* Posts by Andrew 66

46 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Jul 2009

Hey mobile firms: About that Android thing... Did Google add a lockout clause?

Andrew 66

Re: They missed the obvious

Well, clearly not if Google is limiting the ability of manufacturers to take up said alternative. That's the entire point of the EU getting involed...try reading the article next time.

Andrew 66

Re: Google apps optional

Yes, but they make way fewer than they do Android phones - that's the point...

Andrew 66

Re: So in other words

No, because Google don't have any software patents worth stealing...

And, because Microsoft don't go around stealing other peoples' technology.

Nokia teases world+dog with snap of new 4G Lumia 928

Andrew 66

Re: Why the hoohar?

No real need for any fuss. It's basically the same as the 920, but a Verizon exclusive because the American mobile phone market doesn't understand how competition works.

Operators turn UK bonking consortium into Google-killer

Andrew 66

Re: NFC with Push Ads ? no thanks

Of course, you could just turn off "Discoverable" in your Bluetooth settings and, like me, roam around with Bluetooth bswitched on all day never seeing any of this stuff.

PayPal drops into McDonalds, begs meat-guzzlers to give it a bonk

Andrew 66

Re: Phones with NFC ?

If you're really that worried, just keep the chip from an oyster card nearby...or have contactless in both your debit and credit cards...two cards can't be read at once...

Andrew 66

The Olympic trial with the S3 consisted of issuing Galaxy S3's to officials, athletes and teams and letting them use it, it wasn't a public trial...more a "look at what we might do if we can agree how to do it" thing...

Andrew 66

It would help...

...if the imbeciles who are put on tills in the shops that have the technology to accept Contactless payment actually knew that they should be accepting it!

On SO many occasions I've had to wind up telling the cashier how to use their own card handling machines, just because management can't be bothered :(

I HATE cash - it's annoying to carry, annoying to count, way too easy to lose and totally open to theft. Thankfully, adoption of Contactless is slowly increasing - from what I've seen more people are using it, more people want it (judging by the number of people who've asked how to get it when they've seen me use it) and the terminals are popping up everywhere.

Apple blacklisted by Chinese consumer watchdog

Andrew 66

Exactly, in the business world that's what "2bn lost revenue" means....they lost 2bn of what they were expected to earn...

Apple iOS 6 beta limits number of apps per device

Andrew 66

Re: It's so silly.

Really?

My Windows Phone currently has 73 apps installed. It runs just as fast, and just as smoothly as the day it had none installed.

For reference, it has a 1GHz single core processor and 512Mb RAM, and as a result the battery lasts 2 days.

Try that on your iPhone.

New UK network touts FREE* mobile broadband

Andrew 66

Well, if there coverage everywhere I go is anything to go by, even for free it's an entirely useless offer for me...

Vodafone to let you roam in Europe at UK prices

Andrew 66

Re: Missing the point?

Finally somebody who understands how business works!

Andrew 66

Re: They are increasing their pricing!

Well don't opt into it then! Read the article before you comment.

It is NOT COMPULSORY. If you are on a deal that's better for you now, then stay on it.

Andrew 66

Re: Get a local PAYG phone

It entirely depends on your use of your phone. Some people might be better off just roaming, some might be better off with a local SIM and some, like me who have very high usage rates of their device and only go abroad for a few days at a time, are probably better off paying 3 quid a day to take their home tariff abroad.

The particular tariff Vodafone offer is very simple, 3 pounds a day and you have the same price plan and terms as you have in the UK, with the exception of extras (for example the £5pm unlimited 08 numbers add on).

Unfortunately with a local SIM card you are still going to be charged a fortune for texting and calling back to the UK, which will probably cost a hell of a lot more than £3 a day in my case, in fact at pay as you go rates probably less than half an hour of calls.

International roaming isn't as cheap as it should be, no, but for now its a hell of a lot cheaper than it used to be. Everything is relative, and just because it isn't as cheap as you want it to be doesn't mean reductions in price should immediately be greater with hatred, as is so often the case on sites like el reg.

Andrew 66

Re: Get a local PAYG phone @Andrew 66

So it is getting a little cheaper then. The problem is you then have to add all your calls and texts on to that as well...

Andrew 66

Re: Get a local PAYG phone

Have you seen the price of pay as you go data in Europe recently? Calls are a minor part of smartphone use nowadays...

Andrew 66

Have you actually done the maths?

Clearly none of you have read the fact that this is totally optional. By default you pay like everyone else - but when I go abroad I still need to use my phone just as much as at home- calls, texts and internet...for a 4 day trip to Germany that used to mean anywhere between 30 and 60 quid extra on my bill (even with Vodafone Passport and DataTraveller, which is esentially standard now) . Now it costs 12. That's a pretty good deal in my book...

Mobiles forced to send premium-rate texts in new attack

Andrew 66
Joke

You know that there is no charge for recieving MMS messages, right.

Although, I have 2 Vodafone lines and they have never sent me a single MMS, so I imagine its probably somebody else trying to send them....

HTC mulls mobile OS buy – but won’t be rushed

Andrew 66

Get yourself a HTC 7 Pro. You'll love it. Genuinely.

Apple after Steve Jobs is still Steve Jobs' Apple

Andrew 66

A great article!

Congratulations to the author on a very well written and considerate article.

You can but admire Steve Jobs for his incredible ability to create a user base as committed as that of Apple, not to mention the really very impressive way he ran such a huge firm and occasionally, just occasionally, managed to invent something genuinely brilliant.

Still doesn't mean I'll buy an iPhone though. But I do want a MacBook Pro...(with Windows 8 ;) )

UK, German Android-ers can buy apps on phone bills

Andrew 66

presumably then,

you also live in an aluminium-foil lined house, and always use cash, don't have a bank account, and try to avoid paying for anything if at all possible

Hundreds of Brit pubs to offer free WiFi

Andrew 66

(untitled)

I've found that too, it's a bloddy nightmare! Especially as FON points identify themselves as Openzone...

Andrew 66

Well, they are BT...

...so probably...

..although I am still yet to find a WiFi hotspot that works before the twelfth attempt at connecting...

Andrew 66

Free for more than that...

If they are true BT Openzone hotspots (which annoyingly most aren't), then they are also included in mobile plans that offer free WiFi from at least O2 and Vodafone.

It should be the case that if you have BT Openzone access already, you should be able to use it there.

Apple augments reality, tells you where to go

Andrew 66

Is it me...

....or is this basically Google Maps Navigation, combined with Google Maps StreetView, and Google Googles? A combination that Google really should have done years ago...

Of course, the imbeciles in the Google legal department probably forgot that they had to patent them, and probably thought that putting them together wasn't a great idea so couldn't be arsed patenting that either...

Essex police charge BlackBerry user over inciting violent disorder

Andrew 66

Not that difficult...

Police to BB: "Here's a warrant. We want all this traffic from these dates that contain these keywords."

BB: "Sure thing. Here you go"

The decision is surprisingly simple when a company is faced with a demand for information to help in police matters: supply the info, or get done for perverting the course of justice.

Microsoft vs Google patent ding dong gets stuck on repeat

Andrew 66
FAIL

Simple resolution...

....so they stole everything about Android then...

12% of UK don't carry cash

Andrew 66

What security concerns?

What like....the maximum of a couple of hundred pounds before it's useless

the fact that I DON'T have to type my PIN in exactly the sort of establishments where it's most likely, thus meaning there is NO chance that someone will steal it when using contacless, and thus meaning they can't go around spending thousands

I'd love to see how long it takes for somebody to rack up a significant 'steal' at 15 quid a time

And I haven't yet managed to get my Contactless card to work a centimetre from the reader...what with the fact that my wallet is thicker than both air and 1cm, good luck to anyone stealing my information by brushing by....that leaves....oh, exactly the same hardware potential as Chip & Pin or mag stripe

And b******s is cash more secure, I would be willing to wager 100x more people could successfully steal a wallet than steal credit card details

Google waggles free* Android phones at Americans

Andrew 66
Stop

Nothing is ever free

Nothing is ever as free as you seem to be suggesting is possible.

I presume you think the NHS is free? That the Metro newspaper is free? Those pens you pick up as you walk around exhibitions?

No. You pay for it somehow. You pay for the NHS through National Insurance. You pay for the Metro because you're buying things off the companies that advertise in it. You pay for those pens because at some point in time, you're probably going to go and buy something from that company.

The key point is, many many things are Free at Point of Use (FAPOU), or Free at Point of Purchase (FAPOP), but just about nothing is ever free full-stop.

AT&T: 'Eat too much data and we'll strangle you'

Andrew 66

It IS unlimited, do learn to read...

It is unlimited, actually. You can use as much data as you like, but take the piss and they'll slow down the transfer rate

Seems very fair to me

Three prunes prices of smartphone contracts

Andrew 66

This would be excellent...

...but unfortunately in their insane pursuit for ridiculously cheap contracts, it seems Three have completely forgotten that they do in fact need to put some money aside to actually pay for network maintenance, something which I have always had a problem with every time I have tried them...

Apart from the fact I'd much rather pay £250 upfront and have a 12 month (at a push, 18) contract...

Motorola Milestone 3 no longer bound for Blighty

Andrew 66

Unfortunately...

...for me, and I suspect most people, having a separate keyboard just isn't practical - I'm hardly going to stop and sit down just so I can type a quick text message or email...

I have an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard for my Archos tablet, which is fantastic, but it's fantastic because I'm normally typing on my tablet when I'm sat down on the coach/train/bus what have you and have somewhere to rest the tablet...

And for what it's worth, folding keyboards are incredibly tricky to get hold of, expensive, and from my experience not of that good quality.

It really is a shame that decent phones with decent, proper keybaords are so rare...

Andrew 66

What are they on about?

I will never again buy a touchscreen phone WITHOUT a qwerty keyboard. I tried an E71, which was hideous typing on such a tiny thing, and I am still yet to be able to type a sentence without a mistake on my HTC Legend despite owning it for a year.

I'm desperately looking forward to something like the HTC Doubleshot appearing in the UK so I can have the proper keyboard from my TyTN II and S730 back!

And Motorola? Haven't realeased a good, or popular, phone since the RAZR, and that wasn't even very good...Nope, for me, having tried all the competition, it's HTC all the way - they remain the only manufacturer who's phone have physically lasted more than 6 months of my use...

Nissan car secretly shares driver data with websites

Andrew 66
Alert

For crying out loud

"There is *no* opt out. You (the *customer*) have *no* choice in this information being coughed up."

I am genuinely surprised that there are still people this dumb commenting on El Reg.

Do you have no capacity for reading? If you don't want the data broadcast, DON'T USE THE FEATURE. Either don't use their stupid (and probably useless) software, or don't read RSS feeds on the cars display...

Read the whole article before you comment.

Sky combines, revamps internet telly services

Andrew 66

So...

...does this mean that my flatmate, who is determined she wants Sky Sports, can have Sky Sports, whilst the rest of us can go on with our daily lives safe in the knowledge that only she is giving money to Mr. Evil (nee Murdoch)...?

O2 struggles for breath in widespread outages

Andrew 66

So?

Frankly if they are intelligent enough to pay the lowest tax they can, they're only doing better in my book.

Some of us are businesspeople. Why pay more tax than you have to?

Andrew 66

O2 vs Vodafone

I think the comparative reaction between this, and when a similar thing happened to Vodafone, shows just how bad O2 was in the first place.

By this point with the vodafone issue, there were at least 500 comments, most of which were complaints.

By this point with the O2 issue, there are maybe 25 comments, a lot of which are "makes no difference anyway"

So who had the better network to start with, I wonder?

Intel seeks connected home for Atom

Andrew 66

Paying for a phone call?

Being charged for a phone call?

Where do you live!? I haven't paid for a phone call in years. I pay for having the line, yes, but I don't know anybody who pays for individual phone calls any more. That's so 1990....

Orange blames switch for data problems

Andrew 66

People who abuse the service...

...in other words, as far as I can tell, iPhone users, who on the whole simply don't know any better.

And the only network where you don't pay per MB is Three, all other networks have fair use policies or imposed limits which are penalised.

For example, I am very happy with the way Vodafone charge me: I get 500mb with my tariff, and if I need more, I simply pay £5 per 500mb block. It works very, very well on the whole...

Andrew 66

Vodafone in Victoria

Forgive me, but I get quite good signal in Victoria station on Vodafone....

Archos 101 8GB Android tablet

Andrew 66

No MicroUSB Charging

I'll give you that it can be a bit annoying, but then the battery on the Archos lasts easily for a whole day anyway.

I use mine in conjunction with my phone and the amount of strain the Archos takes of my phone's battery almost doubles it's life, with the Archos able to pull a 10-hour day if you don't go overboard.

Andrew 66

Tethering

I use my Archos 101 with my Android phone using the FroYo built-in WiFi hotspot app and Vodafone either don't care or don't notice. It just comes out of my mobile internet allowance on my price plan.

Doesn't mean I'm not thinking about getting a Mobile WiFi device from them though, I get through an awful lot of data...

O2's free Wi-Fi in detail: How free is free exactly?

Andrew 66

Some letters, 4nd a digit

For mobile advertising revenues, and so there is something to link the account to, presumably..

Andrew 66

Adverts - If you don't want them, PAY

What is with you lot? The first sign of anything that is ad-funded (and thus free at point of use) and youa ll start moaning on about advertising and blocking it.

Well it you don't like advertising, PAY UP and pay for the services you use.

I quite like this idea and I'm amazed nobody has done it sooner. I can cope with the whole one screen tap it takes to mark a text message unread when I walk past a WiFi hotspot, if it means that when I want to get online and not have to pay for the privelidge.

There is one vital piece of missing information though: When does it launch? And where? Because if it's London then I will literally kill myself - Birmingham is crying out for a decent network of WiFi anyway, and if it's free then even better.

Microsoft airbrushes anti-Apple ad

Andrew 66
Stop

Malware? What malware?

Hang on....will people PLEASE stop talking about frkcing malware on windows.

I have been running windows VISTA on two machines for 3 years now (yes, one of the machines was using a beta build before), and in conjunction with Kaspersky Internet Security (which was very kindly paid for by my bank, Barclays, but which is still less than half the price of Norton or McAffee)

I have not seen, been affected by, or downloaded ANY malware in this time. Not. One. Single. Piece.

The only people I know who HAVE been affected by malware are those that either a) spend a lot of time on websites most people would consider 'unsuitable', b) who do not take any interest in protecting themselves online, or c) who use either norton, mcaffee, or a 'free' antivirus (has anybody actually considered that there might be a reason why it's worth nothing?)

Yes, the battery life on macbooks is very appealing to me, and if i could afford one i would consider it, but I still just can't justify the cost

I'm EXTREMELY happy with my BLU-RAY equipped Acer Aspire 6920G and will continue to be. I would much rather spend £100 on a new battery after 18 months than spend £700 extra (it was at the time, can't argue with that) on a laptop that won't need a replacement battery.

Oh, and a new power supply for my acer is £50....bet you won't find that price on ANYTHING in an apple store...

And I'm getting just a little bit fed up with "MAC OS Rules" - I've used it, and yes, it's good, but I just plain don't like it - I like the way Windows does things, and I can't stand some of the ways OS X does things - I'm allowed to think that aren't I? After all, I've never had any problems with windows that I haven't been able to fix very easily, so the number of things convincing me to use OS X is very small

Even if I did have a mac, I'd still put windows on it. But I just don't want a mac. Sorry.

oh, and how long did it take apple to recognise that the majority of cameras use sd cards?

The one thing I will praise apple for is the INTERFACE (and ONLY the interface) of the iphone, as well as FINALLY putting A2DP stereo bluetooth into an ipod - A2DP is a fantastic standard, and really deserves a hell of a lot more support than it gets.

UK Palm Pré carrier confirmed

Andrew 66

Well that's palm dead then...

Which genius decided that the two devices that are most in competition should be given, EXCLUSIVELY, to just one single supplier...

Of course naturally, now that O2 have got the rights to the Pre, Apple won't stop until it costs more than the iPhone

Why does NO phone manufacturer realise that some people don't want to not have a choice. There is no way on this planet that I will ever pay O2 any money, especially with their horrifically bad contract deals and high-balling.

*I* decide which network operator *I* want to deal with. Why does the mobile phone industry not get it??

Looks like I'll still be using Windows Mobile and Symbian on 3 then. The only two smartphone OSs that are truly available and competitive.