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Broaden your Outlook

Posted on 28 Jan 2009 at 16:31

Paul Ockenden accesses two Exchange Servers from Outlook, and gets a bug fix for his phone.

I just looked back at the very first Mobile & Wireless column I ever wrote, nearly three years ago, and in it I mentioned Sony's mini-laptop, the U101, which I was regularly using on train journeys. That tiny machine - smaller than many of today's netbooks - ran my whole life and I've only just retired it. Prior to that I'd been using another even smaller Sony, the CLI? PEG-UX50 (not to be confused with the later VGN-UX50). If ever a device was ahead of its time that was it: a tiny laptop-style clamshell case with a tablet-style rotatable screen and running Palm OS. It included both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with a keyboard just about big enough for thumb-pecking, but considerably better than the keyboards on many of today's smartphones.

Unfortunately, although both UX50 and U101 were exquisite gadgets, they both sold in very low numbers. Why so? In typical Sony style both were horrendously expensive, and the U101 wasn't even sold outside of Japan! Returning from this nostalgia trip, what I find interesting is that "those awfully nice Sony people" (for those who remember the John Cleese adverts) seem to have at last woken up to the popularity of the netbook and are said to be working on one of their own. Of course, one of the main attributes of the netbook category is "cheap" (nowadays, creeping toward an added "-ish"), so it will be interesting to see where Sony prices its models. If it can keep them in the credit-crunch-friendly low hundreds while maintaining the flair, innovation and style that oozed from the UX50 and U101 then it will be on to a winner...

Le crunch

Whether you consider we're living through a crunch, a recession or a depression, one thing is for sure: everyone needs to get the best value from their suppliers just now, and an area that's very important to readers of this column is mobile phone and data costs. I've just had a good look around the UK network websites and one thing is really obvious, namely that the distinction between consumer and business pricing has almost vanished (although be aware that one will be inc VAT and the other exc VAT). No longer is it possible to save a few quid by buying your business phone from the "personal customers" part of the website, and the special offers available on both consumer and business sites are comparable, too. Depending on your monthly usage, there are some great deals available - for example, I've just seen T-Mobile offer 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £17 inc VAT, and that's on a 30-day contract - none of your usual 18- or 24-month lock-ins that usually accompany good deals.

When comparing mobile contracts it's worth checking out quidco.com, where you'll usually find the networks offering generous cashback deals, and you should factor these in when comparing contract prices. Vodafone, for example, currently offers £100 cashback on pay-monthly contracts, which equates to more than £8 per month off a one-year contract. Or there's £35 cashback on the £17 T-Mobile deal mentioned above. Sure it takes time to trawl these various sites, but if your contract is up for renewal I reckon you'll find it worth every minute.

Speed kills batteries

I was at a briefing with a well-known mobile manufacturer the other day, where it gave me and a few other journalists a sneak preview of some forthcoming handsets. Almost all of them included HSDPA data, and this manufacturer reckons it's going to become a major selling point for business mobiles during 2009. Up to a point that's correct, since HSDPA is one of the standard tickbox features these days, and I'm sure that even in the reviews section of PC Pro a phone will get marked down if it offers only standard 3G data access. But, never afraid to be a bit gobby in situations such as these, I popped in an "emperor's new clothes" question.