The radio station, popular with younger people for providing new and chart music throughout the day, have decided to give their listeners a big incentive to get in touch with them. Some pictures received will be added to the website, available for everyone to see, meaning that by sending in a picture, the sender could have their picture shown and discussed live on radio.

Normally, picture messages are charged at around 40p for each message sent and some mobile telephone users opt to send pictures via email to cut the cost. This free service will enable users to send messages for free, allowing users to try out picture messaging without having to face the 40p charge.

The Mobile industry trade body, The Mobile Data Association (MDA), brought together each of the UK’s major mobile network operators to form a partnership with the BBC which aims to get more young people involved with the station. The MDA has also launched an educational website with the long-term aim of helping people to send picture messages: http://www.getsettings.org.

Users will still text their message to the very memorable 81199 and the BBC hopes that the scheme will prompt listeners to get involved in the station. Martin Ballard, Operations Director at the MDA, said: “BBC Radio 1’s Picture Messaging Day should provide a springboard to generate further interest in the medium. Our getsettings website aims to address configuration issues around older handsets in circulation and SIM-only contracts. But the emergence of increasingly sophisticated and affordable devices means users can begin to capitalise on the rich mobile messaging facilities which are now available, as they did with text messaging at the beginning of the decade.

The main mobile service providers, 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Media, have all opted in to this offer.. The rewards of doing this are endless. The majority of mobile phone users don’t send picture messages, simply because they do not know how and are unaware of the costs involved. The BBC and MDA hope that by offering this free messaging day, more users will learn to send MMS.

The MDA have issued this guide to anyone unsure about sending a Multimedia Message to Radio 1.

1. The following networks are participating and have agreed to provide free picture messages to the Radio 1 text number 81199 for the day: 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Media.

2, This does not include pictures sent from Eire, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

3. Only picture messages sent to the Radio 1 text number 81199 between midnight Thursday 10th December and midnight Friday 11th December will be free.

4. Mobile handsets with integrated cameras should all be able to send picture messages. Most phones are now instantly set up to send picture messages ‘out of the box’.

5. Phones which are not locked to the SIM’s network might need to have the correct settings installed. These are usually phones which have previously been used on a different network or are being used with ‘SIM only’ contracts. The correct settings are available from the Mobile Network Operators’ websites or further information and links are available at http://www.getsettings.org.

6. Customers must have Picture Messaging (or MMS) included in their contracts (pre pay or post pay) and Picture Messaging must be enabled on their handsets.

So get your phones out and start snapping, you never know, your picture could be on the BBC!

Just how accurate ARE these 118 telephone numbers? For those not familiar with the service, it offers a portable telephone directory, from wherever you are – like the Yellow Pages but much quicker and MUCH more portable. Take it from me, carrying a Yellow Pages around in your back pocket creates a lot of ripped jeans. All you do is call up, ask for the business or address you want and they’ll either text it to you (if you’re on a mobile), tell it to you or transfer you instantly.

In 2004, reports showed that the general accuracy of a caller receiving the correct information was around 89%, which led to a lot of frustrated people as the service does cost around £1.50 a go. However, by 2009, this accuracy has risen to a huge 95% – showing that the 118 people had worked on improving their service immensely.

It does lead me to think though. How much longer can the 118 service survive? In today’s day and age, more and more people are buying SmartPhones, like a BlackBerry or iPhone. With these phones offering the ability to do high-speed web-searches on your fingertips (and most mobile phone service providing offering internet at very cheap prices) it would probably be faster and cheaper to do it yourself.

In the rough and tumble for mobile phone supremacy, the battle lines between the two titans, Research in Motion and Apple, are becoming increasingly blurred. Research in Motion with its iconic Blackberry is selling at 16 million units per annum while Apple had targeted in excess of 10 million iPhones for 2009.

At time of writing, Apples shares are being traded at $160 as against RIM´s $82.

The ease with which the iPhone plays music and movies makes it the stuff that media-consumer`s dreams are made of. But it does not hold the same appeal for the corporate user. Large companies are reluctant to allow employees to use iPhones on their corporate networks.

But according to market watchers and gadget blogs, Apple is burning the midnight oil on a corporate-friendly makeover of its email software.

Meanwhile RIM has no intention of resting on its laurels. The BlackBerry has been the long established mainstay of corporate users mainly exploiting its email and calendar facilities. RIM is now targeting the high-end users who would be attracted to the device for both work and play. BlackBerrys are now loaded with cameras that take both video and still images and play music as well.

Here are the experiences of a consumer who has been using a BlackBerry 8800 alongside an iPhone for several weeks.

To start with, the BlackBerry with a Microsoft Exchange server has intelligent push email which the iPhone lacks. When an email reaches a BlackBerry account the message is immediately downloaded. The user is notified that he or she has a new message by an LED on the phone.

The iPhone checks out for new messages every 15 minutes at best, and when it does, it has to be checked actively to see if a new message has arrived. Lacking an adequate facility, handling of email on the iPhone is more cumbersome and less efficient. The user has to perform the additional operation of opening the iPhone?s email program whenever they wish to check for new messages which makes for wasted battery power.

The iPhone does not match the BlackBerry´s synchronization either. A BlackBerry user can automatically update information. Any changes to calendar events or contact information on his or her desktop computer in Exchange are automatically updated on the BlackBerry. The iPhone does not have this facility.

Other advantages of the BlackBerry over the iPhone are:

• A GPS with Google Maps with detailed descriptions.
• Has cut and paste facilities
• Possesses keyboard shortcuts for easy navigation between applications
• Superior phone quality
• More sophisticated Safari browser.
• Faster downloads of text pages.
• A general contacts information for easier contact with people.

A major area where the iPhone scores over the BlackBerry is in battery life. The BlackBerry, because it is used for more tasks requires more frequent charges.

The iPhone has other slick, advantageous features like the YouTube program, weather and stock reports and full-featured web-browsing, despite which the BlackBerry is the preferred choice.

The connection charge is just £49 + VAT with a monthly service charge of £10 only.

An 0845 number has the same options of a Virtual Receptionist with all the added facilities that go with it.

Added to that, Planet Numbers will give you a Zone Plan that manages incoming calls according to their town of origin, plus voicemail to email, fax to email and call queuing facilities. Additional to that is an automatic voice recording facility.

With an 0845 number incoming calls can be diverted to your mobile phone for just 10p per minute and at an additional cost you can receive 0845 call that will be diverted to you anywhere in the world.

Both 0844 and 0845 numbers have a number of plans raging from Bronze to Special, depending on your requirements and budget.

Planet Numbers is one of the very few communications providers in the UK to be truly independent. We are backed by an army of happy customers.

Call us on 08450 777 777. It’s a decision you’ll never regret.

And that’s not all.

Incoming calls to your 0844 number are free.

Calling you from anywhere in Britain will cost your customer just 5p per minute.

Planet Numbers pays you 1p per minute of a call from beyond 2500 minutes of call time. So effectively they make you, their customer, a part of this venture.

Plus your 0844 number can be a virtual office! Planet Numbers offer you this so you give your customers better and a more impressive service. For example, Virtual Receptionist points them to a list of options to key in to be directed to a particular department. With Divert Plan the calls will automatically be redirected to another number if the main destination is busy or unanswered. With the Time/Day plan all incoming calls are automatically diverted to another number during specific hours, or at weekends.

So what does all this mean? Simply that your clients can be in touch with you 24/7. And what better advertisement is there for a business?

For further details and ordering visit our Free 0844 Numbers Microsite.

iPhone

• Shazam – Identifies music
• Twitterific – Tweet from the mobile

Nokia

• Skyfire – Speedy web browser
• Flip Silent – Turn the phone over and put it in silent mode
• Qik – Share Live Videos
• Talking Dictionary – Chinese/English dictionary with pronounciation
• Touch Piano – turns the phone into a musical instrument that you can play with virtual keys
• TVB Widget – browse the latest TV Entertainment and Drama information anywhere and anytime

BlackBerry

• reQall – Intelligent memory jogger
• Viigo – RSS feed, News, Podcast aggregator
• MSN/Yahoo Messenger – Free to clients of chat Instant Messaging
• Time Tracker – Allows a user to tag all calls to projects and clients. Enables the user to get increased billable time. Also helps in recovering more of the user’s mobile costs.

Windows Mobile

• Opera Mini – Fast full-featured web browser
• Evernote – Capture anything you find, anyplace you scout it
• MyMobileR – Remote control plus copy files between your PC and phone
• GPS Today – An integrated GPS application which combines weather, navigation and search features.

Google Android

• Twidroid – Tweet from the phone
• Astrid Task – Task manager that offers geo-notification
• MyTracks – Records your global position, orientation and altitude
• Google Voice Search

Others

• Snaptu – Platform which supports a wide diversity of widgets and apps
• showZu – Blog and Multimedia sharing platform
• Nearest – finds the closest geographic location of cashpoints, taxis, restaurants etc, with a press of a button.
• Wake On Lan – wakes up your PC through your mobile, turns the PC on while you’re still in bed. By the time coffee’s ready it’s booted up and ready to go.
• Nimbuzz – Chat on the move on MSN, Facebook, Gtalk Yahoo, etc.
• Nimbuzz is a free mobile chat application that supports all major brands. Chat while on the move on Facebook, MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk etc
• Map My Tracks – a complete activity tracking application lets the user share his sporting activity with anyone in real-time. It and makes it easy for a performance comparison with time to see the improvement in your fitness level. It can be downloaded free and used offline for an hour a month.
• Molad 2 – a free Jewish year calendar with festivals, that works on mobile Java. The user can add latitude and longitude and obtain accurate dusk and dawn timings. Also, the user can record personal dates on the Jewish Calendar.
• PhoneLocator – for Symbian phones. Identifies a phone location if it is stolen. It can also identify the location of friends.
• Gustosoft – with Ringtone maker free creates great-sounding ring tones complete with tracks from your personal music library.
• I-Net Solution – Conveys messages to targeted customers in the right method and at the right time.
• Quickoffice Premier – Most popular office suite for mobiles

Although it’s almost free for a customer to call 0870 numbers, business who own the numbers had to decide whether to stomach the 3.5p/minute incoming call charge or whether to switch to an 0845 or 0844 number with no incoming call charges. Either way, without careful execution of their plan, businesses could end up losing money and customers with their switch.

How did you cope with the switch? Did you find you lost customers? Is the 3.5p/minute too much for your business or did you decide to switch entirely? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

0800 Numbers

0800 is a toll-free number. It is a number used by businesses to receive calls from clients where they do not want the client to bear the cost of the call. In itself a 0800 is a marketing tool a businesses that offer this facility have an edge over their rivals. They are more likely to develop a lasting trust and confidence with their clients. A 0800 number, where the holder picks up the cost of the call conveys a certain commitment to customers which promotes customer loyalty.

When a customer dials a 0800 number the call is automatically (and instantly) redirected to whichever phone number is nominated by the holder. Some providers offer a ‘virtual receptionist’ plan with a 0800 number.

0845 Numbers

0845 was earlier known as a ‘lo-call’ or local rate number. It costs the caller the same rate as a local call wherever the caller may be located. The phone service provider redirects the call to an ordinary business number that the holder nominates. The holder can change the destination number at will at no additional cost. Some service providers extend this facility to both mobile and fixed-line numbers.

The advantage in a 0845 number is that a business provides their customers with a single number. At an additional cost the business can select a memorable number that is easy-to-remember or difficult-to-forget depending on which way you look at it. The number could be alpha-numeric. Furthermore a 0845 number conveys a sense of a single identity.

0870 Numbers

A 0870 number is non-geographic which means the location of the holder is anonymous and cannot be established. 0870 numbers give the holder a national presence. It can be reached from anywhere in the world and is directed to a UK land line anywhere in the country. A 0870 is a revenue-sharing number.

0870 numbers are ideal for service support applications where a national presence is necessary but the holder does not wish to pay for the cost of the call.

0303 and 0300 Numbers

0303 and 0300 numbers are ideally suited to non profit making organisations, registered charities and government departments (including NHS, Police, etc). The call is free to the caller but the holder is charged less than the cost of receiving a 0800 call.

The called party subscribes to and uses a toll free number because it is good for his business, and business image. When a customer knows a company – be it a service industry, a manufacturer or a supplier has a toll-free number, it immediately records a psychological edge. Toll-free numbers, because of their popularity and proven results, are being used by professionals like lawyers and accountants. The customer is confident that he or she can punch out the numbers and talk to a dedicated line, regardless of location, without looking at his watch or hear the tick of a mental meter.

A toll free number is particularly good when the subscriber expects the following:

• Calls for technical support. The subscriber would have factored such expected expenses in his costing.
• Anticipates that such toll free calls will translate into future sales.
• That earlier sales were influenced by the toll-free support his company was extending.
• Customer satisfaction will be greatly enhanced with toll-free support.

All British networks charge the caller for calls made to toll free numbers from mobile telephones. There are however some exceptions.

Toll-free or free-phone numbers can be procured from various telecom companies at differing rates. A US toll-free number can be dialed from the UK, but the call is not free and the caller is first cautioned about it. Many carriers in fact charge the caller more to speak to a toll-free number that to a normal one.

Toll-free numbers are available in ‘memorable’ numbers.

A memorable number relies on mnemonics or some method of association which makes the number easily to remember and recall. Memorable numbers are often used by businesses as a direct response tool in advertising such as in radio, television, the print media and outside hoardings. A memorable number is alpha-numeric, with a numeric prefix followed by a phone word. The phone word should be one easily remembered and identified with the business of the called number. For example, a company in the weight-loss business might have a number like 0800 WEIGHT or 0800 LOCARB. Memorable numbers have been proven to generate twice the calls as a standard phone number.

A winning phone word is unforgettable and creates its own impact. It will connect with the customer and they will remember you. Numerical telephone numbers don’t have the same effect on your customers and hence do not attract as many phone calls.

Numbersales.com provides a full range of non-geographic numbers with virtual office abilities, allowing you to handle your business phone calls more effectively.

Put into practice, these new rules will not only result in a considerable drop in the cost of calling 0870 numbers but will also help drive consumer awareness about the steep charges involved in doing so.

Those communication providers that do not choose to reduce their rates for calling 0870 numbers from both fixed and mobile lines, will now have to fall into line with strict legal specifications detailing the manner in which the price for such non-geographic calls should be announced both on the company website as well as on all promotional material used at outlets.

The new rules also place the onus of educating the customer of the high cost involved, squarely on the shoulders of the communication providers who will face legal action and enforcement if they attempt to publicize the 0870 numbers as “national rates” when that clearly isn’t case.

Ofcom, the competition and regulatory authority for the communications industry in the UK, has lauded the efforts of certain fixed line providers that have already taken measures to both drop the rates and include 0870 numbers in call packages.

Currently, customers are under the impression that communication providers are charging them “national rates.” In its statement, Ofcom has placed responsibility for this confusion on “misleading advertising” that gets consumers to believe that they’re being charged the same rate for 0870 numbers as those of geographic numbers, (those starting with 01 and 02). In truth, however, they are being charged significantly more for non-geographic calls.

0870 numbers, used primarily by businesses to provide services like sales, enquiry, automated information, call centres etc., permit companies using these numbers to earn a share of the money generated by the calls that are charged on a per minute basis. The benefit of 0870 numbers is that they allow consumers to access service providers quickly. What’s more, the same number can be shared by more than one customer care centre, making it possible for calls to be routed to the first available representative, regardless of their location. This same feature allows for calls to be rerouted to other customer centres when one has been affected by natural disasters.

Businesses and organizations using these numbers were able to earn revenue either by charging customers for their service or by sharing in the cost of the calls. Ofcom’s new rules, however, will put an end to this soon.

Ofcom, isn’t responsible for the allocation of numbers to organizations or public services. However, they did try to get businesses to use an alternate number range (03 numbers) which cost no more than any other national number (01 or 02 numbers). This range has been in existence since 2007 but businesses haven’t shown them a preference.

Come August 1, 2009, though, and the advantage businesses have long held over consumers are set to end.