basically, Apple fans will love it, non-Apple fans will probably not, just as they didn’t like the first one. However, there’s one big clincher that might change a few minds:

The new price.

O2 are saying on their site that you’ll be able to get the 3G iPhone (the 8Gb model) FREE on a £45 per month (or above) tariff. Compare that with the price of the original, at about £300, and it seems Apple have learned some lessons about pricing!

So that’s the objective view, time for my opinion… and just as with the first iPhone, I wouldn’t have one of these if you paid me. If the iPhone is your idea of a great phone, then good on ya, and I say you should get one ASAP. Mobile phones are always going to be deeply personal devices, so if you want an iPhone, you get one. I wouldn’t touch it, myself, but I can understand why others want it.

But, anyway, back to my original statement; we’re seeing a major war brewing up, I reckon, because let’s face it, none of the other big names in mobile phones are going to sit back and let Apple steal their market. And now, there’s a better chance they’ll be able to do that, because cheaper price equals more sales, and the 3G iPhone has taken the brand from the exclusive sector to the top-end of the mainstream.

And that’s where it’s going to find its big battles, because that’s where mobile phones like the HTC Diamond live, not to mention the upcoming Samsung i900, and a new mystery phone from Sony Ericsson (that no-one knows anything about, but it was leaked in a product video, and it looked awesome, and the head of product development for SE said it would be out soon) as well as their X1 Xperia. But right now, its big rival is that HTC Diamond, the phone that Jillian fell in love with while I was on holiday. And it is going to be one hell of a fight, because the HTC Diamond’s truly, truly stunning, and easily outclasses the 3G iPhone technically. Whether it’ll have the legs to take on Apple’s phenomenal brand power is something else entirely, but as it is, I know which one I’d have…

As a bonus, to anyone who’s not seen it yet, here’s the advert for the new 3G iPhone. I’ll concede it’s vastly cooler than the ads for the first one. Oh, and bonus rock points if you spot who’s doing the voiceover:

Do you think the 3G iPhone will be the single best mobile phone ever? Or do you think it’s ludicrously underpowered, and is sold purely on the hype? Either way, leave us a comment and have your say!

News has come through today from JD Power, about their 2008 survey of mobile phone users, to find out which manufacturer makes the people’s favourite mobile phones.

And the winner this year is (fanfare)…

Sony Ericsson.

No, since that nugget of information was in the title of this post, I don’t know why I did the fanfare, either… still, this is big news for Sony Ericsson, as it means that their big push into the USA (since this survey was done in the USA, indicating Americans love them) is going to go rather well! All of this is exceptionally good news for me, since, as you may recall (and I’ve not exactly kept it secret, have I?), I’m a confirmed, 100% Sony junkie. My console’s a Sony (well, both of them, since I’ve still got my old PS1), my car stereo’s Sony, my video (yes, I still have a VCR) is Sony, and both my mobile phones are Sony Ericsson.

So, you can see quite obviously where my allegiance lies!

All in all, then, today’s a great day for Sony Ericsson, but you may be wondering what they actually ranked highest in. Well, to quote JD Power themselves, “In this 2008 Vol. 1 Mobile Phone Study, Sony Ericsson ranked highest among mobile phone brands with a score of 740, significantly higher than industry average. Sony Ericsson received significantly higher than industry average scores in all factors, which included physical design, operation, features and battery function.”

Or, in other words, they look better, work better, do more and stay charged for long than any other mobile phone, in the eyes and experiences of customers. And don’t forget, this was a survey of American customers, and in America, a W580i is advanced. Imagine the outcome when they get their hands on the Sony Ericsson X1 Xperia, for example…

It’s entirely possible their heads will explode. Still, as the iPhone proved, there is a market in America for top-end mobile phones, despite the market being saturated with RAZR’s and mobile phones that we in Britain stopped using about 2 years ago… So, expect big things from Sony Ericsson, since it seems, in the USA, they’re the people’s choice!

Agree with JD Power’s final verdict? Happy to see Sony Ericsson win? Or do you think Nokia should have taken the title? Leave us a comment, and have your say!

The germ of the idea for this blog post came when I heard a story, yesterday, from the lass who sits opposite me. A story about someone being kidnapped in our local supermarket, that immediately made me go, “Yeeeeeeeeah, oooooo-kay.”

Lo and behold, after researching it, it’s an urban myth going back to, it’s estimated, 1940’s America.

And then I thought… what urban myths exist out there about mobile phones? Are they complete toss, or is there a small shred of truth in them? So, I set about researching them thoroughly (well, I say thoroughly, it mainly involved just reading Snopes), and without further ado, here’s my guide to the top 5 mobile phone urban myths (with my opinion in red, under it)

1. The £50-per-minute mobile phone scam

Myth:
Persistent rumours float about the internet that if you receive a call from 0709-something-something-something, it will connect you to a premium rate service that charges you £50 per minute! It’s all completely legal, and there’s nothing you can do but pay it. Beware, and so forth.

Annoyingly, there are some scams that operate not entirely differently to this, but the maximum premium rate price you’ll pay in the UK is £1.50 a minute, way below the £50 this rumour would have us believe. But there are scammers out there that hang up as soon as you answer, and if you call back, you DO get connected to a premium rate number. Just not at £50. Easy way to avoid it? Don’t answer a call from a number you don’t know, and don’t call it back. If it really is someone important, they’ll text you or leave a voicemail.

Status: Kind of true-ish
Risk of being scammed: Low, just manage your calls sensibly

2. Five things you never knew your mobile phone could do!

Myth:
An email and viral message went round, sharing the list of secret things mobile phones can do, that people never knew about. Are they real, or are they bobbins?

The worldwide emergency number is 112. You can use it ANYWHERE, even when your keypads locked.
Well, ok, this bit’s kind of true, but overstated. 112 is the emergency number in the UK (can’t comment on other countries), and it does let you use another networks’ masts, if you’re not in a service area.

If you lock your keys in your car, and you have remote keyless entry, simply call home, get them to press the button on the keys as you hold the mobile phone near your car, and it will unlock.
Utter, unmitigated toss! Quite apart from the fact they work on entirely different frequencies, it just sounds stupid. It’s not like the mobile phone magically transmits microwave radiation from home to your car. If you believe this is even possible under the laws of nature, you’re delusional. And it can’t be based on sound, otherwise you could unlock your car by whistling at it…

You can unlock hidden battery power from a secret reserve in the mobile phone, by pressing *3370#. That will get you about 50% more power, and uses the power in this secret reserve.
Erm, what? Having taken a mobile phone apart, there IS no secret reserve. Besides which, that key sequence, on Nokia mobile phones, puts them in enhanced voice mode, which actually kills the battery even quicker. Confused rubbish.

Press *#06# to get a secret 15-digit code that, if your mobile phone gets stolen, you can give to your service provider and they’ll block it, so the perps can never use it. Ha, that’ll teach ‘em.
OK, granted, this one’s also kind of true. That 15-digit code is your IMEI number, and the networks CAN use that to blacklist the handset. In practice, though, that will most likely only mean it can’t be used on THAT network, and besides, criminals can flash the phone to change the IMEI. Still, anything that makes law-breaking scumbags’ lives harder is cool by me!

There exist free directory enquiry services, that don’t charge you on your mobile phone.
Well, true, they don’t charge you extra to use that service, but you’ll still have to pay for the call, and the networks will charge you for that. No such thing as a free lunch, remember!

Status: True in places, mixed with bobbins
Chances of benefitting: Debatable

3. Electrocution from your mobile phone

Myth:
Never, ever use your mobile phone when it’s charging. Never, ever use it when it’s plugged into the mains, because someone did that, got electrocuted, and nearly died after electricity freely flowed into his handset. For the love of god, never use mobile phones when they’re plugged in, or they’ll become instruments of DEATH!

Oh, come on. Did anyone seriously believe this load of old cack for one second?? Virtually the only time I ever use my mobile phone is when it’s plugged into the damn wall! If (and it’s a big if) electricity could ‘flow freely’ into the phone, the fuse in the charger would go, or the transformer would blow up, before the phone pumped electricity into your head. Message to whoever came up with this urban myth: get a job, and pack it in.

On a side note, though, always use genuine Nokia, or Sony Ericsson, or whatever, batteries, as cheap knock-off, third party batteries from Chinese sweatshops can and DO sometimes explode…

Status: Dangerous, scare-mongering rubbish.
Risk of being electrocuted: Don’t lose sleep over this one, folks…

4. You can cook an egg by putting it between two mobile phones

Myth:
If you put an egg between two mobile phones that are in ‘call’ mode, they will cook the egg. If it does that to an egg, imagine what it does to our brains! Oh noes!

Amazing, how so many people believe this when it was first published as a completely acknowledged hoax, on the Wymsey Village Web. It was then picked up by the Russian tabloid Pravda, who allegedly replicated the experiment, and proved it. Really? Do a search on Pravda, and find out how reliable they are. Think Sunday Sport, and you won’t be far wrong. Fact is, in all the experiments people have tried, to replicate this, not ONE of them could get it to work. After sitting between two mobile phones for over an hour, not only was the egg not cooked, it wasn’t even warm.

A microwave oven will make an egg explode, by making its contents heat and expand. Mobile phones put out hundreds and thousands times less microwave radiation than ovens. Yet people still claim they’re the worst threat to humanity’s health, EVER…?

Status: Utterly false, the egg is fine.
Was the egg ok after this experiment? It was lovely, I had it with soldiers.

5. Mobile phones make petrol stations explode

Myth:
If you use mobile phones in the petrol station, you run a very real and serious risk of causing a huge fire, and making the petrol station explode. All those petrol stations wouldn’t ban it if there was nothing in it!

Ooh, a controversial one! I know I’m going to get flamed to a crisp for this one (no pun intended), but there is NO evidence of mobile phones EVER having caused a fire in a petrol station. Honestly, even the BBC reported that University researchers have found that in the 273 cases where petrol station fires were attributed to mobile phones, not one of them actually was caused by it.

The argument about the batteries in phones sparking is likely rubbish, too, as they work on direct current like your car battery, but they’re much lower power. Does the petrol station explode because of the car in it? No. So how can a phone make it blow up? And if you’re worried about microwave radiation causing the petrol to ignite, bear in mind the bit in ‘The Usual Suspects’ DVD commentary, when talking about the cigarette in petrol, that wouldn’t light the petrol. Think about that. Something on fire couldn’t light the petrol trail, but a mobile phone can?

Still, I shall continue not to use my phone in petrol stations, because I might get shouted at by the mad woman behind the counter. Nevertheless, I stand by the assertion that you’re more likely to blow up a petrol station with a spark from your shellsuit than from your mobile phone.

Status: Unproven. Scientists say myth, scaremongers say true.
Will I blow up? I say no, there’s no scientific basis for saying you will. But you’ll get shouted at by the mad woman behind the counter, who’s scarier than a faceful of flaming petrol… plus, I may be wrong, and the consequences of me being wrong on this one would be you getting charbroiled to a crisp. Although, TV show Brainiac did test out whether phones could ignite petrol and found they couldn’t.

So, there you have it; the top 5 ever urban myths around mobile phones, and they show just how these things can get started. Usually by someone being damn stupid and misquoting something.

A lesson there for us all, I reckon!

Do you agree with Technical Markus? Do you think people should worry about these things actually, maybe, in fact, being true? Do you think people who believe these urban myths are dunces? Either way, leave us a comment and have your say!

Here we go, with part 2 of my mobile adventures in Wales, and as promised, here’s the tale of using mobile broadband over there in one of my favourite ever holiday destinations. I’d always planned to take a USB Modem with me, to find out how well it worked, and give you guys a bit more of an insight into it, but little did I know it would actually save my dad from getting drowned…

Let me explain.

With him being a keen fisherman, and with our holiday cottage being right in the middle of a sheep-field next to the beach, he was naturally going to spend a fair amount of time fishing. Like, at 5 in the morning, something I never could get my head round. And so, he needed to know tide times. We’d already planned the first week of the holiday, using a high-tide-times-websitey-thing, before we went away, but it only let us find those times out for a week in advance (which kinda shafted us for the second week).

Needless to say, the site used Flash (Murphy’s Law in action!), so none of us could check it out on our mobile phones.

Good job I’d snagged a ZTE USB Modem to test then, wasn’t it…

So, I plugged it in, as the sound of high-pitched baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa’s reverberated round the cottage, and reflected on the fact that in hindsight, we’d picked a fortnight to go away when the lambs were just becoming most vocal. Still, at least the modem was installed and ready in seconds, otherwise I may have gone outside and shouted at them to shut up.

Down to the big question… did I get full-on, full-fat, HSDPA-powered mobile broadband in the cottage?

No.

Damn.

I did, however, get 3G, and granted, it wasn’t running at 2.8Mbps, but it was quite substantially faster than my mobile phone, and frankly, I was happy with it. The problem was that although there was a hilarious mast a few miles up the road (more on that in Friday’s blog post), there was a honkin’ great hill between us and it. Oh, and let’s not forget that the cottage we were in was a converted barn, and had walls roughly 14 and a half feet thick, which tends to kill any kind of wireless communication…

Here was the funny part, though; on a particularly sunny day, I thought I’d venture down towards the beach, and try it there, where there were no 14-foot thick walls to block the signal. It turns out I must’ve had an almost direct line of sight to the cell tower, then, because I got 5 bars of full HSDPA! In a Welsh sheep-field!

Now, that was awesome.

I did get attacked by a sheep, though.

And as for it saving my dad from drowning… well, ok, I may have overdramatised that a bit, since if he’d headed to the beach when it was high tide, he almost certainly would’ve turned back, rather than wading in and drowning. But hey, it could’ve happened!

Mobile broadband: it saves lives (or, at least, prevents wet feet).

Leave us a comment and have your say!

I’m baaaaaaaaack!

If anyone’s been wondering why (or even noticed that) I’ve been quiet for the past fortnight, I’ve been off on my big family holiday to sunnier climes. Or, in this case, Wales. But, me being me, I just couldn’t keep away from t’internet, so I thought, “Wahey, why not, let’s use it to test drive some mobile internet solutions.”

And yes, that does mean I took a mobile broadband modem with me.

But that’s a story for another day, because today, I’m going to go on about something I finally took the plunge and downloaded while I was away: Opera Mini, the Java-based web browser that’ll work on Java-enabled mobile phones, even the really rubbish, cheapo ones.

I have to admit, I’d never felt the desire to download it before I went on holiday, since I have Opera Mobile, its big brother on my Sony Ericsson P1. In fact, Opera Mobile is the P1’s default browser. So, surely, getting a Java-based mini-version web browser is a backwards step, right?

Well, it was time to find out, because frankly, Opera Mobile on my phone was getting right up my nose. I’ve lost count of the number of web pages it wouldn’t view, due to it saying there were errors in the xml feed. (cue me going, “What?? That site’s not even based around xml! What are you talking about, you JapanoSwedish piece of crap?!”)

It got to the point where I was about to sling my phone against a wall, so, by that point, anything was worth trying. So, thinks I, let’s try Opera Mini, even if it is the cut-down version.

My response upon downloading, installing, and using it…

Why the hell have I waited it so long to get it?! IT’S AWESOME!

Now, remember, this is a Java-based browser, designed to be used on any mobile phone that supports Java. It’s not optimised for smartphones, it’s designed for normal people, using normal mobile phones, who fancy trying to see what they can do with it.

That doesn’t change the key fact, though: it’s SO much better than the default browser in my P1! (In fact, it’s better than ANY web browser I’ve ever used on a mobile phone!)

I should’ve worked out why, sooner, really. Whilst the default browser in my P1 is the latest version of Opera Mobile (although a new one’s on the way), the newest version of Opera Mini is newer than the newest version of Opera Mobile. Which is why it’s so much better!

With proper rendering of web pages, not this Teletext-a-like “mobile view” rendering of previous Opera versions, it is a genuine, proper web browser, and, with the exception of Flash, I’ve not found ANY site it won’t display. That full page rendering is really the most intuitive way of viewing the web on your phone I’ve ever seen, letting you view the whole page in miniature, formatted correctly, then (in my case tapping the screen) selecting the bit you want to zoom in on. Yes, that’s right, just like u do on the iPhone. (Check out the images on this story to see what I mean, complete with virtual mouse pointer that pops up when you scroll through a page!)

Add to that the fact that it is frighteningly fast at loading and displaying pages, it makes it, without doubt, my new favourite app. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that’s frighteningly fast even when there’s no 3G coverage. When there is… well, Opera Mini is in a league of its own!

Oh, and that’s before I even get onto the Opera start page, with embedded Google Search (and not just Google… Wiki, IMDB, eBay, Amazon and Dictinoary.com all come under the same search banner, so you can search the in the same way you would Google), bookmarks, history… without a doubt, it’s quite simply a fully-fledged web browser.

As you may have guessed I’ve fallen in love. Opera Mini is now permanently installed on my P1, and I shall never remove it. What’s even better is the fact that there’s recently been announced a new version, Version 4.1, that you can download for absolutely nothing, free, gratis, from the Opera site.

And I strongly advise you to get it. And just to hammer the point home, I found a video of it in action, on a P1i (not mine, I hasten to add):

See? Awesome.

Have you used Opera Mini, and love it, too? Do you like being able to get online anywhere? Or do you think Technical Markus is being a sad-act fanboy? Whichever, leave us a comment and have your say!