Is free public Wifi really on the horizon?

O2 are building a hotspot network called O2 Wifi. It’s free and you don’t even have to be an O2 customer to use it.  Even if your business mobile’s with another network or you get your home broadband
from someone else, everyone will be able to use it.

O2 Wifi will give you speeds up to ten times faster than a normal mobile connection and when you’re browsing on Wifi you’re not eating up your monthly mobile data allowance.

By the end of the year O2 will have set up thousands of hotspots. And by 2013, they aim to have 14,000 hotspots across the UK – double the number anyone offers now.  This means we’ll be able to use O2 Wifi in shops, cafes and bars. Then train stations, airports, shopping centres, libraries, parks and stadiums.  

O2 has already signed a deal with London's Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to create Europe's largest free wireless hub in Europe.  

The deal is part of both councils' plans to ensure that visitors to London will be able to make the most out of London's offerings, particularly in a year in which both the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics take place. The costs of providing the Wi-Fi have been covered by O2, and not at the expense of the taxpayer.

So what’s in it for O2? 

Well for a start Wifi can immediately take some of the strain off the operators 3G network resulting in a better service for voice users as well.  Other reasons for doing so could include getting hold of user data that they can sell to venues or advertisers and of course by opening it up to everyone they can start marketing the network to people who aren't already on O2.

For advice on any aspect of your business communications, contact 8020 Ltd on 01387 250008.

Andrew Edgar

Managing Director

8020 Ltd

01387 250008

www.8020ltd.com 

How smart is Nokia’s new phone?

Nokia is making a comeback to the smartphone arena having previously failed to impress consumers with their just-average versions of the smartphone.  Surpassed by RIM, Apple and Android, Nokia needed to shake up production or risk losing their long-standing reputation of making excellent quality, innovative phones. 

Part of their reinvention involved teaming up with Microsoft to form an alliance which would power the new range of Nokia phones through Windows Mobile.  A clever and mutually beneficial partnership most would agree as Nokia are a globally reputed manufacturer and Windows needed to get in on the mobile phone action to curtail the upsurge of its competitors, such as Google Android which is now the world’s leading mobile phone operating software.

So Nokia’s Lumia 800, with its seamless clear black curved glass chassis and large display screen looks and feels like a high end smartphone, with the operating software to match.  Windows Phone 7.5 is slick and easy to use and it’s built for business with embedded Microsoft Office which allows you to read and edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, as well as share them instantly.  Email is good too with Exchange functionality for enterprise customers giving access to calendar, contacts and mail synchronisation on the move.

One of the biggest drivers for smartphones however is the availability and choice of applications, or apps as they’ve become known.  According to Microsoft, there are over 30,000 apps and games in the Windows Phone Marketplace that you can download to your handset. Many of these apps were written pre 7.5, so only a portion of them support the features that the update brings. Microsoft however is encouraging developers to write their code with Windows Phone 7.5 in mind. 

Aside from the smartphone arena, Nokia has successfully penetrated the lower end handset market with a massive proportion of businesses remaining loyal.  Many users rely on their longevity and dependability and fail to be swayed by the latest handset on the go. 

Was it perhaps naive of critics to ever doubt that Nokia could bounce back?  After all, Nokia was the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones in 2011.  In the global smartphone rivalry Nokia and Microsoft have some ground to make up behind RIM’s BlackBerry, Apple and Android - but the race could be heating up for 2012.  The Lumia 800 combines the simplicity of a Nokia handset with Microsoft’s powerful operating software making it a real contender in an increasingly competitive market.

For a demo of the Nokia Lumia 800, or for more information on how smartphones could improve your business communications contact 8020ltd on 01387 250008

Andrew Edgar

Managing Director

8020 Ltd

01387 250008

www.8020ltd.com