VAT rates will return back up to 17.5% on the 1st of January – this was announced by the British Chancellor Alistair Darling.

Just before Christmas last year we were all happy to hear the cut in VAT rates from 17.5% to 15%! In the pre-Budget statement, the chancellor said ‘he had decided against a windfall tax on banks. But if they pay substantial rewards to staff they will pay a one-off charge of 50% on any bonus above £25,000′.

This charge will come into effect straightway and will last until the 5th April 2010! This is help address the uproar within the public abo0ut large bonus payments made by banks! It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see why people are so angry, the taxpayers have had to bail out the banks and are shocked that bonuses are still being issued.

Even though tax is increasing to 17.5%, the upfront price you see on onestopphoneshop won’t change! You will however see an increase in tax on your bill, which you receive from the network you are on.

Why did VAT get slashed?
Figures show that by the end of March 2009, the VAT cut put an extra £3.8 billion back into our pockets. You will remember the price change, for example when use to pay £9.99, you would now pay £9.78.

VAT rising already…
There have been many examples of stores who reduced their prices back around the New Year, which have been slowly creeping back up again! One lady noticed this in Matalan, she brought a bathmat back in January and was charged £5, but given 11p back. A few weeks later she went back to buy another bathmat and paid £5 without any money back.

As the advert says tax doesn’t have to be taxing! I’ll let you make your own mind up about that!

Rivals RIM and Microsoft have now admitted that they are playing catch up to Apple, as the dominance of the iPhone takes more and more customers.

This statement came from a Q&A session at the ‘Connect’ technology summit London recently – the event was hosted by the service provider Azzurri for its partner. Microsoft UK head of mobility Phil Moore, said Apple entered the market in 2007 with a fresh design and groundbreaking technology that would take mobile phones into a new nearer.

“We’re still playing catch-up. When Apple came on to the scene a couple of years ago, it threw away the rulebook and reinvented it. We unfortunately don’t have that luxury. It’s true, Apple caught us all napping. It launched something that was very iconic, new and unseen with a very good user interface.”

Phil Moore suggest Windows Mobile 7 will redress the balance ‘”It has been put back until late next year but it is definitely coming. You’re going to see a lot more on Windows Mobile 7. Giving the enterprise users and consumers what they want will be part of Windows Mobile 7. You’ll get flexibility on a much easier touch UI.”

Apple have very successfully push interest onto smartphones compared with just the normal mobile. With technology developing so much in just a few years, it will be interesting to see what 2010 brings.

Mozilla Firefox has been a popular alternative to internet explorer on home computers for some time now but unlike Microsoft, Google and Opera they are yet to make the leap into the mobile phone market.  This is set to change with the soon to be released Nokia N900, which will be the first mobile phone to feature Firefox mobile.  They boast that new accessibility and enhanced features will place Firefox above other competitors but it is too early for OSPS to give their judgement (but we will once we get our hands on a Nokia N900!)

Firefox Mobile is also penned to feature on Windows Mobile devices and Android devices in 2010, which is ear candy to Firefox fans.  Add-ons, tab-based browsing and their superior search bar will all feature to replicate the PC-based version.  Firefox Mobile will be available as a download for the Nokia N900, so will not come pre-loaded.

Fingers crossed that this release will add a new level to the many multimedia and connectivity based mobile phones and Smartphone that are coming our way in 2010.

Due to rumours that millions of customers will be shopping online on Christmas Day, companies including ours will be launching winter sales today!

The saying the early bird catches the worm couldn’t be more right, when it comes to sale shopping! Reports have it that five million shoppers will be logging on to surf the web for bargains even before Santa gets on his sleigh!

Most major High Street stores will start their sales early, offering savings of you to 70% and more – these sales will start online as of today and in the early hours of December 25.

These stores include John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Halfords, Argos, Currys and Comet.  Shoppers are expected to log onto the internet straight after their yummy dinners, in a bid to buy the best bargains!

Years and years ago families spent Christmas Day going to church, seeing friends or crashed out on the sofa, but in recent years the traditional ways have been took over with shopping online! With more than £100million being spent on Christmas Day!

These sales were only beaten by Boxing Day figures and figures from the first weekend in December, when millions of us get our Christmas presents.

We are all hoping customers will huddle around computers and laptops hunting for the best bargains, but we do have to remember the tradition of Christmas.

One big retailer expects Christmas Day to be their busiest day online ever, with traffic visits to the site running 20% ahead of 2008.

The busiest time for logging on is between 11pm and midnight as people become bored with the usual Christmas Day activities and look to snap up a bargain – with many people staying online through the early hours of Boxing Day.

Comparison sites
Consumers are getting savvier as the years go on, this year is no exception. The recession has caused people to hunt for bargains, comparison sites are the future. They allow customers to compare prices for the same products across the whole of the globe market.

A Google spokesman said: ‘Throughout the difficult economic period, consumers have been using the internet to research products and find bargains – but judging by current search trends, many luxury items are now coming back in earnest.’

Google reported that consumers searching for luxury products have started to pick up. These include Gucci bags, sports coupes, and even plastic surgery. With this increase, there has been a decrease in people searching about the recession, it seems consumer confidence is rises again.

Have a browse through our whole range for some cracking deals – click here

Let’s see what 2010 brings.

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