Online business directory, Scoot.co.uk, has launched a new location-based iPhone application that helps mobile users find information about local businesses in just a couple of taps.   Free to download from the iPhone App Store, Scoot uses the iPhone’s GPS capability to locate the user, then find the nearest cafe, bank, restaurant, petrol station and much more. “It’s so quick and easy to use when you’re on the move”, said Sue Barnes, Scoot’s managing director. “There’s no need to type anything in: you just open the app and tap the relevant icon – cafe, for example. Scoot will then show your nearest cafes with name, address, phone number and distance from your current location.    “You can also use Scoot to find your nearest special offer! Just tap the Offers icon to see a list of nearby businesses that have posted a special offer or coupon on Scoot.”  

Over 1,000 conductors given the latest travel information on their mobiles

A new mobile information service, enabled by Vodafone UK, is delivering real time, detailed journey information to over 1,000 conductors on Northern Rail trains, improving customer service by ensuring customers are kept better informed throughout their journey.

Northern Rail’s investment gives train conductors working across the 2,600 daily train services access to more detailed service information from the control team and allows them to communicate with each other more effectively, for a flat monthly price.

Train conductors will now have access, through their BlackBerry to live departure boards, giving up-to-date information on onward connections.

Zenulta sends strong signal of growth in Greece, the Balkans, Middle East, Eastern Europe and the CIS countries as it expands its reseller network, bringing its leading proximity correlation technology to the regions

Zenulta, providers of the market-leading enterprise event correlation technology, has appointed SYNTAX as its reseller partner for Greece, the Balkans, Middle East, Eastern Europe and the CIS countries in a move that signals the launch of a key growth strategy for Zenulta as part of plans to deliver its technology across the world.   The partnership with SYNTAX for these regions comes at the same time as Zenulta announces expansion plans in Austria, with IT and Management Consultant partner Unisys. 

Top telecommunications operators BT, Orange and Verizon have already welcomed yesterday’s announcement of the union between the Broadband Forum and the IP/MPLS Forum.   The news, which will see a “new” Broadband Forum emerge, was announced in Valencia, Spain, yesterday, where the two organisations came together for the first time. This consolidation in the standards and specifications community creates a Broadband Forum with more than 200 members, comprising service providers, vendors, chip manufacturers and regulatory bodies from across the world.   Kevin Foster, Head of Wireline Access at BT, said: “This union means we will all benefit from a greater end-to-end approach for network and protocol standardisation, and that includes end-to-end performance, interoperability, architecture and protocols. It is good news for the industry”.   His views were echoed in the United States, where Verizon’s Stu Elby, Vice President of Network Architecture, said that Verizon had been an active member of both organisations and applauded the move.