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HTC Wildfire S hits Carphone Warehouse in UK, free with contract
UK readers on a budget can finally toss that Treo (gently, please) and head over to Carphone Warehouse to snag HTC's Wildfire S. The low-end Android device just popped up on the distributor's website, and the phone is appropriately priced at £0.00 with a two-year contract on Orange UK. Plans start at £20 (about $33) with 250MB of data, 100 anytime minutes and unlimited texts -- an extra £5 ups that to 300 minutes and 500MB of data, which nets you a reasonable amount of talk time, assuming you can stay within the limits of that pesky data cap. No word on when the budget 'droid will be available from Orange's website or in stores, but Carphone is showing that these are in stock, so if you've been holding out for a higher-res Wildfire before making the jump to Android, get ready to have your world rocked. [Thanks, Jay]
INQ Cloud Touch Facebook phone graces store shelves in UK, wallets smile
The first round of the Facebook Phone war is underway in the UK, thanks to INQ launching the first javelin at its main opponent. Even as we continue to wait for HTC's Facebook offerings to come out sometime this summer, the INQ Cloud Touch has shown up on Carphone Warehouse shelves for a rather affordable £300 off-contract, or about $486. We were quick to Like the entry-level handset when we handled it back in February; the Froyo-powered device features an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, 5 megapixel sensor, and a custom Android homescreen that fully integrates the Facebook experience into the OS. While the specs may not be enough to make the Android enthusiast salivate, the price will almost definitely cause status-obsessed tweens to commence drooling.
HTC Flyer hits UK pre-order status at £600, comes with 3G and 32GB of storage
The one Android tablet that isn't riding NVIDIA's Tegra 2 dual-core chip and Google's Honeycomb iteration (but might still be worth buying) has this weekend become available to pre-order in the UK. The Carphone Warehouse is listing a £600 ($983) fee for owning the HTC Flyer, which is more or less a match for the €669 price Amazon.de is offering to German slate lovers. In exchange for a dozen rose-tinted notes with the Queen's face on them, you'll get a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 display, encased in an aluminum unibody case and powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm chip. HTC's Sense UI has undergone some tablet-friendly tweaks and there is of course that Scribe stylus to flex your artistic muscles with. 3G connectivity and 32GB of storage flesh out the Flyer's hardware offering, while the underlying Android Gingerbread OS is promised to get a Honeycomb-flavored update, most likely some time this summer.
Motorola Xoom UK pricing official at £580 for 3G and £480 for WiFi-only
Motorola has now confirmed that the latest round of prices the Carphone Warehouse, PC World and other UK retailers are listing for its Xoom tablet are indeed the officially sanctioned price points for the Honeycomb slate. After being listed at £600 for the 3G model and £500 for the WiFi-only version initially, the 32GB-equipped 10-incher is now mercifully £20 cheaper, at £580 and £480 for each variant. A quick glance at Apple's online store tells us that those levies match up exactly to what a corresponding 32GB version of the iPad 2 will cost you, signaling Motorola's intent to at least be on par in terms of pricing. Stores are still showing the Xoom under a pre-order status for now, but that should be changing swiftly if Motorola wishes to live up to its promise of availability this very week.
Motorola Xoom, LG Optimus Pad, Acer Iconia A100, and ASUS Eee Pad get Euro retailer pricing
The Carphone Warehouse, known under the brand name of Phone House across Europe, has revealed its future pricing for a quartet of Android Honeycomb tablets in the latest version of its device catalog. The 7-inch Acer Iconia A100 scoops the prize for being most affordable with a €349 sticker, while the 10-inch Xoom's €699 price is confirmed and the 8.9-inch Optimus Pad gets its lowest pricing yet, at a still unaffordable €849. The Eee Pad on display here isn't explicitly named, but we suspect it to be the 10.1-inch Transformer, packing a dual-core Tegra 2 and running version 3.0 of Android -- just like all the others in this group. Oddly enough, these are all detailed in the March version of the document, but unless we're sorely mistaken, none of these tablets has yet reached the stage of general availability in Europe. Well, at least it lets us know how much each one will cost when they do eventually hit retail. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola Xoom 3G arrives in UK for £600, gets enigmatic listing on Amazon.de for €700
Yesterday we saw the WiFi-only Xoom get its UK pricing straightened out at £500 via PC World, and today Carphone Warehouse is putting up pre-order availability of the 3G-equipped version at a nice round hundie more. The £600 Xoom 3G is listed as "in stock" now, but deliveries will likely take until the first week of April to get going, assuming Moto is delivering both SKUs of its Android 3.0 tablet at the same time. We've also come across an Amazon.de pre-order for the Xoom, asking for €700, but alas there's no hint as to whether it includes 3G connectivity or not -- no hint other than the price, that is. [Thanks, Yosef]
HTC Incredible S shipping this week in UK, will come with Froyo to start
Though it'd originally been pegged for the second quarter, it seems HTC's bumping that up a smidge with the launch of its new flagship -- the Incredible S -- in the UK this week. Pre-orders are going on as we speak with shipments promised for tomorrow, but there's a catch: rather than shipping with Gingerbread, the phones will come with Froyo to start with an upgrade to Gingerbread promised for the near future. Buyers, we've got a little homework for you: if you're feeling adventurous and in a warranty-voiding mood, try to figure out what's going on with those auto-rotating capacitive buttons, alright?
Nexus S UK launch bumped back to December 22nd, price cut affirmed
Those cursed limited supplies of the Nexus S have forced the Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy's UK outlets to push back the phone's retail debut by a couple of days. The Gingerbread flagship will now be sailing in on the 22nd of December and even then it'll be available only in "key" stores. Online purchases are encouraged, with an "instant ship delivery" getting the phone out to your nearest Carphone Warehouse branch for collection. Pre-orderers should presumably be getting their handsets on Wednesday too, while the £430 unlocked price has also been confirmed. So it's still good news, you'll just have to be either lucky or good to get your hands on one in time for the Queen's speech.
Nexus S sees UK SIM-free price chopped to £430, Best Buy's Christmas deliveries not so guaranteed
The UK price for the Nexus S just became a whole lot (nearly 22 percent) more attractive, thanks to the Carphone Warehouse slashing the SIM-free purchase option to a sweet £429.99 ($668). Contract-saddled pricing has also taken a tumble, as the Nexus S can now be had for free on two-year agreements costing £30 ($47) per month. Good news all around, then, but be aware that the handset is now listed as being on back order, having been "in stock" earlier in the week. Speaking of delays, we're also hearing Best Buy's guaranteed Christmas delivery -- something proudly signposted on the Nexus S online order page -- might very well miss Santa's delivery window. A couple of our readers have received emails from the retailer advising them that their Gingerbread packages will be shipped "within the next 1-2 weeks," but might not get there by December 24th. So happy holidays and best of luck! [Thanks, Taylor and Rod]
Nexus S in stock on Carphone Warehouse's site a little early
So this is how it was supposed to go: Best Buy would start selling the Nexus S in the States on December 16th, and Carphone Warehouse would follow on a few days later -- the 20th, to be exact -- in the UK. Looks like the British are going rogue here, though, because Samsung's Gingerbread-packed slate is showing "in stock" on Carphone Warehouse's site right this very moment, which should theoretically mean it ships the same day if you order it before 5PM local time. Let us know if you get it in your paws before the 20th, alright? [Thanks, Daniel K.]
Samsung cuts Galaxy Tab prices in the UK, still more than AT&T
We've already shared some opinions on why Samsung's Galaxy Tab pricing makes sense stateside -- granted, that was before AT&T announced it would be charging $50 more than every other US carrier. After initially showing up for pre-order in the UK on Carphone Warehouse for £530 ($850) and for a Queen's ransom of £799 ($1280) on Amazon though, we're glad to find The Inquirer reporting that Tab prices on both Amazon and Dixons have dropped to £469 ($738) for a 16GB model with free delivery. Carphone Warehouse has also cut prices down to £489.99 ($784) for the 32GB version. Sure, that may still sound steep to us Yankees, but keep in mind it's now a good bit less than the basic 16GB 3G iPad which currently sells for £529 ($850). Whether these prices will slide even closer to Stateside levels is still obviously anyone's guess, but at this point we're sure those of you in the UK won't have an issue paying less for your tab.
Samsung Galaxy Tab on sale now in UK
While Steve Jobs doesn't like the form factor and Google thinks that Froyo is less than ideal for tablets, we were pretty impressed by the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab's ability to run Android 2.2. Today it's officially on sale in UK shops as previously announced. It's supposed to be coming to all the major UK carriers in addition to Carphone Warehouse, Dixons, and T-Mobile shops. At the moment, we're seeing it in stock at the Carphone Warehouse under a variety of plans ranging from a £499.99 with a £10 pay monthly plan on Talk Mobile that includes 1GB of data. On the other extreme is a £99.99 deal that requires a £40 per month two year contract that includes 5GB of data on Three. It's also offered for a standalone price of £529.99. And please, whatever you do don't call it a UMPC, that was so 5 years ago. Update: We've just heard that Orange is also launching the Tab at similar price points, starting from £499. Similarly, Vodafone's offering the same tablet for £499 across all of its monthly contracts. On the other hand, O2's slapped a staggering £599 tag onto the device for all of its plans -- a very odd move, we'd say (link only works within the UK).
Carphone Warehouse getting Nexus Two in time for holidays?
This is kinda out of the blue, but British publication City A.M. is claiming that Google has inked a deal with wireless retail giant Carphone Warehouse to exclusively sell a Nexus Two -- the mythical successor to the Nexus One -- in time for Christmas this year. Little else is offered, though the story claims that it'll run Gingerbread and probably won't be manufactured by Samsung. Of course, Google has already gone on the record basically declaring the Nexus One's sales model a failure, though it specifically cited customers' inability to get hands-on time with the phone before buying it as a big problem -- and signing up with a behemoth like Carphone Warehouse would certainly solve it. It's unclear whether regions outside the retailer's sphere of influence would also be on board, though it's important to note that Carphone Warehouse is in bed with Best Buy Mobile in the States... so if you believe the rumor, feel free to start lining up in front of your local big box right now. [Thanks, Alex]
Samsung Galaxy Tab up for pre-order at Carphone Warehouse for £530
We continue that elusive hunt for an official Galaxy Tab price with the most reliable (though still not authoritative) number yet: £530 ($850) from the Carphone Warehouse. Already announced as one of the first retailers to offer the device in the UK on that November 1 launch date, the Warehouse outfit has now set its price for the 16GB Tab at exactly the level of the 3G-equipped iPad. Coincidence? We think not. This is highly likely to be Samsung's final pre-subsidy pricing, leaving it up to network operators to tempt us with some aggressive discounts. We can only hope. [Thanks, Middy]
White HTC Desire and silver Wildfire make a special appearance in London
Man, just look at these puppies -- a silver Wildfire nestling against a snow-white Desire. If this cute image is making you smile, you can thank our friends over at Android Community for stumbling upon these special edition HTC phones, which are headed to The Carphone Warehouse's exclusive club in good old Blighty (sorry, US readers). There's no date confirmed just yet, but given that these Android phones will be slapped with the regular price tags, you'd best be ready to dash to your nearest store before it's too late. Head over to the source link for more eye candy while you camp out.
British retailer outs HTC Desire Z, confirms Desire HD again
mobiles.co.uk -- which is a subsidiary of European phone giant Carphone Warehouse -- seems to be talking in some very matter-of-fact terms about a couple new Android models from HTC, presumably devices that we'll see at this upcoming September 15 event. First up is the well-leaked Desire HD, which these guys list as a Froyo device equipped with a 4.3-inch display, 1GHz core, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video capture, and 4GB of internal storage (in other words, precisely what we were expecting). More interesting to some, though, will be the Desire Z, which is described as an Android 2.1 device (yes, 2.1, not 2.2) with a full sliding keyboard -- quite likely the Vision, if we had to guess. Gonna be hard to wait for the next month to find out, isn't it? [Thanks, Richard and Pete S.]
Samsung Galaxy S coming in white?
It looks like Samsung might be getting ready to do something that Apple's having an awful time with: produce a white version of its latest, greatest smartphone. GSMArena happened across a tiny, blurry image of a particularly pale Galaxy S on the website of Spain's The Phone House -- a Carphone Warehouse company -- where it's identified as an exclusive. In our experience, full-touch handsets almost always look dashing in white, and we'd expect no different of the Super AMOLED-equipped Galaxy; unfortunately, there's no indication (yet, anyway) that this'll launch anywhere else. Anyone care to fly to Spain with €500 in hand? [Thanks, Blazeitup123]
Sony Ericsson X10 mini goes on sale, free on a miserly plan
What it lacks in raw power and display size, Sony Ericsson's X10 mini may very well make up in sheer cuteness -- and if you're into that sort of thing, you'll be delighted to know that the phone is now on sale in the UK. Carphone Warehouse is retailing the phone for free on plans as little as £15 ($21.55) a month -- and it's available on T-Mobile, 3, Orange, and Vodafone -- or £249.95 ($359) if you just want to buy the phone outright. You won't get Eclair or Froyo out of the gate -- but then again, when you're buying a phone that elicits responses of "awww" every time you pull it out of your pocket, up-to-date software probably isn't a priority.
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.
Best Buy opens first UK store in Thurrock, we go hands-on (video)
Ah, there it is, UK's first-ever Best Buy store, officially born at 7am local time yesterday. Naturally, we had to be there to witness such magical moment for Britain's consumer tech market -- the Brits had longed for an injection of energy and professionalism to the seemingly slacking chain stores. Many would agree that DSGi's two main brands -- Currys and PC World -- are on the naughty list, even after their recent relaunch. From what we saw today, it looks like Best Buy's already heading in the right direction. Let's start with the front-line employees. Most of these Blueshirts provided genuine technical answers rather than bluffing their way out, plus we were given product recommendations with no desperate sales pitch as commonly seen in other stores. When we revealed our identity to one of the sales reps, he confirmed that they were trained to not force random products onto customers -- quite the opposite culture to his old days at DSGi (assuming he was telling the truth). We sure did appreciate this new-found shopping freedom in gadget stores, but did the other customers feel the same way? Find out what we heard after the break.%Gallery-92099%
