361 Podcast

This week the team are talking mobile payments, including (but not just) Apple Pay. It’s not an area we know well so we’re joined by special guest-expert Tim Green of Mobile Money Revolution. We talk about the different types of mobile payments, who’s doing what, how retailers are experimenting and where mobile payments are really useful. We also get a present from friend-of-the-show Dan Lane at S...

This week the team head out to their local phone shops (independent and operator-run) to test the sales people’s advice. We ask their recommendations for the best smartphone on the market and the best pre-pay handset for £100 with surprising results. Rafe also reveals his membership of a shady secret society… Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for our new newsl...

We’re answering another listener question this week - a voicemail from the Voicemail Podcast team. They asked for our views on the state (and future) of all things ‘virtual reality’ so we discuss the products they’ve tried; the (important?) difference between ‘augmented’ and ‘virtual’ reality; and the likelihood of either being the hit many big investors anticipate. Tell us what you think the best...

“Why don’t you do an episode about social media?” writes a listener… and so we did. This week the team consider social media with a mobile twist. Although far from experts, the team have plenty of opinions and offer their advice on what to use, how and when. Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for our new newsletter for a chance to win it courtesy of http://Tige...

The team talk mobile tech on the big (and small) screens this week, reviewing their nominations for best and worst use in film and TV shows. We consider which shows shaped our dreams of new tech and which films moved us to buy the devices they starred. We also consider the best ways to get and view video content on mobile. Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for...

This week the team ask Rafe Blandford “What are you wearing?” and the answer - surprisingly - turns out to be “Practically every smartwatch on the market!". Working their way along Rafe’s forearms, the team review current offerings and discuss if this new type of device will succeed. Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for our new newsletter for a chance to win...

This week the team look back 5 years to the devices and services of 2010. In that year Symbian and Blackberry began to falter, the iPad launched and some operators struggled to understand the rise of app stores. Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for our new newsletter for a chance to win it courtesy of http://TigerMobiles.com - http://361podcast.com/best-smart...

With Apple's 2015 Worldwide Developer Conference a fast-vanishing memory the team turn their attention to the firm's (apparent) dominance of the mobile market in terms of profit and mind-share. Can this year's announcements keep them a step ahead? Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for our new newsletter for a chance to win it courtesy of http://TigerMobiles.co...

Every year Google sets out its vision for the next year at its annual I/O developer conference. This week the team consider what mattered, how it will shape the future of the industry and whether Google really is a single ‘thing’. Tell us what you think the best smartphone on the market is and sign-up for our new newsletter for a chance to win it courtesy of http://TigerMobiles.com - http://361pod...

This week the team answer listener's questions... What would have happened if Apple hadn't made a phone? Does open source matter in mobile? Which phone would we save from the fire? What's the oddest place you've made a phone call? Also, several #AskRafeAnything questions, including his all-important concrete update.

This week Ben and Rafe discuss mobile operators (again)... Who's bought who, who's announced what and where some green shoots of interesting innovation are beginning to show, including Google's Fi. Ewan's not convinced. At all.

This week Rafe dons his lab coat and schools the team in wonderful - and frequently rare - materials that go into making smartphones and tablets. The team discuss the issues with using such materials and the ways in which they contribute to advances in screens, batteries, components and protective coverings. There's also - briefly - some singing... sorry about that.

This week the team are hugely under-qualified to discuss luxury and fashion technology (but try to anyway). With the arrival of the Apple Watch Edition, the subject of consumer technology 'priced to impress' has been re-ignited... some time after Vertu pioneered this segment. The team discuss how existing luxury brands 'do tech' and consider how some of the established watch manufacturers exhibiti...

This week the team re-cap Mobile World Congress 2015 and consider the trends and announcements that stood out. They discuss the (continued) rise of the mid-tier handset, wearables, LTE in unlicensed spectrum, industrial internet of things, Blackberry's 'almost' attendance and Ewan invents "negative excitement".

This week the team discuss the products they use... the devices that have won them over (including a few changes of heart) and the services that are exciting them. Ben's decided phablets aren't all bad (although the name is), Rafe's embraced a 'transformer tablet' and Ewan's grumpy about everything except mobile shopping.

This week Ewan and Rafe head to Mobile World Congress and report live from a very noisy show floor, including visits to ZTE, Huawei, LG, Microsoft and HTC's stands. Rafe notes that the theme of the show this year seems to be 'really good mid-tier handsets'.

This week the team talk contracts... What are they, who are they good for, who does badly, what are the options, how do the tariffs differ and are they fit for a future of 'connected things'?

This week the team look back 10 years to the devices that shaped the smartphone revolution. We remember the big trade-show announcements, the top-selling devices and the big news of the day. Of course... the problem with nostalgia is that it isn't what it used to be.

This week the team discuss all things 'smart' and the value of connected devices. We consider what 'smart' devices really are; consider the value, standards and industry players; discuss ecosystems, connectivity and 'lock in'; and worry about who we should trust to run our 'connected appliances'. We also give mobile operators a bit of a kicking (again).

The team return, 'fresh' from an extended Christmas break to look forward to the big news of 2015. We discuss Apple's Watch, Amazon's Fire Phone, Google Glass and Samsung - not all favourably. The team also share rejected episode ideas including a Rafe Blandford Tinder experiment.

The team gather at the Blandford Manor for a review of 2014 and the much anticipated (by Ewan at least) final of the $100 handset challenge.

This week the team return with our (nearly) annual (nearly) traditional Christmas present buying guide. This year we're looking at supermarket tablets, luxury gifts, mobile accessories and some stocking fillers as well as considering what we'd like to receive in our own stockings.

The team consider the changes, impact and achievements of Android L. We discuss material design, the range of new features, the complexity of the (huge) Android ecosystem and commentators' reactions to 'L' so far.

This week the team take time to blow off some steam about three topics they feel passionate about: Rafe wants to change people's attitudes to Microsoft. Ewan's frustrated that people don't understand that 'mobile' is a user's context (not their device). Ben calls out politicians that don't understand (or get advice on) the impact of their decisions on the mobile industry.

This week the team re-visit the subject of shopping (and paying for things) with and on mobile devices. We catch-up with the recent changes in the market and consider how things have moved with the advent of Apple Pay and others in the 2 years since we last discussed it.