I regularly use my PDA to access Vodafone‘s Irish website (www.vodafone.ie). I normally do this using a WiFi connection, and I often do it while I am abroad. The main reason I access the web site is to send free text messages.
However, accessing the website on my PDA is really awkward! Indeed, it is one of the worst web sites that I have ever experienced on my PDA! This is particularly surprising when you consider that Vodafone is in the mobile market!
My reasons for disliking the web site, and in particular the My Vodafone portal, are:
- The layout of the web pages is not suitable for narrow screens.
- Some of the web pages rely on JavaScript to provide the functionality.
- Images are used for navigation and functionality, and no alternatives are provided.
- Popups are used! Even on a desktop this is problematic since so many browsers now block popups!
Ideally, it would be nice if Vodafone developed a mobile version of its portal! This could be used as a value added service to drive data revenues!
Tags: Ireland, JavaScript, Vodafone, WiFi
I previously described how Google will photograph the streets of Dublin for Google Street View in Google Street View Comes to Ireland.
This morning I spotted one of the cars taking the photos in the north side of the city! I am hoping that I will be visible when the photos are eventually published online!
The car that was being used was a red hatch-back, and I think that it had Irish registration plates on it. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to take a photo of it using my PDA :(
Tags: Google, Ireland
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Vodafone has announced that it is creating an online application store. I think that this is an interesting move, because as far as I am aware it is the first time that a mobile phone network operator has actually created its own application store.
This announcement is evidence of the shifting role of telcos from simple bit-carriers to providers of value-added applications and services. This is turn should increase revenues significantly, without incurring proportional costs.
I think that the advantages of this strategy to users are:
- Identifying and sourcing new applications becomes easy
- Purchasing new applications becomes seamless due to integrated charging
- Access to new and innovate services
I think that the advantages of this strategy for developers are:
- It reduces the barriers-of-entry for smaller developers to get their applications to the users
- It reduces the need for developers to market and promote their applications
- It eliminates the need for developers to collect revenue from users
- It enables developers to write applications that access resources within Vodafone’s network by using a Vodafone API.
So it is a win-win-win situation!
For more details about this story see Voda joins app store wars with smart pipe approach.
Tags: Vodafone
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I came across another FriendFinder LBS today called Brightkite. It is interesting to see that this LBS includes many social networking features. I wonder is it only a matter of time before the mainstream social networking web sites start to include location functionality. Maybe they do already!
There is a great promotional story on the Brightkite blog titled New Feature: Brightkite now gives you more legroom… I was considering joining, but then I read Why I’m giving up on brightkite (for now). Now I am not so sure :|
Perhaps there are lots of other similar LBSs of which I am not aware! Perhaps I should make a list of them, and then try them! All I need to do is find the time…
Tags: Brightkite
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A friend, with whom I previously work on LBSs, recently told me about a new realisation of the FriendFinder LBS. This realisation is developed by a German company, and you can read more about it in aka-aki.
Interestingly, privacy does not appear to be a major concern in relation to this LBS, as noted by my friend ;)
Tags: aka-aki, Germany
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I read an interesting article during the week that described how Google Latitude was used to locate, apprehend, and arrest the thief of a stolen purse! I guess that this is great advertising for Google! To read the full article see Google nabs purse snatcher.
The most interesting thing that I learned from this article is that the telcos charge the police for this location information, and the charge varies depending on how fast the police want this information! I wonder if this only occurs in the US, or if it occurs in the EU also.
I am surprised that the telcos are not required to supply this location information free-of-charge due to either freedom of information (the mobile phone owner’s location information) or emergency services legislation!
Tags: Google
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Apple have removed the controversial Baby Shaker application from the application store! I guess that it is not surprising, since Apple try not to endorse any applications that are objectionable!
To read more about this see ‘Baby Shaker’ game pulled from Apple’s iPhone App Store. There is also a great video demonstration!
Tags: Apple
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I read earlier this week that a man was found guilty of a hit and run in which the victim ultimately died. The man did not deny that the car was involved in the incident, but he did claim that he sold the car before the incident occurred. Therefore, he claimed that it was the new, and unidentified, owner who was guilty of the hit and run.
However, the police presented evidence from a mobile phone company that the man’s mobile phone, and by extension the man, was in the area of the incident at the time of the incident. Indeed, they even knew that the man was on a call at the time of the incident. The full article is Man jailed for fatal Dublin hit and run, but you need to view the video in order to hear about the location based evidence.
I think that it is very interesting the way that mobile phone location information is being increasingly used to solve crime in Ireland.
The first investigation that highlighted the use of location information relating to a mobile phone was the disappearance and death of Robert Holohan. See Holohan search called off for the night for more information.
More recently, mobile phone evidence was used to successfully convict Joe O’Reilly of the murder of his wife. For more about this see Mobile record clashes with O’Reilly alibi and O’Reilly trial hears details of mobile calls. Indeed, in this case the location aspects of the mobile phone evidence were questioned in the unsucessful appeal case, as described in Joe O’Reilly’s appeal is dismissed.
Tags: Ireland, Mobile Phone, Police
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Today I am going to focus on the Irish involvement in another international standards body called the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance). Information about the history and goals of the OMA can be found in About OMA. There are 4 different levels of membership of the OMA, and these are described in OMA Membership. However, I am not going to distinguish between these membership types. I am basing my lists on the memberships lists in Current OMA Members.
The Irish companies that are currently members are:
The non-Irish companies that have technical operations in Ireland that are currently members are:
As always, it is difficult to determine if some of these multi-nations have a technical presence in Ireland.
Tags: Acotel, AdaptiveMobile, Adobe, Aepona, Alcatel-Lucent, Ammeon, Avaya, BT, Ericsson, HP, IBM, Intel, Ireland, Jinny, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, OMA, Oracle, RedKnee, S3, Siemens, Sun, Verizon, Vodafone, Xiam
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I read an article in one of today’s papers describing how Google will soon to start photographing the streets of Ireland in preparation for adding them to Google Street View. The cities that Pegman will visit are Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. The online version of this article is Google takes to the streets to show the way to go in Ireland.
It would be cool to see one of the Google cars in action, and maybe even be captured :o If you are unsure what these cars look like, then take a look at Google Street View Cars.
Tags: Google, Ireland
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