O2 will stop selling the 8GB iPhone, according to an internal memo reported by Engadget. The memo reportedly reads: “Due to the highly successful sales of the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) 8GB I-Phone [sic], supply chain have today run out of stock & will not be replenishing stock of this product as it has now gone to end of life.” Based on the assumption that O2 hasn’t tired of its deal with Apple, this means the next version of the iPhone (3G, greater storage, whatever it may turn out to be) should be appearing in the UK soon. This comes pretty quickly after O2 cut the price by $200.

Analysts are predicting a June 9th launch date for the 3G iPhone, which will correspond with Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference reports IDG. The article notes that “the iPhone shortage is consistent with Apple’s “tendency to wind down inventory ahead of an update”.

MUNICH. The mobile communications industry has introduced a Code of Practice for value-added services so that it can boost consumer confidence in new services. This voluntary self-undertaking includes industry-wide guidelines for text message, MMS and online value-added services.

The mobile communications providers’ initiative will promote consumer protection and enable price and product portfolio transparency. Mobile communications providers, service providers, content providers and mediators joined forces to develop their Code of Practice. The list of signatories and the Code itself are published on the participating organisations’ websites.

Prof. Dr. Jo Groebel is acting as trustee, and he will be monitoring adherence to the voluntary undertaking. He will be checking the signatories’ product and service portfolios, and eliminating organisations that don’t adhere to the Code from the list of partners.

The participating organisations have introduced standard basic rules for premium services. They are at liberty to decide whether their value-added services satisfy even higher standards. The rules will ensure transparent costs, standardised subscription to and unsubscription from services and customers will be informed when the costs of their subscription exceed a specific value.

Among other things, the participants have undertaken to adhere to the following rules:

Handshake procedure for subscription services. When a customer asks to subscribe to a service, he is sent a text message asking him to confirm the conclusion of a contract. The text message includes details on price and provider. The contract only enters into force when the subscriber has provided confirmation.

Standard key words for SMS/MMS subscriptions. Standard key words will be introduced for initiating and terminating services. For example, a customer can use START, GO, YES and OK to subscribe to a service and STOP to unsubscribe.

Welcome SMS/MMS for chat services. Chat service providers have undertaken to send a welcome SMS or MMS message containing the name of the content provider, a description of the service and the price. If the customer doesn’t use the chat service for seven consecutive days, the provider has to send another welcome message.

Price transparency. Providers offering premium SMS/MMS services have to specify the price up to two decimal places and, if appropriate, provide notification of any transport costs. The price is also displayed directly next to the shortcode number.

Termination of services. The mobile communications customer can unsubscribe from a service at any time. It is effective immediately in the case of event-based subscriptions and at the end of the agreed billing period in the case of budget subscriptions.

Bill warning. Premium SMS/MMS providers will send out a bill warning text message when the user exceeds a billing volume of EUR 50 per calendar month, per provider or per telephone number for the use of individual and chat services.

Consumer protection regulations also apply to ensure provider and cost transparency when Web-based services are provided.

The signatories have undertaken to introduce these rules by 1 October 2006 at the latest. You can find further information about the Code on the participants’ websites.

The following organisations are participants in the Code of Practice for premium SMS/mobile services and Web-based services:

Arvato Mobile GmbH
BoB mobile Deutschland GmbH
Carmunity.com GmbH
conVISUAL AG
debitel AG
Digame mobile GmbH
Drillisch AG
dtms Deutsche Telefon- und Marketing Services AG
E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG
Ericsson Internet Payment eXchange AB
Jamba GmbH
Materna GmbH
MEGA Communications GmbH
Midray GmbH
Mindmatics AG
Minick AG
Mobilcom AG
Mobile 365 GmbH
Mobileview AG
Net-mobile AG
Netsize Deutschland GmbH
O2 (Germany) GmbH & Co. OHG
Talkline GmbH & Co. KG
T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG
Vodafone D2 GmbH
Wapme AG
WHATEVER MOBILE GmbH

Live mobile TV broadcasts will be aired to Nokia N92 mobile devices, and other DVB-H enabled devices, in a pilot project run by the German mobile network operators E-Plus, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone this summer. The pilot started in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover and Munich and will run until August 31 except Munich where the pilot ends on July 31, 2006. The pilot gives access to live broadcasts on mobile devices during the football championships where guests of E-Plus, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone will be able to enjoy live TV programs.

“Nokia is extremely happy to be part of this DVB-H pilot during the football championships by offering the Nokia N92 devices. Nokia has been part of numerous DVB-H pilots around the world and this pilot is a very important milestone in moving closer to the commercial mobile TV phase” said Harri MГ¤nnistГ¶, director, Multimedia, Nokia. “We are confident that live mobile TV will be an exciting new service for consumers, and we are looking forward to seeing the market developing fast.”

During the pilot project 14 TV channels (ARD, ZDF, Nord3, BR, RBB, RTL, Sat.1, ProSieben, n-tv, N24, VOX, MTV Music, Eurosport and a regional channel) and six radio channels are accessible live on the Nokia N92.

The mobile TV pilot is based on DVB-CBMS open standards, which is supported by a number of handset and mobile TV platform manufacturers, including Nokia.

The Nokia N92 offers easy access to live TV programs without having to sit in front of a television set. Using a Nokia N92 device, one can set reminders to watch their favorite TV programs, create personal channel lists and subscribe to TV channel packages. The outstanding new form factor offers a highly ergonomic user-experience. The usability is further enhanced by the large 2.8″ anti-glare QVGA screen with 16 million colors and the dedicated media keys that deliver a rich viewing experience.

The Nokia N92, which is based on S60 3rd Edition and Symbian OS, is planned to be commercially available in mid 2006 in Europe, Africa and Asia, in countries where DVB-H services are available, with an estimated, unsubsidized sales price of approximately 600 euros.