Looks like Vinyl is much more fun than CD… Haven’t seen that one yet on BGT…
Where do you think such a cheap plan can be found? Answer: just across the Channel.
The word “fierce” is best applied here: newcomer Free (part of the Iliad Group, now a quadplay provider) offers a cheap and dirty plan for only €2 per month, forcing other French operators into fierce price war and cost cutting. Last week, market leader France Telecom (aka Orange) lost 615K customers in the quarter (that’s 2.3% of its base). Interestingly, the number of customers grew at triple the normal rate in Q1, confirming that Free’s cheap plan has upended the French market.
While it’s good news for consumers, the concern is that such a brutal reduction in revenue and operating margins will have long term negative impacts for the other operators, with the first to suffer being… the workforce.
Sony Ericsson was struggling so Sony decided to buy their share back and launched Sony Mobile, the mobile unit of the great “One Sony”. Problem is that the Sony brand equity doesn’t seem to work in mobile either. Earlier this week, Sony Mobile announced a £924M net loss - supposedly due to ditching feature phones and going [Android] smartphones only, restructuration cost (I guess this one should decrease this year as they’re planning to get rid of more than 10,000 people…) and… earthquakes in Japan (sad but what’s the correlation between that and dropping mobile phone sales?). A shame. The Xperia S is arguably the best phone currently on the market (it has a much better camera than One X and feels much more expensive than the coming soon plastic SIII) but even a £19M marketing campaign can’t get in the GfK top 10. So what do they need to do? Surely Sony can’t wait until James Bond uses the Xperia 007 in Skyfall…
LG is coming back. With encouraging Q1 results, Andy Coughlin soon at the helm (it’s not official but everyone in the industry knows) and hopefully better positioned devices starting with the 4xHD, what can go wrong? Well, it’s still over controlled by Seoul…
And RIM? BB World didn’t set the world on fire. Lack of innovation. QNX is probably another WebOS. Remember “Crackberry”? No? That’s because you’re now addicted to iPhone. And BBM? Well Whatsapp is bigger than BBM, across multiple platforms… RIM is soon to RIP…
So the next Galaxy is the Galaxy S3! Now, that’s a surprise. Anyway, I was attending the Earl’s Court event yesterday and I have to say I was underwhelmed. First a cheesy speech. Then neverending mini movies about the S-features of a phone “designed for humans” (just in case you think it is designed for dogs or chickens). And then the phone.
Don’t get me wrong: the features are great and so are the specs (except the camera). But those features aren’t unreplicable in the very near future. And the design? well, there’s nothing “wow”: lots of plastic, a Samsung specialty. I was really expecting something better than a cheap looking pebble. The screen is great, although it’s not a massive step up from S2 or compared to the Xperia S. And the 8MP camera feels a bit weak. I have also seen better burst shots and imaging SW from different manufacturers on products coming later this year. And finally, the Android /Touch Wiz Ui’s look a bit dated on such an advanced phone.
You can start buying the phone from the 30th of May: you can register your interest with any operator and it’s already on pre-order at Carphone and Phones 4u.
Or maybe you want to wait for the iPhone 5? Because Apple surely didn’t sign an agreement with Liquidmetal just for fun…
Will I use an S3? Off course I will, don’t be silly 
!!
If you like superhero movies, you’ll love Marvel’s Avengers Assemble. Whedon has successfully turned the latest Marvel movie into seriously fast-paced fun, supported by amazing CGI, a strong cast, sharp dialogues or a good dose of humour.
Although reconnecting with each character at the beginning may seem a bit long for some, you’ll still sail through the 142mn, wanting more.
Hint: stay until the end of the credits, you are in for another surprise .
So that’s it, we’re only a few days away from the announcement of Samsung’s next high end Galaxy phone. The one that makes you stand out from the iSheep (you’ll understand after watching the teaser).
Be ready to see the expression ”iPhone killer” everywhere – for the right or wrong reasons, we have to wait and see. Can the next Galaxy challenge Apple’s iPhone supremacy? The iPhone 4S is the top selling phone in the UK, with an average of 70,000 units a week! Can Samsung top it up?
Consumers don’t really care about shipments and Gfk figures – although I expect lots of heated arguments between fanboys and Android geeks – but I am sure the Koreans have been preparing this like they were going to war.
When: 3rd of May, 7pm UK time.
Hint: you can follow the event live on Facebook.
Jim, Michelle, Stiffler, Oz, Vicky, Kevin, Heather, Finch, Stifler’s mum, Jim’s dad, the MILF’s guys, Nadia, Sherman… they’re all back for an American Reunion. It feels like you’ve seen it already [3 times], but there are still good laughs. I guess if you were part of the generation who saw the first ones, you’ll enjoy (if you did at the time).
Obviously, they realized it’s not high school anymore, and you can’t behave as stupidly as 10 years ago. Or can you?
All in all, a good laugh.
