Thinfilm develops smart sensor label

Thinfilm based out of Oslo, Norway, has developed a method of using specialised inks to print smart electronics onto labels, the first of which is a temperature sensing label for monitoring the temperature of perishable goods.

The labels are thin and flexible, contain the sensors, batteries, display and memory, connected by printable ink. This also means they can be both manufactured on continuous roller production lines and then placed on goods using roller systems to remove the labels and place them.

It is expected that the market for thermo sensor labels will be over $3.2 billion USD by 2020.

The technology uses full addressing logic for multi-bit read-write of printed memory, memory write based on detection of temperature thresholds and low-voltage display driver based on complementary organic logic. The memory should remain readable for at least 10 years.

Products based on the combination of these technologies is expected to be market ready by the end of 2014.

Printable electronics can significantly reduce costs and will permeate many areas that currently use discrete electronic systems that are more expensive and not suitable for rolling production.

There are also many other uses that can be used for the Internet of Things.

LinkedIn Intro, one mailbox to rule them all

Last week LinkedIn introduced a new iOS app called Intro. It seems a really good idea by scanning your email and showing how the person sending the email is connected to you, their LinkedIn details etc.

Unfortunately it does this by modifying the iOS mail connection profiles and pointing them all at a LinkedIn's IMAP proxy, thus intercepting ALL your email. This means that LinkedIn suddenly have access to all your email accounts and also every email that your iOS device has access too and of course they'd never do anything sinister with all this data (forget the NSA and GCHQ tapping emails, this is LinkedIn doing it with your permission).

Of course LinkedIn strenuously deny that they're doing anything dubious and their IMAP proxy is heavily secured (including connections to and from it using SSL/TLS), however it must suddenly be a great target for hackers as within the proxy itself all emails will be at some point held in clear-text.

Various mail providers are already looking at blocking LinkedIn's IP blocks to their mail services (listed below).

199.101.161.0/24

199.101.162.0/24

199.101.163.0/24

216.52.242.0/24

69.28.147.0/24

8.22.120.0/24

2620:0109:C00D::/48

2620:109:C00D::/48

And for the geeks, their AS number is AS20049.

Nice try, just be scared.

Get on your SMART e-bike

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky to invited to test ride a SMART e-bike. There are some things I should point out: -

• I'm not really a bike rider
• I haven't properly ridden a bike for many years
• Riding through London terrifies me

However saying that, the e-bike is pretty, we used the white and green version (it also comes in grey with orange trim - which I thought looked prettier).

The bike is quite heavy (though having an aluminium frame, and the metal drive chain replaced by a carbon-fibre drive pulley), it weighs 26.1Kg. It comes with hydraulic disc brakes front and rear (and mud flaps). The seat is quite comfortable as it contains a gel liner to pad your sensitive bits. There's also an air shock absorber on the front section (which is adjustable) to smooth out those bumps.

In the rear wheel there's a 250W brushless DC motor that can move the bicycle up to 15Mph.There's also an 'automatic' gear system (from 1 to 3 where 1 is the easiest and 3 is the least gearing).

The rechargeable battery (mounted in bit that the seat fits on to) is lithium-ion 48V with a capacity of 423Wh which can be removed. It comes with a normal mains charger (that can charge the battery in situ) and a full charge takes around 5 hours. The battery is guaranteed for 500 charging cycles and will retain 80% residual charge for 2 years. The management unit also has a USB port (for diagnostics/software upgrades/etc) and can also change a device like a smartphone, useful with the optional smartphone holder that mounts in-front of the unit allowing a user to use GPS/maps/etc.

There's also a display mounted between the handle bars that is the 'brains' of the e-bike. It has a trip counter, shows the battery charge remaining, speed and also the amount of power applied to the motor (from zero to 4 units at max power). The unit can also put the motor into charge mode (from -1 to -4) where the the motor will then act as a brake.

When riding from stationary, the motor won't actually kick in until the pedals have completed around 2 revolutions, this is to stop the bike say lurching forward when traffic lights go green, straight in to the back of a vehicle in front.

Riding isn't effortless - a rider still has to pedal, though when the motor kicks in it;s certainly easier riding. Also when climbing a steep hill, putting the e-bike into low gear and turning on full motor assist does make a life a lot easier.

If then going down a hill, put the motor into charge mode and as well as the motor acting as a smooth brake, it also charges the battery. The battery is also charged when the front-brakes are applied (i.e. the motor assists with breaking).

I managed a ride of 13.9 miles in about 4 hours (with a break) and wasn't particularly sore afterwards (apart form soft fleshy bits, but that's just not being used to bike parts rubbing me). It really did make riding easier. The bike has a range of 60 miles (I'd assume normal road riding conditions), though this will vary depending on how much the motor is used and how much the motor is used as a brake (which will charge the battery).

There was one major flaw with the bike, the controls for the management unit are on the unit itself, when they should have put them near the handles of the bike (maybe an extension system). Changing the controls meant taking your hand off the grip and fiddling with the control unit, which isn't the safest thing in the world.

The bike is also heavy, so manoeuvring at slow speed (like going through cycle gates) was hard as it meant moving a heavy bike and trying to navigate odd turns etc. and at low speeds 9without pedalling) you're on your own.

The e-bike isn't cheap, it costs £2,600 without any of the accessories - coming from Mercedes, they're not cheap either.

NOTE since writing this SMART have updated the e-bike and put the controls for the management unit into the handlebars, they've obviously listened to feedback fro early users. Maybe the next version will be made out of carbon-fibre and thus reduce the weight too.

TomTom devices gives access to engine info for smartphone use

TomTom Business Solutions is launching a new device the TomTom Link 100. This connects to the engine management unit (EMU) via the standard CAN-bus and has a built in 3D accelerometer. This then can connect to a smartphone device via Bluetooth allowing easy diagnostics in the event of a crash or even the vehicle breaking down.

All modern cars use the standard bus interface so it should work will most cars on the road.

The device can also be used by insurance companies to track driving habits etc (though no GPS information is available), drivers could also use the device to improve their driving.

TomTom have not said what data is exposed (apart from RPM, load and temperature), though the EMU provide a lot more information and with the right application many minor faults can be reset by such a device making trips to the garage less frequent (and also allowing drivers to check what faults garages etc are charging them for and whether it is a major or minor fault).

If the all the data is exposed and TomTom allow read and write information it could allow app vendors to make interesting solutions to make the driving experience better, though of course insurance companies will want these devices to ensure drivers drive better.

Ofcom consulting on releasing public sector spectrum

Ofcom, the Super regulator that has responsibility for spectrum allocation, is consulting on the planned release of MoD spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands.

The bands being made available are 2350 to 2390 MHz (40MHz) and 3410 to 3600 MHz (150MHz). It is expected that these bands will be licensed for use by mobile network operators for 4G/LTE services, though other broadband services could also be offered.

Unfortunately these bands are also used by amateur radio and it is likely that severe interference can be expected. Therefore Ofcom has proposed three recommendations to minimise interference.

• i) Remove access to the adjacent bands
• ii) Retain access to the adjacent bands on the current terms but with clarification of the notice period required for future amateur use to cease if amateurs cause interference to other users in the release band or the adjacent band
• iii) Restrict amateur access to a smaller part of one or more adjacent bands.

Of these 3 Ofcom's preferred option is ii) whereby Ofcom will require amateurs to stop using these bands if there is interference to licensed users (with a notification period).

Ofcom wants to make changes to amateur licenses such that if the proposals are accepted would

• i) remove the frequencies of the release bands from the licence.
We have set out three options for the adjacent bands and are recommending option two which if implemented would:
• ii) introduce a procedure to enable removal of additional frequencies (i.e. the adjacent bands) to quickly if harmful interference arises in the future.

Though this will adversely potentially affect amateur radio users, the benefit to the overall population will be increased with access to more spectrum for LTE or other services.

The consultation has now closed.

Ofcom consults on whitespace co-existance

Ofcom, the Super regulator that handles radio spectrum as part of its remit, is holding a consultation on the coexistence of whitespace devices.

Whitespace is the spectrum that is unused in certain areas due to geographic transmission systems that can not overlap and in this case relates to the UHF TV channels (470 MHz to 790 MHz). As there are multiple transmitters across the UK, adjacent transmitters can not operate in the same frequency bands (especially for digital TV) or the transmitters would interfere with each other.

This leads to large chunks of the UHF spectrum not being used in a particular geographic zone, which could be used for other purposes (as long as it was low power and didn't reach neighbouring areas).

Current plans are that whitespace devices will monitor what bands are in use (by listening to those frequencies) and thus not use them, in the UK they must also contact a central database, report their location and the database will specify what frequencies are available and what power they can transmit at.

There are other services that can also be interfered with such as program making and special events (PMSE) - things like outside broadcast units which can use some of the spectrum for remote TV cameras and such like, which also have to be catered for.

Ofcom have already said they will allow whitespace use on a license exempt basis, but they also must ensure that there will be no harmful interference to digital terrestrial television (DTT) and PMSE.

Whitespace technology is new and thus there is some uncertainty on how whitespace devices may interfere with DTT or PMSE services. However Ofcom doesn't want to overly constrain whitespace use such that large amounts of spectrum go unused, or that power levels/etc are so restrictive that reaching any sizeable population is unrealistic.

Ofcom will currently err on the side of caution and setting parameters that can be relaxed in future. Later this year there will be a set of pilot trials across the UK with a number of service providers where the increased power levels can be used for limited periods of time to ensure interference doesn't occur. The trials (and stakeholder consultations) will continue until Summer 2014 and will help Ofcom set the parameters for future national whitespace roll-outs starting in Q3 2014.

Ofcom has set the parameters and algorithms for use in trials to minimise the effects on

• Digital Terrestrial Television services
• licensed users of equipment for Programme Making and Special Events
• services above and below the UHF TV band.

Ofcom have also noted that whitespace availability will vary in areas across the UK i.e. London has relatively low DTT issues with whitespace use while Glasgow has much less spectrum available, however Glasgow has very little PMSE use while in central London (and areas like Wembley Stadium) there is a large amount of use.

Though it is yet early days, whitespace spectrum should allow high bandwidth services with good propagation characteristics (coverage) which could be used to provide mobile network operator capacity off-loading, broadband and machine-to-machine (M2M) services.

Companies such as Neul (a CSR - now Samsung spin-off) are betting their futures on whitespace.

The consultation closes on 15 November 2013 and stakeholders can respond on-line.

Ofcom consults on Spectrum Management Approach in the 70/80GHz bands

Ofcom, the Super regulator that looks after spectrum management is holding a consultation on proposals to change the management and authorisation approach used to manage the bands 71 - 76 GHz and 81 - 86 GHz (70 / 80GHz). These offer 2 x 4.75 GHz of bandwidth allowing very high capacity links (over 1Gb/s) which are not supported in lower frequency bands. These bands have been available for use since 2007.

Currently the spectrum is not managed at is up to the users of these bands to co-ordinate amongst themselves on use (self coordinated spectrum), though currently use of the spectrum is minimal compared to lower frequency bands. However with the rapid adoption of 4G services and the bandwidth that will be required to remote cell-sites, usage can be expected to rapidly increase and operators are now worried that self-coordinated management will not suffice as links in these bands will have to provide 99.99% to 99.999% availability, so any interference could be disastrous for mobile networks.

Ofcom is proposing to manage the spectrum in a mixed manner offering partial self-coordinated use and partial managed use.

Ofcom coordinated approach: 2 x 2 GHz

Guard band: 2 x 250 MHz

Self coordinated approach: 2 x 2.5 GHz

NOTE Image (C) Ofcom.

This will allow non-critical links to be operated as now in the higher part of the bands while more critical services will be in the lower part of the bands managed by Ofcom (using the same regulatory environment as for fixed links in lower bands).

This should be good news for users and backhaul links get very expensive very quickly and can limit the growth of a mobile network (in terms of coverage), so being able to use protected spectrum to maintain high bandwidth links to cell-sites and allowing the networks to provision more 4G cells.

The full consultation is available on-line and stakeholders may respond here, the by 5th October 2013.

Qualcomm sells Omnitracs but buys Orb

Qualcomm the company that makes chips such the Snapdragon and Powerline electronics (after acquiring Atheros) has sold it's mobile tracking unit Omnitracs to Vista Equity Partners for $800m. Omnitracs makes vehicle tracking systems that are used for fleet tracking and other automotive solutions like for consumer insurance systems (i.e. the insurance company can track the user's driving behaviour).

Orb Networks offered the free media streaming service MyCast as well as Orb Live along with the Orb TV and Music MP-1 devices. These will all be discontinued. It's assumed Orb services will be integrated into the Atheros media and home automations lines (such as Powerline and other devices).

Ofcom consults on changing local number dialling in 5 areas

Ofcom, the Super regulator, is holding a consultation on how local numbers must be dialled in 5 areas which are running out of local numbers.

The areas affected are Aberdeen (01224), Bradford (01274), Brighton (01273), Middlesbrough (01642) and Milton Keynes (01908). In these areas, the full number (including the area code) will have to be dialled - which will allow around 200,000 new numbers to be made available in these areas, which should satisfy demand for at least 10 years.

The change means the affected areas will use closing local dialling and will allow numbers starting with 0 to be issued i.e. for Aberdeen numbers will be able to be allocated like 01224 0XXXXX and 01224 1XXXXX. If the area code 01224 was not included there could be clashes with numbers starting with 0 or 1 such as 100 for operator assistance or 118xxx directory enquiry services.

The consultation closes on September 13th 2013 and the change is expected to come into force in October 2014.

Ofcom's statement is available here and stakeholders may respond on-line.

Ofcom trials DAB based on open source software

Ofcom, the Super regulator that looks after radio spectrum management and broadcasting amongst other things has reported on a trial that used open source software to run a digital audio broadcast (DAB) transmission.

The trial was based in Brighton and used Linux software and an software defined radio (SDR) to broadcast DAB signals in the Brighton area, though the trial was only low power (the output of the SDR was set to 5mW) a signal could be received over 7Km away. There was also no detectable interference to the BBC local DAB multiplex which was around 3Km away from the trial transmitter.

The trial was carried out privately under Non-Operational Test and Development licence issued by Ofcom.

The full report is here, Ofcom doesn't endorse any software or hardware used, but the report contains references to all the hardware and software used.

Initially the trial was conducted using 2 laptops, but the software was integrated on to a single (rack mount) PC running xubuntu. It would also be possible to run at least some of the software (multiplexor etc) on a RaspberryPi.

Maybe this will lead the way for other Ofcom 'approved' trials such as running lower power GSM networks also using open source software.

C&W (Vodafone) and Urban WiMAX get 28GHz license variations

Ofcom has issued a statement with respect to the 28GHz Broadband Fixed Wireless Access (BFWA) licences of Cable and Wireless (now Vodafone) and Urban Wimax.

The licenses were due to expire on 31st December 2015 and now they will be made indefinite.

The licensees can use the bands for equipment that complies with Interface Requirement 2048 (IR 2048) in-line with other licensees.

From January 2016, there will be new pricing set which incentivises the licenses to utilise the spectrum. Pricing has not be set yet.

28GHz allows high bandwidth point-to-point links which can be used for backhaul and with Vodafone's purchase of C&W it makes sense to use their own spectrum for mobile backhaul.

Ofcom awards new TV spectrum

Ofcom, the super regulator has issued a statement on the award of the 600MHz band (550 to 606 MHz). This has been awarded to Arqiva for the provision of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) multiplexes. Arqiva will utilise MPEG4 video encoding and DVB-T2 transmission services (as used by Freeview HD).

This is a temporary license, though it will run through until 2026, unless Ofcom give Arqiva 24 months notices in which case it can be revoked in 2018.

The ability to terminate the license is to allow migration of DTT services from the 700MHz band to the 600MHz band in line with EU harmonised spectrum regulation and will allow the 700MHz band to be used for wireless broadband services.

Ofcom opens 2G and 3G bands for 4G use

Ofcom, the Super Regulator that oversees radio spectrum (amongst its many duties) has published a statement allowing mobile network operators (MNOs) to utilise their 2G and 3G bands for 4G use, without applying for a license variation.

This affects the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands. Ofcom has also allowed an increase in power of 3dB in the 900MHz band to align it with power levels in the 800MHz band.

This is in-line with Ofcom's policy to liberalise licenses and make them technology neutral and will allow the MNOs to roll-out 4G (LTE) services on any of their spectrum without regulatory hinderance.

Michael Birch re-acquires Bebo for $1m

Michael Birch originally founded Bebo and sold it to AOL for $850m on May 19, 2008 making him one of the most successful UK entrepreneurs with his wife. AOL then sold the ailing company to Criterion Capital Partners in June 2010 for around $10m.

Birch then rejoined company as a strategic advisor on December 9, 2010.

Birch today announced on twitter that he has re-purchased the social media site for $1m.

Though the site has been left behind other social media sites like Facebook, Birch can maybe bring it into the forefront again and do something clever with it.

Plastic Logic joins forces with Cambridge University Graphene centre

Graphene is the new wonder substance that could replace silicon for a new generation of integrated circuits and other devices. It is also much more conductive than steel and stronger.

Plastic Logic are leaders in the field of flexible e-ink displays (both colour and monochrome) which use their organic thin-film transistor technologies.

Cambridge Graphene Centre investigates the science and technology of graphene, carbon allotropes, layered crystals and hybrid nanomaterials.

With this collaboration, Plastic Logic have donated large scale deposition equipment to support the acceleration of manufacturing scale-up of developments on graphene which will then: -

• To develop graphene as a transparent, highly conductive layer for plastic backplanes, used to drive unbreakable Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) and flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays; a market forecast to be worth $40bn by 2020 (IHS 2013).
• To develop novel transistor structures with graphene-like materials as the active layer, delivering a step change over the device performance currently possible on plastic, while retaining the ultimate flexibility of the devices.
• Leverage Plastic Logic’s expertise in the industrialization and volume manufacture of electronics on plastic, exploiting the commercialisation of graphene for flexible electronics. This will include key high value segments in the developing new market for flexible plastic sensors, forecast to be worth $2.2bn overall in 2020 (IDTechEx 2011).

The UK is a world leader in graphene research and this could push the UK into the forefront of usable technologies actually using it.

Ofcom make more spectrum available

Ofcom, the Super regulator that looks after (amongst other things) radio spectrum allocation has made the bands 870-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz available for use by short range devices (SRDs) and radio frequency identification (RFID) use. This is in-line with European (CEPT) policy. The bands are commonly used for RFID tags in the US.

Ofcom will hold a further consultation in Q4 2013 after CEPT publish their work on interference in these bands and will then publish the draft technical requirements and the full license exemption statement by early 2014.

Ofcom is also making the 24 GHz (21.65 to 26.65 GHz) license exempt for Short Range Radars (SRRs) for automotive use, in line with EU policy. Devices have been allowed to use this part of this band (24.25 to 26.65 GHz) on a temporary basis (since 2005), which was extended to the full 21.65 to 26.65 GHz in 2011. The regulations came into force in June 30th 2013.

Innergie mMini DC10 (review)

The Innergie mMini DC10 is a car 'cigarette' charger. What makes this different to other chargers is that is has 2 USB sockets that allow charging of 2 devices simultaneously.

There's also a nice blue LED between the USB slots showing that there's power.

It can output 5V at 2.1A making it suitable for charging tablets and other devices.

It comes with a cable that has a clever connector, if snapped together it will power an iPhone/iPad through the Apple dock connection, however if the connector is pulled apart, there's also a micro-USB connection suitable for charging non-Apple products. It's also powerful enough to charge a Blackberry device (which lots of other chargers fail to do).

This really is a useful device and has saved the day on many occasions and it actually does manage to produce a full 10W output.

Online prices vary widely, but it can be had for as low as £12 + shipping.

Definitely 10/10

Ofcom makes more spectrum license exempt

Ofcom, the Super regulator that looks after radio spectrum amongst other things, has made more spectrum license exempt.

In the UK there is no such thing as unlicensed spectrum and all devices (whether they broadcast or receive radio transmissions) must be covered by a license as per the Wireless Telegraphy Act. Ofcom can issue a Standard Instrument (really an Act of Parliament) to cover certain frequency bands and uses making that spectrum license exempt, which means if the equipment is used as per the SI, it doesn't need a specific license.

Ofcom has made new spectrum available for SRDs (short range devices) such as range finding equipment for cars. There is now 5MHz of spectrum available between 10.575 to 10.6 GHz which will add to the existing range of 10.577 to 10.597 GHz and this came into force on 26th June 2013.

The existing band 10.675 to 10.699 GHz can continue to be used by existing systems, but it will be closed for new systems on 30 December 2014 giving manufacturers 18 months to switch to the new band.

Mobile terminal handsets using WiMAX or LTE in the 800MHz, 2011MHz and 2.6GHz bands will be license exempt (when connected to a licensed mobile network i.e. BT, EE, 3UK, O2 or Vodafone).

Various satellite terminals will also be license exempt in the 1518 to 1525 MHz, 1525 MHz to 1559 MHz, 1626.5 MHz to 1660.5 MHz and 1670 to 1675 MHz bands.

Vizz(ualise) your LinkedIn contacts

There's a really nice little iOS app (currently iPhone only) called Vizz that visualises your LinkedIn network.

You can see what industries your connections are in, where they're located, what companies they work for and who's changed roles recently.

Quite a useful little app, all for the princely sum of £0.69 (69p).

Admittedly I do know the author @hakimmobile, but that doesn't change the usefulness of the app.

Everything you wanted to know about (upgrading to) BB10, but were afraid to ask

A few weeks ago I received a Blackberry Q10 that I had won in an EE competition. It was sent directly to me from Blackberry in the UK. Unfortunately it was locked to EE and I am an O2 customer, but with help from Blackberry an unlock code arrived in Email the same day.

The Q10 was sent out with various bits configured for EE, which I queried and was told "once the new SIM works, the device gets the settings from the network", so again all well and good.

Next install Blackberry Link which is the new desktop software from Blackberry, again all well and good, except though it can now sync photos/music/documents/etc with the desktop (a Mac user) it no longer (compared to Blackberry Desktop Software for Mac) syncs Calendars and Contacts. The new BB10 devices (Z10 and Q10) are completely device centric and all email/calendar and contacts synchronisation is done by the mobile device itself.

I plugged in the old Blackberry Bold 9900 (which Blackberry Link recognised as a OS7 device) and it asked if it would like to transfer the databases, to which I confirmed.

All seemed well, except you have to set-up all the old email accounts/etc on the new device before it actually works and it seems not all of them were working (GMail specifically, luckily the set-up of a BB10 device can be done using WiFi so it doesn't need a SIM in the device to actually set it up).

The email accounts were all working, try the transfer again and all went well.
Then (after reducing the SIM from a normal size to a uSIM using a SIM cutting tool) put the old (u)SIM into the Q10 and bang, everything works (well at that point the phone needed unlocking, but that was very simple and just required entering the unlock code - though not in the way Blackberry had stated, go into settings, then security, SIM and then you are asked to unlock).

On the Mac iCloud is the default system for contacts and calendar, so on the Q10 just add a new Email account (i.e. iCloud account). That's where problems started. There is a known problem using iCloud for newer versions of BB10. The Email account is set-up fine as is contact sync, however it fails to set-up the calendar sync (with a credential issue).

It's also possibly to directly add a Caldav account in the advanced Email set-up, again the forums were awash with suggestions but it should be possible to just add caldav.icloud.com as the calendaring service, but again this failed with a credential issue and would not complete.

Search the forums and lo and behold there's a Blackberry knowledge base entry which states "there's a known issue with Apple's caldav services" (Apple uses CALdav for calendar synchronisation, it also used to work on older versions of BB10, the phone upgraded itself to v10.1.0.273 via the WiFi, some earlier version of 10.0 used to work). The forums also stated that after speaking to Blackberry users had been told to report the fault to their carrier who could then escalate to Blackberry, the more users/carriers reporting the fault would increase the escalation.

So decide to phone O2 and report the fault and managed to get through to the Blackberry specialist team, explaining that I had upgraded from a Blackberry Bold 9900 and was now using a Q10 and wasn't able to sync calendars. They explained they would look at the problem and get back to me, which they did. Unfortunately they wouldn't escalate the problem as it was a known issue by Blackberry and thus couldn't escalate. I tried to explain that even Blackberry themselves were telling users to go through their carriers to report the fault, but they were adamant that they wouldn't be able to report the fault as it was already "on the system".

So no calendar synchronisation, but the phone seemed to be working well apart from that, email coming through, twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn all seemed to be doing the right thing.

There are some immediate quirks though: -

• On the old Blackberry you can delete an Email on the device or delete it on the device and the Email server. this is no longer possible and deleting an email deletes it completely. This isn't disastrous it just means you get a lot of emails on the device, the Email icon turns grey if read, but it's still there. After 90 days it is possible to to set a shorter time) older emails will disappear.
• The old twitter client used to support multiple accounts, the new one in BB10 only supports a single twitter account, this is a real pain. Direct Messages (DMs) and mentions (@) appear in the hub, which is fine, but the actual twitter client only supports a single twitter account itself. Would be happy if the Hub just supported DMs and mentions from the active twitter account, but the actual twitter client should support multiple accounts and the user can select which twitter account to be active.

So only a single twitter account, no way to delete emails off the device without deleting them on the server, and no calendar synchronisation, but all is work.

Now the fun really starts

On the 30th of May I get an email/text from O2 saying my bill is £470 more than it is usually.

I contacted customer services and ask about the problem and am told that it's data charges, so I tell them my settings (Blackberry Unlimited tariff and APN set to mobile.o2.co.uk) and it's confirmed those are the correct settings, but the customer services agent has started a "Network Investigation" and I wont get anymore data charges.

I am not convinced, but hope that all will be good.

On the Saturday I get another email/text now saying that my bill is £580 over my normal bill.

Unfortunately it wasn't until Sunday that I managed to contact customer services again. This time I'm told that I should move to a normal data tariff and that the old Blackberry Unlimited tariff is very old and not available to new customers and I should move immediately (the tariff has a 750MB data limit, which I've exceeded in the first week). I refrain saying I will wait for the network investigation.

I then decide to do some of my own investigations and find that the new BB10 devices don't work how the old pre-BB10 devices work (the old BES and BIS connections went through a "hardwired" blackberry.net "private" APN that was embedded in the Blackberry software itself). The new devices (at least for a BIS - which is the Blackberry Internet Service) now do use the actual Internet data connection and don't have the cludgery that was the old style BIS connection. The devices have become completely device centric ...

However on some forum it's stated that setting the APN to wap.o2.co.uk works and as it's with the Blackberry Unlimited service, it's free. So I plug that into the Blackberry and lo and behold no more data charges.

I also phoned O2 support to check and they agree that setting will work.

I still have a massive data bill and there is an on-going network investigation.

Twitter to the rescue

I have had a few conversations with @O2 on twitter, who are very responsive to tweets and good for sorting technical and other issues and get into a discussion with the "web team" who DM me and ask for details of the problem, which I duly sent them. It seems they have a massive influence and today (Tuesday 4th of June) I get a call from O2.

Unfortunately I do have to move to a standard new tariff (that only comes with 750MB of data), but they are going to wipe the data charges (eventually £600+ +VAT).

As soon as the tariff is changed (should come into play tomorrow), it looks like I'll have to ask for a PAC code and move to a new network, one that does unlimited data.

I've been a loyal customer with O2 on this number since 2005 (and on another number - moved to GiffGaff a year ago, since 1984). It will be a shame to move, but unlimited Internet is unlimited Internet.

So long and thanks for all the fish as they say.