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SIM-Free iPhone Appears for UK Buyers?

andrew — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:26:23 +0000

Cell-phone and general gadgety-goodness retailer, devicewire.co.uk, has got the 4gb and 8gb versions of the iPhone listed on their website. No pricing or availability details, but both are listed as SIM-free:

I thought that, as in the US, Apple would be making it very difficult to get a SIM-free iPhone, which is why UK and European airtime providers were fighting it out. It’ll be interesting to see how much the SIM-free version costs – going by the $600 price-tag that US consumers have to pay for a provider-subsidised handset with a two-year lock in, a SIM-free iPhone in the UK could end up costing more than an mid-level laptop.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, mobile, cellphones

The Last Mile. Internet Shopping’s Weak Link.

andrew — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:44:30 +0000

Shopping over the Internet is easy – browse, point, click, pay. Often, a delivery charge is added, and not long after is where the problem starts.

The other day I ordered a new laptop from Dell, and using their Order Tracking facility, I noticed that the delivery date which had been automatically scheduled wasn’t convenient for me. I rang the logistics company to arrange an alternative – giving them another 4 days window – and was assured that this new date would be fine.

When I got home the day before my newly scheduled delivery date, there was a card in my letter box from the logistics company saying they’d tried to deliver a package from Dell but there was no-one home to sign for it. No shit, Sherlock; that’s why I phoned you 3 days ago to arrange for delivery tomorrow.

The following morning (the day my package should have been delivered; oh yes, I couldn’t call them that very evening because their customer service line helpfully closes at 17:00), I phoned the company but was told that because they’d tried to deliver my laptop yesterday and couldn’t, it was not on today’s delivery schedule. Wait a minute, I said. You messed up my delivery date? Yes, sir. But you still aren’t going to get it right today? No, sir.

So, in the end, I had to do a round trip of an hour in the car to go and collect a package that I’d paid to have delivered. What pisses me off is that this happens time and time again. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Next, Ebay, Amazon or Dell, the delivery of my goods is scheduled around the convenience of the logistics companies. I have a job; I’m not at home when the delivery guy comes a-knockin’.

If Tesco.com can arrange a 2-hour slot for my groceries to be delivered at a time that suits me, why can’t the parcel carriers do it? Everyone, they say, has got at least one one-million-dollar idea inside them - here’s a free one for somebody. The person who starts-up a delivery company that delivers after people are home from work will clean up. Call it Logistics 2.0.

[tags]internet, shopping, ecommerce, delivery, service, logistics[/tags]

Orange Photography

andrew — Mon, 22 May 2006 13:43:09 +0000

It seems that the problems I was having with Orange Photography weren’t just teething troubles. Since my last post here, I’ve tried to send at least half-a-dozen photos but none of them have arrived in my shared album. I think I preferred the double-posting problem!

At first I thought it was because I was sending text with my MMS message, but resending the picture minus the text description didn’t fix the problem either.

I’ve logged this with Orange’s customer support – I couldn’t find a way to contact whoever is responsible for Orange Photography directly, so had to go through the generic “Contact Us” link.

I really hope they can fix this because it’s such a great service to have available, not just because it’s nice to share my phone photos, but also it means I can use it an offline storage for them. I’ll let you know how Orange respond.