Insurance2go News

The first phone using Google’s operating system launched in the US last week on the T-Mobile network. It’s coming to the UK in November. It’s seen as a competitor to the i phone. Google do not make the handset themselves, any manufacturer can make a handset able to work with the system.

….naturally when it comes to the UK insurance2go will be offering insurance on it.  

The first patent for a Mobile telephone was issued in the US as far back as 1908 by Nathan B Stubblefield of Murray, Kentucky. Very forward thinking chap. More history of the Mobile phone to follow soon.

Did you know that you cannot use a Mobile Phone in Nth Korea? Also use of a Mobile Phone is in Burma is severely restricted. The big question is what do teenage girls do in these countries?

The trains must be nice and quiet though. No need for Insurance2go to launch Mobile Phone Insurance in these countries.

The most commonly used data application on mobile phones is SMS text messaging, with 74% of all mobile phone users as active users (over 2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion total subscribers at the end of 2007). SMS text messaging was worth over a mind boggling 100 billion dollars in annual revenues in 2007.  The worldwide average of messaging use is 2.6 SMS sent per day per person across the whole mobile phone subscriber base. (source Informa 2007). The first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK, while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in 1993.

On a numerical basis, India is the largest growth market in the world, adding a staggering 6 million mobile phones every month. With 256.55 million mobile phones, market penetration in the country is still low at 22.52%. India expects to reach 500 million subscribers by end of 2010.

The world of Mobile Phones has always been a competitive one. Nokia is still the world’s largest maker of phones. Interesting figures show that Nokia’s market share world wide is 40%.

Followed up by Samsung & Motorola with 14% each, Sony Ericsson with 9% and LG with 7%. These firms make up 80% of the world’s sales.

Other manufacturers of Mobile Phones include:

Other manufacturers include Apple Inc., Audiovox (now UTStarcom), Benefon, BenQ-Siemens, CECT, High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), Fujitsu, Kyocera, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Neonode, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Pantech Curitel, Philips, Research In Motion, Sagem, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, Sendo, Sierra Wireless, SK Teletech, Sonim Technologies, T&A Alcatel, Huawei, Trium and Toshiba.

Ryanair will allow passengers to use their Mobile Phones on flights in the not too distant future. The budget airline is adapting their planes to allow passengers to use their phones. The pricing for using mobiles on board has yet to be made public but it likely to be more than making normal calls.

It might however not be that popular with everyone, planes have, until now, been one of the last bastions of peace from people having noisy conversations on the plane. If someone is calling next to you on a flight it will be difficult to concentrate on other things.

As a business tool it will be a great help especially if devices that have e-mail capability will work.  

From December 2008 O2’s customer using the underground in Glasgow will be able to use their Mobbile Phones. It’s the first underground in the UK where phones can be used. Initially it will be limited to platforms and concourses.

There are a whole load of new mobile phones coming soon. Naturally you’ll be able ot insure them with www.insurance2go.co.uk

The Samsung i8510 - Packed with techno goodies including a staggering 8 megapixel face recognising camera. 3D games, GPS location, video with surround sound, 8GB memory with a further 8GB expandable memory. Our price to insure this wonderful Mobile phone starts at just over £40 a year.

Nokia N96 - Plays music, shows TV shows, has high Quality video, stereo speakers, 5 megapixel auto focus camera, GPS mapping, 3G web browing. All stylisly packaged in dark casing.

Nokia 6600 slide - finger tap access to the phone’s info on screen.

Sony Ericsson C905 - 8 megapixel camera, Slide open design, auto focus, image stabiliser, GPS with Google maps.

A poll by virgin money has found that going to a football match has broken through the £100 mark once everything had been taken into account - the ticket, travel , food etc.

The poll shows an increasing number of fans will be considering missing out on games because the cost has become too high in uncertain economic times.