Universal phone charger on the way

Life could soon be easier for millions of mobile phone users across Europe. A deal's been done between industry bosses and the European Commission in Brussels to work towards a 'one size fits all' charger. It would mean an end to users having to hunt around for the right type of charger for their handset and should help cut waste.

The deal isn't legally binding though and, at this stage, is only voluntary. But it means a universal charger, which will use a micro-USB connection, should be available by next year. Under the accord, the companies, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, Research in Motion and Samsung, are committed to developing the charger.

This is an excellent example of why more choice is not always good, but actually less choice does benefit the consumer at times.

60% of the world has a mobile

The speed and scale of the world's love affair with mobile phones was revealed yesterday in a UN report that showed more than half the global population now pay to use one. The survey, by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an agency of the UN, also found that nearly a quarter of the world's 6.7 billion people use the internet.

But it is the breathtaking growth of cellular technology that is doing more to change society, particularly in developing countries where a lack of effective communications infrastructure has traditionally been one of the biggest obstacles to economic growth. By the end of last year there were an estimated 4.1bn mobile subscriptions, up from 1bn in 2002. That represents six in 10 of the world's population, although it is hard to make a precise calculation about how many people actually use mobile phones.

Africa is the continent with the fastest growth, where penetration has soared from just one in 50 people at the turn of the century to 28%. Much of the take-up is thought to have been driven by money transfer services that allow people without bank accounts to send money speedily and safely by text messages, which the recipient - typically a family member - can cash in at the other end. Vodafone's M-Pesa money transfer service was launched in Kenya in 2007 and now has 5 million users. Developing countries now account for about two-thirds of the mobile phones in use, compared with less than half of subscriptions in 2002. A single mobile phone may have several users in poorer countries, where handsets are sometimes shared or rented out by their owners.

The report also recorded a marked increase in internet use, which more than doubled from 11% of people using the net in 2002 to 23% last year. Here the report identified a clear gap between the rich and poor world: fewer than one in 20 Africans went online in 2007, for instance, and less than 15% in Asia, whereas Europe and the Americas recorded penetration of 43% and 44% respectively. Across the world just 5% of people have broadband internet at home, although this rises to 20% in the developed world. Sweden was the world's most advanced country in the use of information and communications technology, in an index of 154 countries that took various factors into account such as access to computers and literacy levels. .

Broadband penetration increases

New figures confirm that more householders now own a home computer and have access to broadband. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office for the first three months of 2008 reveal that 70% of all households - with at least one member aged between 16 and 74 - have a home computer. This compares to a level of ownership of 55% in 2005. The figures also show that almost nine out of ten of those households have their computer connected to the internet (89%). This compares to 82% in 2005. However, only 43% of all households in 2008 reported a broadband connnection, with 19% reporting having a modem/ISDN connection only. This means broadband penetration among households in Ireland still lags behind the EU 27 average, with more than 70% of households in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands having broadband in 2008. The EU 27 average is 48% at present.

Today's CSO figures also show that almost all businesses with ten or more employees are now connected to the internet - 96% now use the internet. Access to the internet using broadband also rose sharply in 2008, with 83% of enterprises now having a broadband connection. This compares to 68% in 2007 and 61% in 2006. The use of mobile internet connections reached a level of 23% in 2008.

Today is 'Mega Monday' in the UK

Today is expected to be the busiest online shopping day of the year in the UK, with experts forecasting that spending will reach £320m. The internet retail trade body IMRG said it expected the peak time for shopping to be between 1pm and 2pm, as consumers who had done their research on the high street over the weekend logged on to order their gifts. The payment card issuer Retail Decisions (ReD) has forecast that the busiest minute of the day will be 1.31pm - around the time most people get back to their desks after popping to the sandwich shop. It predicts £980,865 will be spent in what has been dubbed a "mega minute". Last year's busiest minute online was 1:09pm on December 10 when UK shoppers spent an estimated £767,500.

Online sales records are being broken each year as more and more consumers start to feel comfortable shopping over the internet and "etailers" adapt to make the experience more convenient. The impact of the credit crunch has forced many consumers to consider cutting costs, and despite recent high street sales some of the best prices for electrical goods and items like books and CDs can still be found online. David Smith, director of operations at IMRG, said: "The internet has become the best place for shoppers looking to make the most out of their squeezed spending resources and find the best prices and products for presents this Christmas. Online has definitely come of age this Christmas." Smith said that although transactions levels were set to soar there would not be as many sales of big-ticket items as in previous years. "Last year people were still buying the larger electrical items like LCD TVs, but that has really dropped off this year," he said.

Most wanted: current bestsellers on Amazon
DVDs: Mama Mia, The Dark Knight, Wall-E
Video games: Mario Kart with Wii Wheel, Official Wii Wheel, Wii Nunchuk Controller
Books: The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J. K. Rowling; Dear Fatty by Dawn French; Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
Toys: Silverlit PicooZ Helicopter, Original Rubik's Cube, Top Trumps - Top Gear

Source: 'Busiest online shopping day expected', The Guardian, 08 December 2008

Broadband not as advertised

New research shows broadband subscribers can rarely access the maximum connection speeds advertised by internet service providers. A study on broadband available in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick has found that - on average - consumers benefit from just 60% of advertised speeds.The term 'broadband speeds may vary' - will often be heard in advertisements from internet service providers - but according to new research, those variations can be as much as 60% off the stated maximums!

This report - by the Epitiro internet monitoring firm - finds that fixed line subscribers receive on average 60% of the bandwidth speed being advertised , with mobile users faring slightly better at an average of 64%. Overall, Smart Telecom was deemed to be the best of the providers surveyed, followed by BT Ireland and Digiweb.

In related news, it was reported on Tuesday that contracts will be signed next week on the long-delayed national broadband scheme to provide service to outlying areas, but it will still be another 22 months before the system is operational, the Dáil has been told.

Nokia pull out of Japanese market

Finnish mobile phone giant, Nokia, has said it will stop selling its handsets in Japan after struggling to grow its market share in the country. Nokia said it would continue selling its luxury Vertu brand in Japan, and would dedicate its Japanese business to research purposes. Samsung and LG have also faced problems in Japan - a market dominated by sophisticated domestic phones. Nokia said recently that it would cut costs because of the global downturn. "In the current global economic climate, we have concluded that the continuation of our investment in Japan-specific localised products is no longer sustainable," said Nokia executive vice president Timo Ihamuotila.

Nokia has nearly 40% of the global market for mobile phones, but it reportedly managed to take only 0.3% of Japan's market last year. Foreign companies account for only 5% of the Japanese market, which is dominated by local firms selling phones with features such as TV broadcasting and electronic payment functions. These Japanese manufacturers have only a small presence outside their home market, which also has an advanced third-generation network that makes it difficult for foreign firms to compete. The Nokia-owned luxury brand Vertu was created in 1998 and focuses on one-off specialist phones costing from 3,500 euros to more than 100,000 euros.