Mobile Choice Blog

Is it a mobile phone or an Oyster card? It's both!

Barclaycard has announced plans to run a trial in London of mobile phones containing the same contactless payment system as seen in the Oyster travelcards that you use to pay for public transport in the UK capital.

The trial is the follow-up to Barclaycard's OnePulse card, which launched earlier this year and combined traditional credit card facilities with Oyster card features. The bank says 1,000 retailers in London already have OnePulse terminals to let customers pay for stuff, which should benefit the mobile trials.

So which handsets will support the new trial? Nokia is going to be supplying the phones, and if the trial is successful, the idea could roll out to other parts of the UK. Mobile payments are already common in Japan, but hopefully the combination of Barclaycard and Nokia could get us Brits up to speed too, in the nearish future.

(via Guardian Unlimited)

Yahoo predicts mobile internet set to overtake normal internet by 2017

Ever wonder why big web firms like Yahoo and Google are so keen to get into mobile? Yahoo's Geraldine Wilson has shed some light on the trend, with her prediction that "within 10 years, more people will be accessing the Internet from their mobile... than in the home from a PC".

Sounds unrealistic? Not when you think about 'emerging' markets - countries where PC use is nowhere near as high as in the UK and other Western developed countries. Wilson says that in many of those countries, many people's first experience of the internet will be through a phone.

This doesn't mean PC-based internet use is going to decline, of course - even with handsets like the iPhone, it's still not as rich an experience as using a PC and large screen to surf. But it does show you why Yahoo is attaching such importance to its Go for Mobile application, which brings many of its big web services to mobile.

(via MocoNews)

Nokia relaunches Sports Tracker mobile application

If, like us, you plan to spend the month of December getting fit before the Christmas pig-out, then the Nokia Sports Tracker mobile application may help you out. It lets you track your workouts via GPS and mapping, ensuring you know how far you've run (and thus, how many Yorkshire puds you can eat on 25th December).

The application has been around for a while, but it's just been relaunched with new social features, allowing you to share your workouts with other users. It's great if you're getting fit with a few friends and want to encourage each other.

It's a sign that sports and mobile phones now go beyond the rugged handsets that Nokia has been releasing for a few years now - the inclusion of GPS in phones means that athletes of all levels can use their phones as essential training tools.

Nokia Sports Tracker website (via Engadget Mobile)

South Korean teenagers getting lessons in mobile addiction

We've got a few lessons we'd like to impart to British teenagers on the subject of mobile usage. 1.) DON'T play loud music from them on the bus, 2.) DON'T punch people in the head while filming it on your camphone, and 3.) DON'T sign up to those tempting ringtone subscriptions, you'll only regret it.

In South Korea, educators are more worried about pupils being addicted to their mobiles, so 12 schools have been chosen for a pilot scheme investigating the problem. The kids will be discussing how they use phones, what symptoms they experience when they're without their handset, and considering "proper use of the phones as consumers".

Naturally, they won't be allowed to have their phones switched on during the lessons: in fact, they'll be put in special phone lockers for the duration. Could such a scheme happen here in the UK? We think the idea's got legs.

(via Textually)

Snaffle yourself some free turkey ringtones

It's nearly Christmas, so why not jazz up your phone with a fun turkey ringtone? Admittedly, we can think of about 21 reasons why we wouldn't want our mobiles going gobble-gobble on the train, but...

The UK Turkeys website, which has been set up to persuade people to buy local turkeys for their Christmas dinners, is offering two different turkey-themed ringtones, which you can download for free via your PC, or pay 50p to receive as a direct download to your phone.

What about poor old vegetarians though? If anyone's selling a ringtone based on nut roast, please let us know!

UK Turkey ringtones

GyPSii location-based social network to launch on Nokias

GyPSii is an interesting mix of technologies, being part location-based news service, and part social networking platform. Its features include user generated content, friend finding and sharing, and Point Of Interest search to find maps and directions of your immediate surroundings.

The company behind it has just launched a Symbian version of the application, which has been accredited for use on Nokia's N95 and 6110 Navigator handsets (it's already available for Windows Mobile handsets). GyPSii says that demand for more advanced mobile location services is growing, so hopes to tap into the people using the GPS feature on these Nokia phones.

Location-based social networking could be one of the most exciting areas in the next year or two, although we're not sure if it'll work best on standalone services like GyPSii, or integrated into existing social networks like MySpace and Facebook. For example, imagine being able to pop up a Google Map showing any of your Facebook friends who are nearby...

GyPSii website

Now Levi's has launched its own mobile phone

There is no shortage of big brands wanting to get some mobile lustre. Witness the recent fashion phones involving Prada and Armani, for example. Now jeans-maker Levi's wants to get in on the act, and has partnered with Samsung to make a Levi's-branded handset.

Several versions are available, including metallic silver, black, brown copper, "shiny silver" and "shiny sand" (those last two are aimed at women). The blurb says that "the functional essence of the Levi's brand's design philosophy is perfectly captured by the phone's compact design and sturdy riveted steel casing". Quite. It also has a detachable chain to dangle the phone from your jeans.

Feature-wise, it's got a two-megapixel camera, MP3 player and FM radio, Bluetooth and a 262k-colour screen. We wonder if it'll be sold alongside Levi's clothes in retailers, which would be interesting.

Levi's Mobile site

AOL launches new UK mobile portal

AOL has launched AOL Mobile, its new mobile internet portal offering channels from its web service, including email and search functions.

The site also promises to 'transcode' any website into mobile-friendly pages - although given that some mobile browsers (and, indeed, operators) already do this means it might not be that useful to all mobile users.

AOL Mobile search is prominently placed on the new portal's homepage, while channels ported over from AOL's UK website include sport, news and entertainment, with more to follow in the coming months. To check AOL's new portal out, text AOL to 85885 here in the UK.

Get cute with a Hello Kitty Bluetooth headset

The problem with Bluetooth headsets is, well, they're a bit dull aren't they? Sober, serious-looking gadgets whose sole aim is to look unobtrusive while dangling from your ear. Which is what most mobile users are looking for, we daresay.

For anyone who prefer to rock the 'teenage Japanese girl' look, though, how about this Hello Kitty Bluetooth headset, which has just surfaced in Japan. We don't know how much it costs, or how you can get hold of one from the UK, but it's a colourful alternative to almost all of its rivals.

Pair this with a Miffy handset, of course, and your cutesy rating will shoot through the roof.

(via Engadget Mobile)

Philips launches Xenium 9@9k mobile with TWO MONTH battery life!

That's right: two full months of standby time for a mobile phone. Which considering most new handsets need recharging every couple of days is some achievement.

The phone in question is Philips' Xenium 9@9k, so the downside is that it's not one of the major phone brands. The company is promising 1,440 hours of standby battery life, and an equally impressive 17 hours of talktime.

Its camera is only VGA-resolution, but it does have Bluetooth, a built-in FM tuner, and a microSD memory card slot. Hopefully this won't be the last phone to offer supercharged battery life, although there must be a limit to how long current phone batteries can stretch before manufacturers need to switch to another technology, like futuristic fuel-cells.

(via Engadget Mobile)