Mobile Choice Blog

Brits to junk two million mobiles this Christmas

Excited about getting a new phone this Christmas? Join the club. But what will you do with your old one? According to a new survey conducted by Tesco Mobile, two million of us will simply throw our poor old handsets away during the festive season - even if they're working perfectly. That's 20% of all the Brits who are getting a new mobile phone.

The problem appears to be that we don't know what options we have to recycle our mobiles. Only 18% of us do recycle. What about the 62% who don't throw them out or recycle? We just leave them lying round at home, of course.

You might have guessed that there's a Tesco tie-in coming at the end of this story. The company has set up a dedicated recycling service, with rewards of gift vouchers or Tesco Mobile airtime. Of course, an alternative is the Children In Need phones appeal...

Microsoft hints at Zune Phone, but not soon

We don't often cover standalone MP3 players on this blog, so the news that Microsoft has launched new versions of its Zune player would normally pass us by. However, Microsoft executive J Allard has given an interview where he gives his views on a potential ZunePhone, as well as Apple's iPhone.

"We think there is a lot of runway first in redefining the music experience with partners," he tells Reuters, before pointing out that Zune is based on the same platform as Windows Mobile phones "So we have the flexibility to take these in a different direction where our customers, our partners and we are ready."

In other words, Microsoft WILL do a Zune Phone, but not yet. Allard also had kind words for Apple's iPhone, calling it "the best browser ever", while saying it's lacking as a pure music player. But then he would say that.

(via Reuters)

Now Spyker is launching F1 branded handsets

Ferrari have launched their own branded mobiles before, but now it's the turn of, er, Spyker. Admittedly, they're not quite such a big name in the world of F1.

The company has launched three phones, the C8 Spyder, C8 Laviolette and C8 Laturbie. The first two are dual-band models with 1.3 megapixel cameras and a black and silver design, while the Laturbie is a glossy red tri-band model, with the same camera.

To be honest, we're unconvinced of the appeal of this kind of handset, even when it's a big name like Ferrari, let along a team further down the F1 ranks. But maybe some hardcore F1 fans out there disagree: would you be up for buying a branded motor-racing phone?

(via Engadget Mobile)