O2 Telephone Sales: LISTEN to your Customers!

Recently I requested a free SIM from O2 to test their services.

Shortly after I placed the order, one of their salesman called me on my phone to try to sell me something. I still can't figure out what he was trying to sell me, as the SIM I ordered was PAYG and yet he was trying to get me to take a contract with O2.

Admittedly, his sales pitch was bouncy and he was quite cheery, but he really needed to reign in his sales pitch: He was so fast paced I didn't have a clue what he was trying to sell - Was it a SIM only contract or one with a phone? (He neglected to say until right at the end of the call.)
Worse still he didn't listen to anything that I said: You've got to listen to your customers' needs before you can decide what to sell them, but this guy didn't want to know.
When I eventually managed to get a word in, my current contract stopped him dead in his tracks - there was no way that O2 could match what I am getting from Life Mobile (who he hadn't heard of).
- Note to O2 Sales Trainers; ensure that your salespeople know your competitors!

The salesman then carried on to offer me a "deal" which was roughly half of my current minutes, the same data allocation and more than double the price. Obviously, this was a pointless pitch, but he did say that O2's customer service was great and "came with love".
I'm not sure if I want "love" from O2...

His next pitch was for half of what I am getting from Life Mobile, but for £2 extra per month.
Did he seriously think that I'd take that offer?

Still, he got points for trying, and it was clear that he was enjoying trying to get customers to take up their offers.

Definitive Android vs Windows Phone Roundup

Android vs Windows Phone - A Definitive List of Pros and Cons

For two and a half years I have been testing mobile phone operating systems (Android and Windows Phone), mainly because these two mobile platforms are (generally) affordable and are ubiquitous on lower end/budget phones.

I have never bothered with iOS as it's too expensive and I have never understood why a basic mobile operating system should be so restrictive and expensive - My first encounter with iOS didn't even match my Nokia (Symbian) smartphone of the time, and iOS simply hasn't evolved enough to convince me that it's simplistic but clunky interface is worth tying myself in to the iOS ecosystem.

First things first - I loved Android when it first came out, but I have never liked the poor battery life and requirement for ever increasing amounts of memory needed to run the OS.

Back in 2012 I got a Samsung Galaxy S3, which was the best smartphone of its day. One year later, the battery life was struggling to last more than eight hours and there was some lag evident.

I tried a Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia 610) which was slow, but reliable.

Since then, I have been continually swapping between Windows Phones (8, 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile) and Android phones running 4.4, 5 and 5.1

Throughout this time I have learned a lot about the pros and cons of both Windows Phone and Android.

I have written this list of pros and cons for both operating systems because every "Windows Phone vs Android" review simply breaks things down into what each OS looks like, with a brief mention of how Windows Phone and Android perform.

My lists break down the benefits and disadvantages of Windows Phones and Android phones. It doesn't matter which version of each OS you are running, as the list applies to all versions.

Windows Phone - Advantages:
Windows Phone works well as a "phone" - Calls and texts are simple. It's easy to block contacts and the native SMS app works well.

Live Tiles - Each one is basically a widget which gives you updates such as calendar events, email details, etc.

WiFi - You can leave WiFi on all of the time without reducing battery life too much, and it's very easy to connect to public WiFi networks.

NO LAG - Windows Phones don't lag, even the cheapest phones are very nippy.

Battery life is excellent.

The cameras are usually pretty good.

You can customise the colours and Live Tile colours quickly and easily.

Windows Phone - Disadvantages:

Outlook email and calendar apps are pretty poor.

Windows Maps is very inaccurate, missing location information and freezes when navigating.

Apps are generally very poor, and there are very few alternatives to the stock apps.

Cortana doesn't notify you of anything, so not much use as a personal assistant. And the Live Tile doesn't display any information.

The keyboard is really poor. Autocorrect is horrifically random.

Voice recognition is really, really bad!

Cortana search is awful, and search results are filled with sponsored adverts.

Bing is nowhere near as good as Google Search.

The Edge browser struggles to display websites correctly and often crashes.

You're stuck with Groove Music for syncing your music, which is expensive and poor.

Photo syncing? You're stuck with OneDrive. Other apps are passable, though there is Dropbox.

Microsoft apps ask for ratings continuously.

Apps force close regularly.

Quiet Hours often doesn't turn on or off.

The Action Centre notifications are unactionable.

Microsoft app support is nil.

Word/Excel, etc. are slow to open.

You currently can't buy Windows Phones any more now that Microsoft have stopped production and no other manufacturer wants to risk losing money on a dying OS.

Android - Advantages:

Everything syncs, even if you use alternative platforms, there are apps available.

The apps are good quality.

Google Maps is brilliant and navigation is excellent.

Voice search is fantastic.

Alarms and Silent Hours work really well.

Google Keyboard is brilliant.

Loads of phones available at all different price brackets.

Android - Disadvantages:

Lag is a problem, even on high-spec phones.

Apps are quite large, needing more storage space.

I've yet to find a SMS app which works really well.

The dialler (phone) app isn't intuitive, but it's good.

Want on the spot calendar visibility? You need a big calendar widget.

Want to see what the weather forecast is at a glance? You also need a widget for this.

Android phones can be much more expensive.

Notifications are key to functionality as there are no icon notifications.

Battery life is usually pretty awful.

WiFi and Bluetooth need turning on/off to conserve battery life.

You currently need at least 2GB of ROM and 16GB of RAM to have a half decent Android experience.

Android Flip/Clamshell Smartphones in the UK

Exactly one year ago LG released the LG Wine Smart flip phone in Europe. One year on and this design still hasn't managed to make a comeback to Europe and the UK.

The LG Wine Smart - Do people even want flip phones these days?

There are still plenty of people who clamour after a clamshell phone, but if you want one you are stuck with a proprietary operating system which - if you're lucky - might feature limited web browsing and email access.

So what happened to the LG Wine Smart?

• Firstly, no resellers took stock for ages, and if you wanted one of these phones you would have to track one down online. They still cost around £100.
• LG made a massive mistake by sticking Android onto a phone with a 3.2" display - It's not really big enough to be that much use. Given that this phone was (supposedly) aimed at the senior market, there's no point having big buttons and a tiny screen.
• It isn't stylish! Clamshell phones have typically been aimed at the fashion-conscious. This phone looked like it was made to match a glasses case from the 1980s. Why didn't LG put some thought into the design, rather than bunging Android into a basic "senior phone" design?
• On top of all of this, there is absolutely no external notification LED or screen: Ten years ago, most clamshell designs incorporated some form of external notification feature, and these were often quite stylish.

The Nokia 7020 was a fashionable clamshell phone from 2009 - It was relatively cheap (£80-90) and had an animated secondary display. Most importantly, Nokia had actually put some thought into the aesthetics of this phone.

Will we see any other clamshell smartphones in the UK? Probably not. It's not a big enough market and given that most of the main (and upcoming) manufacturers are almost exclusively using Android, to keep up with the competition there is little option other than to design a phone which has at least a 5" display, and nobody really wants physical phone buttons anymore.
Flip phones are huge in Japan, but maybe it needs a fashion movement to get them going elsewhere in the world.
It would be nice to see some more innovative designs in the world of phones: Rectangular slabs all look identical these days and there is nothing to make this design any more appealing without some radical design changes.

New Mobile Network Coming Soon: "1p Mobile"

I spend a lot of time assessing mobile networks and trying to find the best/cheapest PAYG tariffs, so when I discovered a new company called "1p Mobile" a few months ago I realised that the UK could soon be seeing a brand new and (potentially) very cheap MVNO.

1p Mobile was apparently going to launch in July 2016, but it looks like this has been delayed.

The 1p Mobile website - www.1pmobile.com - is now live, but only has a countdown clock to (presumably) 1p Mobile's official launch date in early September 2016.

The 1p Mobile Twitter account is live, but not at all active yet.

I am looking forward to seeing a new MVNO in the UK.
We have lost quite a few in the last twelve months: GT Mobile, Mobile by Sainsbury's and As You Go Mobile have all folded - and Post Office Mobile is going to close in August 2016.

I have approached 1p Mobile to try to find out what network they will be using, but I haven't received any communication from them.
I will hazard a guess that 1p Mobile will be using the EE network, as this seems to be the most popular choice for MVNOs, especially as The People's Operator have just switched from EE to Three, which has left a sizeable gap in the market.

I hope that 1p Mobile manage to launch on time and establish themselves quickly: As You Go Mobile launched and then shut down their website after only a few weeks, before sinking without trace in June this year.

I will certainly be interested to see how 1p Mobile handle their launch, as so far they have done zero marketing.
For a new operator to not even have begun marketing at this late stage, I can't see how they are going to gain a foothold in what is already a crowded and volatile market.
Given that their launch is much later than first anticipated, it echoes As You Go Mobile's rapid decline.
Most potential customers don't really understand MVNOs, and they certainly couldn't name that many of them apart from the major players such as Tesco Mobile, so 1p Mobile will have to work damned hard to market themselves - Or they simply may not bother and vanish without anyone realising that they existed!

When 1p Mobile does go live, I'll check the full details and report back here, as well as updating my PAYG tariffs website.

Amazon App for Windows Phone Discontinued

The other day I had an email from Amazon:

Hello,

Our records indicate that you have previously installed the Amazon App for Windows Phone from the Microsoft App Store.

We will be retiring the app you currently have on your device, meaning its contents will no longer be updated. You will still have access to the app until 15 August, 2016.

We encourage you to visit Amazon.co.uk on your mobile browser where you will have access to our newest shopping features and customer experience.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Regards,

Customer Service Department

What does this mean? Is Amazon going to focus on delivering a dynamic, adaptive website which works well on all mobile web browsers - or is this the beginning of the end of app development for Windows Phones?

I'm not surprised at Amazon's decision. They have never really supported Windows devices, but it could be the first in a long line of developers deciding to kill off their work for Windows.
Even Microsoft-owned Skype will no longer work on Windows 8.1 devices from autumn 2016!

Microsoft keep on shooting themselves in the foot: They create a version of Windows which becomes unsupported after a couple of years. App developers are then forced to start from scratch each time.
Windows 10 is supposed to resolve this problem, yet things still seem to be following the same trend.

I have heard (anecdotally) that some web developers will be ceasing app development (for all platforms) due to the expense required - This money could be better spent on writing adaptive websites, which does make sense.
But, some people still insist on having apps (even if they barely use them), and whilst there are smartphones, people will want apps. I just hope that Microsoft realise that Windows apps are also supposed to work on all of their Windows devices - not just phones.

PAYG Mobile Network Changes

One year ago I set  up my long awaited website mobile-networks-uk.weebly.com
The mobile industry is highly volatile, and for years there have been positive and negative changes to tariffs and allocations which have benefited or adversely affected consumers.

In the year since I created my website, there have been some massive changes to tariffs.
Mobile contracts have become far more expensive (>£40/month) and allocations of data have been reduced.
4G is becoming more widely sold as the norm, though there are still many MVNOs which still don't provide 4G services.
PAYG monthly bundles have become worse value than they were in mid 2015.

I've often chosen MVNOs and monthly bundles due to the great value that they have offered. A year ago, even many SIM only contracts were only slightly better than PAYG bundles, and of course most of these contracts were based on 12 month contracts.
In July 2016, there are very few MVNOs that offer great value, so my website is struggling to really "sell" consumers PAYG bundles as a viable alternative to monthly contracts.

This change has been brought about due to MNOs clawing in more revenue.

• Vodafone, for example have killed off one of their few MVNOs (Mobile by Sainsbury's), leaving a real gap in the market.
• Since O2 MVNO giffgaff provided 4G "at no extra cost" in September 2015, their data speeds have been getting progressively worse, yet their prices have increased.
• Post Office Mobile launched in July 2015 with some brilliant value PAYG bundles, but soon reduced allowances to sustain their business. They are to close down this network in August 2016.
• GT Mobile similarly had some good value PAYG bundles, then later increased their prices. GT Mobile has just closed and become part of Lycamobile.
• As You Go Mobile launched in April 2016. By June 2016 the website had been offline for a few months with an announcement that there would be more news in late June. There was a delay of several days, and now their website simply doesn't work and this MVNO has folded.

These examples demonstrate just how tough the mobile industry is. Most MVNOs fold within a few years, and the fact that some of these haven't lasted anywhere near that long shows that no one network is safe.

Scratching around for a good value mobile deal has - once again - become much harder.

I'm currently still using Life Mobile as my main network. For £6 a month on a rolling contract I get all the minutes, texts and data that I need for my everyday use. I can't find anything else that comes close enough to this deal apart from Talkmobile.
I'd like to switch to Talkmobile, but all I ever read about them puts me off: Their contract customers (like parent MNO Vodafone) are complaining of being overcharged for mobile use, which then leads to a default on their credit file - Something that I'm not willing to risk!

Who currently offers the best PAYG bundle value?
I hate to say it, but giffgaff does.
There is currently so little good choice, that giffgaff's 30 day bundles are actually the best value for general mobile use.
Personally, I feel that giffgaff's bundles are really poor value from £10-15, and their PAYG prices are now the highest amongst MVNOs, which really ought to put a lot of customers off. Plus, there is also the major issue of giffgaff's data service which simply doesn't work for thousands of customers.

The mobile industry is in a bit of a mess. Many have threatened to increase prices due to brexit, as well as increase prices to cover the lost revenue from changes to European roaming charges.
All of this is squeezing the price of using your mobile in the UK, and right now PAYG monthly bundles and contracts are all pretty poor value.

Android vs. Windows 10 Mobile. Again.

A few weeks ago I was waiting for an important phone call on my Microsoft Lumia 640. The phone started to ring but the touchscreen absolutely refused to unlock, despite increasingly frantic upwards swipes.
Eventually, I managed to unlock the phone before I missed the call.
- This shouldn't happen to any phone, but the one reason that I've stuck with Windows Phones has been the solid call and text handling. Now that this is a bit dodgy, I've decided to go back to Android for the second time this year.

Now that I'm back to using Android, I miss the simplicity of Windows Phone, but everything seems to work a lot better. This is a pity, because Windows Phone has always been a lag-free, easy to use affair, but Android appears to have caught up.
Ok, without Windows Phone I miss the Live Tiles, the dark interface, the easy call and text handling, but everything on Android seems more "fluid". Oh, and of course the apps are far better quality - including (crucially!) the browser.
And Google Maps is of course much better at finding directions and re-routing you than Microsoft Maps.

But, Android lags badly. I've gone into the developer options and limited the maximum number of running services to four, which makes the phone usable.
I've also installed Greenify, which helps to boost battery life by about a third!

I miss my Lumia phones, but each time I consider going back to them I remember how many more things now "just work" with Android - whereas a year ago Windows had the edge overall for day to day ease of use.

The other main reason that I'm not returning to Windows 10 Mobile is that Microsoft will not be manufacturing any more handsets.
OEMs are now left to carry the torch for Windows Phone, which let's face it is heading in the same direction that BlackBerry did a few years ago. I can't see many manufacturers building Windows Phones at any point in the next few years, by which time anyone who may be considering moving to this OS will have surely sided with Android or iOS.
Here in the UK, unless you buy one of the current handful of Microsoft Lumia phones available, your choice is limited to a couple of mediocre (but good value) handsets from BLU, as well as another cheap (but good value) Windows 10 Mobile from Bush (which is currently available SIM free from Argos for about £50).
Once these handsets have sold, even though there will be a gap in the market, I can't see any company filling this Windows Phone shaped gap at any point.

If my handset breaks, or I want a different handset, I want to be able to buy one: Android gives you a choice of handsets at different price points, Windows Phones are becoming rarer by the day.