Orange and T-Mobile, who recently merged, have announced that a network sharing deal has been sealed. The deal effectively means that Orange and T-Mobile customers will now be able to make use of both networks when the need arises. For example; a T-Mobile customer in an area where T-Mobile reception is poor will be able to make use of the Orange network, which will probably be better.
The system is similar to the roaming system used when a phone is used abroad, and customers will have to register in order to benefit from the service. Unfortunately, it only includes 2G signal, but not 3G, meaning that anyone hoping to use the web will get little benefit from this, though 3G will allegedly be rolled out soon.
This kind of deal can only be a good thing when you think about all the cloud services and potential for mobile apps; the more ubiquitous our connection to the Internet, the closer the future is. Hopefully, it won’t involve Skynet.
The much anticipated game, turned long running joke, dead but mourned franchise, Duke Nukem, is back! Duke Nukem Forever, the game has spent more time in development than the average NASA mission, will be coming to our PC’s (and our consoles) after all.
Game developer, Gearbox Software, has obtained the rights to the Duke Nukem franchise, and even had a playable demo at PAX. The tentative release date of 2011 seems a little far off, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the hardcore fans who have really being waiting for Duke Nukem Forever, forever, are too jaded at this point to care, and if I’m completely honest, I don’t think this game is going be particularly ground breaking. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Duke Nukem could very likely be little more than a generic FPS.
BBC have given their iPlayer website a makeover. This portion of ToN may be a little mushy, because I love the BBC, and iPlayer is one of the best implementations of a broadcast TV companies content on the web so far. Mostly because they aren’t trying to protect a dying financial model!
The website itself is slick, good looking and easy to use. BBC claim that the site is also faster, in terms of page sizes (ie loading times), but the new social media and personalisation features require a bit more CPU time than the last incarnation. I never felt that the iPlayer website was in need of a revamp, and wasn’t aware of any general feeling to that effect from regular iPlayer users, so for BBC to take this on with all the visitors they get is a bold move, and I think it paid off.
Some other stuff
BT are offering a free FON app on the iOS and Android platforms for customers to their broadband service. The app will allow users to make use of the many Wi-Fi hotspots that are part of BT’s network. This is a nice little incentive to stay with/move to BT, good work.
Nokia may be releasing their new N8 handset later this year. The N8 is Nokia’s flagship phone, and it is important that Nokia make a splash soon. They are still the giants of the mobile phone world, but iPhone and Android are seriously eating into their market share.
That’s all the news I felt like typing about for you this Tuesday, I know it’s a little briefer than usual; I’m trying to stick to stories that interest me, rather than just typing an opinion on the whole Google News feed. Check back tomorrow for (hopefully) more.