Google Launches Honeycomb OS For Tablets To Rival Apple iPad
Google is set to compete with Apple’s iPad in the tablet market. It has launched an operating system (OS) called Honeycomb for tablets computers.
Google is increasing its competition with Apple by launching an operating system for tablet computers which will mean direct competition with the Apple iPad.
The iPad was only launched last year and Apple has already sold over 15 million of the devices.
Now Google has launched Honeycomb, a version of its Android Operating System which has been perfected for tablet computers. Features of the system include being able to buy apps from a computer, buy features inside an app, video chat and better graphics.
Google’s director of products for mobile, Hugo Barra, said “This is a serious investment of years of design and engineering to really nail the experience for a larger screen”.
He added “We wanted tablets running Honeycomb to not just be bigger but also to be better”.
Motorola is to run Honeycomb on its Xoom tablet device which will go on sale later this month.
Google now wants developers to back Android and create more apps for its store. At the moment Android has 100,000 apps but Apple has over 300,000.
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Check Your Phone Bill As Telecoms Companies Increase VAT To 20% Before 4 Jan
Some mobile and landline telecoms companies have been found to have increased VAT on charges before it officially went up on 4 Jan so it’s a good idea to check your phone bill this month.
Some mobile phone companies and landline companies were found to have charged customers the higher rate of VAT before it officially went up to 20% on 4 Jan.
Telecoms companies including Orange, Three, T-Mobile and Virgin Media are all believed to have charged 20% VAT on December calls, texts and data usage. Not only that but The Daily Mail found that the Post Office increased VAT to 20% for telecoms customers back in October.
While other telecoms companies including BT, Sky and Talk Talk insisted that they charged VAT at 17.5% on calls before 4 Jan it may still be an idea to check your phone bill.
Surprisingly it’s not against the rules for phone companies to charge the higher rate of VAT before 4 Jan but it does mean that at a time when all bills are rising it’s an extra cost for consumers to have to deal with.
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Apple Shares Fall As Steve Jobs Takes Another Leave Of Absence
Shares in Apple have fallen over 5% since it was announced that Apple’s boss, Steve Jobs, was to take a leave of absence for health reasons.
On Monday a short statement confirmed that the Apple boss would take a leave of absence to concentrate on his health. It’s the second medical absence he’s taken in the last two years and as a result shares in the company have fallen.
As the Apple boss announced his absence, Apple also released news of record profits and revenues just before Christmas. In the three months to 25 December net profit was £3.7bn. Steve Jobs said “We had a phenomenal holiday quarter”.
Apple has increased its first quarter profits by 71% compared with the same period last year with sales of the iPad and new iPhone helping. Despite shares initially falling by nearly 6%, by the time trading closed on Tuesday they were only down 2.2%.
Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004 and had a tumour removed from his pancreas. As part of his treatment he had a liver transplant in 2008 and this latest absence is making investors in the US rather wary.
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BT Announces Race To Infinity Winners
BT has announced the winners of its Race to Infinity and has increased the number of winners from five to six.
Utility Exchange has been reporting on BT’s Race to Infinity competition which has involved communities voting for their area to be next on the list to be upgraded to superfast broadband. Initially there were to be five winners but it seems the competition has proved so popular that BT has increased the number of winners to six.
BT was trying to find the communities where demand for super-fast broadband was highest but in fact six areas all had a high number of votes and so BT increased the number of winners from five to six.
The Race to Infinity, which lasted three months saw over 360,000 votes cast up until the closing date of 31 December. The winners have been announced as Baschurch (Shropshire), Blewbury (Oxfordshire), Caxton (Cambridgeshire), Innerleithen (Scottish Borders), Madingley (Cambridgeshire) and Whitchurch (Hampshire).
The CEO of BT Retail, Gavin Patterson said “The Race to Infinity really captured people’s imagination. We’ve been so impressed by the passion and commitment of the people who signed-up to campaign for their areas up and down the country. They’ve done a brilliant job and we’d like to thank them for their time and dedication and of course all the thousands of people all over the UK who have voted”.
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BT Fined After Fatal Ladder Accident
Telecommunications giant BT is fined after worker dies from ladder fall.
BT has been fined £300,000 after one of its telecoms engineer’s fell off a ladder whilst carrying out installation works and subsequently died.
David Askew, a power construction engineer from Essex, sustained fatal head injuries after he fell off a wooden ladder at BT’s Canonbury Telephone Exchange in London on 27 October 2006. Now the company has been prosecuted following the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) full investigation.
According to the HSE report there were a number of issues found concerning health and safety including the company’s failure to ensure the work at height was properly planned, and that the employee was provided with suitable access equipment for work at height.
Furthermore, two wooden ladders that had been used by the BT employee had not been subject to an annual inspection – contrary to BT’s own health and safety procedures.
As a result, British Telecommunications Plc has been found guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs amounting to £196,150.
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Ofcom Says BT Can’t Increase Wholesale Prices To Help Pension Fund
Ofcom has told BT that it can’t raise wholesale prices in order to get its pension fund out of the red and back into credit.
Earlier this year BT had wanted Ofcom to allow deficit recovery payments to be added to regulated charges as is allowed by the regulators of other industries including energy, water and the postal industry. However, BT has been told that it can’t raise wholesale prices to reduce its pension deficit.
BT said it is considering the options available and many appeal against Ofcom’s decision.
BT had wanted to increase the prices it charged its competitors to use its network. However, in July Ofcom said there was no “compelling evidence” to allow the telecoms giant to increase wholesale prices to companies such as BSkyB and Talk Talk.
After looking at the effects a rise in wholesale prices would have Ofcom said it would not change its mind. The regulator said “Ofcom believes this is important for creating an environment in which regulated firms, such as BT, and their wholesale customers are willing and able to invest”.
BT argued that it should be allowed to increase wholesale prices because its retired workers were the ones who created the network used by rivals including BSkyB and Talk Talk.
In a statement BT said it was considering what further action it could take.
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BT Achieves Spanish “Equality in Business” Award
Telecommunications giant BT becomes the first telco company to receive the Spanish “Equality in Business” award
The Spanish Ministry of Health, Equality and Social Policy, presented the Equality in Business award to BT in Spain in recognition of its outstanding equal opportunities and treatment of female and male employees.
600 companies applied to the Spanish Ministry of Health, Equality and Social Policy for the certification and there were 36 winners in total, including telecoms and broadband provider BT.
This award acknowledges excellence and recognises companies that have implemented outstanding policies for equality with regards to opportunity and treatment in relation to working conditions, organisational structure as well as products, services and advertising.
Winners retain the certification for three years so long as they submitted reports annually to the Office for Equality in Employment and Anti-Discrimination, thus demonstrating their continued commitment.
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Job Cuts Mean BT Can’t Keep Up With Broadband Demand
BT has blamed job cuts for its inability to keep up with broadband demand from its corporate customers.
Over the last three years the telecoms giant has cut over 35,000 jobs and it’s had to hire outside help to meet demand for broadband from corporate customers including Talk Talk and BSkyB. But along with cutting jobs BT also moved around 4,000 engineers into other areas of the business in order to reduce costs.
According to The Daily Telegraph, BT Openreach has written to companies including Talk Talk, to apologise for its poor service. A poor response time from Openreach engineers has resulted in many of these companies having to delay signing up new customers.
BT Openreach has said that it will improve the response times for its engineers within the next three months. BT also blamed the poor weather for poor response times.
A BT spokesman said they had been trying to cope with a spike in demand for new connections and this was causing a back log. The spokesman said customers were experiencing slower lead times for engineering and repair visits. We are confident that we can restore normal service levels by re-allocating and in some cases hiring extra resources”.
Engineers who were moved to other duties last year have now been brought back to perform engineering duties but BT is still unable to meet its response time targets.
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BT Awarded Avaya Platinum Partner Status
Telecommunications giant BT has achieved Platinum Partner Status Worldwide in Avaya’s Connect Partner Program.
BT becomes the first non-US-based company to achieve the Avaya Platinum Partner Status Worldwide – and one of only three companies having achieved it.
With such accreditation BT can confidently provide customers on a global scale with telecommunication solutions built around any element of the Avaya portfolio and subsequently support it with accredited engineers who are based in the customer’s region.
BT supports an on-going international training programme for its operations and support staff ensuring they are qualified to deliver and support all Avaya unified communications and collaboration (UCC) and contact centre solutions to customers worldwide. BT also makes sure its Avaya portfolio is up to date and invests in the latest demonstration facilities for its customer showcases.
Achieving this accolade, Neil Sutton, vice president, global portfolio, BT Global Services, remarked:
“I am delighted we have achieved this status with Avaya. The accreditation recognises BT’s ability to provide its multinational Avaya customer base – in all sectors from banking to manufacturing and in all geographies from the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to Asia-Pacific – with advice, sales and services for the Avaya portfolio”
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Plans For Pan-European Phone Number For Businesses
European Commission launches consultation for a single Europe-wide phone number for businesses.
This latest move marks the revival of an ideal first devised in 2000 by the International Telecommunications union (ITU) to give businesses better access to suppliers and customers
The ITU allocated the international access code ‘+3883’ to the European Union and made it available to 24 European countries, but due to a considerably low take-up the idea was thrown out and the number is now about to expire.
In a statement, digital agenda commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said:
“Today, businesses need to have a separate telephone number in every member state where their customers need to contact them…
… This makes it difficult to develop EU-wide services for their customers. I urge all interested parties to help us formulate a policy that addresses the needs of businesses and provides more convenient access for consumers”
It is suggested that with a pan-European number, businesses would have the opportunity to expand their cross-border sales as well as make it easier for customers to access after-sales and customer enquiry services – wherever they are in the EU.
The European Commission has proposed two options which could work under EU telecoms legislation: Appropriate promotion for the existing +3883 European Telephone Numbering Space (ETNS) — subject to its reactivation after it lapses at the end of the year; Or an EU-wide ‘short number’ that would be reserved for businesses.
The consultation, which poses questions concerning the market and demand, as well as the potential of harmonising telephone numbers, will end on 28 February, 2011.