Author Archive: James Richardson

PHONES 4U LAUNCHES ‘JUMP’

Phones 4u is today announcing the national rollout of JUMP (‘Just Upgrade My Phone’) – a new type of contract which enables consumers to upgrade their mobile phone, from a selection of the latest smartphones on the market, as often as every 6 months.

Differing from other flexible offerings on the market, JUMP doesn’t require any upfront fees at the point of upgrade and customers own rather than lease the handset. For the added flexibility of being able to upgrade as often as every six months, customers will only need to initially pay an average added monthly cost of £2.99 – £3.99, dependent on the original JUMP contract chosen.

JUMP has been successfully trialled since May 2011 in 100 stores. The national rollout begins today and the offering is expected to be available in all of Phones 4u’s 586+ stores, via Phones 4u online and via Phones 4u telesales by May 2012. We will also be supporting JUMP as part of a wider multi-million pound ATL Phones 4u campaign this year.

Alistair Firth, Director of Customer Development at Phones 4u said: “Technology is moving fast and innovative handsets are launching all the time on the market but to date there’s been a disconnect between the frequency of smartphone releases and the length of mobile phone contracts on offer.We want to give our customers the freedom to own the very latest smartphones like the iPhone 4S without having to wait 18-24 months for an upgrade. The idea for JUMP was born out of research we conducted that revealed people were frustrated by the inability to upgrade their handsets sooner”.

BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing now available in the UK

Today Research In Motion (RIM) announced the availability of BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing in the UK. The app simplifies joining and scheduling conference calls from BlackBerry smartphones, is another great example of how BlackBerry smartphones enhance communications and productivity. The app is now available for UK users to download at no cost, from BlackBerry App World.

The app converts audio conferencing details into a single “Join Now” button for you to quickly and easily join a conference call from a BlackBerry smartphone in a single click. It also makes it easy to schedule conference calls from a BlackBerry smartphone in an easy two-step process using the BlackBerry Calendar and your conference call profile, which you can easily set up in the app. Many of the leading audio conferencing systems are supported.

Key features:

• One-Click Join – Before a conference call starts, a pop-up reminder displays a “Join Now” button that, with a single click, dials the conference bridge and enters the appropriate codes to connect the you to the conference.
• Reconnect – If the call gets disconnected or you need to drop off, the app will present a “Reconnect” button, which dials you back into the call with one click.                      

• Easy Conference Scheduling – You can schedule a conference call complete with conference bridge details directly from the BlackBerry Calendar in an easy two-step process.  To enable this capability, you can set your conference call profile once in the BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing app, including dial-in numbers and access codes, then simply adds the profile as part of the calendar invitation. (The moderator code is kept hidden from participants in the calendar invitation.)
• Optimal Conference Call Number Selection – If multiple dial-in numbers are provided to accommodate participants in different regions, the application can automatically choose an optimal number to use, such as using the local number if you’re within the local calling area rather than a free-free number; or a free- free number if the dial-in number would otherwise be long distance. You can also select or modify a specific dial-in number manually.
• BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing is now available to BlackBerry users in the UK and can be downloaded from the BlackBerry App World here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/46253/.

Video Below:

The Nokia Lumia 710 and the Nokia Asha 201 now available from Vodafone

With all the amazing features of the Nokia Lumia 800, plus fun changeable back covers, the Nokia Lumia 710 is a more colourful and more affordable way to stay connected.
Now available to buy now at Vodafone UK, the Nokia Lumia 710 is the second Nokia handset to feature the Windows Phone operating system. It is powered by a 1.4 Ghz processor and gives users access to some amazing services including free Nokia Drive, Maps and music, and has Internet explorer 9 built in. Its ‘People Hub’ brings you live updates from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin and also keeps you socially connected, combining email, Chat and SMS.
The Nokia Lumia 710 is available free on £20.50, 24 month plans – including 100 minutes, 500 texts, and 250MB of mobile data.
New and upgrading pay monthly customers will benefit from Vodafone Data Test Drive which lets them use as much data as they like, for whatever they like, for three months so they can fully explore what their brand new Nokia Lumia 710 has to offer. They can also get up to £270 for their old phone with Vodafone Buyback.
We know our customers lead busy lives and may not wish to wait for their phone to arrive at their home. They can choose to collect their new Nokia Lumia 710 in a store convenient to them – we’ll let them know when it’s there. When they come to collect it, customers can have all the contents of their old mobile transferred to their new Nokia Lumia 710 using Vodafone’s innovative RED Box.

Samsung turns this St Valentine’s Day digital as fans take over the Samsung screen at Piccadilly Circus

Samsung Electronics UK today announced a digital and online competition that offers people the opportunity to see their love story in lights on the Samsung screen at Piccadilly Circus.

From now until 13th February Samsung is encouraging fans to share their love stories on Facebook. The best love story will be chosen daily and will take pride of place on the homepage of the Samsung UK Facebook tab and be seen in lights on Samsung’s iconic advertising screen in London’s Piccadilly Circus. Daily winners will also be in with a chance of winning Samsung goodies such as the Samsung MV800 twin screen camera – perfect for taking pictures of two!

As well as daily winners, one overall winner, who will be chosen on the 13^th February, will see their story as a special feature animation on the big screen on 14^th February. They will also win a pair of Samsung Galaxy Note handsets – perfect for writing love notes to each other – and a dream date in London, complete with chauffeur-driven car, champagne dinner and luxurious hotel.

O2 launches country’s biggest ever flexible working pilot

O2 today has announced the launch of the biggest flexible working initiative of its kind. Today, employees based at O2’s Slough HQ – a quarter of its 12,000-strong workforce – will participate in a flexible working pilot, operating remotely for the day as the doors are shut and lights turned off at the business’ 200,000 sq ft office.
The pilot aims to push the boundaries of what is possible through flexible working and will underpin O2’s contingency plans to manage expected travel disruption and delays during the summer’s Olympics games. With one third of the UK’s businesses expected to encourage their staff to work flexibly this summer , O2 will share learnings from the pilot with other organisations, to support them in their plans for managing the impact of a range of events during the summer months.
O2 believe the initiative sends a clear signal to O2’s employees, business customers and other UK organisations on the advantages of working flexibly. These range from improved staff engagement and boosted productivity to better work/life balance for employees.

Motorola Mobility’s MOTOLUXE Smartphone to Launch in the UK

Calling all British style gurus! Get ready to flaunt your fashion flair with the ultra-vogue, rail-thin MOTOLUXE from Motorola Mobility UK Limited, expected to be available late February.

When it comes to panache, this Android 2.3 powered smartphone sets the bar high. With a 4-inch touchscreen that’s perfect for writing emails, surfing the Web and watching movies, you’ll always be connected, clued-up and entertained – whether at work, hanging out with friends or out on the town.

For photo buffs, an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with flash lets you shoot like a pro. You can even instantly share the pics with friends and family using the phone’s pre-loaded social networking apps.

But there is a reason this is called a smartphone! Incorporating Motorola’s MotoSwitch user interface, the MOTOLUXE learns who you talk to and which apps you use the most, and puts all that information front and center.