On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:53:04 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 15:29:58 on
Mon, 10 Dec 2007, James Farrar remarked:
And the iPhone will also pick up wifi, iirc.

As do some (many?) far more reasonably-priced phones...

That's good to know. I've not encountered a dual-standard one yet (they
were all over a trade show I went to in 2004, the main motivation being
improved in-building coverage I was told; but that was pretty much the
last I heard of them), although I do have a wifi-only phone.

My Orange SPV E650 (made by HTC and released by them under their own
brand as well, I believe) does GPRS and WiFi.

In article ,
James Farrar wrote:

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:53:04 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 15:29:58 on
Mon, 10 Dec 2007, James Farrar remarked:
And the iPhone will also pick up wifi, iirc.

As do some (many?) far more reasonably-priced phones...

That's good to know. I've not encountered a dual-standard one yet (they
were all over a trade show I went to in 2004, the main motivation being
improved in-building coverage I was told; but that was pretty much the
last I heard of them), although I do have a wifi-only phone.

My Orange SPV E650 (made by HTC and released by them under their own
brand as well, I believe) does GPRS and WiFi.

Interesting. The only person I've ever seen with an SPV (except for
Captain Scarlet and his colleagues, of course) said, unprompted, that it
was the worst phone they'd ever had and to stay well away from it. I
don't know what they expected from a phone so it might suit some people
very well indeed.

Sam

Sam Wilson wrote:
In article ,
James Farrar wrote:

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:53:04 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 15:29:58 on
Mon, 10 Dec 2007, James Farrar remarked:
And the iPhone will also pick up wifi, iirc.
As do some (many?) far more reasonably-priced phones...
That's good to know. I've not encountered a dual-standard one yet (they
were all over a trade show I went to in 2004, the main motivation being
improved in-building coverage I was told; but that was pretty much the
last I heard of them), although I do have a wifi-only phone.
My Orange SPV E650 (made by HTC and released by them under their own
brand as well, I believe) does GPRS and WiFi.

Interesting. The only person I've ever seen with an SPV (except for
Captain Scarlet and his colleagues, of course) said, unprompted, that it
was the worst phone they'd ever had and to stay well away from it. I
don't know what they expected from a phone so it might suit some people
very well indeed.

Well what do you expect when you have to walk backwards while talking on
it? I'll get me coat...

Robin

In message , at 16:57:12 on
Mon, 10 Dec 2007, James Farrar remarked:
My Orange SPV E650 (made by HTC and released by them under their own
brand as well, I believe) does GPRS and WiFi.

How good is it at logging into subscription hotspots (rather than free
ones). Of course, one might expect it to log into "Orange" hotspots
automatically, but I'm not sure they have their own network of them.

The other question relates to using it for VoIP, rather than GSM, calls.
Do Orange have their own service or do you have to buy into something
extra. Can you configure it for existing SIP systems, and services like
Skype?

The original GSM/Wifi phones I saw were designed around revenue
protection for the mobile phone operator, so even if you found a wifi
hotspot all it would do is put a VoIP call through to a server run by
the phone company, and charge at the normal mobile rate. But it was all
supposed to be seamless from the point of view of the user. The benefit
was the wider coverage (we may be used to 99% coverage in the UK, but
it's far more patchy in the USA).

With more and more wifi on trains, as well as increasingly GSM-hostile
trains, perhaps there's a gap in the market for some sort of GSM/Wifi
roaming phone.
--
Roland Perry

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:20:33 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

With more and more wifi on trains, as well as increasingly GSM-hostile
trains, perhaps there's a gap in the market for some sort of GSM/Wifi
roaming phone.

Skype for mobiles is becoming increasingly popular. The mobile
operators aren't so keen of course, though T-Mobile for one do now
allow Skype (and I presume other VOIP) on their £12.99 a month data
package.

The E650 is 'old tech' now (it did come out in April 07!) - I've just
ordered its replacement, the HTC S730 which has a full QWERTY
keyboard, WiFi, high speed 3G (about 1.8 Mbps) but no touch screen.
It also functions perfectly well as a USB modem for a laptop.

The HTC Kaiser/T-Mob Vario III is well thought of by my colleagues who
are into PDAs. Slightly bigger, same spec + touch screen and GPS.
Nokia N95 is another popular model.

If you want to see what these things can do nowadays have a wander
over to coolsmartphone.com or modaco.com

"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

I suspect there will be many other commuters today who will similarly
find the location of the new station's to be an unpleasant surprise
when it comes to interchange with the deep-level tube lines.

I heard such comments as I visited the station today, such as one guy saying
on his mobile that it will be an extra 10-minutes to get to the station.

The comments and the mood on the platform were similar. Personally speaking,
I can't say that I blame them.

A few questions:

a) What is that tunnel to that veers left, just north of the platform?

b) I noticed that one train had Southern markings on it. Why

c) I saw a 317 pull into the station. Where would that train have come from
and why would it be operating on Thameslink? I thought that they would
exclusively run 319s.

In message , at 20:23:43
on Mon, 10 Dec 2007, remarked:

"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

I suspect there will be many other commuters today who will similarly
find the location of the new station's to be an unpleasant surprise
when it comes to interchange with the deep-level tube lines.

I heard such comments as I visited the station today, such as one guy saying
on his mobile that it will be an extra 10-minutes to get to the station.

That's a slight exaggeration. But 5 minutes isn't.

The comments and the mood on the platform were similar. Personally speaking,
I can't say that I blame them.

As I say, join the MML-ers club.

A few questions:

a) What is that tunnel to that veers left, just north of the platform?

The northbound line to the ECML, for the Peterborough/Cambridge trains
that may one day run through Thameslink 2030 rather then terminate at
KX.

b) I noticed that one train had Southern markings on it. Why

8 units leased from Southern (another 48 in the pipeline).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_319
--
Roland Perry

wrote in message
k...

"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

I suspect there will be many other commuters today who will similarly
find the location of the new station's to be an unpleasant surprise
when it comes to interchange with the deep-level tube lines.

I heard such comments as I visited the station today, such as one guy
saying on his mobile that it will be an extra 10-minutes to get to the
station.

The comments and the mood on the platform were similar. Personally
speaking, I can't say that I blame them.

A few questions:

a) What is that tunnel to that veers left, just north of the platform?


For the future connection to the GN suburban lines, for the full Thameslink
service in 2015. The tunnels (up and down sides) have been provided as part
of the St Pancras contract.

b) I noticed that one train had Southern markings on it. Why

Could be one of the four units transferred from Southern to FCC yesterday,
the other 8 are to transfer over the next year.

c) I saw a 317 pull into the station. Where would that train have come
from and why would it be operating on Thameslink? I thought that they
would exclusively run 319s.

Moorgate, but don't know the details of how and why.

Paul

"Paul Scott" wrote in message
...

c) I saw a 317 pull into the station. Where would that train have come
from and why would it be operating on Thameslink? I thought that they
would exclusively run 319s.

Moorgate, but don't know the details of how and why.

I thought that FCC would run be running 317s out of the other terminal at
Moorgate, via Finsbury Park and Welwyn Garden City.

BTW, are those 317s equipped with tripcocks?

On 10 Dec, 09:41, Mizter T wrote:

I suspect there will be many other commuters today who will similarly
find the location of the new station's to be an unpleasant surprise
when it comes to interchange with the deep-level tube lines.

Excuse my apostrophitis in the above sentence, it would appear to have
suffered from some rapid and careless redrafting.