Tag: network
Google Buzz social network: Buzzing or boring?
Google have entered the social networking fray with their new Buzz network. It's not the first time they've tried their hand at social networking (their Orkut network has a very respectable 100 million users), but by integrating it into…
PlayStation Network not staying free to use?
If there's one arrow in the PlayStation quiver that gives it the edge over the Xbox 360, it's that free to use online service. No subscriptions or charges to get online with your mates, just an internet connection hooked up…
Tories plan super-fast broadband network by 2017
The Conservative party have vowed to deliver a super-fast broadband network to UK homes by 2017. Is this a case of pre-election carrot-dangling or do the Tories have some concrete plans up their sleeves? The Tories plan to end BT's…
Devolo dLAN 200 AVplus Starter Kit- Review
Name: Devolo dLAN 200 AVplus Starter Kit Type: Powerline network adapter set Price: £119.99 (Maplin) The world has become pretty comfortable with the idea of wireless internet, sending data over the air from wireless routers to all sorts of internet…
Micro-SIM orders suggest O2 and Orange are getting the iPad
Steve Jobs' announcement that Micro-SIM cards will be taking over from regular SIM cards on 3G duties wasn't exactly accommodating for the millions using the later variant. Nor did it much help network operators who find Micro SIMs in short…
Vodafone launch Sure Signal 3G booster
Vodafone have today launched their new Sure Signal 3G booster box. Timed nicely to coincide with last week's iPhone launch on the network , it aims to significantly improve 3G signals within the home. The Sure Signal service is part…
BT on course with its super-fast broadband project
BT has announced that an additional 69 towns will be receiving their super-fast fibre-based broadband by this time next year – meaning the service will be available to 1.5 million homes and businesses.
BT’s Steve Robertson said: “We had aimed to get fibre to half a million homes by next March but we’re now being far more ambitious. We’ve received a tremendous response to date and so we’re keen to get on with the job.”
Their overall goal of the project, which is costing the telecommunication giant £1.5billion, is to have 10 million homes covered by 2012 – 40% of the country.
BT will be offering access to ISPs on an open, wholesale basis thereby supporting a competitive market. The first areas to have access to the network went live earlier this week. Trials are taking place in Muswell Hill, London and Whitchurch, South Wales and involve 16 different ISPs.
The plan is great news for internet users and makes a bit of a mockery of the plan set out in the Digital Britain report to ensure that the country is covered by a broadband network capable of 2Mbps. The super-fast network being developed by BT should be capable of speeds of 40Mbps – 100Mbps. No wonder MPs are to open an inquiry into whether the 2Mbps plan is ambitious enough. Clearly it isn’t.
(via BT & Computing.co.uk)
O2 wins the battle for the Palm Pre
As predicted by yours truly a few hours ago, O2 will be the exclusive network of the Palm Pre.
O2 reportedly beat off competition from Orange – just as it did when it scored the exclusive rights to the iPhone back in 2007. O2 is already the market leader in the UK with a share of 27%. By stocking the Pre alongside the iPhone 3GS their lead will surely increase further.
Nothing has been confirmed by O2 officially and there are no price details as of yet either. You can’t imagine Apple would be too thrilled if the Palm Pre was a more affordable option than the iPhone 3GS though. I fully expect the pricing to be an exact match of the 3GS in terms of plans, although the handset itself might be a smidgen cheaper as it is in the US.
(via The Guardian)
O2 and Orange refuse to stock Nokia N97
A row has erupted between Nokia and network operators Orange and O2 over Nokia’s plans to pre-load the Skype VoIP service onto the N97.
The N97, Nokia’s flagship touchscreen phone due in June, is eagerly anticipated around here, but networks fear that including Skype on the device could cause them to lose voice revenue, with customers opting for cheap unlimited data plans over plenty of free voice minutes.
It’s prompted “high-level discussions” between the companies, which is code for “someone up top is very angry”. O2’s official comment says “We are currently working with Nokia to understand their Skype service and the business model around it.”
It’s interesting that the major operators have such a problem with the service, especially given the runaway success that Three has seen with its Skypephone and followup Skypephone S2, and the awards that the Facebook-and-Skype-integrated INQ has recieved. I’m sure Three will happily take O2 and Orange’s customers for the N97.
(via Pocket Gamer and Mobile Today)
D-Link opens up home Big Brother options with its DCS-910 and DCS-2121 wireless network cameras
D-Link has invented a niche it’s calling the “home security market” – and has released a couple of webcams to help you discover who it is that’s eating all the biscuits.
The DCS-2121 Megapixel Wireless Network Camera is the hottest of the pair, coming fully loaded up with wi-fi connectivity…
