Samsung has second crack at Armani phone

Ditches the touchscreen

The Samsung Armani Night Effect

Samsung has had another go at the fashion-branded phone with the launch of the Armani Night Effect, and has dropped the touchscreen in favour of a more standard design.

The thing most people forget when looking at branded phones is this: they’re not supposed to be GOOD.

…click here to read more

Europe voting on more cuts to roaming charges

Texting and mobile internet included

Cnt tlk am in Paris!

Using mobile phones abroad could become considerably cheaper – with the European Parliament set to vote on whether roaming charges should be capped further and expanded to text and mobile internet.

A vote in Brussels will decide if people should not be exposed to exorbitant prices just to use their mobile phones in other European countries.

Still not cheap

The cost of a voice call would fall to (a still hefty) 27 pence a minute – down from 36p – and the cost of a text would drop to 9p, from the current average of 23 pence.

…click here to read more

BT Prepares for Mass Migration

A new major investment into a brand new test centre in Swansea will allow BT to ramp up mass customer migration to its 21st Century Network this summer.

Following successful migrations in two small towns in South Wales, Wick and Bedlinog, BT will use its Swansea test-bed to show that national migration to its next-generation network can be carried out with minimal service disruption. BT will begin national migration from early 2008, starting with broadband.

…click here to read more

Starting today, for three weeks, ASDA is slashing the price of all 100 per cent fruit juices[1] and smoothies as part of its campaign against VAT laws which penalise people for choosing healthier options.

Equivalent to the removal of VAT, the price cut draws attention to the inconsistencies between the government’s VAT policy and healthy eating initiatives.

Under current UK tax law, people pay zero VAT on ‘essential’ foods and drinks such as milkshakes, frozen pizzas and chips but 17.5 per cent on ‘luxury’ items such as smoothies and 100 per cent fruit juices[2], despite the fact that a single serving of these products delivers one of your ‘five a day’.

…click here to read more

Two thirds of supermarket shoppers in Scotland oppose Government proposals to ban the use of multi-buy promotions on alcohol while 61 per cent oppose the introduction of minimum pricing levels.

In the most comprehensive survey ASDA has ever conducted in Scotland, 10,000 customers gave their reactions to Government proposals included in the consultation – Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol.

Almost 60 per cent of those interviewed said that neither setting minimum prices, nor banning promotions would be effective in lowering consumption of alcohol, while almost three quarters of shoppers strongly rejected proposals that would force them to purchase alcohol at a separate checkout, in effect making people queue up twice when doing the weekly shop.

…click here to read more

BT technology could predict tsunami

BT research designed to develop ways of measuring coastal erosion has led to a potentially ground-breaking discovery – the ability to predict tsunamis.

A network of floating devices uses wireless technology to monitor seabed movement in real-time and send the data back to a control centre.

Unlike much of the current technology used to measure factors such as wave height and length, the devices are relatively cheap to produce and run.

…click here to read more

First customers go live on BT’s 21st century network

BT made communications history today with the transfer of the first customer lines to its 21st Century Network (21CN), the world’s most advanced next generation network. As planned, BT has started to move customers in the village of Wick, near Cardiff, to the next generation infrastructure. The upgrade, which took place without the need for an engineer visit, new telephone, or a new telephone number, is part of the first phase of the national roll-out of 21CN.

…click here to read more