An apology has been issued by the mobile network operator O2 after its customers’ mobile numbers were disclosed on sites that they were visiting on their smart phones. Many O2 customers visit a range of sites using their data allowance on their smart phones but do not expect their mobile numbers to then be disclosed to those sites.

However, a technical issue meant that this was exactly what happened, leaving mobile internet network users at risk of being flooded by calls from companies whose websites they had visited over the O2 network. O2 has now apologised for this technical problem, stating that it only usually passed on numbers to what it described as ‘trusted partners’.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has stated that it will be investigating in order to get a better idea of what happened and why this data breach occurred. In a recent blog post O2 stated: “We are in contact with the Information Commissioner’s office, and we will be co-operating fully.”

The company also said that the issue was a temporary one, which occurred when routine maintenance was being carried out. It stated: “Technical changes we implemented as part of routine maintenance had the unintended effect of making it possible in certain circumstances for website owners to see the mobile numbers of those browsing their site.”

Whilst Apple iPhones and other similar smart phones tend to look very sleek, stylish and modern, whilst also offering a range of features, they also pose a greater risk than some of the old style feature cell phones, particularly when it comes to the screen. The large screen of these smart phones is great to look at and use but means that your phone is more susceptible to screen damage because the screen makes up such a large part of the phone.

A recent report has shown, however, that a cracked or damaged screen is not something that would worry many consumers. Figures have shown that forty two percent of Apple iPhone customers in the UK are continuing to use their devices even though they have a damaged a cracked screen, which could have stemmed from dropping the phone or even sitting on it whilst it was in their pocket or bag.

Over one thousand iPhone owners were polled as part of the survey and more than half said that despite their broken screen the phone was working absolutely fine. Close to one third of those polled admitted that they did not want to make a claim on their insurance cover as a result of the broken screen.

In total around fifty seven percent said that they had broken their iPhone at some point in the past with around twenty seven percent causing damage to their iPhone within just weeks of first getting the handset. Forty one percent of those polled said that they did not take preventative measures to protect their handsets such as using screen protectors or cases.

Over recent years a rising number of smart phones from a wide range of manufacturers have been hitting the shelves in the UK, with new offering from high profile manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung and HTC amongst others. With the added bells and whistles that each version of the smart phones tend to have when they are brought out, many cannot resist dumping their old phones and rushing out to get a more high tech one.

One industry expert said that the increase in the number of smart phones coming onto the market has resulted in increased competition, which could help to fuel phone recycling amongst those that decide that they want to upgrade their phones and get one of the newer ones, leaving them with old ones that they need to get rid of.

Dominic Sunnebo, a senior official at consumer trends specialist Kantar Worldpanel, said that each time a new phone was released by Apple up to six million people in the UK alone rushed to buy it, which means that potentially there were millions of phones to recycle with the release of just one new smart phone from a high profile manufacturer.

He added that he though Nokia could have a big impact on recycling this year, stating: “I think Nokia is going to make a big impact in 2012. I think we’ve just seen sales of the Nokia Lumia 800 kick off and the first signs are pretty positive.”

It is reported that 2011 saw Brits have a very happy virtual Christmas as they unwrapped hundreds of thousands of new smart phones and tablets as well as downloading millions of apps.

Smart phones and internet tablets will have been at the top of many wish lists for Christmas gifts for 2011, and it appears that tens of thousands of people who were hoping for one of these devices were not disappointed. In fact, according to a recent report Brits had a very happy virtual Christmas as they unwrapped hundreds of thousands of new smart phones and tablets as well as downloading millions of apps.

Figures show that around half a million new smart phones and internet tablets were unwrapped by lucky Brits this year and a staggering four million apps were downloaded on Christmas Day alone. There was a massive 125 percent increase in the number of apps being downloaded on the Apple iOS and Android platforms according to the figures.

Data released by the mobile phone consultancy Distimo showed that the apps that were downloaded the most this Christmas were the iTunes 12 Days of Christmas app, Angry Birds, the BBC iPlayer app, and Facebook.

Peter Farago of Flurry Analytics stated: “This year was insane. We’ve seen holiday spikes like this in the last few Christmases. But the spike keeps getting bigger. The surprise was that the pop was so big, which means there has been a pent-up demand.”

Recently released figures have shown that the culmination of pent up frustration and impatience amongst Apple fans in October led to the sales of Apple iPhones for that month coming in at triple the previous three months.

The start of October this year saw fans of Apple technology pacing the floors with impatience as they neared the long awaited release of the Apple iPhone 4S, which many had been eager to get their hands on for a very long time. Whilst the new device was not quite the iPhone 5 that some had been hoping for this did not stop eager Apple lovers from wanting to snap one up as quickly as they possibly could.

The launch of the new device was also around the same sort of time when the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sadly passed away, fuelling even more interest in the Apple product as it hit the shelves in the UK. As soon as it was released many people flocked, queued and even camped out to be amongst the first to have one of these phones in their hot, eager little hands!

All of this resulted in iPhone sales soaring and recently released figures have shown that the sale of Apple iPhones for the month of October was at triple the level of sales seen over the previous three months. Despite the iPhone have only a twenty seven percent share of the global smart phone market, the sales levels in the UK for October resulted in it taking nearly forty three percent of all UK smart phone sales.

One industry official stated: “The October launch of the hugely anticipated iPhone 4S has catapulted Apple into second place among operating systems based on the last 12 weeks of sales. However, if you just look at the month of October, Apple took a whopping share of all smartphone sales, giving it a significant lead over Android – a feat many thought was impossible.”

One of the great things about today’s range of exciting smart phones is that you can take great delight in downloading a variety of content whilst on the go with just the touch of a button or screen. However, what many phone owners forget is that they could end up paying the price for these downloads even if they are on so called unlimited data plans.

There are many people who have been caught out by this, as they have assumed that unlimited means that they can download to their heart’s content with the risk of any charges when in fact there have been limits in place and they have ended up paying through the nose for exceeding them.

The communications ombudsman is now calling on mobile phone companies to provide greater clarity when it comes to unlimited data plans so that consumers do not run the risk of bill shock stemming from not even realizing that they were exceeding their data limits because they did not know that there were any data limits in place.

The communications ombudsman, Lewis Shand Smith, said: “This is an emerging problem which we think could cause real consumer detriment – we want mobile phone companies to take action before it becomes more prevalent. Some mobile phone packages offer ‘unlimited’ downloads and consumers may believe that their mobile phone bill won’t go above a certain amount. Consumers may fail to realise is that there is a small asterisk next to the word ‘unlimited’ which refers to small print stating that there is in fact a limit which, if exceeded, will incur further charges.”

A recent report has shown that mobile phone data traffic is set to soar over the coming years, as a rising number of people are now using the wide range of smart phones on the market.

With the vast array of smart phones on the market these days, more and more people are now using these devices for everyday use, from business people who need them for their work to teens, parents, and in some cases even seniors. The wide range of features and facilities that have been offered by these phones has made them very popular with a wide demographic and more people are now using these devices more often.

With this in mind, a recent report has shown that mobile phone data traffic is set to soar over the coming years, as a result of the rising number of people who are now using the wide range of smart phones on the market. Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson has recently released figures suggesting that there has been a surge in mobile data traffic.

The company claims that over the next ten years mobile data traffic is set to increase tenfold according to its recent Traffic and Market Data report. The company said that measurements were “recorded over several years in live networks covering all regions of the world” in order to reach this conclusion with regards to projections. The company said: “Mobile broadband subscriptions will reach almost five billion in 2016, up from the expected 900 million by the end of 2011.”

The report also went on to state: “By 2016, users living (in urban areas covering) less than one percent of the Earth’s total area are set to generate around 60 percent of mobile traffic.”

Calls have been made to mobile phone companies to introduce caps on mobile phone accounts by consumers who have been hit with hefty bills as a result of their phones being used by criminals who have made calls to overseas destinations and run up a huge bill in the name of the phone owner.

A number of students were recently interviewed after falling victim to phone crime, where their phones were stolen and the criminals used the phones to make calls to abroad, which then clocked up huge bills for the accountholders who had not even made the calls. Several of the students interviewed had been billed for £1500 or more as a result of this.

One student explained that he is deaf and only uses the phone for texts. His bill was normally around £30 per month. However, he mislaid his phone when he was studying last year and by the time he realised and contacted his provider around £1500 in calls had been run up.

Another student explained how he had lost his phone and the person who had the phone contacted his friend stating that he had found it and was going to return it, asking for the student’s home address so it could be posted. However, instead of posting it he actually used the phone to run up £1100 of calls to abroad. The student had not bothered cancelling or registering his lost phone because he believed that it was being sent back to him.

In what has been described as a fitting tribute to Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple who died this week aged just fifty six, sales of the new Apple iPhone 4S are set to smash all previous sales records in the United States. The data comes from mobile phone companies and communications giants and could result in similar trends in the UK and other parts of Europe.

Based on the response received from consumers shortly after the release of the new iPhone was announced, many experts believe that sales will go through the roof. In the twelve hours following the announcement AT&T saw two hundred thousand pre-orders come pouring in. A number of operators in the United States are said to be enjoying a ‘booming trade’ in the aftermath of the iPhone 4S announcement.

Officials from AT&T described it as ‘the most successful iPhone launch we’ve ever had’. It is thought that Verizon will also have clocked up similar numbers of pre-orders to AT&T and Sprint is estimated to have received around one hundred thousand.

Whilst there have been some grumbles about the new iPhone in the UK from consumers who were perhaps expecting a little more than just an upgrade to the iPhone 4 there will no doubt be many loyal Apple followers who will still be eager to get their hands on the new handset when it is released later this month.

Source – Metro

Smart phones have become devices that many consumers are now reliant on, some to the point where – according to their partners – they are spending more time using their smart phone than with them.

It’s strange to think that five or so years ago many people had no idea what a smart phone was or that one day they would be exchanging their prized feature phone for something that was far more sophisticated, advanced, and futuristic. However, these days many people would be hard pressed to imagine life without their precious smart phones.

However, whilst these devices are obviously able to offer many benefits to users they could also be impacting negatively upon our lives – in some cases there is evidence to suggest that they could be having an adverse effect on relationships. A recent study has shown that one in eight people believe that their partner spends more time using their smart phone than they do with them.

The survey indicated that men tend to keep their smart phones with them around seventeen hours a day and one in five are said to sleep with their smart phones next to them. Women were found to carry their smart phones around with them for around fifteen hours a day with sixteen percent found to be sleeping with their phones next to them.

“The addiction to our phones is not just taking its toll on our social lives, but is also making us more susceptible to fraud and burglary. Many people seem to enter their own bubble when they pick up the phone and don’t look around to see who could be listening or watching what’s being typed. Homeowners should try to keep personal calls to the safety of their own home rather than in a public place so as not to reveal any sensitive information.”

Source – IT Pro Portal