Some more work has landed on the desk of Apple’s beleaguered PR department, as if they haven’t had enough trouble spinning their way out of Antennagate.

Reports indicate that some owners of Apple iPhones have been hit with substantial bills for surfing on their handsets abroad, even when they’ve had roaming charges turned off.

The Daily Mail claims that one woman, who went on a trip to the States, was billed to the tune of £1,500 when she got home, even though she insists she was using wi-fi for her mobile net activity, and had data roaming switched off.

MoneySavingExpert.com also reports that a member of its team was charged last month while only using local wi-fi to browse the web on their iPhone abroad.

He was on O2 which, according to the Mail article, is where the majority of the complaints have come from (though the company does have the biggest iPhone user base).

An O2 spokesman told the Mail: “We are investigating these problems with Apple.”

However, should this happen to you, most people seem to be getting a refund without too much trouble, as you would hope. MoneySavingExpert.com advises those travelling should have the most up to date software on their iPhone to minimise any risk of things going awry.

The EU has recently introduced measures to place a cap on mobile roaming charges of 50 Euros – although that only applies in Europe, of course, not the rest of the world.

Read more from the original source:
iPhone users abroad get billed despite turning off roaming

It seems like Nokia isn’t the only mobile company to positively take advantage of Apple over the high profile antenna and reception issues the iPhone 4 has suffered from.

At the end of June, Nokia ran a spoof piece on its blog entitled “How do you hold your Nokia”, exploring all the different grips that could be successfully used with its phones as “features”.

And now Samsung is getting a few swift kicks in while Apple’s down, with an advert which Mashable spotted that takes the mickey out of Apple’s free bumper-clad super smartphone.

It’s more subtle than Nokia’s effort, though, and simply consists of a picture of the company’s new top-end smartphone, the Galaxy S, with the word “hello” above it. Except the l’s in hello are made up of signal bars in a sly dig at Apple’s woes of late.

Not only this, but apparently Samsung is also giving away some Galaxy S smartphones to a few unhappy iPhone 4 users who are experiencing reception problems.

The Frontline reports that Samsung has a Twitter account which has been sending out a few free phones over the last couple of days.

User joseespinosa received the message: “Hi Jose, a Galaxy S replacement for your iPhone 4 has been sent. Hope you like it. It’s been receiving a great reception !”

Fourteen hours ago, the account tweeted: “Yes, we’re giving away Galaxy S’. We’re proud of it so wanted to get it into some people’s hands to spread the word. Only a few left!”

So there you have it. If you get in there quickly with your iPhone 4 sob story this morning, you might still be able to get one.

Read more:
Samsung Galaxy S offered to disgruntled iPhone 4 tweeters

Smartphones are selling like hot compact and shiny technological gadgets, being up 43% this quarter compared to the same period last year.

A record 60 million smartphone units were shifted in the second quarter, according to a Strategy Analytics report authored by Neil Mawston.

Mawston commented that: “Healthy operator subsidies, vigorous competition between premium tier vendors and a growing range of lower-cost models continued to drive the upswing.”

Although it wasn’t all good news for every company, as Apple slipped with its market share compared to the first quarter, falling from 16% to 14%. Mawston called it a mixed quarter for Apple, what with the increasing amount of fire directed at the company over the iPhone 4 antenna issue which has hit some users of its fourth generation smartphone.

Apple was still up on the same time a year ago, however, when its share was 12.5%. And these second quarter figures don’t include the iPhone 4 sales, which won’t impact until the third quarter, Cnet reports Mawston as stating.

Quarter-on-quarter, Nokia grew slightly at the top, with a market share of 40%, and Rim held steady in second position with around 19%.

Excerpt from:
Smartphone sales surge by 43%

Once a mobile is stolen, its owner generally realises quite quickly, and the handset can be blocked rendering it useless to the thief.

Although not quite, as the mobile can still be sold on to a recycling firm, who can then (unknowingly) export them for sale and use abroad. Such mobile phone theft is actually pretty big business.

As a result of this, the government is introducing a new code of practice whereby the phone recycling firms will have to check any mobile offered to them against the National Mobile Phone Register, a database of stolen phones.

The BBC reports that 90% of the mobile phone recycling industry has adopted the scheme. 100,000 mobiles are stolen and recycled every year in the UK, according to PC World which cites statistics from Recipero (via the Home Office).

Another new trend to watch out for in terms of mobile theft is gangs of thieves operating at music gigs, removing phones from the back pockets or bags of the unwary.

Source:
UK government cracks down on recycling of stolen mobiles

Apple’s solution to the antenna problem which has afflicted some users of its new smartphone has arrived – the iPhone 4 case program.

Customers will be able to order a free bumper or third party case, in order to protect their antenna from any possible interference caused by contact with the human hand in the problematic bottom left corner of the iPhone 4.

Well, it beats the initial advice of “hold it differently” anyway. Even if we’re not sure that everyone really wants their glitzy new gadget to have an elastic band running round the outside of it.

To get your freebie, you’ll need to download an app, sign in and select the exact case you’d like to receive.

If you bought your iPhone before today, you’ve got until August 22nd to put your order in. Otherwise, you’ve got 30 days from the purchase date of your phone, with the offer winding up for good come the end of September.

Those who have already purchased a bumper for their iPhone 4 can apply for a refund including tax and postage costs. For full instructions on the refund process, or to download the app, see the official case program website here.

Apple launches free iPhone 4 case offer app