Technology
Hello, and welcome to the Technology section! We have some great articles this month, keeping you up to date with the latest in Technology news. First up, is an article about Digital Wallets exploring the possible future of the wallet, by Stobbo. Drolleke has provided us with the first of our two Apple related articles, New iPods, providing you with all the information you could want about the exciting new iPod line up. And lastly, Stobbo brings information about the UK release of the iPhone in the UK iPhone Release.
I hope you enjoy reading through this section, we certainly enjoyed writing it!
- Stobbo
Digital Wallet - By: Stobbo
The five major UK mobile phone companies switched on a new payment system in early September, called PayForIt which turns a mobile phone (known as a cell phone in some countries) into a digital wallet.
The future wallet?
This enables users of the PayForIt scheme to use their mobile phone, as a payment method, for purchases no more than £10 (approx $20) - although this is likely to change. Cash spent using the scheme will be added automatically to the bill the customer receives from the mobile phone company they use.
When using your mobile as a method of payment, you can clearly see on the screen, what you are paying for and who from, providing users a clear overview of the transaction.
"It's about opening up the micro payment choices," said Mr Short, "but it's not a total cash replacement."
Initially, only a handful of stores will accept PayForIt as a payment method, however it is quite possible that many more stores will adopt it, potentially fuelling the growth of this and possible other similar schemes.
Also, the scheme is not just limited to physical stores, but also mobile content, like ringtones and mobile games - which are generally paid for by a relatively non consumer friendly premium rate SMS.
Personally I feel the scheme is a step in the right direction, however I don't see this kind of scheme taking off and proving to be popular anytime soon. As with anything it will take time for it to be adopted by not only the stores but the general public. Although the scheme does showcase to us, not only what technology is capable of, but also a look into what the future could have in hold for us.
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New iPods - By: Drolleke
On 5th September, Apple released the new iPod family, introducing a new iPod, the iPod Touch.
What's new?
The first thing you notice about the new iPods are their new pastel colors, and rounded corners. The interface also had an update, along with some changes like screen size and resolution.
iPod Shuffle comes in: silver, light blue, red, light green and light purple. Its still the old shuffle.
iPod Nano comes in silver, light blue, red, light green and black. The Nano is now 6.5mm thin, and the display is larger, 320-by-240-res, and is 65% brighter than the previous one, which gives a better expirience while watching movies or photos.
Also new is the redesigned interface, now also including Cover Flow . Comes in a 4G or 8G version.
The iPod Classic only comes in silver and black. It now holds a stunning 160G, thats 40 000 songs, or 200 hours of video. The 2.5 inch screen is also brighter than the last one. There's also an 80G version available.
And last but not least, the iPod Touch , which I think is the most interesting one. At first sight, it looks like a small iPhone. It basically is the same, but without the phone. It has the Multi-touch display, a 3.5 inch display, and the ability to browse the web via Wi-Fi, using the Safari browser. Its also possible to download songs directly from the iTunes store with your iPod Touch. It comes in an 8G or 16G version, good for 1750 or 3500 songs respectively.
More information on http://apple.com/itunes/
Pictures:
iPod Touch
iPod Classic
iPod Nano
iPod Shuffle
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UK iPhone Release - By: Stobbo
The iPhone has been officially unveiled in the UK by Steve Jobs. A launch date of 9th November has been announced, with a price tag of £269 ($540). The price is a £69 ($140) increase on the US price, Steve Jobs, Apple CEO explained that the price was more expensive due to VAT, and it being “more expensive to do business” in the UK. Also, it is worth noting that the US price, does not include sales tax where the UK price does.
The contract for the iPhone in the UK has been to O2 – a leading British mobile telecommunications company. This should in theory, mean that O2 will be the only network which the iPhone will work on; however there have already been numerous ways around the network locks.
The cheapest O2 iPhone contract is £35 ($70) per month, with an 18 month minimum contract. This means that the iPhone will cost at least £899 ($1800) over the 18 months - £190 ($380) more than the US pricing.
The UK iPhone does not offer 3G instead offering EDGE. 3G is a data connection method which is considerably faster than EDGE; however the UK version of the iPhone will have Wi-Fi capabilities, with free access to 7500 Wi-Fi hotspots.
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