Tag: Carphone warehouse

UK ISPs send BBC warning about possible bandwidth hogging iPlayer

bbc-iplayer-firstweek.jpgInternet Service Providers in the UK are warning the BBC that the widespread use of its iPlayer service may put too much strain on their networks, and consequently they could place restrictions on their users’ access to it.

Demand for the service certainly seems high, with over 120,000 people signing up to be beta testers in the first week alone.

Yet while it provides great additional exposure for a variety of the BBC’s TV programmes, leading ISPs including BT, Tiscali, and the Carphone Warehouse believe that its soaring popularity will eat heavily into their bandwidth.

Andy Merrett Internet

Opinion: Free laptop deal looks good

Jon_smal.gifJonathan Weinberg writes…

Let’s face it, who among us is ever going to turn down a free gift – especially when it’s worth up to £500. Well, that’s the prospect facing techno shoppers at Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World this week.

You couldn’t have failed to see the ads in the newspapers over the weekend proclaiming the gratis machines in return for signing up to broadband with the likes of Orange and AOL. ‘So where’s the catch?’ I hear you ask. ‘There’s always a catch!’

Well, you’re right, to get the free laptop you are tied into a contract with the firms for two years and yes, the machines aren’t super-spec’d enough to suit most Tech Digest readers. But in terms of getting people interested in technology and onto the interweb superhighway, it has to be good news…

Jonathan Weinberg Broadband, Columns & Opinion, Computers, Internet, Laptops / Notebooks

How likely is a Monday announcement of a European iPhone 3G?

andy-merrett.jpgAndy Merrett writes…

Now that the deal with the first US version of the iPhone is virtually tied up, the rumourmongers have turned their attentions squarely to Europe.

Yes, I’ll come out straight away and call it a rumour, because I’m not convinced that Monday will see an announcement from Apple about the European iPhone.

If I’m proved wrong next week, so be it.

Guy Kewney at Newswireless.net has published a story claiming that Apple has struck a rather complicated deal between Vodafone, T-Mobile, and the Carphone Warehouse.

Andy Merrett Columns & Opinion, iPhone, Mobile phones

Survey shows people so attached to mobile phones, a million quid wouldn't make them give up

According to the latest installment of the Carphone Warehouse's "Mobile Life" research, the Great British public are so attached to their mobile phones that they wouldn't give them up – even for a million pounds.

The results come out of depriving 24 pour souls out of their mobile phones for a week, in order to understand how they shape our behaviour.

One in three people said they wouldn't give up their phone for a million pounds. 76% said they believed it was a social requirement to have a mobile phone, while 85% think that having a mobile phone is vital to maintaining their quality of life.

Andy Merrett Mobile phones