The James Kilgour BlogA Life Blog.

Blyk, the fledgling MVNO offering free calls and texts to young people in exchange for ad messages, has denied that it will shortly be terminating service, and moving consumers over to the Orange Network. In a conversation with myself and Blyk Member care, I was given the following response:

James says
    Hi
4421421 / Kyle says
    Hi you are through to Kyle at Blyk, how can I help?
James says
    Hi. Is it true that Blyk will shortly be terminating service and licensing to Orange?
4421421 / Kyle says
    No it is not. If you want company changes you are best off checking the corporate website, Blyk.com.

 

I was myself a member of Blyk for around a year (see here), in which time I experienced numerous problems with the service. Recently, rumours have been spread of a possible Licensing Deal with Orange, for them to provide a free, ad-supported service, basically a repackaged Blyk, see here.

I do however still see this happening. In this recession, startups like Blyk are in danger. Their recent reduction to £15 a month free credit indicated a poor financial situation. Joining leauges with a major player like Orange would be hugely benneficial. We’ll have to wait and see.

JK 

The iPhone is such a cool piece of kit, with thousands of cool little apps. After seeing the massive campaign of ads for this iPod come phone, you would be forgiven in thinking that you couldn’t live without one.  I’ll tell you, very easily actually.

Like many other people, I wanted one! The thing that put me off though was signing up to a long 18 month o2 contract, (In the UK, Apple has an exclusivity deal with o2).

Also, the fact that the contract really isn’t that good a deal, and you have to pay for the phone! In the UK, this is like the ultimate mobile sin.

But my opinion on the iPhone changed dramatically when I actually tried using one. Of course, the interface was sleek, and the apps in particular are much better than that of a Blackberry. I’ve always been a fan of iTunes too, so that was a plus. However, the camera is terrible, only 2mp with no flash or autofocus, and the worst part is texting. I absolutely hate the virtual keyboard.

It’s not like I’m new to touch screen phones: my current phone is the Prada Phone by LG (Model 1). I can text on it just as fast as on a physical keyboard. It’s because it uses a standard phone key set on the virtual keyboard. As a result, it’s very easy to use, as the buttons are large.

On the iPhone however, I find each QWERTY key too small. I end up never getting the right letter, and I actually have fairy dextrose hands.

I’ve heard a landscape keyboard will be introduced in the next firmware update, (v3.0). This is by far something that should have been released in the beginning. I’m still skeptical of how easy the keyboard will be to use, even in landscape. Before I even consider buying an iPhone, I will definitely have to try it first. 

JK

I’ve written about Blyk a few times over the past year, since taking up the service. Basically, if you’re not familiar, Blyk is an ad-supported mobile network, which provides £15 free credit each month. See my other Blyk posts here.

Recently, Blyk changed to this £15 credit, from the previous offer of 217 texts and 43 minutes free each month. The new deal is actually a loss of around £10! Also, Blyk increased prices: 15p/min up to 24p/min! (They did reduce texts from 10p to 8p).

Next, Blyk started charging £10 for replacement sim cards if they are lost or stolen. Something that other UK networks don’t do. Also, they stopped the Text Balance enquiry service, and have also stopped issuing invites to the service!

It asks the question, is Blyk financially secure at all? Yes, we are in recession, but these steps are those of a company in dire straights. Hope Blyk will weather this storm that they seem to be in; Blyk is a good service, offering excellent value. I’ll be watching in the next few months.

JK