ITU Decision Makes 700MHz Band a Global Mobile Broadband Standard

This'll be good for signal penetration also but will require new chipsets in devices to support the newer band!

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2015/11/itu-decision-makes-700mhz-band-a-global-mobile-broadband-standard.html

HTC's cringe worthy vendor is hilarious!

Haven't had a HTC since the Windows Mobile days but the hardware isn't bad and the marketing team is obviously having some fun fighting with the other manufacturers for a place in peoples pockets.

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom.

I'm tempted by this when it's released in the UK. An optical zoom in a compact form factor where I get the best of both worlds. Running Kit-Kat as well so will have the latest support and run apps smoothly from the looks of the spec sheet. I've not been able to decide what phone I'd like next for a while. The Lumia 1520 / 930 are still lacking Sky Go which is a real pain for me and everything else has been a bit bland or gimmicky. I do also like the HTC One M8 but it feels rather delicate and also like it'll be a scratch magnet! 

Cheesy Promo:

Samsung K zoom Product Specifications:

Network	LTE	Cat4, HSPA+ 42Mbps LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
	3G	5-band HSPA+ 42Mbps HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
Display	4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED Display (1280x720)
AP	Hexa core: 1.3GHz Quad-Core + 1.7GHz Dual-Core Processor
OS	Android 4.4 (Kitkat)
Camera	Main(Rear): 20.7 Mega pixel 1/2.3 BSI CMOS Sensor, 10x Optical Zoom, OIS, 24-240mm, F3.1-6.3 AF Assist LED Sub(Front): 2.0 Mega pixel
	ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 Continuous Shot: 3fps MAX with AF Format: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WBMP, BMP, AGIF Xenon Flash, SMART Mode, Expert Mode(P/M), My Mode
Video	Recording & Playback: Full HD (1920x1080 /60p) Codec : H.263, H.264(AVC), MPEG4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, MP43, WMV7, WMV8, VP8 Format: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Audio	Codec : MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC＋/eAAC＋, WMA, OGG (Vorbis), FLAC Format : MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA
Value-Added Features	SMART Mode(28): Auto, Pro Suggest, Program, Beauty face, Shot & more, Panorama, Virtual tour, Rich tone, Night, Continuous shot, Selfie alarm, Manual, Kids shot, Landscape, Dawn, Snow, Macro, Food, Party/Indoor, Action freeze, Waterfall, Animated photo, Sound & shot, Surround shot, Silhouette, Sunset, Fireworks, Light race
	AF/AE Separation, Object tracking , Studio, Smile/ Blink detection
	Ultra Power Saving Mode
	Kids mode
	S Health Lite
Google Mobile Services	Chrome, Drive, Photos, Gmail, Google, Google+, Google Settings, Hangouts, Maps, Play Books, Play Games, Play Newsstand, Play Movie & TV, Play Music, Play Store, Voice Search, YouTube
Connectivity	Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz, HT40, Bluetooth®: 4.0 BLE USB: USB 2.0 NFC A-GPS + GLONASS
Sensor	Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor
Memory*	RAM: 2GB Internal Memory: 8GB microSD slot: micro SDSC (up to 2GB guaranteed), micro SDHC (up to 32GB guaranteed), micro SDXC (up to 64GB guaranteed) *User memory space may be less than the total memory space due to system files. **User memory may differ by region, carrier, and supporting language, and may change after software upgrade.
Dimension	137.5X70.8X16.6(20.2)mm, 200g
Battery	2,430mAh

http://www.samsung.com/uk/discover/mobile/galaxy-k-zoom-unveiled/

Ovivo has shut up shop. Alternatives?

Looks like http://www.ovivomobile.com/ overstretched themselves with one off payment free services and the promise of continuing them. It was never going to be sustainable without good marketing revenue coming in and they probably outgrew that as they were popular on places like HotUKDeals.

Make sure to go get you PAC if you want to keep your number!

Alternatives. 

If your looking for a new phone with contract then check out TopCashback and Quidco as they tend to have good cash-back offers (not guarantied but i've usually not had any issues, just long waits). I got my S4 on release with £150 cash back and a 12 month contract (£50pm) from Quidco last year and i'm ready for the S5 if I decide to go that way this year. It cost about the same as buying the phone outright at the time so essentially a free contract!

If you don't need a phone and want good sim only contracts then I recommend Tesco mobile (earn double club card points on your bills if thats still the same) as they have good 1 month contract prices and the best customer care i've dealt with. (Runs on the O2 network.

Virgin Mobile are also cheap but their customer service is pants. Runs on the TMobile / EE network.

If I want a 4G sim only tariff then I think i'm likely to go with Tesco mobile at the end of April. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Vodafone Germany starts rolling out SIM card based encryption

The interesting bits:

A report from The Hacker News has detailed Vodafone's plans for securing customers' data communication using a SIM card based solution which previously was possible using separate smart cards or tokens. The company has developed this solution in collaboration with its security partner Giesecke & Devrient (G&D).

The solution which will utilize a PIN and a digital signature will be used to encrypt the data at sender's end and decrypt at the receiver's ends using the SIM. Data such as emails, documents, VPN connections and other forms of data communication will be secured using it. Currently, the Secure SIM solution uses S/MIME encryption but the company expects to use PGP in the future as the system becomes mature.

Vodafone expects to launch similar encryption solution for voice calls using a Secure Call app, which the company hopes to launch on all major smartphone platforms such as Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

http://www.neowin.net/news/vodafone-germany-starts-rolling-out-sim-card-based-encryption

Dual sim & Facebook messenger coming to Windows Phone 8.1

Exciting times! This could be perfect as I hate carrying two phones and this looks clean and simple.

Unless Samsung or HTC do something very interesting with the new Android phones I think I'll be switching over for Windows Phone 8.1. 

Next up is Facebook messenger. The platform already has a Facebook app and Whatsapp so like with all the other ecosystems wondering what's next for this dual WhatsApp/Facebook messenger world, we'll have to wait. 

I'm quite excited about this given the vision Canonical had with their failed crowd source attempt. A desktop replacement you carry around in your pocket. This is going to be tempting to anyone looking for average computation power in a small form factor. If it's seemless it could be a real game changer. It'd have to allow for a multitude of different setups (bluetooth keyboard / mice, wireless monitor connectors as well as HDMi (mini HDMI) etc etc... 

http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/19/ubuntu-phones-meizu-and-bq-mobile/

rators EE and Three strike a deal to share 4G infrastructure

Cost savings and better coverage hopefully!

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2326622/rival-operators-ee-and-three-strike-a-deal-to-share-4g-infrastructure

Galaxy S5 rumours & thoughts

See link at the bottom. 

A 2k display on a 5in screen just seems a bit excessive to be honest! If the rumours are true and is LCD over AMOLED then I don't think that'll be great in daylight either... Still it's on course for an April release which is when I got my S4 last year so it's a decent option. I''d also be impressed if it doesn't kill the battery in just a few hours of gaming. 

Same goes for the 6 core 64bit processor. Although that does sound pretty cool and the idea of 'carrying' your desktop around in your pocket is pretty cool. I hope they give it a mini-HDMI / MHL out to plug straight into a display.

On a side note. I'd love for them to release the same spec as a Windows Phone and give the devs something to built towards! That OS needs more rapid development! Thats not to say Android won't for some of these features.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2317640/samsung-galaxy-s5-release-date-price-specs-and-features

Verizon LTE now available in 35 NYC subway stations

London underground is falling behind. Admittedly, Virgin Media have done a good job with the Wifi rollout compared to hotspots such as TheCloud (It was poor when it was in Waterloo Station) but we need 3/4G!   

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/verizon-lte-nyc-subway/

Engadget: Dish and Sprint to trial fixed LTE broadband in Texas.

As predicted,  it might take a generation but 4G's low latency and high bandwidth could prove more popular than expected in areas where FTTC is lacking.

Engadget: Dish and Sprint to trial fixed LTE broadband in Texas. http://google.com/producer/s/CBIw2Kfs2wM

Spotify goes free on mobile devices*

Its a shuffle mode.... Still its better than nothing!

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/11/spotify-shuffle/

Ubuntu gets its first smartphone deal, comes to high-end devices in 2014

The Edge may have failed on Indiegogo but the OS is still around! 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/10/ubuntu-gets-its-first-smartphone-deal/

samba has another double data weekend.

Samba is a mobile data sim provider which gives you free data in return for watching advertising. Typically about 3Mb per video. They often have double data adds and weekends where all ads are double data and this is usually when I stock up on data for my iPad sim (I had to cut the sim down to nano size though). 

Sim cards are £5 or £2.50 if someone sends you a referral email. Its great for a not often used device such as a tablet that's usually on wifi.

ISPreview: Ofcom Begins Consultation on Future Spectrum for UK Mobile Broadband

The interesting bit is:

The Identified Spectrum Bands

White Spaces (600MHz):

Around 20 organisations are currently participating in a 6 month pilot to road-test ‘white space’ technology, which harnesses the spare spectrum that exists between digital terrestrial TV channels for data and Internet communications (e.g. rural broadband provision). At present this is focused on the 700MHz (DTTV) band but after around 2018 if DTTV is moved into 600MHz then White Spaces would most likely follow.

700MHz:

While no decisions have yet been made, Ofcom is investigating the potential to rearrange the bands used for Digital Terrestrial TV (DTTV). This could release more of this prime spectrum for mobile broadband (possibly 5G) use sometime after 2018, while ensuring that consumers would continue to have the opportunity to benefit from digital terrestrial TV (the preliminary idea is that TV could be moved into the 600MHz band).

2.7GHz:

The 2.7GHz band is currently being used for radar but Ofcom believes that it could potentially release up to 100MHz of spectrum from here for other uses.

2.3GHz, 3.4 GHz:

Ofcom is working closely with the Ministry of Defence (here) to move this spectrum from the public sector into commercial use. This spectrum is suitable for mobile broadbandand could be released through an auction in 2015-16. The public sector has access to just over half of the UK spectrum, and Ofcom is working with Government to identify ways of increasing opportunities for commercial access in the future.

Note: similar spectrum between 3480 – 3500MHz and 3580 – 3600MHz (3.4-3.6GHz) is already under licence for civil use by UK Broadband (PCCW), which has since launched it its own fixed wireless 4G LTE network in places like Scunthorpe and Swindon

3.6GHz:

The 3.6GHz band is used for Satellite links but Ofcom believes that some of it could be shared with mobile users.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/11/ofcom-begin-consultation-future-spectrum-uk-mobile-broadband.html

The best 4G sim only plan? 1month rolling - £25pm with 6GB plan

Tesco mobile which has great customer service and run off the back of the O2 network. Looking at new deals as my contract expires. 

I don't get all the other plans with with great 4G but heavily capped plans! 

Inquirer gives the Nokia 1520 a rave review

Seriously considering going back to the Windows Phone platform. Still annoyed that Google shuns the platform though. 

Review: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/review/2307446/nokia-lumia-1520-review

Third Windows Phone update supports 1080p screens, quad-core CPU

All they need to add is a 64bit OS, add a rotation lock and allow for customisable keyboards. I'd consider switching back then possibly... actually I'm not even that fussed about the 64 bit support...  I hope those dual booting options have some weight with Sammy and HTC...

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/third-windows-phone-update-supports-1080p-screens-quad-core-cpus/

NFC mobile payments – fixing the big issues

I wish they would hurry up and sort this out. I want to ditch all my cards and just carry one device!

http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2013/05/20/nfc-mobile-payments-fixing-the-big-issues/

Windows Phone update in testing, includes rotation lock and text syncing to PCs

About time for the rotation lock. That was so annoying I gave up on the platform. What a pain trying to check your emails in bed when you woke up.

Also I welcome the feature that we had BACK ON WINDOWS MOBILE CE, which was to be able to send SMS from a PC. It'd be better if we could have it emulate the display like we used to. (With the MobileMe app (program as they were known back then)).

If it gets swype / Swift key then I might even go back to the platform, dodging Nokia unless they have a think high spec model that doesn't fall over at the sight of a bit of dust.

I tried to love the platform.... see historic posts. It just didn't love me... 

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/9/4604990/windows-phone-update-rotation-lock-text-sync-features