Research from Flurry suggests that Amazon’s Appstore, currently US-only, generates more revenue per daily user than Google’s own Play Store, formerly known as the Android Market.
Category / Retail
Android phones caught stealing names from condoms
We all know how ridiculous Android device names can be, but this chart from the Intercom Blog really alarms me. To quote the author:
If your product isn’t a condom then don’t name it like one
Don’t know what I mean? Have a look below.
NB: There is actually a phone called the LG Rumor Touch, but it is a dumbphone so it doesn’t count here. This is an advert for it:
277 Game and Gamestation stores shut and 2,104 jobs lost as group enters administration
Last week, we reported that the Game Group was set to enter administration, and now the company has confirmed the inevitable. 277 of their 609 UK stores have now shut, and 2,104 jobs have subsequently been lost, amounting to roughly 40% of the workforce. Reward Card/Elite points can still be collected but not redeemed, and gift cards are also useless for the time being. No trade-ins, exchanges or returns will be accepted, and there is a halt on pre-orders until further notice. A full list of the closed stores from MCV can be found below, so have a check there to see whether your local branch is facing the chop. Thankfully, my local Gamestation in Haywards Heath is still open, so I can breathe easily for the next couple of days at least, but let’s hope that somebody steps in to rescue one of the few retailers that people actually like. The group’s press release follows:
Further to our announcements of 21 March, the Board of Game has completed its discussions with lenders and third parties without resolution, and has therefore today appointed PWC LLP to act as administrators for the Group. This decision is taken after careful consideration and ceaseless interrogation of every possible alternative. The Board would like to thank the teams of Game and Gamestation colleagues around the world for their exemplary dedication, passion and professionalism.
- Abergavenny Unit 3 Cibi Walk, Frogmore Street
- Accrington 29 Broadway
- Aintree Comet
- Altrincham 97 George Street
- Andover 49 High Street
- Antrim Unit 42, Junction One Outlet Centre
- Ashford 18 County Square
- Ashington 12 Station Road, Ashington
- Ashton Unit 28, The Arcade
- Athlone Unit 44 Athlone Town Centre
- Aylesbury Units 36-37, Friars Sq. Shopping Centre
- Ballymena Unit 15 Fairhill Shopping Centre
- Banbury 4B Castle Quay Shopping Centre
- Bangor NI 9 Bloomfield Centre
- Barking Unit 17 Vicarage Fields Shopping
- Barnet Unit 10 The Spires Shopping Centre
- Barnsley 32 Market Street
- Barnstaple 30 High Street
- Barrow In Furness Unit 26, Portland Walk
- Basildon 84 Town Square
- Basingstoke 3 Mayfair House
- Bath SU7 St Lawrence Street, Southgate Centre
- Beckton 19 Gallions Reach, 3 Armada Way
- Belfast Unit 55 Castle Court Shopping Centre, Belfast
- Belfast (Conns) Unit 20, Connswater Centre
- Belfast (Forestside) Unit 12, Forestside Shopping Centre, Upper Galway
- Birkenhead 35-37 Milton Pavement, Grange Precinct
- Birmingham Unit 52, The Pallasades
- Birmingham 138 New Street
- Birmingham Fort Unit 3a The Fort Shopping Park
- Bishop Auckland 59 Newgate Street
- Blackburn Unit 7 Victoria Court, The Mall
- Blackpool Unit 19, Houndshill Shopping Centre
- Blanchardstown Unit 112, Blanchardstown Town Centre
- Bluewater LO42 Lower Thames Walk, Bluewater
- Bolton 37 Newport Street
- Bootle Unit 7, 63 Parkside, Strand Shopping Centre
- Boston 23 Strait Bargate
- Bournemouth Unit 4, Avenue Centre, Commercial Road
- Bournemouth 49 Commercial Street
- Bracknell 39 Princess Square
- Bradford Unit 2, The Broadway
- Bradford 4-6 Darley Street
- Brent Cross Unit B15, Brent Cross Shopping Centre
- Bridgend 12/14 Adare Street
- Bridlington Unit 11 The Promenades
- Brighton 69 Western Road
- Bristol SU16 Cabots Circus, Broadmead
- Bromley 68-68A High Street
- Burnley 68/70 St James Street
- Burton on Trent 7 Underhill Walk
- Bury 20 Princess Parade
- Buxton Unit 13, Spring Gardens
- Camden 124 Camden High Street
- Cannock 6 Market Hall Street
- Canterbury 14 High Street
- Cardiff 92 Queen Street
- Chatham 152 High Street
- Cheltenham 100 High Street
- Chester 39 Foregate Street
- Chesterfield 22 Vicar Lane Shopping Centre (10 Vicar Lane)
- Chiswick 350 High Road
- Cirencester 26, Cricklade Street
- Clacton on Sea 20-22 Station Road
- Colchester 3 Shewell Walk, (Unit 13 The Culver Centre)
- Coleraine 16 Kingsgate Street
- Collierswood Unit 9a Tandem Centre, Christchurch Road
- Congleton 45-47 High Street
- Cork 6 Mahon Point, Cork
- Cork 66 Patrick Street, , Cork, Eire,
- Coventry Unit 22, West Orchards Centre, Smithford Way
- Cowley 107 Pound Way, Templars Square Shopping Centre
- Cramlington 4 Dudley Court
- Crawley Unit 8, County Mall
- Crawley 10-12 The Martlets
- Crewe Unit 7, The Market Centre
- Croydon 98/99 Whitgift Centre
- Croydon (Purley Way) Comet
- Cumbernauld Unit 29, Antonine Shopping Centre, Tryst Road
- Dewsbury 12 Longcauseway
- Doncaster 43/44 Market Place
- Dorchester 55 South Street
- Dublin 2 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Eire,
- Dublin Unit 18, Ilac Centre, Dublin 1
- Dublin (Dundrum) Unit 10, Level 3, Dundrum Centre, Dublin
- Dublin (Dundrum) Hamleys Dundrum
- Dublin (Liffey) Unit 37, Liffey Valley Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin,
- Dudley 7 Churchill Parade
- Dudley (Merry Hill) Unit L87, Merry Hill Shopping Centre
- Dumbarton 77/79 High Street
- Dundee 40 Murraygate
- Dunstable 6-8 Nicholas Way, Quadrant Shopping Centre, Dunstable, LU6 1TD
- Durham Unit SU40, Land Of The Prince Bishops Shopping Centre
- East Ham 111 High Street North
- East Kilbride 5 The Olympia, Town Centre
- Edinburgh 127 Princes Street
- Edinburgh (Leith) Unit RU4, Ocean Terminal
- Ellesmere Port 18 Mercers Walk
- Enfield 37 Church Street
- Enniskillen Unit 23, Erneside Shopping Centre
- Evesham Unit 16, Riverside Centre
- Exeter SU19 Princeshay
- Falkirk Unit 34, Howgate Centre
- Fleet 16 Hart Centre
- Gainsborough Unit 13b, Marshalls Yard, Gainsborough
- Galashiels Unit 8 Douglas Bridge, Galashiels
- Galway 5 Eglington Street
- Glasgow Unit L3/22 , Buchanan Galleries
- Glasgow Hamleys Glasgow
- Glasgow 146 Sauchiehall Street
- Glasgow 83 Sauchiehall Street
- Glenrothes 42 Unicorn Way
- Gloucester 16 Kings Walk
- Grantham 53 High Street
- Great Yarmouth Unit 10 Market Gates Shopping Centre
- Gretna Unit 53, Gretna Outlet Village
- Grimsby 24 Victoria Street West
- Halesowen 38 Hagley Mall, Cornbow Centre, Halesowen
- Halifax 12 Woolshops
- Hanley Unit F, The Potteries, Hanley
- Hanley 214-215 The Potteries
- Harlow 8 Broad Walk, Harlow
- Harrogate 2D Cheltenham Parade
- Harrow 68-70 St. Anns Road
- Hartlepool 92 Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
- Hastings 19 Queens Road
- Hemel Hempstead Unit 201, The Marlowes Shopping Centre
- Hemel Hempstead Unit 12, The Marlowes Shopping Centre
- Hereford 56 Commercial Street
- High Wycombe 16 Church Street
- Hounslow Unit 13, The Treaty Centre, High Street
- Hull Unit G46, Princes Quay
- Huyton Unit 5 Cavendish Walk, Derby Road, Huyton
- Hyde 8 The Square, Hyde
- Ilford 172 – 174 High Road
- Inverness 6-8 Ingliss Street
- Jarrow 25 Viking Precinct, Jarrow
- Kensington 185 High Street
- Kettering 27 Gold Street
- Kidderminster 82 Worcester Street
- Kingston 64-66 Clarence Street
- Lakeside Unit 282 Lakeside Shopping Centre
- Lancaster Unit 15, Ashton Walk, St. Nicholas Arcade
- Leamington Spa 83 Parade
- Leeds 50-52 Albion Street
- Leeds 18 Kirkgate
- Leeds (Birstall) Unit 8b Birstall Shopping Park
- Leeds (Crossgates) 58 Crossgates Shopping Centre
- Leeds (Crown Point) Unit 5b Crown Point Retail park
- Leicester 42 Granby Street
- Lewisham 68 Lewisham Centre
- Limmerick Unit 11A, Cruises Street, Limerick, Eire,
- Lincoln (Valentine) Unit 2a Valentine Retail Park
- Lisburn 6 Bow Street
- Lisburn Unit A10, Bow St. Mall
- Liverpool Unit 43/44 Clayton Square Shopping Centre
- Liverpool Unit 44, South John Street
- Llandudno 46 Mostyn Street
- Llanelli Unit 1, Llanelli Shopping Centre
- Long Eaton 10 Market Place
- Lowestoft 43 London Road North
- Luton 142-144 Andale Centre
- Luton 39 George Street
- Macclesfield 25 Mill Street
- Maidenhead 75 Queens Walk, The Nicholson Centre
- Maidstone 351 Chequers Centre
- Manchester Unit L16 Arndale Centre
- Manchester Unit 59, Arndale Centre
- Manchester (Trafford) 124 Peel Centre, Trafford Centre
- Mansfield 38A Westgate
- Meadowhall Unit 29, High Street, Meadowhall Shopping Centre
- Meadowhall Unit 52, High Street, Meadowhall Centre
- Melton Mowbray 14-15 Market Place, Melton Mowbray
- Merthyr Tydfill 4 Graham Way, Tydfils Shopping Centre
- Merthyr Tydfill Unit 3 Beacons Place Shopping Centre
- Metrocentre Unit 112 Lower blue hall, Metro Centre
- Middlesbrough 108 Linthorpe Road
- Middleton G14 Middleton Shopping Centre
- Milton Keynes Unit SU 10, Midsumer Place
- Monaghan Unit 27 Monaghan Shopping Centre
- Newark 9 St Marks Place
- Newbury 63A North Brook Street
- Newcastle 8 High Friars, Eldon Square
- Newcastle Fenwicks Concession
- Newcastle 78 Grainger Street
- Newport 13 Commercial Street
- Newport Isle Of Wight 63 High Street
- Newry Unit 12A, Buttercrane Shopping Centre
- North Finchley 776 High Road
- North Shields Comet
- Northampton 17 Abingdon Street
- Norwich 17 St Stephens Street
- Norwich 3-4 Castle Mall Shopping Centre
- Nottingham Unit 2, 33 Listergate
- Nuneaton 2A Market Place
- Oldham Unit 18, The Spindles Shopping Centre
- Omagh Unit 5, Main Street Development
- Orpington 79 – 81 The Walnuts, Orpington, BR6 0TW
- Perth 9 Scott Street
- Peterlee 21 Yoden Way
- Plymouth 81/83 New George Street
- Portadown Unit 6, High Street Mall
- Portsmouth 7 Meadow Walk, Cascades Shopping Centre
- Preston 8 Fishergate Centre
- Preston 172 Friargate
- Putney Unit 28, Exchange Shopping Centre
- Ramsgate 30 High Street
- Reading Unit 17 Oracle Shopping Centre
- Redcar Unit 8, Regent Centre
- Rhyl 64 High St
- Rochdale 54 Market Way
- Rugby 45-46 Clocktower Centre
- Runcorn 48 Forest Walk, Halton Lea Shopping Centre
- Salisbury 11 High Street
- Scarborough 112B Westborough
- Scunthorpe 58 High Street
- Sheffield Unit 22/24, Fargate
- Sheffield 37/41 The Moor
- Shrewsbury 3-4 Castle Street
- Skelmersdale UNIT 27 Upper Mall, The Concourse Shopping Centre
- Slough N21 Curzon Mall, Queensmere Centre
- Solihull Comet
- South Shields 89/91 King Street
- Southampton Unit SU8, West Quay Centre
- Southampton 82 Above Bar Street
- Southport 203 Lord Street
- Speke Comet
- St Albans Unit 32, The Maltings
- Stafford 21 Gaolgate Street
- Staines 54 High Street
- Stevenage 64 Queensway
- Stevenage 54 Queensway
- Stirling Unit 24, The Thistle Centre
- Stockport Comet
- Stockton-on-Tees Unit SU32, Wellington Square
- Stockton-on-Tees 134B High Street
- Stratford 88 The Mall
- Stratford upon Avon 13 Town Square Shopping Centre
- Sunderland 251 High Street
- Sunderland 27 Blandford Street
- Sutton 192 High Street
- Sutton Coldfield Unit SU7, New Hall Walk, Lower Sutton Parade
- Swansea 12 Union Street
- Swindon 9 Havelock Square, Brunel Shopping Centre
- Swindon 7 Regent Sreet
- Tallaght Unit 307, The Square
- Tamworth Unit 18, Ankerside
- Taunton 47 North Street
- Telford Unit 6, 159 New Mall, Telford Shopping Centre
- Telford 32 Sherwood Street, Telford Shopping Centre
- Torquay 5 Union House
- Truro Unit 2, 4/6 Pyder Street
- Uxbridge 13 Market Square
- Victoria 10 Victoria Place, Buckingham Palace Road
- Wakefield 17 Kirkgate
- Walsall 42 Old Square Shopping Centre
- Walthamstow Unit 11A, Selbourne Centre
- Wandsworth 61 South Mall, Wandsworth Shopping Centre
- Warrington 46 The Mall
- Washington Unit 30 Albany Mall, The Galleries
- Washington 26 Albany Mall
- Welwyn Garden City 21 The Howard Centre
- Wembley 458 High Road
- West Belfast Unit 4 Park Centre, Donegall Road
- Weston Super Mare 85 High Street
- Weymouth Unit 5, Bond Street Centre
- Wigan 23 Market Place
- Winchester 106A High Street
- Windsor 21 King Edward Court
- Woking 4 Middle Walk
- Wolverhampton 27 Dudley Street
- Wood Green 83 High Road
- Woolwich 112 Powis Street
- Wrexham 42-43 Hope Street
- Wythenshawe 18 The Birtles, Wythenshawe
- Yeovil 13-15 Vicarage Walk, Quedam Shopping Centre
- York Unit 3, 5 Spurriergate
Game Group set to enter administration
British retailer Game has announced plans to go into administration, shortly after de-listing from the London Stock Exchange. With the announcement, the chain, which has 1,270 stores under the Game and Gamestation brands in Europe and Australia, plans to operate as normal, while trying to find a buyer. Rumours have circulated that American retailer GameStop might take over the UK’s largest specialist game retailer, but, with shares haven fallen 71% in the past year and games such as Mass Effect 3 not being in stock due to credit problems, consumers may soon have to look elsewhere for their games. Read the full press release below.
Further to this morning’s announcement of the suspension of trading in shares of GAME Group plc, the board has concluded that its discussions with all stakeholders and other parties have not made sufficient progress in the time available to offer a realistic prospect for a solvent solution for the business. The board has therefore today filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator.
In the short term the Board’s intention is that the business will continue to trade and discussions with lenders and third parties will continue under the protection of the interim moratorium.
New iPad out now, but not for £50
Announced just over 1 week ago, Apple’s new iPad is now available. The ‘resolutionary’ tablet sports a 2048 x 1536 display that covers 9.7″, doubling the pixel density to Retina levels. The processor has received a 200MHz bump to become a 1GHz dual-core chip, while the GPU from the PlayStation Vita completes the A5X chip. 1GB RAM, a 5MP rear camera that borrows optics from the iPhone 4S and support for ‘4G’ LTE and HSPA+ networks round out the change list.
Stores will be selling the new tablet from 8am on Friday in various locations, with the UK pricing starting at £399 for a 16GB WiFi model, before progressing up to £479 and £559 for 32 and 64GB respectively. To get LTE capability as well, expect to pay an additional £100, up to £659 for the 64GB WiFi and 4G model. Do not, however, expect to pay £49.99 for it. A technical blunder from Tesco, similar to that involving Argos and the Nokia Lumia 800, priced the high-end model at this bargain level, but orders were swiftly cancelled. A spokesman confirmed:
We like to offer our customers unbeatable value, but unfortunately this is an IT error that is currently being corrected.
Will you be getting one, or does the newly reduced iPad 2 still float your boat? Let us know in the poll and comments.
Google Play launches as a rebranded Android Market
The Android Market has today undergone a major rebrand as part of Google’s aim to promote content beyond apps and provide a viable alternative to iTunes. Relaunching as Google Play, the only noticeable difference other than the new logo is the fact that they are celebrating the change with a big sale across the new Play Shop for apps, Play Movies, Play Music (US only) and, wait for it, Play Books. The rebranded store will roll out across devices with Android 2.2 or later within the next few days, and Google’s shift of focus away from the Android branding will undoubtedly be followed by massive promotions to let the world know what Mountain View has to offer.
O2 security flaw potentially lets every website access your phone number (updated: O2 react)
If you are on O2 or any MVNO that uses their network such as Giffgaff or Tesco Mobile, now is the time to be worried. It has emerged that the network is sending mobile numbers in plaintext to every website you visit as part of the header data. This could potentially allow sites to collect these numbers and do all kinds of things with them. Lewis Peckover has created a page to check for and display such information, and so far only O2 and their MVNOs have been displaying the number. Peckover says on the site:
To answer some questions and responses I’ve seen – no, it’s not anything client-side. O2 seem to be transparently proxying HTTP traffic and inserting this header. Another annoying feature of O2 is that they interfere with the responses from servers too. They downgrade all images and insert a javascript link into the HTML of each page. I’ve talked to customer service about this lovely feature several times, but they never have a clue what I’m talking about, let alone any idea how to opt out/disable it.
We don’t know why this is happening, but until O2 fully understand the problem of why this sensitive data is so easily accessible and how to solve it, be careful of any suspicious sites that may pop up. If you are not on O2 but still see your number in the header, let us know or tell Peckover on Twitter.
Update: Which? Magazine contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office, who had this to say:
Keeping people’s personal information secure is a fundamental principle that sits at the heart of the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. When people visit a website via their mobile phone they would not expect their number to be made available to that website. We will now speak to O2 to remind them of their data breach notification obligations, and to better understand what has happened, before we decide how to proceed.
Update 2: O2 have confirmed that this happened over their 3G and WAP networks due to accidental routine maintenance on January 10th. They have reported themselves to Ofcom and released this statement/Q&A.
O2 mobile numbers and web browsing
Security is of the utmost importance to us and we take the protection of our customers’ data extremely seriously.
We have seen the report published this morning suggesting the potential for disclosure of customers’ mobile phone numbers to website owners.
We investigated, identified and fixed it this afternoon. We would like to apologise for the concern we have caused.
Below is a set of Q&As, to answer questions we’ve been receiving. If you have further questions, do leave them in the blog comments and we will do our best to answer as many as possible.
Q: What’s happened with O2 mobile numbers when I browse the internet on my mobile?
A: Every time you browse a website (via mobile or desktop), certain technical information about the machine you are using, is passed to website owners. This happens across the internet, and enables website owners to optimise the site you see. When you browse from an O2 mobile, we add the user’s mobile number to this technical information, but only with certain trusted partners. This is standard industry practice. We share mobile numbers with selected trusted partners for 3 reasons: 1) to manage age verification, which manages access to adult content, 2) to enable third party content partners to bill for premium content such as downloads or ring tones that the customer has purchased 3) to identify customers using O2 services, such as My O2 and Priority Moments. This only happens over 3G and WAP data services, not WiFi.
Q: How long has this been happening?
A: In between the 10th of January and 1400 Wednesday 25th of January, in addition to the usual trusted partners, there has been the potential for disclosure of customers’ mobile phone numbers to further website owners.
Q: Has it been fixed?
A: Yes. It was fixed as of 1400 on Wednesday 25th January 2012.
Q: Which of my information can website owners access?
A: The only information websites had access to is your mobile number, which could not have been linked to any other identifying information we have about customers.
Q: Why did this happen?
A: Technical changes we implemented as part of routine maintenance had the unintended effect of making it possible in certain circumstances for website owners to see the mobile numbers of those browsing their site.
Q: Which customers were affected?
A: It affected customers accessing the internet via their mobile phone on 3G or WAP services, but not WiFi, between 10th of January and 1400 on Wednesday the 25th of January.
Q: Which websites do you normally share my mobile number with?
A: Only where absolutely required by trusted partners who work with us on age verification, premium content billing, such as for downloads, and O2’s own services, have access to these mobile numbers.
Q: The Information Commissioner said he is investigating – what are you doing as part of this?
A: We are in contact with the Information Commissioner’s Office, and we will be co-operating fully. We have also contacted Ofcom.
Nokia Lumia 900 to launch in the UK in June at Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse, the largest mobile retailer in Europe, have announced on their website that they will be stocking the new Nokia Lumia 900 in the UK from June this year. This is great news for people like me who absolutely love the Lumia 800’s design but need a larger screen. On the ‘Coming Soon’ page of the site, the phone appears alongside the 710, the magenta variant of the 800, the Sony Xperia S, a couple of BlackBerries and the Prada Phone by LG 3.0. A dedicated landing page provides you with the specs and at the very bottom of the page it says expected in June 2012, however this date is subject to change. Carriers have not yet been announced, but 3 are not expecting the device which should be available unlocked from Carphone Warehouse stores.
The Nokia Windows Phones are, according to CEO Stephen Elop, the first real Windows Phones. They look and feel great, have amazing software and the polycarbonate design is one of the best out there. Now that finally there is a Lumia with a larger screen, I cannot wait to get my hands on it, hopefully with HSPA+ support. Look out for me on launch day!
Argos pricing incompetence leads to “bargain” Nokia Lumia 800 disappointment
Remember the HP TouchPad? When it was discontinued, it received a massive price cut that crashed sites all around the world, including that of Argos. Today, a similar, albeit unintentional, price cut occurred but this time for a device that has been well-received. Completely out of the blue, an online only deal popped up that included an unlocked Nokia Lumia 800, our favourite thing of 2011, priced at just £119.99. Bewildered consumers flocked to mop these up and sites such as The Verge seemed to have confirmation from the company that this was indeed a real offer.
But no, it seems that Argos in fact made a ‘pricing error’ and that the offer was not legitimate. Customers received emails telling them that there had been a mistake coinciding with the launch of their latest catalogue and that the orders would be cancelled with money refunded within 7 days. This hasn’t been the first time that this kind of thing has happened at Argos, and, as I write this, the “deal” is still online, over 14 hours after the supposed sell-out. Maybe it’s time for Argos to get their act together.
The incompetence in tech retail
Let’s face it. We all buy technology of one form or another. Many of us buy our gadgets online for savings and sheer convenience, but sometimes you need to actually try something before you buy. High street stores are everywhere these days, complete with friendly and ‘knowledgable’ salespeople to guide you to the right products and decisions, but not all is as it seems.
Circulating around Digixav are numerous stories of employees at leading British retailers not having a clue about the products and services that they are trying to sell to the public. Here I have compiled a list of some of the worst of our experiences for your entertainment and warning. Remember that all of these stories are true and have been witnessed by the Digixav team.
- A hand scribbled description note for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc in a Carphone Warehouse store stated that the phone was sporting an ‘8.1 mega pixle’ rear camera.
- Advertising material in a Carphone Warehouse store shows BlackBerry Curve specifications with a dummy model of an HTC Salsa, thus confusing two smartphones that could hardly be more different.
- After his chain had been featured in an advert for the new Motorola RAZR, a Phones4U employee had no knowledge of the device other than its name despite the fact that people had come in requesting it.
- A label for a Lenovo desktop PC in Currys states that its 2nd generation Intel Core i3 CPU is 2.7x faster than your old PC. This is very misleading as the i3 chip is in fact slower than many processors that have been available for a number of years.
- The entire sales team of one Currys store had no idea of how the Kindle 4 lighted covers worked as the contact points had changed from those of the Kindle Keyboard. How can they try and sell a case for £50 if they have no idea how it works?
- A dummy Samsung Wave II is on display in the Carphone Warehouse with no explanation as to what it was.
- A Currys employee was left confused as he had no knowledge of what a flash drive was. He had to be reminded that it was the correct term for a memory stick.
- Another upside-down price tag in Currys. I see these whenever I visit my local branch.
- In December 2011, a Carphone Warehouse employee said that he did not expect the Lumia 900 to launch in the UK as, in his words, ‘it has been out in America for ages’. I played along with this, and he stated that it was just the 800 with a ‘4G’ LTE radio inside and at the exact same size of 3.7″. This is clearly incorrect as Nokia and AT&T are set to unveil this device at CES at Las Vegas on Monday. Another Carphone Warehouse employee since informed us that the database confirmed an 8MP rear shooter, a 4.3″ screen and 512MB RAM, but we cannot be certain if these specifications are genuine.
In conclusion, don’t believe everything you hear in tech shops. If you are in such an emporium and you hear an incompetent buffoon misleading a fellow consumer, don’t be afraid to butt in and steer them on the right path. Not all salespeople are terrible but the retail industry lacks people with a passion for technology and this is a sorry state for it.
If you have your own high street tale of woe, leave it in the comments or email it to us here.
Digixav 