Mobile Technology News

O2 joins mobile payment market

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 14:24:00 GMT

O2 is launching its own mobile payments service that will allow payments by users on all phone networks.

The service comes in a free app that brings together several different forms of mobile payment. Users register a debit or credit card with the application and can then use it for spending on the move. However, they'll need to "load" the app with cash before spending, in a similar way to a pre-paid card.

The app allows so-called "tap and pay" or contactless payments at around 100,000 retail locations in the UK. However, as most phones don't have the necessary chips, users will need to ask for a special physical card from O2, which seems to somewhat undermine the point of this feature.

Another part of the service, available to all mobile phone users who can access the internet on their handset, is the ability to transfer money to anyone with a phone number simply by sending a message.

For those with smartphones the service app also allows users to scan barcodes of products in shops and check whether online retailer offer a better

Bank brings mobile payments to older phones

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Barclays has found a way to bring mobile payments to people whose phones aren't new or advanced enough to have a Near Field Communication chip built-in.

An NFC chip allows wireless communication over a range of just a couple of centimetres, meaning it can be used for "swipe" or "wave to pay" tools while drastically reducing the risk of data being intercepted. While some phones can already be linked to a card account and used for cardless payments in this way, the technology is only available in the latest models of most phones.

The Barclays solution is to create a small physical card called PayTag that contains an NFC chip, somewhat along the lines of the Oyster card used for payments in London. The card is designed to be stuck to the back of a phone, which can then be used with contactless payment terminals.

At the moment a PayTag card can be used for payments of up to £15, though this will rise to £20 in June. Although it's linked to a credit card account, the card works on a pre-paid basis, meaning it has to be "topped up" before

Vibrating tattoos could replace vibrating phones

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:32:00 GMT

What links a tattoo and a mobile phone? According to Nokia, the unlikely punchline is magnetic waves.

The company has filed a patent on a technology that would allow customers to have a special tattoo that would vibrate when the user receives a call. It would work by using a metal-based magnetic ink for the tattoo, which would be activated by magnetic waves from the phone.

The metal content, which could also be built into a small gadget attached to a fingernail or stomach, could be set to vibrate more or less to indicate different signals, such as specific callers, or a battery running low.

The magnetic transmissions could also be used as a security measure. The metal in the tattoo would be identifiable by its unique shape, meaning a laptop or mobile phone could only be operated when the user -- and the tattoo -- was located nearby.

It seems the concept is simply an idea at the moment and there's no word of Nokia bringing it into

4G may be on its way to UK

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:39:00 GMT

High speed mobile broadband services could be operating in the UK as early as this year, a surprise application has revealed.

Communications regulator Ofcom had previously planned for the 4G services to come into action late next year or even in 2014. That was based on a schedule of auctioning off frequencies that won't be freed up until the process of switching off analogue TV signals is complete.

However, Everything Everywhere (a parent company operating the networks of Orange and T-Mobile) has now applied to offer services on its existing frequencies. Ofcom says it backs the idea in principle and, although it would make the company the only 4G provider for the immediate future, it doesn't believe the move would hurt competition. Other networks now have four weeks to make their case against the change in Everything Everywhere's license.

The application would mean the company could offer services using both main 4G technologies, LTE WiMax. That could mean not only faster services for smartphone and tablet holders, but also a decent connection speed even for homes in areas without landline broadband

Charity shop uses smartphones to tell a tale

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:44:00 GMT

Oxfam is using mobile phones to help customers learn more about the back stories of the used goods it sells.

The charity believes people are more likely to buy products, particularly unusual or unique ones, if they know more about their history and how they were used or passed down a family. The idea is to use personal stories to give items more sense of meaning beyond their raw monetary value.

As there isn't always room to include such details on price tags or signs, Oxfam is using a mobile phone app named Shelflife that is activated by QR codes, a variation on a barcode that can be read by a smartphone camera and links to a page about the item.

The system is being tested in 10 Oxfam shops in Manchester and will be rolled out nationwide if it is successful.

The system is adapted from, and supported by, a project run by five universities that aims to track 6,000 objects using the QR codes. Each object has its own Twitter account allowing current owner to post updates as the object is passed on or otherwise plays an important role in

Facebook Android snooping row explained

Thu, 8 Mar 2012 19:51:00 GMT

Social networking giant Facebook has angrily dismissed allegations of secretive snooping into user's text messages. Here's the lowdown on the claims and counter-claims.

What are the allegations?

The Sunday Times ran an article, covered by several other newspapers, suggesting Facebook had the ability to access the texts stored on Android smartphones belonging to people running its mobile application.

Where do the claims come from?

The newspaper looked through the lists of permissions that users must give when installing an app. Anyone who is running the app will have agreed to this by clicking on a prompt, though there's no guarantee they will have properly read or understand the request.

Is it just Facebook?

No, several other major websites were listed by the newspaper. These included the revelation that services such as YouTube could access a phone's camera or that the game Angry Birds can access data about a user's location.

Why was this kept secret?

It wasn't. Nothing the newspaper reported was not already known, it's simply that such a high profile source hasn't reported it in this way before.

So what exactly is happening?

Android works on a permissions system which means all the data available on a phones is classed into specific categories such as text

Looking at the next generation of smartphones

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:51:00 GMT

In today's fast-moving tech world, no sooner has a new smartphone come out than people are speculating about its successor. While not all rumors prove correct, here's what's already said to be on the cards for the major players.

Apple iPhone 5

Most analysts expected this to be debuted late last year: instead we got the iPhone 4S. As a result, the iPhone 5 is now expected for mid 2012, with the idea being that it will be a much more significant overhaul than the tweaks with the 4S.

The most common expected change is a quad-core chip. That's the equivalent of having four separate processors and means the phone will be even better at multi-tasking. It should be able to do intense tasks such as video editing in the background without affecting other tasks. Another expectation is support for high-speed 4G (LTE) data connections, though this won't make much difference to UK users.

A less credible report is that the phone will have a 5 inch screen rather than the current 3.5 inch model. There are also claims of a new design for the "dock" connector, though this could be hugely

Mobile phone payments take a step forward

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Barclays has become major bank in Europe to allow customers to transfer money to friends via mobile phone.

The PingIt service is not the same concept as "swipe to pay" systems (formally known as near field communications) that allow customers to pay retailers with a phone rather than a card. Instead the new service is for personal transfers such as when a group of friends divide a bill after a restaurant meal.

The service only requires the payer to be a Barclays customer. The recipient simply needs to register a bank account number with the service and link it to their mobile phone number. It's also possible for an unregistered person to receive a payment, though they'll need to register within 24 hours to get the cash into their account.

Making a payment takes around 30 seconds and requires the payer to type in a five (rather than four) digit PIN code to their phone. Both the payer and recipient then get a text message to confirm the payment has gone through.

The maximum payment on a single transaction is £300, while any individual recipient will have a daily total limit between £300 and £5,000. Though the service is limited to personal rather

Police smartphone scheme criticised

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:56:00 GMT

A scheme to use smartphones and gadgets to help police on the beat appears to have had a limited success at best.

The National Audit Office has criticised the implementation of an £80 million scheme that involved around 41,000 devices going to officers. Most of the gadgets were BlackBerry handsets.

The idea was to make it easier for police to deal with administration such as filing crime reports while out on the beat rather than having to return to the office. However, the NAO found that the average time saved has worked out at just 18 minutes a shift, and in some cases officers actually spent as much as 109 extra minutes in the station, though it's not clear if and how this was a direct result of using the phones.

The problem seems to have been a lack of co-ordination and planning about who would get the devices and how they would be used. One force only had enough devices for 1% of its force, while another ended up with an average of 1.5 handsets per