We’ve already covered saynoto0870.com before, which allows you to search for real landlines behind the 0870 numbers (actually, it also covers 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, and 0871 too), but there is another new option for calling certain numbers…

Today, if you want to call an 0800, 0808 or 0500 number from your mobile, you will be charged for the call (except for a handful of charity numbers), and sometimes you can’t find a landline equivalent from saynoto0870.  Well, this is where 0800buster.co.uk can help out.

This works by you dialling a standard 01233 landline number (which will then come out of your inclusive minutes *) and then once connected to their system you then dial the 0800/0500/0808 number and it will connect you.  Their website even has brief details of how to save the combined information in to a contact record to make it even easier for numbers you dial on a regular basis.

* – in fact, 0800buster state that for some mobile networks, even when out of your bundle dialling their number can be cheaper than calling the number directly.

One interesting benefit of this service is Directory Enquiries; if you dial their number and then dial 0800 100 100 or 0800 118 3733 you can access Directory Enquiries for a lot less than you would directly on your mobile, and for that reason alone we support this service; obviously, we would prefer if the mobile networks didn’t charge a premium for these calls at all, but whilst they do, at least there is another option…

Truphone have updated their iPhone client to v3.0.  They are claiming that they have improved call quality to the extent that the quality is “superior to Skype for iPhone and other iPhone VoIP apps!”  To access the new version, simply head off to the Apple iTunes Store, or you can get instructions on how to download this client direct from Truphone’s website here.

Truphone offer you free calls to Skype and other Truphone users, free instant messaging to various platforms, and also offer low call rates to international numbers allowing you to keep your call costs to a minimum.  They have a range of schemes (depending on the level of calls you make), from Truphone Unlimited (subject to 3000 minute per month limit), Truphone Anywhere (to allow you to still make calls when out of reach of a Wi-Fi network), and Truphone Local Anywhere which offers a SIM which can have multiple incoming numbers assigned to it, and benefits from much reduced roaming rates (when it launches later this year).

When 3UK quietly announced they were removing their “3 Like Home” offer, not many picked up on the story.  Now, however, looking back, we wonder whether 3UK have made a mistake or not…

Since then, Vodafone have made their Vodafone Passport roaming scheme free for voice and text calls until you use up your inclusive minutes / text bundle (in effect, removing the 75p call setup fee), and now, T-Mobile have stated they have reduced their roaming SMS prices from 25p to 11p.

However, looking at the small print, we suspect all the networks are desparately trying tricks to make it look like they are helping the consumer, whilst actually they are looking towards price increases… Vodafone’s promotion is only for 3 months, and from then on, unless the customers leave Vodafone Passport, they will be back to paying that 75p call setup fee (which, if you only make a few short calls whilst abroad, might cost you more than cancelling Passport and paying per minute), and whilst T-Mobile look like good guys reducing their SMS prices, the cost of making a call in Europe has gone up from 38p per minute to 44p per minute! (receiving a call has stayed at 19p per minute, and receiving a text is still free).

As for 3UK; a lot of people are using this possible contract change as a reason for leaving their tie-in contract early (and with a bit of pressure 3UK are accepting that), but does it actually make that much difference? 3 Like Home only applied in a few countries, and only if you remained on the 3 network; accidentally roam onto a different network and you were liable for charges again; it’s likely 3’s replacement roaming will be a competitive flat rate pence per minute deal to help minimise the impact.  Of course, if they come up with a decent data rate too they may well still clean up (neither Vodafone nor T-Mobile offer any incentives on data roaming).

It seems to us all the networks are trying to maximise their roaming revenue, whilst appearing to be consumer friendly; in the long run, we don’t think this move will harm 3UK greatly, but it may well result in customers who roam a lot moving to new networks, especially if Vodafone were to make their Passport promotion permanent…

INQ, the makers of the INQ1 phone sold by 3UK have reminded us that it’s possible to access your Google Mail (GMail) account directly on the INQ1 phone.  Actually, it’s possible to access a whole raft of mail accounts on the phone, but INQ have pointed us to 2 different ways of accessing GMail (which, to be fair, apply to quite a large range of the 3 UK mobile phones).

Email on 3; the first method is to use the Email on 3 solution.  If you have this installed on your phone, simply launch it, and select to add a new email account, and there will be an option for Google Mail

GMail itself; the other option is to download the Google Mail client, which is accessible on the INQ1 via Switcher > Google > Google Mail

Of course, it’s best to have internet access enabled on your phone, which is possible whether you have a PAYG or contract version at £5 per month / 30 days), as this will help to get the most out of this phone.  Finally, don’t forget that the INQ1 is a Skype enabled handset, and hence, even without a data tariff, you can use it to access Skype for the Skype Free Calls Forever promotion.

Skype have recently released the latest beta version of their Skype client, v4.1.  One of the main new features in this version over the current version is support for screen sharing, as can be seen in the above screenshot.  This feature already exists in the beta v2.8 Mac version, and the plan is for the feature to be compatible across Mac, Windows and Linux.

Skype have also added / returned the following features:

• Birthday reminders
• Ability to send contact details to other Skype users
• Ability to import contacts from GMail, Windows Live (Hotmail), Yahoo!, AOL and LinkedIN
• Updated IE and Firefox plugins which now recognize your Skype contacts mentioned on web pages and highlight phone numbers which you can call for free

Skype have also updated their audio and video engines and they have also fixed a number of occasional crashes.

This new beta can be downloaded from here, or you can wait a short while, and, once formally released, it should be offered from within the client itself.

Up until last week, Nokia were able to offer a handful of potentially useful applications direct to their smartphones via the Download! facility.  Well, this is being slowly replaced by the Ovi Store, and this has now gone live.  This isn’t just some small little launch; selecting a well established S60 3rd Edition FP1 phone can give you over 1000 items to choose from; some are free, some are chargeable (the odd “free” application may use chargeable SMSes to register, which to our mind means it should not be classed as free).

There are videos, applications, ringtones, travel guides (and that’s just within the first few listed items in the most popular free section!), although it’s not perfect; a search for twitter did not list fring, despite it being in Ovi Store and having a twitter addon, and equally, there are a few UI issues which we are sure Nokia / Ovi will iron out.

This has great potential, and should get better over the next few weeks.  If you are interested, head over to the Ovi Store for more information.

Here at UK Gadgeteer we’re a big fan of OpenStreetMap, and we recently came across a new iPhone / iPod Touch application which allows you the ability to not just access the OSM, but to have access to the maps when offline, eg when roaming, and trying to avoid large data bills.

In a short time, a number of new features have been added, such as landscape map support, bookmark management, wikipedia search, distance ticker, and a full screen mode.  There is a small charge associated with the application, but then the maps themselves are free, and should remain free.

For those who want to have a backup map option for those times when you are in a strange town / city, this may well be that app…

More information available from their website here.

We’ve covered a number of car manufacturers working with Garmin and TomTom to provide custom mounts, and now Volkswagen have announced plans to provide a VW-specific Garmin Nuvi 7×5 mount.  The Volkswagen “Click&Ride” solution is custom made and “tailored for all models” and will provide power to the Nuvi.  It will also integrate into the car’s audio system so that all information is broadcast through the stereo.

The “Click&Ride” solution includes the Nuvi itself, and features all the normal functions you would expect of a Garmin Nuvi model; lane assist, traffic information warning of roadworks and accidents, and will sit in the bottom left hand corner (LHD) or bottom right hand corner (RHD).

This looks a nice solution for those looking for a more integrated feel, but still want the power and flexibility of a portable SatNav unit.

Orange are the Official Communications Partners of Glastonbury, and as such, try to come up with a new feature each year, and this year it’s the Power Pump (above).  The Power Pump, produced in conjunction with GoWind, allows you to harness the power of your airbed’s footpump to recharge your phone!

Orange say “the Orange Power Pump measures 154mm by 129mm with a height of 47mm making it no bigger than a packet of Wet Wipes, is lightweight and easy to fit into your rucksack. Encased in sleek black housing, the turbine can generate enough energy to power 5 minutes of call time in the time it takes to inflate a pillow.”

If you’re heading to Glastonbury 2009 (Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, from 24th – 28th June) then you may want to pop into the Orange tent as the Orange Chill ‘n’ Charge tent will be at Glastonbury again this year providing 600 mobile phone charging points, free internet access and live music. The Orange Chill ‘n’ Charge tent will be open from Friday to Sunday, 10am-10pm.

For all the latest updates from the field go to www.orange.co.uk/glastonbury, which will be relaunching at the end of May. For more information about Glastonbury Festival go to www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

For those that have historically taken solar chargers to Glastonbury, and bemoaned the lack of sunlight, maybe this is the solution…

We first covered Bill Monitor here, and since then they have made a number of updates to their free service, which looks at your mobile phone bill (you can either enter the overall details manually, or for some networks, it can access your last few recent online bills automatically).  These updates include keeping their tariff data up to date, improving their roaming options, and a website redesign.

However, the big news is that they are the first (and currently only) website approved by OfCom as a Price Comparison Calculator for mobile phone bills.  We really like BillMonitor, and recommend everyone should use it once in a while to check two things:

• Firstly, whether you could save money by changing to a new network; this is especially key when coming towards the end of your contract tie-in period.
• Secondly, often the mobile networks will introduce better rates, but rarely move customers onto these newer rates automatically; by using BillMonitor, you may be able to save money (or, if still in contract; get more for the same amount of money).

Well done to the guys at BillMonitor for their accreditation by OfCom (you can read OfCom’s statement regarding BillMonitor here).

It appears that there have been two main reasons why you may have had mobbler problems in the past.  Firstly, due to their secure network design, there was a technical reason within the 3 UK network infrastructure why mobbler was not able to stream live.fm radio stations to your Symbian phone.  I worked with a number of other people up and down the country, as well as the guys at 3mobilebuzz and 3UK Technical Support, and we were able to diagnose the situation and provide a way forward.  This was implemented a couple of weeks ago, but some people have continued to have problems.  Well, Gerry at nokiAAddict has solved this secondary problem; you need to ensure that the Access Point in use is using 3internet and not three.co.uk.  Head over to his website for more details.

I, and many other mobbler users are thankful for 3UK for listening to us, and being willing to implement a fix within their network to allow us the ability to stream music onto our phones; many other networks may well have preferred not to implement this due to the potential network impact.

Google have finally launched Google Sync for S60, allowing you to sync your Google Calendar and Google Contacts between your Google account and your Symbian phone.  One caveat though, the Google Calendar support is limited to the primary calendar, and you’ll need to install the Nokia Mail for Exchange client onto your phone too (if it is not already pre-installed by Nokia), as “Google works best with version 2.09 (also called 2.9) or above”.

If you want more information on the client, how to set it up, or to discover the range of supported phones, then head to Google’s Sync Mobile Help pages (we’ll note here it doesn’t currently support S60 5th Edition phones).

Personally, we’ll be sticking with SyncML clients for the timebeing (the GooSync service will happily handle multiple Google calendars, and even multiple phones), but this is one to watch in the future.

Yesterday, BT and 3 UK joined forces with a number of other organisations and launched a new campaign; Terminate the Rate.  This campaign (along with the website) is aimed at putting pressure on OfCom to reduce the MTR (Mobile Termination Rate), which currently stands at 4.7p per minute.

What does that actually mean.  Well, when you make a call from your  BT Landline to a mobile network, the mobile network charges BT 4.7p per minute to accept that call, and hence BT have to pass that onto you as a higher cost to call mobiles.  However, it also means that if you ring from, say, O2 to Orange, Orange will charge O2 4.7p per minute, again, keeping the cost of cross-network calls artificially high.

Artificial you say? Yes, it actually only costs the mobile networks around 1p per minute to handle that call.  This is resulting in charges of £750 million per year in MTR, which you and I, as consumers, are ultimately paying. To give you a comparison, BT currently charge 0.3p per minute to handle a call on their landline network.

Well, BT and 3 UK have joined forces with the National Union of Students, Moneysupermarket.com, Carers UK, and the GMB (Britain’s General Trade Union) to “help influence” the level of the MTRs that are due for a review soon (the new rate will come into effect in 2011).

Historically, 3 UK were allowed a higher MTR as a newcomer into the market to allow them to operate in a fairer marketplace, but even so, they are still paying out £25m each year.

We support this campaign too; 3 UK had hinted that without this high level of MTR they could potentially offer unlimited landline and unlimited texts for a monthly fee of £35 (although let’s also remind ourselves of the Not Unlimited campaign to ensure transparency in promotions like this).

Please feel free to head over to the Terminate the Rate website and sign the petition; the end result of fairer MTR payments is better value for money for us the consumer.

SatMap, the makes of the SatMap Active 10 (and SatMap Active 10 Plus), have this week released a new version of their PC software, and a new firmware for the Active 10 devices to go with it.   For us, the key new feature is the support of geocaching.com GPX files, giving you a full range of information about the geocaches; offering hints, cache descriptions, terrain, difficulty, and logs.  The changes to the PC software include:

• New graphical display: the new layout of the user interface makes operation clearer and easier.
• GEOCACHING.COM compatible: users can install either .LOC files or .GPX files. The .LOC files contain the latitude and longitude of the cache, and the .GPX files contain the full information offering hints, cache descriptions, terrain, difficulty, logs, etc. This compatibility allows users to fully enjoy the growing international sport of Geocaching.
• Google Earth compatible: so users can download .KML and .KMZ files for both routes and POIs from Google Earth onto the Active 10. The .GPX files from the Active 10 can still be uploaded and viewed on Google Earth.
• Microsoft Virtual Earth compatible: so users can download .KML and .GPX files for both routes and POIs from Microsoft Virtual Earth onto the Active 10. The .GPX files from the Active 10 can still be uploaded and viewed on Microsoft Virtual Earth.
• Enhanced Windows XP compatible: this allows users to run SatSYNC in guest accounts on their computers.
• Direct links to Satmap Online Route Planner and Route Share Network: this allows users to access the online web applications rapidly, making it faster and easier to move routes around.
• SD Card transfer of routes: users can now insert the SD Card straight into their PCs and do the import and export of files (using the Convert buttons) without needing the Active 10. This should make it easier for users to share routes or access routes as it means they don’t have to restart the unit to view any new routes when the card is inserted into the Active 10. It also makes the transfer of route files faster.

As for the firmware, which is needed to support these new features, it also includes:

Updates

• Zoom Floor lowered from 1:1,000 to 1:500 for improved viewing of aerial photography products when released.
• Support for Spanish and Catalan languages.
• More flash memory freed up for map handling, allowing bigger maps to be loaded in future.
• Updated support for German, Italian and French languages.
• Routes now saved by default to SD card (if present), allowing for optimal use of memory resources.
• Faster screen responses as soon as the Active10 acquires satellite lock, allowing for faster cold start times under certain conditions.
• Minor improvements for use with the SatSYNC application.
• Better handling of routes which have been “reversed”.

To us, the addition of the geocaching support really brings this device forward as a single, all-encompassing device which provides the benefit of OS maps as well as acting as an all-round device suitable for anyone who spends time in the countryside.

Pocket GPS World bring us news of the new TomTom XL LIVE, which brings the LIVE services (which we’ve covered before here and here) to the cheaper range of devices (previously, LIVE was only available on the expensive x40 range).  The TomTom XL LIVE will retail for £249.99 and the LIVE services will be £7.99 after the initial 3 month free trial.  Compare that to the TomTom 740 LIVE at £322, and you can see this may well be a very popular model.  It comes with mapping for 42 countries.

However, we understand that only 30% of existing LIVE users have chosen to renew their subscription, and do you know what; we think we know why (and so does TomTom).  You see, even if you bought the top of the range TomTom 940 LIVE, giving you full European (and North America) mapping, your LIVE services would only work in the UK, despite TomTom offering traffic across a number of popular destinations across Europe (France, Germany Switzerland and Holland).  So, as soon as you went abroad, even for a trip to France, you had absolutely no traffic information at all.

Well, TomTom have finally accepted this, and have resolved it!  To begin with, the TomTom XL LIVE will include roaming support and allow you to use the online services across Europe (where available).  However, it will take TomTom until “towards the end of 2009″ to enable this functionality for existing users.

Although it’s good to here TomTom have finally realised the benefit of providing their LIVE services in all possible countries, it’s a shame it’s going to take until after the summer holidays for people to be able to benefit from this.

It’s been a busy few weeks for firmware updates from Nokia, so we thought we should recap where we are with branded firmware updates, and, yet again, in nearly all cases it’s not as good as we would like, but… there is hope… read on…

A few weeks after the Nokia N96 v20 firmware has been released, it’s not yet been picked up by any of the UK networks, who are all still providing v11 or v12 via the Nokia Software Updater website.

However, some good news for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic users; the new v21 firmware was only released a few weeks back (we covered the news here), but we’re pleased to say that most networks are already offering this version (O2, T-Mobile, Virgin, and some Orange and Vodafone models).  Orange are a little bizarre with this, as they have hardly released any firmware updates for the Blue variant, but have already released v21 for the Black variant (their new exclusive colour with the Comes with Music service).

For all the other devices we keep an eye on (and the list grows each week), we’ve seen little activity at all from the network operators this month.

Last week, Nokia released new firmwares for the Nokia N79 and the Nokia N85, both solid candybar smartphones.  This new firmware, v20.175 seems to fix lots of little niggling issues that were present in the previous firmware, including:

Fixed Bugs in Nokia N79;

- Accessing to SIM Card Contacts is Fixed
- Music will play when you receive SMS in Silent Mode
- Audio is correctly routed from headset to speaker when receiving a SMS message
- Nokia Maps application problem was causing Phone hang. This problem is also Fixed!

New Features;

- Bookmarks updated to remove Download link folders
- Email Plugin functionality is improved
- Files support in OVI Widget
- Media Player in Nokia N79 will come with new settings
- 7-bit encoding is available in Turkish Characters
- Memory card ID change for Indonesia CTR’s. was MC001 and changed to –> MC002
- TP Wizard to check availability of Nokia email service

SW improvements and corrections:

Active Idle
- Search & WLAN information difficult to read in Active Idle
- Active Idle screen becomes blank in landscape mode
- Default Active Idle shortcuts configured
- Active Idle going dead after quickly accepting and rejecting an incoming video call
- White boxes shown on the screen while doing orientation change quickly in idle mode

Application Manager
- The sis file which is installed to MoviNand or SD card cannot be seen in application manager.
- Wrong Feature Manager flag used for seamless link functionality.
- Flashlite sis installation is not successful in the first attempt.

Application Update
- Unable to upgrade graphic icons in Media Player / Media Settings via sis file.
- Unable to upgrade ROM based UI application by installing new version to memory card.
- Application Update self-update never completes.
- Upgrade of BrowserAudioVideoPlugin.rsc via sw installation is not possible.
- Upgrade of Connection Manager via sw installation is not possible.

Audio Performance
- Tunings improvements for IHF audio.
- Keypad tones cannot be tuned for IHF.

Auto-Rotate
- UI Accelerator toolkit (Hitchcock/Alfred) stub file missing.
- Locking keys and then opening camera reveal confuses orientation sensor.
- Disable orientation in alarm ringing, incoming call and semi active state.
- Panic after orientation change.

Bluetooth
- Bluetooth headset disconnects when Wireless Keyboard is disconnected from the phone automatically.
- Phone panics when changing views in Bluetooth menu while choosing the last connected device from paired view.

Probably the key features out of that list are the ability to flip the phone over to silence incoming calls and alarms (this has traditionally involved using 3rd party software), Nokia’s email wizard and the inclusion of email notifications on the Active Standby screen.

Of course, as always, this is only currently available for the generic Nokia product codes, with both Orange and Vodafone’s Nokia N85 firmwares still only offering v11.047.

Changelog information courtesy of Symbianv3.com.

After mentioning WeFi now being available for Android, we thought we’d recap the situation for Symbian devices, where there are a fair few solutions available:

• WeFi is also available for Symbian, which provices easy access to Free WiFi Hotspots, although you could use fring which now includes a WeFi plugin which we covered here).

• Devicescape provide a Symbian client, although this concentrates more on easy logging it to paid WiFi Hotspots, as opposed to the free WiFi of WeFi.

• Of course, another option we’ve covered before is HandyWi, which has just been updated to v2.0.  This new version adds a number of new features, including a fallback to 3G option (when no WiFi is available), and includes support for the new S60 5th Edition devices, and also adds support for entering WEP and WPA/PSK encryption keys.  Other handy features include a Logoff function (very handy if you are connected to FON or BT OpenZone hotspots to help minimise the charges when you paying for the service), and you can now also upload your Landmarks to the HandyWi server (for backup  restore purposes, plus you can then view them using Google Maps or Google Earth).

If you are an existing user of HandyWi, at some point in the next week or so you’ll be asked to upgrade to this new version.  For use, allowing you to backup and restore your Landmarks (which are additionally used by Google Maps, Nokia Maps, and Route66) is a nice feature, and may make this a worthwhile app to install and run every now and then if you don’t want the benefits of it’s main functionality.

In terms of other options; if you have a Nokia E71, you may find you can download BirdStep’s SmartConnect from the Nokia Download! area for free, and Psiloc’s Connect is another option to consider.

With the new OS (v1.5, AKA Cupcake) now rolling out to all UK T-Mobile G1 phones (and coming preinstalled on the Vodafone HTC Magic), there are a number of interesting software applications that have been recently released, which we thought we should mention…

Firstly, Google have added Bar Code Scanning support into the Shopping Search functionality on Android, allowing you to scan a barcode of a product, and Google will then provide you with Google’s Shopping Search for that product (you can also use it on generic items such a “Bluetooth Headsets”, but sometimes you just want details on a single item to see if you could buy it cheaper elsewhere).  The first time you try to run a Bar Code Search, you’ll be asked to install their BarCode Scanner application, if you don’t already have it installed.

To access Google’s Shopping search from your Android phone, simply head to Google.com, type in a query, hit Search, and then select the “Shopping results” link at the top of the search results (or tap More from the Google homepage and select Shopping from there).  This integration of the Barcode Scanning into the Product Search is only available in the US and the UK.

Secondly, we covered WeFi before here where we talked about fring now supporting WeFi, the social based Free WiFi location service, and now WeFi have launched their own Android app for getting information on WiFi hotspots.  As people travel around, the WeFi client records details on WiFi hotspots, signal strength, and how easy is it to connect to those WiFi hotspots, and then allows other clients to automatically connect to the best Free WiFi in the area (this deals with one problem of connecting to what appears to be free wifi that then requires you to login / pay for access).

Although the WeFi website only seems to offer a Windows Mobile download, you can search in the Android Market, or you can download it from here.

Back in January, we offered our readers a discount on a purchase from MOO, who specialise in all sorts of business cards.  We’ve managed to arrange a new offer with MOO, which is valid until 29th May 2009.  If you took up the offer in January, you will not be able to use this offer again, as it’s for new customers only.

We love MOO business cards, and are happy to recommend them, both for their ability to be fully customised, but also the speed and efficiency of their service. MOO produce a whole range of different cards, from their trademark half height business cards, through traditional sized business cards, and also other items such as postcards, greeting cards and stickers. As such, we have a 20% discount code available for new customers to use against the purchase of 1 MOO product.

To benefit from the discount, simply visit MOO and use the following friend referral code: 59QURF

Please note this code will expire on  29th May 2009, and will then no longer be valid. We will publish any other offers from MOO as and when we receive them.

This offer is also repeated on the UK Gadgeteer Offers page, which has recently been updated with other offers too (Mobile Fun, Vodafone and Halfords).