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Google Pixel 6 teasers confirm five years of Android security updates
Teasers for Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro confirm at least five years of OS security updates.
The UK's biggest phone store chain is closing all of its outlets
The UK's only remaining independent phone store is closing its vast network of retail locations on April 3rd, 2020. Dixons Carphone, owner of Currys PCWorld and Carphone Warehouse (CPW), will shutter the latter's 531 outlets at the start of next month. The company says it will focus on selling mobile gear and packages through Carphone Warehouse-branded areas inside the 305 remaining Currys PCWorld stores.
Carphone Warehouse says up to 2.4 million customer accounts hacked
Carphone Warehouse, the UK's biggest independent phone retailer, has confirmed it has been the target of hackers. The company has said that the personal details of up to 2.4 million customers have been stolen, as well as 90,000 encrypted credit card records. BBC News reports that the affected sites include OneStopPhoneShop.com, e2save.com and Mobiles.co.uk, but also Carphone Warehouse services like TalkTalk Mobile, Talk Mobile and iD Mobile.
Carphone Warehouse launching flexible 'iD' mobile network next month
Does the UK need another carrier? Carphone Warehouse seems to think so. It's been rumoured for months, but finally the company is ready to unveil its own mobile network. "iD" will arrive in May and, as expected, be powered by Three's network infrastructure. What makes it special? Well, the retailer says it's focusing on a few key benefits. The first is "controlled and capped plans," which it claims will be the cheapest on the market. It's also emphasising "flexible" 12-month contracts and 30-day SIM-only plans.
Carphone Warehouse staff will help you choose the best network for your area
Now that Phones4u is no more, Carphone Warehouse is one of the few independent retailers selling mobile phone contracts in the UK. With mounting competition from dedicated carrier stores, the company hopes to stand apart by offering its customers better impartial advice. To that end it's teamed up with RootMetrics, a firm that specialises in monitoring mobile network performance. Using its CoverageMap app, which combines professional and crowdsourced network tests, Carphone Warehouse staff will now tell shoppers which carriers offer the best coverage in their local area. Whether you're interested in call quality or download speeds, this information could save you from picking a weak network. You can always download the app for yourself or check RootMetrics' map online, but a timely reminder just before you sign up for a new contract can't hurt.
Dixons Carphone just made a deal that should avert a Phones4U-style disaster
Although there were a multitude of reasons behind Phones4U's demise, one of the key factors was the overwhelming lack of support from the UK's major carriers. Three and O2 severed ties with the company way in advance of its closure, but it was a shake of the head from both Vodafone and EE that dealt the final blow. For a short time, it looked as if the mobile reseller model could be under threat, spelling trouble for Phones4U rival Carphone Warehouse, a retailer that had just been picked up by Dixons Retail for £3.8 billion.
Dixons Carphone gives hundreds of stricken Phones4u employees new jobs
When Phones4u announced its surprise decision to call in the administrators, its 5,600 employees were left facing a very uncertain future. While the retailer is busy figuring out its options, one of it's biggest rivals, Dixons Carphone, has swooped in and offered a lifeline to some Phones4u staff. In a statement today, Dixons Carphone said it has reached an agreement with Phones4u to hire all 800 employees who had worked in a partnership between their stores.
Phones4u forced into administration after EE says it's pulling the plug
Less than two weeks ago, we remarked that things were looking tough for Phones4u. Today, it looks as though the company no longer has a future. After Vodafone said it was dropping its partnership deal with the company to go all in with Dixons Carphone, EE, the biggest carrier in the UK, has done what it threatened to do earlier in the year and announced it too is going alone. In a statement, Phones4u said that EE has decided not to renew its current contract, which expires in just over a year, leaving the company with no other choice than to call in the administrators. "The unexpected decisions by both Vodafone and EE have come as a complete shock to the business," it noted, adding that it'll honour existing contracts (no word on iPhone 6 pre-orders) but close stores while it assesses its options.
Vodafone ditches Phones4u to go all in with Dixons Carphone
Dixons Carphone is only (officially) a month old, but it's already dealt a huge blow to one of its rivals. In its battle to provide UK consumers with the best value smartphone deals, the newly-formed company today announced that it's signed an "enhanced" sales agreement with Vodafone, sticking another nail in the coffin of rival high street retailer Phones4u in the process. You see, while Carphone Warehouse customers will soon enjoy a greater choice of contracts and pay-as-you-go SIMs, Vodafone has also chosen not to renew its network agreement with Phones4u, which expires in February. The carrier follows O2 and Three in moving away from the retailer, meaning it'll soon offer just EE and Virgin Mobile deals in-store and online. It could get even worse if EE decides to go it alone, but it hasn't yet confirmed that it will, ensuring Phones4u has at least one big name network on its books while it attempts to grow its own.
Dixons Carphone celebrates its merger with seven new upgraded stores
After almost three months and a number of important approvals, Dixons and Carphone Warehouse have officially become one. Dixons Carphone, as it's now known (no, we're not making it up), is getting straight down to business, opening seven "store-in-stores" across the UK today with plans to open another 23 by the end of the year. When you enter one of the new "combined" shops, there will be dedicated areas for white goods, computers and now contract phones. That approach is mirrored across its websites too, pointing customers to new branded areas to better serve their needs. As time moves on, though, you may notice smartphones and tablets are given more prominence inside Currys & PC World stores as Dixons Carphone tries to lure you away from Amazon and offer everything under one physical and digital roof.
Europe gives Dixons Carphone the green light
The £3.8 billion merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse has cleared a big hurdle today. After announcing their intention to join forces as Dixons Carphone in May, the European Commission has seen fit to clear the deal, allowing the two parties to begin working out what to do with their combined 3,000 stores and 35,000 employees.
Dixons and Carphone Warehouse in talks to merge their 3,000 UK stores
Dixons is one of the last tech stores left on the UK's high street, but it's not content to just survive while rivals die off. Instead, the outfit has confirmed that it's been in behind-the-scenes merger talks with smartphone store Carphone Warehouse. If the deal goes through, it would create a retail behemoth with 3,000 stores and 35,000 employees -- at least before any cost-cutting begins. Nothing has been decided just yet, but the two companies have until May 19th to determine whether a tie-up is worth it, so execs at Phones4U may be in for a few sleepless nights.
Samsung opening 60 more brick-and-mortar stores across Europe
Nothing says that you're a heavyweight tech brand like your own store, a flagship retail location that screams your brand from every wall and window. Samsung's got a few of these already, but now it's on a mission to conquer the shopping malls of Europe. The Korean giant has signed a deal with Carphone Warehouse, where the latter will open and operate 60 Samsung-branded shops within the next three months. Some of the locations will be new and the rest will be re-branded CPW stores, but either way -- Samsung's brand is about to get a lot more visible.
HTC One mini launching on almost all UK carriers around August 9th
We've reached out to all of the usual suspects, and only one of them hasn't stuck a thumb up and winked when we've asked if it'll be carrying HTC's "diminutive" new smartphone. O2, EE, Vodafone, Phones4U and Carphone Warehouse have all confirmed that they'll carry the One mini, while ThreeUK has yet to get back to us. There's no solid information on how much the device will cost on a monthly or one-off basis, but Carphone Warehouse is already accepting sim-free pre-orders for a very plausible £380. That same retailer is also saying that the phone is due to arrive on August 9th, but we'll take that assertion with a pinch of environmentally-friendly salt.
BlackBerry Z10 priced at £480 SIM-free by purported Carphone Warehouse database leak (update)
With all the BlackBerry 10 leaks as of late, it seems inevitable that pricing info would get ousted in the lead up to January 30th. Thanks to an anonymous tipster, it appears that the SIM-free version of RIM's Z10 will cost UKers a cool £480 at Carphone Warehouse (for perspective, a 16GB iPhone 5 would run you just roughly £30 more). The leak comes from what's said to be a snapshot of the company's internal database, listing the white variant. The attached BLAZ10WHI model number also syncs up nicely with the previous slip from the retailer. At this rate, not much is going to be left to the imagination when RIM officially unveils its devices come Wednesday -- who likes surprises anyway, right? Update: We've updated the post to reflect that the phone was touted to us as "SIM-free," specifically. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Nokia Lumia 820 up for UK pre-order: free on contract or £380 sim-less, wireless charger thrown in
Carphone Warehouse is now taking pre-orders for the Nokia Lumia 820 handset, and there's good news for the cash bereft -- it's free on contract, and the reseller will toss in a £45 wireless charging plate to boot. You can commit £29 per month to O2, Vodafone or Orange to avoid paying up front, or grab an unencumbered handset at £380 for the 4.3-inch Windows Phone 8 device in black, red or white. For that, you'll get a 4G-capable smartphone with an 800 x 480 OLED screen, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM and 8-megapixel camera. The free extra offer will expire when shipping starts, so if the WP8 launch has you all charged up, hit the source.
Windows Phone 8 handset UK availability and pricing detailed: free starting from £21 per month
We've heard how Windows Phone 8 is all about you, and seen all the devices bearing the new OS at launch. What's left, however, is where you can get one on the other side of the pond and, more importantly, how much it's going to cost you. Nokia has separately announced that both the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 will be launching in the UK (and France) later this week. More specifically, though, it looks like every UK carrier will be getting at least three handsets, with the almost-ready-to-launch EE getting both of HTC and Nokia's handset pairs. We've got all the (current) pricing details and availability dates after the break.%Gallery-169573%
Nexus 4 priced at £390 by purported Carphone Warehouse in-store display placard
Oh, Carphone Warehouse -- it just can't seem to keep what it knows about the LG / Google Nexus 4 under lock and key. Just days after briefly listing the phone on its website, purported in-store displays for the yet unannounced device have leaked out to Android Authority. While essentially of the details are the same as what we saw last (1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 SoC, 8MP cam, 12-hour talk time rating, etc.), the listing reveals that the "sim-free" phone itself will sell for £390 (about $504) -- previously we'd only seen the per-month pricing at £31, which is also found here. There's no mention of that October 30th sale date this time, and it would seem unlikely now given that Google's had to indefinitely postpone its NYC-based Android event for the 29th due to hurricane Sandy. For now, you can get more details from the source link below.
Nexus 4 appears early at Carphone Warehouse, October 30th release date
Whoa there! The next Nexus just got an early reveal over at UK retailer Carphone Warehouse. Delivery is currently pegged for October 30th and apparently it's got brand new Android 4.2 (or Android 4.1.2 -- the listing mixes in both). The preorder screen confirms plenty of details we've already heard, including that 4.7-inch 1,280 x 768 display, Snapdragon S4 processor and 8-megapixel camera. Unfortunately, at least according to the phone seller, there's only 8GB of storage and no microSD card slot. Other curious parts include a "360-degree camera", whatever that is, and an on-screen render that's been previously been identified as a custom ROM. Diving into the supposed feature list, we're intrigued to see whether "gesture typing" will form a part of Google's new Android build -- the Carphone Warehouse compares it to Swype's finger-dragging input method. Price-wise, it looks like you could get the handset for free on contracts over £31 per month, with both O2 and Vodafone named as prospective networks for the device in the UK -- but no news here on whether the 4G-capable EE will offer an LTE iteration. Excited? Good, because we're going to hear plenty more on this next week. Update: And the page has been pulled. Hopefully, to iron out some of those suspect features...
iPhone 5 contract prices for UK phone networks published
The US isn't the only country whose residents are up early pre-ordering the iPhone 5 today. Other countries like the UK are also kicking off sales of the next generation iPhone. In the UK, customers have a variety of carriers, several different price points and even multiple retail stores from which to shop. Here is a quick rundown of the pricing and plans available for Apple's next generation handset. Vodafone: Vodafone lets you grab the 16 GB iPhone 5 for free if you agree to pay £47 a month for two years on a plan that includes 2 GB of data and unlimited voice and text. If £47 is too steep, customers can pay £249 for an iPhone on a £25 monthly plan. Orange: Orange offers a free 16 GB iPhone 5 on a £46 plan that includes 3 GB of data, unlimited texts and calls and a two-year agreement. Customers who don't mind paying £320 for their iPhone can sign up for a £20 monthly plan that includes 100 MB of data, 50 text messages and 50 minutes of voice calling. T-Mobile UK: T-Mobile UK is offering a paid version of the iPhone that'll cost £109 for the 16 GB model. The associated monthly plan costs £36 and includes unlimited internet with 2000 voice minutes. Everything Everywhere: Customers who buy an iPhone 5 at T-Mobile or Orange will be able to switch once EE fires up its 4G network. Three UK: Three UK has the 16 GB iPhone for £79 when you sign up for its unlimited data One Plan for £36 per month. O2: O2 is offering the iPhone for free if you agree to a minimum £46 monthly plan, which includes 1 GB of data and unlimited texts and messages. Customers can choose to pay upfront for the iPhone in exchange for a less expensive monthly plan. For example, a 16 GB iPhone 5 will cost £99.99 with a £36 monthly plan. Phones4U: The retailer is accepting pre-orders for customers who want to buy an iPhone 5 and sign up with Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone. Carphone Warehouse: The retailer is accepting pre-orders, with the 16 GB model available online and other models available via telesales. If you live in the UK and pre-ordered today, let us know how it went in the comments. We'd love to know what model/carrier combo you picked. [Via Engadget]
