As the nation gets set to celebrate the Royal nuptials and that all-important day off work, we want to mark this special event in history!  So, today we launch our Royal compatibility survey www.canimarryharry.com/.

The 11 questions in the quiz are all about Prince Harry.  You will be tested on how you would behave in certain situations, what you would describe to be your personal style and whether, when it comes to the affairs of the Royals, you can keep quiet or run screaming to the tabloids!

In keeping with most of the news about the wedding of the century, this is just a bit of fun, and we’d love you to try the quiz for yourself and tell us what you think.

There’s a chance to upload a photo of yourself and once you learn your percentage match with Harry, go ahead and share your results on Twitter and Facebook!  Why not also challenge your friends to find out who is better matched?  This April 29^th, as you watch Kate and Wills beaming on their happy day, just think, next year that could be you and Harry?

Oh and just to finish and so we’re clear – even if you score 100%, you unfortunately won’t receive Harry in the post! Sorry!

Visit www.canimarryharry.com/ to view and take the quiz.

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A new survey from Harris Interactive and commissioned by online customer experience management firm Tealeaf, has revealed that the number of people completing commercial transactions via their mobile in the UK topped 10 million last year. Yet whilst many chose the method for convenience and ease, a massive 83% of them reported experiencing problems when trying to transact online.

The novelty of mobile purchasing, booking and ordering may soon begin to wear off and with such high incidences of errors, many may choose to turn their back on m-commerce before it has really begun. The survey suggests that 23% of online UK consumers conducted a mobile transaction last year and that 75% could see no reason why a mobile transaction can’t be completed first time. To hammer home the need to make sure systems work correctly 66% reported they would be less likely to buy from a brand following a poor mobile experience.

While 63% of people used their mobile for shopping the variety and diverse nature of the internet is also reflected in other m-commerce uses. Financial transactions (37%) and travel bookings (34%) are also popular uses and on average, mobile shoppers completed 4.4 transactions on a mobile device per month. Interestingly, there was a fairly even split between transactions using an app (43%) and internet browser (41%).

Yet expectations of those users appears high. Common problems reported included error messages (34%) and navigation difficulties (24%) and 13% said they would switch to a competitor’s app or website if they experienced problems. Also, worryingly for the whole industry, 9% would vow never to conduct a mobile transaction ever again and 61% said they would tell their friends and family about the problems they encountered, and discourage them from using that app/website or doing business with the company.

The survey was conducted online within the United States and Great Britain  between February 9-11, 2011 among 2,469 U.S. adults ages 18+ and between February 9-14, 2011 among 2,228 Great Britain adults ages 16+.

Have you had a bad m-commerce experience?

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In recent months things have been fairly quite from Tesco in terms of technology – other than an announcement that a loyal customer voucher would make it the cheapest UK retailer for the Apple iPad2. Yet this week the latest of its online ventures has been revealed. Attempting to avoid the Arthur Daley image of second-hand car selling, Tesco has launched into the world of used cars.

Tesco Cars went online yesterday: an internet-only service that aims to advertise up to 5,000 nearly new cars a week. Sourced from ex-hire and lease fleets the cars, and powered by Carsite – in which it has bought a significant stake – Tesco hopes to make inroads to taking a share of the £24 billion motoring market.

As you might expect there is a reward for Tesco Clubcard holders (2,000 points) for those that buy from the site. Every car comes with a certificated 167-point independent inspection from the RAC, including a ramp inspection and road test. Interestingly there is also a seven-day money back guarantee for those unhappy with their purchase, though we are not quite sure how that will work in practice.

As part of the new network the National Service Network garage group will operate as Tesco Autocentres – offering MOTs, servicing and so on – again with Clubcard points.

So where next for Tesco? There have been much mooted rumours of an online estate agency but the current state of the housing market appears to have stifled this. While the majority of their services are available online, Tesco Cars is the first to be designated online only, which could suggest the retailer is focusing its future projects on the virtual world from here on in.

Where do you think Tesco will go next?

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Word reaches us here at 123-reg of a top secret plan to be unveiled by the internet community later this year: the first in a series of name-based domain names.

.dave will become the first personal name-based domain name extension, with plans to have the same available for general release in time for Christmas.

Following extensive research by UCANN (Universal Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) .dave has been chosen as being likely to be the most popular of name-based domain names as “everybody knows a dave”. The pre-Christmas release is the aim because the registrars see it as the perfect present for those friends and family members who already have everything – and are called Dave.

If the .dave launch is successful, expect to see more name domains to follow, with .sue rumoured to be the first female-based name. Sources tell us .tom and .john are also likely to be early releases, although there are no plans as yet for .barnaby.

When asked for his opinions on the new domain extension, famous celebrity comedian Dave Corman – who once wrote book based on his internet search exploits – said “I can see the potential of it but registering your surname.forename reminds me a bit too much of school.”

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