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O2 offers early iPhone 4 upgrade amnesty in bid to retain customers
Would you look at that. Following in the footsteps of AT&T, O2 has today announced it'll allow current customers to pay off the remainder of their contracts at a discounted rate when they re-up with the network for the iPhone 4. Irrespective of how much you're paying now, the UK carrier will charge you a flat rate of £20 ($29) for each leftover month. Considering most iPhone users rock out at £30 and above, that's a solid 30 percent discount (or contract amnesty, however you wanna view it) for the impatient types. Of course, you'll be trading away your usual 14-day cooling off period if you take them up on this deal, so you'd better make doubly sure you want the iPhone 4 on O2 before taking the plunge.
iPhone 4 confirms June 24 date with O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone in UK
Good news for non-America: O2 UK has become the first international carrier to confirm it'll have the iPhone 4 ready for purchase and adoration on launch day, June 24. After the iPad gave preferential treatment to the US with its release schedule, some might have feared the similarly hot piece of tech Apple just announced today will also suffer from a tiered launch. It's looking like Brits won't have to worry about that particular pain, but it's also curious that Vodafone and Orange -- the other local carriers of the iPhone -- are remaining mum tonight. Is Apple lending a hand to its old partner by allowing it early stock? That wouldn't be entirely unfathomable, though it would be pretty unpleasant for impatient types who fancy some carrier choice. Update: Never mind that whole conspiracy theory: we've just seen that Orange is also throwing its hat into the June 24 ring -- let's keep this momentum going, guys! [Thanks, Blizzard] Update 2: And now Tech Radar has heard direct from Vodafone that June 24 is a go, giving us a complete Brit pack. Update 3: Hey, what do you know? T-Mobile UK's getting it too. Choice is good.
Dell Streak review
Streak. It needs no introduction, as this slate's been gaining a lot of attention amongst gadget lovers around the world. Thanks to the UK launch last Friday, we were one of the first on this planet to procure Dell's finalized Android 1.6 phone from O2. Yep, you heard right -- Engadget's now in possession of two Streaks, with the older one still in its original and somewhat unstable prototype state. Our new toy sports a matte "carbon" finish instead of chrome (no word on future availability; the red version's coming in two weeks' time), and now 399MB of RAM instead of 405MB (according to Android System Info app; it's actually a 512MB chip). Anyhow, now that we have the real deal, there's plenty to go through, so join us after the break to see if the Streak's really going to start a new trend.%Gallery-94418%
Dell Streak free on contract in UK, assuming £25 monthly plan
You know that Dell Streak tabletphone that's got us all hot and bothered these days? Yeah, well, what with all the stabbing, we totally didn't notice that the device has already been priced in the UK. When it launches on June 4th at The Carphone Warehouse, the Streak will cost you a sizable £429 off-contract -- the same Apple wants for an iPad 16GB -- but not a penny if you opt for its data plans (carried by O2). With a £25 mobile broadband contract or a £35 voice and unlimited data contract, the five-inch WVGA slate will be yours to take home free -- the same as Carphone's iPhone 3G pricing. We don't know quite yet if O2 UK's official tariffs will be cheaper or more expensive, but the tree doesn't grow too far from the apple, as they say.
Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus now live on O2 UK
If you bundle the original Pre in with the Pre Plus -- and you pretty much can, considering how closely related they are -- this is quickly becoming one of the most protracted, phased mobile product launches in memory. Yes, that's right: as promised, O2 UK has now launched both the Pre Plus alongside its scrappier little sibling, the Pixi Plus, and you can get either one for as little as zero quid depending on how you play your cards. The Pixi Plus goes in your pocket for free on any plan, while the Pre Plus stays free as long as you spend at least £40 ($58) a month and scales up to £99 ($143) on the cheaper plans. We've got to believe there's some awesome new (like, legitimately new) hardware in Palm's pipe at this point -- but a free webOS device is always a tough offer to pass up, right?
Dell Streak official: exclusive to O2 UK (update: launches on June 4)
Let's all feign surprise now, as Dell has just gone official with its worst kept, though perhaps sexiest, secret ever. The former Mini 5 has been christened the Streak and is launching at the beginning of next month. The UK will be getting the first bite at this cherry, with the rest of Europe following soon thereafter and the US a disappointingly distant third with a launch "later this summer." If you've been living under a (Round) Rock, this is Dell's big foray into the smartphone market: a 5-inch supersized Android handset, housing a 1GHz Snapdragon, a 5 megapixel cam, 2GB of built-in memory (expandable via MicroSD) and a customized UI. Curiously, Dell's opting to market the Streak as "the ultimate portable tablet pc" and would prefer that this device, albeit fully equipped to carry out cellular calls like a phone, not be called a smartphone. We got a chance to play with it during a briefing in London recently, and frankly, aside from the snazzier paintjob, there's nothing new to report. Just like the prototype unit we've previewed to exhaustion, the device on hand was running Android 1.6 and Dell's skinning team hadn't yet laid on the goodies that we've been promised. The battery is the same 1,530mAh cell as before, and we even managed to get the browser to crash in the exact same fashion that our own Streak exhibits on occasion. Now that's consistency. We're not being told the specific Android version that the Streak will ship with, but a couple of flavors are being mulled over right now. Till we get more info, we suggest sitting back, relaxing, and perusing the gallery below for the roaring red number that's currently on show. It won't be available at launch -- you can have any color so long as it's black -- but "a range of colors and designs" will swiftly follow to sate any aesthetic concerns. Video and full press release after the break. Update: The Carphone Warehouse listing for the Streak shows Android 1.6 as the OS with an "OTA upgrade available soon." Pair that with word direct from Dell that Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 are coming "later this year," and you can connect your own dots [Thanks, Azza]. Update 2: O2's website now has a precise date for us: June 4.%Gallery-93604%%Gallery-93632%
O2 UK will get Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus on May 28, skin you alive with pricing
You didn't think Germany was gonna have all the Palm fun, did you? The UK is keeping pace with its longtime nemesis by matching the May 28 launch date for the Pre and Pixi Plus on O2, and has even supplied us with a handy reference sheet containing all price plans available for the handsets. You'll find it after the break, but sadly it'll only be of interest to true WebOS enthusiasts. There's nothing south of £25 ($36) per month available, and if you want a reasonable call allowance, you'll have to get on into the £30 and above bracket. All contracts do at least come with unlimited texts and data, but overall the cost seems too steep to entice us, what with all the Desires and Bolds floating around at better price points. [Thanks, Chris W.]
O2's UK network hung up, just like the Parliament -- were you affected? (Updated with O2's response)
So word has it that O2's network's been a bit dodgy in some parts of the UK this evening. Did Gordon Brown's resignation cause such an outage? Did all the texts about David Cameron's shiny forehead lead to this network overload? We don't know, but our own phone's been running just fine all evening in Central London. Anyhow, let us know if you were affected -- just don't say it was Nick Clegg's fault. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: O2's released a statement about the regional outage: "We currently have a fault on our network which is affecting voice and data service across parts of the Midlands, South West and Northern Ireland. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Our engineers are on site to fix the fault as soon as possible."This certainly matches what we're seeing on Elliott Kember's crowdsourced map, too. [Thanks, danWebb and Scump]%Poll-46230%
iPad international data plans roundup: Japan gets SIM-locked devices, Spain gets a great deal more (updated)
With international pre-orders now being taken, more data plan details have started emerging for Apple's iPad. We now know that Rogers will be charging Canadians pretty similarly to how AT&T treats American 3G users, albeit with the inclusion of a 5GB monthly data cap on the pricier tariff. O2 has also outed its plans, though it's not much better news in the UK where it's matching Orange's pricing with a 3GB monthly allowance for £15 per month ($22), while Vodafone has completely lost its marbles with a 250MB offers a 1GB option costing £10 a month and 5GB costing £25 per month. Apple engages in a bit of false advertising in Germany, claiming unlimited data plans with O2 (€25) and Vodafone (€29.95), but there are clear limits set out on the carriers' sites of 5GB and 3GB per month, respectively. Finally, Japan gets the stiffest deal of all with iPads there officially confirmed to be SIM-locked to Softbank Mobile's network, something that has already earned plenty of ire from the local populace. The carrier does offer a variety of monthly payment plans for obtaining your tablet, though its data tariffs are nothing special: ¥2,910 ($32) for a month's unlimited use if you sign up to what seems like a longer-term plan, or ¥4,410 ($48) for a 1GB allowance if you go pre-paid. There's a third option for spendthrifts, costing ¥1,510 ($16) for 100MB pre-paid, but that's not even enough for you to watch a full Engadget Show, so we'd probably advise against it. You can find price breakdowns for each country after the break. [Thanks, Bram] Update: Rogers has killed that lovely third option shown in the image above. Hope you weren't excited about it. Update 2: Turns out Apple had the wrong details about Vodafone UK too -- you get 1GB of data if you spend £10 a month. [Thanks, Rob] Update 3: Movistar, Telefonica's consumer arm in Spain, has announced a pretty stonking deal: if you already have a smartphone data plan costing €25 a month, you can get a Micro SIM and 3G data on your iPad for free. Espana totally just won the "best place to own an iPad" contest. Update 4 (12 May): The perpetually-emailing Steve Jobs has apparently chimed in to say Japan's iPad 3Gs accept international SIMs, so feel free to pick one up and take home on your next trip to Fukuoka. [Thanks, David]
iPad will have 'dedicated tariffs' on O2 UK, Orange and Vodafone also doing Western Europe and Australia
A bevy of identically worded UK carrier announcements has emerged in the wake of Apple's statement about the iPad's delayed international release. The good news is that you'll be able to take your pick from O2, Orange or Vodafone, though the bad news, by the sound of their robotic PR, is that there probably won't be too much price differentiation in their eventual offerings. Naturally, we'll have to keep waiting until at least the May 10th pre-order date to find out how much an iPad will set us back with either of them. Concurrent with its UK announcement, Orange has revealed it'll also offer iPad plans in Switzerland, France and Spain, while Vodafone adds Germany, Italy, Spain and Australia. We've also heard from an insider at O2 that the network operator will not itself stock the iPad, with only Apple's retail, web and "authorised dealers" offering the device for purchase. [Thanks, Rob and anonymous O2 tipster]
LG GW300 impressions
LG's kept our thumbs busy over the last few days with its GW300 -- a 2G featurephone with a portrait QWERTY keyboard, a first from LG that joins the likes of Samsung's CorbyTXT and Freeform along with INQ's Chat 3G. O2 UK offers this phone with just a standalone price of £78.29 ($129) with a minimum £10 ($16.50) initial top-up, but little is known about US availability for now. Either way, there's no harm in pointing your sexy eyes to our review just in case something happens tomorrow. Go ahead -- you know where to click. %Gallery-83323%
O2 UK gradually rolls out iPhone unlock, forgot to give us the instructions
Last week O2 UK announced that they will start unlocking iPhones while they lose the exclusivity deal with Apple. We signed up straight away (via the link below) and didn't hear anything until today -- just five days after O2 unlocked the first batch of iPhones, according to tweets from fellow users. As you can see in the picture half of our text message from O2 went missing for some reason, but luckily the procedure was easy enough for us to decipher: simply put in a non-O2 SIM card, then connect to iTunes and boom! You can see all this illustrated in the gallery. Sadly we're stuck with O2 for another twelve months, but are there any UK folks here planning to switch carriers soon?
Orange to start UK iPhone sales on November 10
Update: Orange has announced pricing for the iPhone, in a dizzying matrix of subscription & pay-as-you-go plans (Monkey, Dolphin, Canary, Racoon & Camel? Really?) matched with varying purchase costs. All plans include free unlimited WiFi access; wireless data is 250MB/mo on the PAYG plans and 'unlimited' (meaning 750MB/mo) on the subscription plans. Tethering is only available on the subscription plans. The wait for a new carrier for the iPhone in the UK appears to be nearly over. The Times Online out of the UK says Orange will add Apple's thrice-super phone to its stable on November 10, one day after O2's exclusivity for the device ends. Orange announced in late September that it would be carrying the iPhone, though it only said then that it would have the phone later in the year. At least 200,000 people may want to circle the date on their calendars, since at least that many have reportedly pre-registered to buy the phone on the new carrier, despite not knowing how much the phone will cost nor how much the monthly plans will run them. November 10 may be a bittersweet day for Vodafone. While it has announced its own deal to sell the iPhone in the UK starting in 2010, pent up demand from people who want the device but don't want O2 as a carrier may be lost to the new Orange option. Vodafone reports interim results on November 10, though it'll likely face as many questions about the phone it doesn't yet have as it will about its own numbers. O2 will still carry the iPhone, though it's also got its mind on the Palm Pre, which it began offering as a UK-exclusive last week. [via TimesOnline]
Palm Pre now available on O2 UK
And the Telefonica rollout of the GSM Pre continues. Starting today, those gorgeous people populating the sinking, but still glorious, isle of the United Kingdom can get their hands on a Palm Pre by hitting up their nearest O2 store. And by hitting up we mean becoming customers, not robbing the place. Anyway, the cheapest (or least expensive) 18-month tariff on which the Pre can be had for free is £44.05 ($71) per month, which throws in 1,200 free minutes and "unlimited" data and WiFi. That monthly price drops to £34.26 ($55) if you go for a two-year contract, but the bundled minutes are also fewer at 600. There's also an option to pay £96.89 ($157) for the handset upfront, which cuts the cost of the subsequent price plans, full details of which can be found at the read link.[Thanks, Cuan B.]
HTC HD2 makes first official appearance in O2 UK catalog
We've been furnished with the above page from an O2 in-store catalog detailing the HTC HD2 (aka Leo), which was set for a UK release on October 12 (though we're hearing that may have slipped to the 26th). Interesting that it's pictured with a stock Windows Mobile 6.5 UI instead of TouchFLO 3D. Is O2 rushing HTC's new hotness out the door in response to losing its iPhone supremacy? Or did an absent-minded employee just slip out the catalogs ahead of time? We're getting in touch with O2 to find out and will update with more details as we get them. For now, check out the full catalog page after the break. [Thanks, Peter W.] Update: After O2 stonewalled our phone enquiries, we decided to drop by our nearest (which was still annoyingly far away) store to have a look for ourselves. Alas, we only found September issues of the catalog, and the above snapshot is from the October iteration, which sports a big fat Pre promo on the front. So, anyone else seen an advance copy yet?
O2 issues brief, cold press release on Orange's iPhone win
Think of it from the perspective of the media relations team: after a two-year run dating back to the original iPhone, your network has just lost its exclusivity with Apple -- perhaps the highest-profile company to do so. Do you pretend it didn't happen? And if you do decide to address it, how do you spin it? Well, sit back, ladies and gentlemen, and observe O2's PR gurus at work -- because they've just spit out a terse two-paragraph release on the matter that makes no mention of Orange whatsoever, and only a veiled reference to the exclusivity loss at all. Instead, they're boasting that they "always knew that iPhone exclusivity was for a limited period of time" and even throw in a mention of the Pre, another high-profile model that's about to become an O2 exclusive, closing on a high note: "We also offer award-winning customer service and benefits, which is why more people choose O2 than any other network in the UK." You just had to play the subscriber count card, didn't you, guys?
HTC Leo looking confirmed for O2 UK debut, will be free on the right plan
If you needed another reason to frown upon the state of the North American wireless industry, allow us to go ahead and turn your attention to Exhibit A here. What you're looking at is some promotional material backing up earlier rumors that the HD2 / Leo is en route to O2 in the UK, but what's especially upsetting (though not terribly surprising) is the knowledge that customers will be able to scoop up HTC's new ultra-high-end WinMo beast for zilch on an O2 1200 tariff -- a plan that runs something like £45 (about $72) a month. Oh, and that's on an 18-month contract, not 24. Meanwhile, we'll be lucky to ever see the Leo land in its natural, original, HTC-approved state on a carrier at any price in the US, but hey, at least we've still got some more Touch Pro2 launches to look forward to, right? [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Palm Pre coming to the UK and Ireland October 16, Germany October 13, all O2 exclusives
It might be about four months late, but the UK is finally getting its slice of the tasty new Palm pie. There'll be no shortage of outlets to buy this from, with the Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and O2's online shop all stocked up, but the carrier options are limited to just one. You'll find tables of UK and Ireland pricing after the break, and you'll be happy to know that the Pre can be had for free on two-year contracts charging £34.26 per month, which come with "unlimited" mobile data and free access to the BT OpenZone WiFi service. [Thanks, Andrew] Update: Good news for our Teutonic brethren, as O2 Germany has also let slip news of the Pre hitting Deutschland on October 13, with the device priced at €481 without contract or cheaper with.
T-Mobile UK sneakily offering iPhone 3G to moneyed customers
We really couldn't make this stuff up -- it would seem that T-Mobile has been sneaking some hi-tech contraband into the UK in the form of unlocked iPhone 3G handsets, which it is now peddling to its most valued clientele. And by that, of course, we mean the piggies that pay up the most every month. Limited to an extremely select 150 units a week, the Apple devices are being used as incentives for high-rolling customers to renew their eye-gouging contracts of £75 per month and above, though we suspect only a few chums in corner offices know exactly how much T-Mob is charging for the handset itself.We've done some digging, and while O2 has exclusivity on the iPhone 3G until September, that does not prevent T-Mobile from essentially functioning as a reseller of unlocked SIM-free units. Further distancing itself from legal action, the carrier is only offering the handsets to upgrading customers (as opposed to newcomers), thus the phones technically come sans a SIM. So, the suits at Magenta Towers must be feeling pretty smug right about now, having danced through a loophole and secured a wildly popular (albeit older generation) phone, all in the name of keeping high-brow customers from jumping ship. While you won't hear any PR from T-Mobile on the matter, we have a full statement from O2 on the subject of losing 3G exclusivity come September. You ready? We have a multi-year agreement with Apple to sell iPhone in the UK. This relationship continues.Man, those Britons keep it short and sweet, don't they?
O2 and Vodafone relatively mum on future iPhone tethering
At Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event last Tuesday, Sir Scott explained that it was "working with carriers around the world" to build tethering support in. We can't say for sure what that means, but it certainly sounds like it'll be up to the operator to activate (or not) iPhone tethering when OS 3.0 is launched to the masses. Pocket-lint took the opportunity to ping both O2 and Vodafone over in the UK, though neither company seemed particularly interested in giving a solid answer. The former simply stated that it was "working [with Apple] to ensure new features, including tethering, are fully supported on O2's network," but wasn't "making any announcements yet." The latter simply proclaimed that it was "discussing the situation" but didn't have anything to confirm. To us, it sounds like both carriers will eventually allow it, but we aren't too sure they'll be doing so with no extra fees woven in.
