Using mobile messaging to deliver better customer service

Mobile grocery shopping

As mobile devices become almost ubiquitous, their attractiveness as a channel for businesses to interact with their customers becomes greater.

According to last year's ICMI mobile customer service strategy survey, 68 percent of experts believe mobile can improve the customer experience. To help companies take advantage of the opportunities mobile offers, enterprise mobile specialist OpenMarket is launching its latest Mobile Engagement Platform. It's a SaaS-based solution, allowing enterprises to easily create and deploy smart, interactive mobile engagement services worldwide with connectivity to over 200 countries.

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Who would pay more than $60,000 for an iPhone 6 prototype?

iPhone 6 prototype 2

People do crazy things to get their hands on a new iPhone. They queue for days in a row, travel to another country or pay absurd amounts on black market imports. Still, none of those things is as expensive as the iPhone 6 prototype that is listed on eBay, for which some folks will go as far as paying over $60,000. That's just crazy.

At the time of writing this article, the latest bid for the iPhone 6 prototype -- a 64 GB model -- is $61,100. For the money, you get a hugely overpriced smartphone which may not even be legit. Normally, you would pay $750, off-contract, for a 64 GB iPhone 6, in Silver -- the same color as the prototype -- that is. But, wait, there is more.

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Windows 10 is coming, but do we still need Microsoft's operating system?

broken-windows

For the past couple of months I have been working from my porch -- I enjoy the outdoors when weather permits. In doing so, I have adopted a Chromebook, which gets me by quite well, but leaves me in a quandary -- do we still need Windows? The answer to that question is quite a bit more complicated than it seems.

Most people will jump up and yell "yes" -- or Microsoft hopes they will. But it really comes down to usage, and for many people out there the operating system is no longer the be all-end all of computing.

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Apple Watch not cool enough? How about a Samsung Gear Live running Windows 95?

Windows 95 watch

Apple Watch could well be the device that brings wearables into the mainstream, but if you’re not a fan of Apple products, there are plenty of Android smartwatches to choose from, and if you want to really stand out from the crowd, how about a watch that runs Windows 95?

Microsoft’s veteran operating system will turn twenty next year, and enterprising Samsung Gear Live owner Corbin Davenport has managed to blend old and new, getting Windows 95 running on Android Wear.

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Logitech Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480 [Review]

tabletk480

Nowadays, all major operating systems are great. Regardless of your preference, it cannot be denied that Windows, OS X, iOS, Android and many Linux distributions are amazing feats of technology. It is not uncommon for me and many others to use multiple operating systems every day. While Windows is what I use mostly for getting work done, Android is my smartphone OS of choice, and the iPad is my bedtime entertainment computer. It is not necessary to live on a desert island-like environment from only one company exclusively.

Bluetooth keyboards have made typing on devices convenient; however, there is an annoying aspect -- pairing. If you use a Bluetooth keyboard with only one device, you should have no issue. Unfortunately, if you want to share it between multiple devices and operating systems, you have to re-pair it every time you switch. This becomes a tedious affair, turning convenience into a hassle. Luckily, Logitech has released a product, that should alleviate this nuisance -- the Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480.

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Tesco hudl2: A cheap Android tablet that'll please the whole family [Hands on]

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Tesco has launched the successor to the one of 2013's standout budget consumer tech products. The hudl2 tablet has arrived in the UK, and it's well worth taking notice of.

Featuring a decent 8.3in, 1,920 x 1,200 pixel resolution screen, a 1.83GHz Intel Atom quad-core processor and 16GB of internal storage (which can be boosted to 48GB), its specifications don't exactly make the mind boggle.

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HP to split into HP Inc and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise

HP to split into Consumer HP and Enterprise HP

HP is on the verge of splitting into two companies. Consumer HP (or plain HP Inc) will focus on personal computers and printers, while the focus of Enterprise HP (or Hewlett-Packard Enterprise) will be corporate services and hardware. It's a move that has been talked about for some time now, and it comes just days after eBay Inc revealed that it plans to separate its eBay and PayPal businesses. HP and its investors will be pinning their hopes on the companies performing better as separate entities than as a whole. Similar splits have proved successful as it allows for a more efficient management of resources and a better concentration of efforts.

As part of the split, current CEO Meg Whitman will become chairman of HP Inc, as well as CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. HP Inc will gain Dion Weisler as its CEO, while director Patricia Russo will step into the role of chairman of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Whitman has been widely credited with turning around the fortunes of HP, so all eyes will be on her to see if this latest move proves fruitful.

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Braven BRV-1 brings a rugged, waterproof approach to Bluetooth speakers [Review]

braven-brv-1

Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen these days, as they are convenient and, depending on brand model, can offer very good sound quality. With that in mind, brands set out to separate themselves in a very competitive marketplace by offering certain stand-out feature that get them noticed. That's the case with the Braven BRV-1.

The company touts several interesting features on this model. Some do exist on rival models, but it's enough to set  the little speaker apart from others.

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Amazon begins slow roll out of new Fire OS 4 update to its 3rd gen Kindle Fire tablets

kindle fire hdx

Amazon just recently announced the launch of new Kindle Fire tablets and Kindle readers. The new tablets will come with version 4 of Fire OS, known as "Sangria" already installed, but it seems last years models will also be shown some love.

Those who turned on their devices today found a surprise -- a letter from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overlaying the home screen. The announcement is fairly short, but lets customers know that their device will be updated in the coming weeks and also provides a "Learn more" link for the curious.

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The curmudgeon's guide to Microsoft's embryonic Windows 10

The curmudgeon's guide to Microsoft's embryonic Windows 10

It's only a matter of days since Microsoft officially revealed the Windows 10 Technical Preview. This was a revelation with a lot riding on it but it was really something of a tease -- Microsoft didn’t give too much away. We rushed to grab the download, and Wayne showed how to get it up and running in VirtualBox (interestingly, I had to opt for VMware Player, as VirtualBox refused to install the 64-bit version of Windows 10 on my Surface Pro. It ran away from the ISO as though it was infected with ebola). I've had a few days to play about with this release -- I've stuck with a virtual machine for now rather than going all-in with dual-boot -- and I've already had a chance to write a little about the Start menu and the command prompt, but now it's time to delve a little deeper and see what else there is to discover.

Spoiler alert: despite the headline, and indeed my reputation, I don’t hate Windows 10. It just about goes without saying that I'm not head-over-heels in love with it, and there's a great deal I dislike about it, but it does feel... well, just 'nice' really. It's comfortable, familiar, and feels a bit snappier than Windows 8 -- even when running in a virtual machine.

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Keyboard aficionados gain a smattering of new shortcuts in Windows 10

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While Windows 8 tried to switch the focus to touch input, Windows 10 Technical Preview finds Microsoft seeing sense and realizing that most people still labor away with a mouse and keyboard. Diehard keyboard fans are always keen to learn the latest shortcuts, and the same will be true of Windows 10. We've already seen how Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V can be used to copy and paste at the Command Prompt, but there are a few other new shortcuts to learn. These are largely limited to the new features of Windows 10, and as these are slightly thin on the ground, it's little wonder that there aren’t all that many new keyboard shortcuts to add to your repertoire.

In a post on the Windows blog, Microsoft's Senior Marketing Communications Manager and Chief Windows blogger, Brandon LeBlanc reveals a small number of new shortcuts. While there are -- at this stage at least, very few new keyboard shortcuts, many of them are repurposed from previous versions of Windows anyway, while some are reinstated having been lost in Windows 8.

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FixWin 2 for Windows 8 solves 50+ PC problems

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The Windows Club has released FixWin 2.0 for Windows 8, a Windows 8/ 8.1-specific edition of its portable PC troubleshooting tool.

As before, the program lists 50+ common problems and symptoms across a range of categories: "File Explorer", "Internet & Connectivity", "Modern UI" and so on.

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Best Windows 8 apps this week

dragon-revenge

One-Hundred and first in a series.  Welcome to this week's selection of the best apps and games that were published to Microsoft's Windows Store.

Big news this week was the release of the Windows 10 Technical Preview. It introduces two changes from an apps point of view that are noteworthy. Apps can be run in windows now and the Start menu displays live tiles.

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Lightweight Twitter client Tweetz Desktop goes open source

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Developer Mike Ward has announced that his lightweight Windows 7+ Twitter client Tweetz Desktop is now open source.

The program is essentially a desktop gadget, a simple tool with various timeline views, optional audio alerts for updates, a search tool and a compose window where you can drag and drop images and shorten links.

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In a terrifying future, Facebook could venture into healthcare

Screen and stethoscope

Facebook gets bashed about privacy concerns, its real name policy, and the proliferation of ads that litter the social network. It's easy to complain about who has access to your photos and status updates, but how would you feel about handing over your private health details to Zuckerberg's baby?

In a move that will strike fear into users of the social network, Facebook is apparently considering branching out into healthcare by providing what are being described as "support communities". The news comes from Reuters which quotes three sources who requested anonymity.

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