Robin Blandford [ ByteSurgery.com ]

07/06/06 Mobile Rentals and Disposable Handsets

It’s been ultra busy during the last two weeks. Jon & myself have been working tirelessly on a website for a magazine that features client areas, member logins, pdf archives, etc. This week, I’m working full-time in Imagefile.ie, ‘The Place To Buy Images in Ireland’.

The New Zealand trip is also impending, and before that I’ve to make it over to the Swiss Alps (hard life!) and a drinks evening with Reuters and the new graduate trainees like myself. Travelling New Zealand in a motorhome inspired me to think about ‘photoblogging’ it from a laptop and a 3G connection. I just haven’t found the right equipment for this yet though based on portability, damage/theft risk or budget.

What has interested me though, are the opportunities to rent mobile phones and sim cards. I thought I’d post this link for anyone interested, Vodafone Rental NZ (also Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Fiji, South Africa & USA) offer a SIM card for €10.00 per month with €10.00 of free calls. This simcard can easily slot into my simfree Sony Ericsson W800i. Calls get billed to my credit card at the end of each week at NZ local rates.

Why is this good? It means no roaming charges for incoming calls. What does this mean? This means family & friends could call via Skype and pay minimal rates, while we occur no costs. We can also call NZ numbers at local rates to pre-book any activities or accommodation. Sounds good, doesn’t it!

And now about the image above. What is it? It’s a first prototype of a disposable phone. Ever use a disposable camera? These phones will work similarly, where the outer is packaged in a new paper/card package each user, while the inner electronics are reused. You validate it by tearing out a panel revealing the keypad and return it when done. I thought it was an interesting concept that we’re moving in this direction.

Tags: General, Mobile Voice & Data Communications, Observations

1 Comment

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30/06/06 Nicola

WOW - fantastic - do I get to give you a real time hug this weekend or are you someplace else!!? Nicola

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