Spotify

3

Spotify, the music streaming service from Sweden, has signed a deal with 3 Mobile to bring said service to the UK operator's handsets.

The first handset to feature Spotify will be HTC's Android-rocking Hero - which is due to be launched in time for Christmas.  Other handsets on 3 will follow next year.

The announcement comes as no great surprise as 3's parent company, Hutchison Whampoa, bought a stake in Spotify earlier this year - with 3's sister company, INQ Mobile, now having their CEO, Frank Meehan, on Spotify's board.

Disclaimer: Frank has helped me out in the past - so bear that in mind when I write about INQ or Spotify (not that I'm easily swayed or anything!)

Stuff.tv: Vodafone readying 28Mbps mobile broadband

Something that they're about to announce at this year's MWC in Barcelona apparently.  I'll believe it when I see it.  As useful as mobile broadband is and as much as I've had to rely on it from time-to-time over the past few months, it can be a complete and utter pig.  Connection issues aside, there's the real speed you get as opposed to the advertised speed.  Plus, even your 'real' speed is often not as fast as it should be - I've had many a web session grind to a halt for no apparent reason.

Having said all that, that wasn't with Vodafone.  I have no idea what their service is like.  Maybe it's significantly better than 3's?  Although I have a feeling it isn't

I usually have lots of good things to say about 3.  And usually with good reason!  But right now I'm not a happy bunny...

I'm in a situation where I want to change the plan I'm on.  I don't mind paying the same amount as I'm currently paying and I'm not expecting the earth or anything.  I just want a plan that is better suited to me here and now.  I have no need for £5 worth of downloads per month.  No need for 25 minutes worth of video calls.  I want more text messages instead and perhaps, if they're feeling generous, more minutes.

Rang 3's customer services earlier on 333, couldn't get anywhere.  Bizarrely the lady on the phone offered me less minutes and texts for the same price as well as the exact same amount of minutes and texts but paying more!  Suffice it to say I declined both offers.

The £5 text add-on was pushed too.  Another offer I declined.  Paying £5 for 75 text messages is in no way a good deal.  Certainly not when you have an idea as to how much SMSes cost the network to carry.  And this comes from the network that brought you the immensely generous £5 internet?

Oh well, I've got nearly a year left on a tariff that doesn't suit and can't change it to a current equivalent that is more useful and the exact same price.  Madness!  If I were to use my unwanted video calling allowance or the £5 downloads each month to the full, I'd be using far more of their network than if I were sending hundreds of texts instead.  You'd think they'd want me to change - it would be better for them as well as me!

Instead I've got many more months ahead of me rationing my texts and minutes.  The situation getting worse with each passing month as more and more friends get better phone deals and forget that I'm still stuck in the dark ages!

Last Monday I popped up to London to do a piece to camera for 3.  It was in their branch opposite Selfridges and took, at most, quarter of an hour.  A short while after I left the shop I got a text* along the lines of, 'Cheers Ant, we'll send you a cake or something' (that's not verbatim but it's more or less the message).  Knowing the person that sent it, I thought they were kidding.  They weren't!

On Friday I received nine yummy cupcakes from The Hummingbird Bakery, in a nice paper bag and with a note from 3.  Cheers guys!  Here's what they looked like...

3 x 3 = Yum

Oh, and this made me laugh as well...

Delicious to eat, del.icio.us to save

Mmm do we like cupcakes!

*I also got a text immediately after I stepped outside the store saying that I'd used up my internet allowance (but that's a whole other post!)

A lot in the news today about Ryanair's new use-your-phone-in-the-air service.  Of course there's the usual moans about having to sit next to annoying loudmouth.  But you know what, I'm not that annoying and hey, if I'm on the phone to someone, you're being spared from having to reply!

In all seriousness though, this is excellent news for us smartphone users who would like to use their phone's music/video/gaming and, er, timekeeping capabilities offline (aka 'flight mode').  Ryanair were one of only two airlines I've flown that wouldn't allow any phone to be switched on regardless of flight mode.  That's a huge pain when all your time-killing stuff is tied up inside your Nokia.

David Shepard's Facebook mugshot

I rang up David Shepard and spoke to him.  He claimed not to be David Shepard and was reluctant to give out any details.  Now, to be honest that's understandable.  I, a total stranger, ring him up and tell him I'm recording the message (if I were him I'd have hung up there) then avoid giving my own name out.  Yep, I'd almost definitely hang up there.  Why didn't I just give him my name?  I wanted the element of surprise.  He can easily find me if he wants to but it was too much fun leaving him guessing.

So, am I 100% certain it was The G I was talking to?  Nope, he's got me guessing now!  I'll be calling back from time to time though as I'm fairly certain he's the one.  Next time I won't record the conversation as asking the permission of a scamster to record a call is a dead giveaway that you're not some friend or acquaintance.

Oh, and the reason I'm fairly certain is that he informed me I'd rung up a business but wouldn't even give out the name of it?  What employee/owner of said company, wouldn't tell the caller that?

Regulate this!

Now to the advice of PhonepayPlus.  That being calling the 0870 number (at cost to me) to ask for them to kindly stop stealing my money and give me what they've already stolen back.  I didn't get far with the drone on the phone, Graham was his name (at least he said that was his name, oh and company policy was to not give out surnames*) - despite my best attempts.  In the end he even said that, "no you won't be getting your money back" (or words to that effect) before hanging up.  Nice!  Call should be quite expensive too as I was on there for over 5 minutes. 

I was on hold for quite a while to begin with as well.  Nice little money spinner running one of these lines, especially if you defraud people and they have to call you to get their money back.  Anyway Graham claimed it was a call centre contracted out to Spread Media and that he couldn't put me on to anyone else.  He wouldn't tell me a thing about the company he claimed to be working for or Spread Media, their "client".

mBlox apologises for once, albeit begrudgingly

They knew Spread Media were as dodgy as a £6 note (well they ought to have as they both got fined at least twice before together) and yet they continued.

Regulate this!

Be interesting how much they're willing to compensate me and how many others got ripped off (especially those that have no idea!).  I don't think any amount of money will do, but I'm open to offers.  Maybe a job?  I'm willing to work for you guys and tell you which companies you shouldn't work with.  How about that?  If I'm working for you combatting this fraud then I'm not blogging about you.  Win win situation, don't you think?

The Bud-dy Movie of the Year!

The thing I'm most interesting in is if I hadn't kicked up a stink would their own internal audits and monitoring have picked it up?  Were there other complaints?  I'm thinking there might not have been, despite there being possibly countless individuals affected (people have no idea you can be signed up for something you didn't sign up to and have 'em help themselves to your account).  Like when all these scams come up I search the interwebs for fellow victims to see what they've had happen to them, whom the provided is and what can be done about it.  This time the number didn't come up with anything (it does now though!

It'd be nice if my Bud and the G-man would show up and account for their actions, but that's about as likely as PhonepayPlus being an honest, trustworthy and independent body with no strings attached, no conflict of interest.  I can dream, this is the UK after all!

Oh yeah, this is a keeper.  How they got my email address is another question... Oh wait, it's on my blog!  The email address is used almost exclusively for my VOX blog and I didn't give it out to mBlox or PhonepayPlus in any dealings with them.

Now if someone can check out the IP addresses for me, I'll be able to send them an invoice for each time they've visited a page.  And of course, if they "unsubscribe" (personally signed by Andrew Bud, accompanied by a grovelling apology and an explanation as to why mBlox kept doing business with Spread Media after they were found to be acting dishonestly)

Right, just wanted to get that out there first.  I'll do a screengrab and transcribe the email and place them here (and various other haunts of mine).  I've also got some interesting phone conversations that I'd like to share too.  Hmm, maybe transcribe them with Spinvox? ;-)