Mobiles: less portable than you think

Telecoms and broadcasting regulator Ofcom said on Thursday, it is cutting the time it takes to switch existing UK mobile numbers to a new network from five days to two hours.

This will boost competition between different mobile network operators. Ofcom has previously said the five-day delay in the UK lagged behind “best practice” in other countries.

In Ireland a mobile number can often be transferred to another network in as little as 20 minutes, according to a mobile company executive.

Kevin Russell, chief executive of mobile network 3 UK said: "Ofcom have clearly looked at other international markets and have listened to consumers. The move to a customer-led two-hour porting system should have been made much earlier, but to have a clear decision today is important.

“What we now need is confidence that the move…will be implemented in the timeframe laid out and that the deadlines set will be effectively enforced."

Not that the deadline is all that fast. Two hour transfers for mobile numbers must be implemented by 1 September 2009. Before that the five-day delay must be reduced to 2 days by 1 April 2008.

©Joia Shillingford 2007


Mobile speakers

A bluetooth speaker from Sony Ericsson's press launch at Scala in London's Kings Cross earlier this month. The speaker can play music stored on a Sony Ericsson phone without wires having to be attached.

It can't be that far away, though. Bluetooth devices linked to mobile phones usually need to be within a range of 10 metres. The Portable Bluetooth Speaker MBS-100 can play for five hours on a rechargeable battery and is available this quarter (Q4 2007).

©Joia Shillingford 2007


Bluetooth watch tells more than the time

Want to avoid playing with your mobile in meetings? Or feel it is too far down your bag to fish it out. Sony Ericsson customers can discreetly look at a Bluetooth watch to see who has called or if they have a new text message.

The watches look cool and slightly retro and cost around £500. But they don't deal with the fact that looking at your watch in company can also seem a bit rude. Executives will be perfecting those surreptitious glances.

Another feature it would be good to see in the future would be the caller ID of the text message sender as opposed to just notification of the fact that a new message has arrived.