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Chromebooks get 3G connectivity via Three UK (update)
Long before Google outed Samsung's Series 5 and Acer's Chromebook, we'd already heard that Verizon would provide unlimited 3G coverage to the Internet giant's netbooks, but our friends across the Atlantic still didn't have a data carrier until yesterday. We don't have a lot in the way of details for now, but Three UK has stepped forward as the Chromebooks' carrier of choice for 3G data in the United Kingdom. The company is decidedly tight-lipped otherwise, but says they'll have more details in the "next few weeks." Update: Well, it looks like Three has already let the cat out of the bag on this one. According to the UK's Chrome OS site, British Chromebook users will receive a free SIM card, offering 3GB of 3G coverage for three months -- see what they did there? After that, users can choose to go contract-free with a number of different pay-as-you-go plans that range from a 500MB day pass for £3 to a 7GB one-month pass for £25. More details can be found at the Chrome link below. [Thanks, Ross & Jamie W]
Nokia N95 sees crippling by UK carriers
Are you one of those Windows Mobile handset VoIP hackboys / hackgirls (wireless Skype, anyone)? How about that voice minute-less wireless VoIP on that Orange or Vodafone Nokia N95 handset? Wait, let's go back a bit -- right back to that Nokia S60 flagship handset in Europe. It appears that Vodafone and Orange in the UK have removed an important feature from carrier-branded N95s there. In what can be considered one extreme example of handset crippling, the two carriers have apparently stripped the N95 on store shelves of is VoIP capability in an attempt to preserve voice revenue. The solution -- as always with GSM carriers -- is to buy the more expensive, unlocked N95 and install your Symbian VoIP client of choice. Did we say we can't stand carrier-branded madness like this?
