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British iPhone users love their data
Insanely Great Mac has the breakdown on a meeting between O2 (purveyors of the iPhone in Britain) and Mr. Jobs from the UK's Financial Times, and it seems iPhone users across the pond can't get enough data. Over 60% of iPhone users use over 25mb/month of data, while only 1.8% of non-iPhone users on O2 go over that mark. That's a lot of data downloading.It's probably not a surprise, then, that about 60% of iPhone buyers are also new to O2, which, in my estimation, means that people who switched for the iPhone also switched from a non-data cellphone, and are making up for the difference. We talked on the Talkcast a little while ago about how the iPhone isn't necessarily stealing the "business smartphone" audience away from brands like Blackberry-- it's actually attracting new smartphone users completely. And there are a lot of them-- O2 is looking to sell 200,000 iPhones in Britain by the end of January, and they say that despite Apple's cut of the profits, they're making money on every one.Finally, we get almost-but-not-quite-final confirmation that the 3G iPhone is due next year, and that O2 will very likely carry it. Which isn't really a surprise-- seems like things are going pretty well for O2 and Apple in GB, and so it's hard to see either one of them breaking up a good thing.[Via Macbytes.com]
British children surveyed: "poor children don't have mobile phones"
Researchers in England recently polled children about their views on poverty, and in their eyes, what signs indicated that another child was poor. The children ages ranged from seven to sixteen, and surprisingly one in five kids reported that not having a mobile phone was a sign that other children were poor -- the highest response among all the indicators. The study was used to demonstrate that school-age children are paying close attention to the most obvious signs of wealth among their peers, while ignoring the more damaging indicators like being unable to pay for food or being without a safe place to go after school. We're not even sure a six year old should know what a cellphone is let alone make snap judgments about a person's wealth based on it, but if you think age six is too young for British kids to have mobile phones, another country has them beat.[Via textually.org and SMS Text News]
ELSPA: Manhunt ban is good. Us: WTF?
ELSPA Director General Paul Jackson has issued a statement praising the BBFC's recent decision to deny classification for Rockstar's Manhunt 2, effectively banning the game from sale in Great Britain. Jackson said the decision "demonstrates that we have a games ratings system in the UK that is effective" and emphasized that the arrangement "works and works well."Frankly, we're a bit shocked that an organization whose stated mission is to "protect, promote and provide for the interests of all its members" would support state-sponsored censorship of one of its member's products. The point of ratings, at least as we see it, is to inform the public about the content of a game before they buy it, so they're not surprised by any objectionable materials contained within. The whole idea is that informed consumers can make the best choices for themselves and their families. The BBFC's decision goes against this ideal by effectively telling British adults they're not mature enough to decide whether or not they can handle this game. How is that an "effective" system?Jackson's statement does not address BBFC Director David Cooke's unsupported assertion that the game's availability would "involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors ... [that] would be unacceptable to the public." Does ELSPA really agree that the mere availability of a game to adults can damage a society so badly that its distribution must be stopped? If so, is that a message ELSPA's member organizations are willing to get behind as well?In his statement, Jackson stresses that games "appeal to all kinds of people across the country, young and old, male and female." What about the people Manhunt 2 appeals to? Apparently, they're just out of luck, as far as ELSPA's concerned.[Via GameStooge]
