Is your iPod gathering dust through lack of attention?
Most likely yes, according to rsearch by Leading Question.
It found that new iPod users soon get sick of paying for tracks and gradually spend less and less.
The number of people buying downloads actually fell from 16 to 14 percent between 2006 and 2007.
The BBC’s Watchdog programme stuck the boot into energy provider Npower last night, saying that according to research it was the worst of the lot. It’s not totally clear how they arrived at this result apart from the fact that Watchdog and the comparison site EnergyWatch found that they were receiving far more complaints about nPower than any of the other providers.
Naturally Watchdog focussed on individual horror stories such as the pensioner who was being chased by debt collectors for a series of nPower bills that he refused to pay because they had got the billing completely wrong.
There is a serious problem here, and one that comes up time and again on consumer watchdog programmes. Namely that if you refuse to pay a bill because it is wrong companies automatically trip into harassment mode by handing over the bill to third party debt collectors. You may complain but their customer support are seemingly trained to ignore words like ‘this is the wrong bill’ and ‘you are charging me too much’, as if it is totally impossible for their billing system to make an error.
I recently heard the story of a £50 phone bill which escalated to £900 once the debt collectors were involved. Funny that the current government has relaxed the laws so that it is now easier for debt collectors to enter your property to remove property. It is something of a joke that the Government and its various watchdogs are so feeble when it comes to protecting consumer interests.
Here's the recent EnergyWatch statement on nPower:
Energywatch statement on announcement of probe into Npower's sales tactics (22 April 2008)
Adam Scorer, energywatch Director of Campaigns, said: “energywatch welcomes news that Npower's sales tactics are to be formally investigated by Ofgem.
“Within the last month energywatch wrote to Npower and Ofgem with details of more than 400 cases where consumers had complained about the companies sales tactics. And with the evidence suggesting Npower's sales staff were caught red-handed bullying, deceiving and harassing consumers, an example must be made of them.
“More than 100 consumers contact us each month to complain about Npower's marketing tactics. That makes them the worst performing supplier. But it doesn't stop there; Npower are the worst company in terms of complaints, shoddy customer service and any analysis of help offered to vulnerable consumers shows them to be the company who penalises their prepayment customers the most and offers the least help to consumers struggling to pay bills.
“It is highly appropriate that Npower's litany of shame has brought them to the regulator's attention. No consumer should be subjected to such bully boy behaviour and such poor service.”
Footnote (by me): While I think it is good that Energywatch keeps an eye on these things and publicises what it thinks is shoddy behaviour, it should be noted that comparison sites like energywatch are under inspection at the moment due to suspected dubious behavior in terms of not being quite what they seem.
This stems from the fact that their suggestions for alternative suppliers are weighted according to what those suppliers are paying them for referrals and not according to what is actually the best deal.
This blog is not alone in hoping that the powers that be probe this matter effectively so that we find out exactly what is going on. If you want to see an example of how this works go to the superb site www.moneysavingexpert.com which lists financial bargains according to tough editorial guidelines of what really is best for your money.
Meanwhile the site also lists results from comparison sites which are invariably different from the empirical findings. It's shows you how comparison sites are not what most consumers expect them to be - a balanced view of the offerings available.
I have no objection to them running their business this way so long as the bias is transparent, at the moment its the usual online smoke and mirrors going on, with Joe Public being hoodwinked all the way.
Comparison sites are very big business now. It's about time they opened up to closer inspection.
The Guardian reports that Vodafone has admitted that it had a problem with allowing some users access to the calls of other subscribers.
The problem came to light because one subscriber contacted Privacy International saying he/she had been able to listen to a call being made to an immigration officials.
Vodafone says the problem is now fixed but would not disclose how many such gaffes ocured and over what time period.
Sounds like damage limitation? Hardly very reassuring for anyone phoning their bank or involved in sensitive international relations.
OK. Lets take stock.
Iphone sales are roaring, and with a 3G version in the pipeline, the Apple hype machine is about to switch into overdrive for the second time in twelve months.
These are not happy times for the handful of other firms that make their millions by making phones. No one likes a brand new market entrant doing that well.
But HTC thinks it has an answer. It's customers and shareholders sincerely hope so.
It's called the Touch Diamond. Put simply it's the 3G version of the popular (3 million sold) Touch Smartphone. Unlike Apple's 3G iPhone, the Touch Diamond is here next month.
Rather than be an iPhone lookalike it seems to be trying to offer most of the same features but with a different ergonomic ethic. For example using the iPhone is largely a two-handed affair; the Diamond is designed so that you can fiddle with the touch screen with your holding hand - things like that are important to phone users.
It offers the usual email, music, texting, and photos smorgasbord and has a 3.2Mpix camera. The only downside is 4Gb memory compared to 8Gb or 16Gb on the iPhone.
At the end of the day this is going to be seen by most as HTC/Microsoft against Apple iPhone. Perhaps showing that when it comes to the phone wars operating systems are becoming increasingly significant.
Microsoft's Windows Mobile (on all HTC devices) is loved and hated in equal measure, whereas it his hard to find many neutrals that don't love the ease of use of the iPhone.
This happened a few months ago, but they have just been in touch to remind me to change my links - so I have. It's one of my favourite tech sites, so it's worth changing your bookmarks in case the old URL is flogged off.
If you believe this Chinese web site...
http://www.weiphone.com/thread-105920-1-2.html
Just not here though
The march of the iPhone goes on with Apple securing a deal for distribution through Vodafone in ten countries: Australia, the Czech Repuplic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
Makes you wonder how long the O2 deal will remain exclusive.
Chip vendors aren't cranking out enough of the beasties
Have you heard the buzz? Asus do cheap and cheerful mini-laptops that are flying off the shelves. It hasn't gone unnoticed by other vendors and now the Atom chips powering these little beasties are in short supply. No doubt this will cause shortages and price hikes by retailers. I have already seen my local Currys flogging the Eee PC for £250 ( a markup of £40).
Asus revealed the problem in an interview with the Financial Times saying shortages will last until September at least.
It's all testament to the fact that the real action is in this new super subnotebook segment as everyone else plays catch up to the jaw dropping offer that is the Asus Eee PC.
Meanwhile Asus launches the EeePC 900 this week aimed at buyers who want a bit more ooommph. It's got a bigger screen, more memory and comes in at £329. Let's hope Asus keep on cranking them out so we have a choice at every price point. That's all that's missing at the moment.
It's all about demand and lack of supply, apparently
It's a masterclass in creating an icon. First you tease the press with hints of a mould-breaking product; then you launch it to huge fanfares and much merry-making; then you sell it at a premium; then you dramatically cut the price without having the stock to meet the demand - thus creating pent-up demand for the new version "coming soon".
It's just a year in the life of yet another runaway Apple product. In this case the iPhone. Last month Apple cut the price by £100 for the 8Gb version (to £169). In weeks it has sold out around the UK. The press is now frothing over the imminent arrival of a new 3G iPhone, which will basically make the current versions obsolete.
Canny marketing or working things out as they go along? Probably a bit of both.
But at the end of the day, despite some glitches, the iPhone seems to make its users happy, and not just because they are walking around with the most wanna-have phone on the market.
Apple has definitely annoyed the Nokia's and Samsung's of the world this year. If the 3G iPhone ships soon it will spell continued misery for the established players. Despite them all saying they would have iPhone-killers by now, none of them seem to have managed it. On cost maybe but not on functionality.
O2 may not be making a great margin from its deal with iPhone but the gamble seems to have paid off in terms of its own branding.
..throws down the dongle gauntlet
3 UK has dropped the price of its paygo USB modem to £50 (from £65). The reduction comes only two months after its last price drop. If it carries on at this rate modems will be free within 18 months - bring it on!
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