News

Mobile browsing soars despite downturn

Alice Galletly — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:23:05 GMT

Despite the economic decline in the UK, mobile web browsing is continuing to grow at exceptional rates.

A new report from Opera, creators of mobile web browser Opera Mini, shows that the number of pages viewed over the browser has incresed 94% over the course of 2008.

In November alone, Opera Mini generated a staggering 83 million MB of data for mobile operaters worldwide, and would have generated a further 746 million had it not been for the browsers compression technology.<

Post office launches guide to broadband

Alice Galletly — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:42:02 GMT

One in five Brits who cannot use the internet feel “ignored” by society, according to new research from the Post Office.

The survey found that 20 per cent of non-internet users felt unhappy at missing out on content that others could access, while 18 per cent felt they were ignored by society.

Teaching friends or family how to use the internet often resulted in friction, with 14 per cent saying it was similar to teaching someone to drive.

SMEs are coping with the crunch

Alice Galletly — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:44:14 GMT

They say that when the tough get going, the going get tough – and that’s exactly how the UK’s small businesses are approaching the recession. Research by XLN Telecom indicates that despite difficult economic times, small businesses are proving surprisingly resilient.

XLN’s survey of small business owners revealed a positive outlook for the year ahead – with over 30 per cent of businesses expect to see no change in business during 2009, and an encouraging 18 per cent expecting business to thrive.

The good news extends to employees, as the majority of small business owners (58 per cent) are not considering staff cut-backs in 2009, and are instead more likely to reduce purchases & overheads, marketing costs, or to save by switching utility providers or banks.

Over £100m in online sales expected christmas day

Alice Galletly — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:40:09 GMT

More than £100 million is expected to be sold online this Christmas, by over five million Britons seeking holiday bargains.

The web store trade body, the IMRG, predicts spending online on Christmas Day will exceed £100million for the first time.

Around £84million was spent online last Christmas Day, predominantly at sites such as eBay, Amazon, Argos, Play.com and Apple iTunes.

This year John Lewis and some electrical chains will launch their internet sales on Christmas Eve.

UK Broadband users hit by hidden costs

Alice Galletly — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:36:11 GMT

Over a quarter of UK broadband users are paying unexpected charges on their internet bills, a recent survey from moneysupermarket.com has revealed.

As many as 27 percent of broadband customers are paying extra for set-up costs, paper billings, and non-direct debit payment that add up to around £36 for each customer in a year

Among these paper billing and non-direct debit payments, with nine percent and seven percent contribution respectively, form the major part of these extra billings, in addition to late payments and installation costs.