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Samsung Galaxy Note now available on O2 in the UK, priced at around $400
Well, that didn't take long. Less than a week after O2 announced that the Galaxy Note would be "coming soon," Samsung's 5.3-inch handset has just popped up for sale on the UK carrier's site. It's available now for £250 (or about $396) on the most basic of monthly plans, offering a hybridized notepad/tablet experience, in exchange. The provider is also offering £100 worth of free movies and music to early buyers, available for download via Samsung Hub. Interested parties can grab it now, at the source link below. [Thanks, George]
O2 launches LTE trial across UK ahead of next year's 4G spectrum auction
BT's gonna have to make some room at the 4G table, now that O2 has launched its very own LTE trial across the UK. Today, the provider dipped its toes into the LTE pool for the first time within London, a little less than a year after announcing a similar test across Germany. The nine-month trial will begin at 25 test locations across London, before spreading out to encompass a full 40 square kilometers and some 1,000 participants. Obviously, not all customers will be able to grab a slice of the pie, but those who do receive one of Samsung's B3730 modems will benefit from connection speeds of up to 100Mbps. According to the company, that should allow users to download a 500MB file in just one minute, compared to the five minutes it would take on a normal 3G connection. Time will only tell whether these dreams become a reality, but O2 is certainly hoping to benefit from the feedback it receives from its guinea pigs, ahead of next year's 4G spectrum auction. Find out more, in the full PR after the break.
Galaxy Note hooks up with O2, brings the hybridized goods to British hands
Sammy's already released its massive mobile in-betweener to the UK, but so far the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note's failed to catch on with the country's carriers. Well, the winds of wireless change are sweeping in and O2 looks to be the spot for your subsidized needs. There's not much more than a November mention and the promise of it "Coming soon" on the operator's landing page. Still, it's good news for those of you on tight budgets with a predilection for tablet-like smartphones.
Samsung makes Galaxy Nexus release date official, available in the UK on November 17th
October's dizzying spate of high-end smartphone announcements gave us plenty of pizzazz, but not much in the way of release date meat. Well, that's about to change for those of you craving an Ice Cream Sandwich delight across the pond. Leaked out via an Amazon product page and officially confirmed by Samsung today, the Galaxy Nexus is slated to arrive on UK retailers' shelves this coming November 17th. If you've had your eye on this Android 4.0 flagship, you can always sign-up for a subsidized handset on Vodafone, O2 and 3UK -- its intended HSPA+ carrier homes. Or, if you like your Google experiences pure and contract free, hit up the source below to pre-order it with no strings attached. [Thanks, Pedro and Nathan]
O2's Galaxy Nexus landing page confirms November availability, forgets to add price
It's no secret that O2's set to release its Galaxy Nexus variant come this November, but a recently live landing page on the UK telecom's website is serving up some extras. As expected, its customers will be unwrapping the 21Mbps HSPA+ version of the device, but sadly, the question remains as to how much it'll cost. While a leaked Verizon document evidently has this Android 4.0 flagship pegged at $300 on-contract, O2's left nary a mention about pricing. With a handful of carriers now firmly under this 4.65-incher's belt, it's time for others to defrost their Ice Cream Sandwich release plans.
Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours (updated)
Last year's iPhone 4 launch brought more than 600,000 pre-orders within the first 24 hours. This year, that number nearly doubled, topping one million within one day of the device's pre-order availability through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Those that haven't pre-ordered the iPhone 4S can line up at Apple stores beginning at 8 a.m. on October 14th, or you can try your luck at pre-ordering now, though you may need to wait an extra week or two to get your hands on Apple's new iOS smartphone. Jump past the break for Apple's PR. Update: Maybe not a huge surprise considering the numbers Apple announced earlier today, but Sprint has just let us know that it has sold out of the 16GB iPhone 4S in both black and white for pre-orders, and that it's not taking backorders. 32GB and 64GB models are still available in both colors, however, as is the 8GB iPhone 4.
iPhone 4S officially announced: lands October 14th starting at $199 in sizes up to 64GB, coming to Sprint
What's this? The second coming of the iPhone 4? Sure enough, Tim Cook just pulled the covers off of the hotly-anticipated iPhone 4S here in Cupertino, making 2011 the first year in the company's current stint in the smartphone business that it chose to launch three new handsets (Verizon's CDMA iPhone 4 included, of course). On the outside the 4S looks exactly like its predecessor, but on the inside it's "all new." Apple has jammed a dual-core A5 CPU inside alongside a new dual-core GPU that supposedly boosts graphics performance by up to 7x. Up front is the same 3.5-inch Retina display we've all come to know and love, and around back is a glass plate. Those antennae around the sides (which caused many users so much trouble) have been revamped and iOS will intelligently switch between two different sets on the fly to avoid dropping calls no matter how you hold it. Those antennae are connected to a dual-mode GSM and CDMA radio that will let Apple's handset roam the globe while enjoying either 14.4Mbps HSPA+ or EV-DO Rev. A. %Gallery-135683% %Gallery-135727% %Gallery-135711%
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 26, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 26, 2011: Last week we heard the rumor that Sprint would be launching the BlackBerry Curve 9350 on October 2nd, and we've finally received the official confirmation. The device will be hitting stores tomorrow for $80 with a two-year contract. [PhoneArena] The Motorola Photon WiMAX, referred to as the Photon 4G in the US, is now making its way to Japan as KDDI announced the launch of the device this past Monday. [Motorola] Verizon Wireless launched the Pantech Jest 2 this week, which is a feature phone with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. [Verizon Wireless] The Samsung Galaxy Y is now listed as "coming soon" on O2's website, which makes it the second carrier to announce upcoming availability in the UK. The actual date of release, however, is still unofficial. [O2] Softbank (Japan) looks ready to land the ZTE Lord V882, which appears to be an Android device running on Gingerbread, and comes packed with a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 3.8-inch LCD at WVGA resolution and a 5MP camera. [LandofDroid] NTT DoCoMo and Orange have teamed up to offer the Sharp AQUOS SH80F, which features dual 8MP stereoscopic cameras and claims to be the world's first Android device capable of converting 2D content into 3D in real time. It'll first be launched in France on October 6th and will follow to other European and Asian countries shortly after. [Softpedia] Maybe Microsoft Canada just assumed nobody actually reads terms and conditions, because the company outed the names of a few upcoming Windows Phones in the T&C for a developer contest: the Nokia Sabre and a duo of Samsungs named the Yukon and Wembley. The Nokia Searay was also named in the list, indicating the Sabre is a second device running on Mango. [Nokia HDBlog (translated)] In preparation for its Windows Phone debut, Nokia is also rumored to be featuring a new voice navigation system with 3D maps, according to some leaked marketing materials. [WinRumors] Here's a rendering of the HTC EVO Design 4G, also known as the Kingdom or Hero S. [Pocketnow] Samsung may have a midrange device coming soon to AT&T's lineup as a complement to the Galaxy S II. We've already seen the I857 pass through the FCC and show up in a leaked roadmap, and now it appears to have been dubbed the Doubletime, according to uncovered Cellebrite records. [Pocketnow] Also appearing in Cellebrite records are the HTC Vigor (PH98100), Motorola Droid HD (XT912), and the Samsung Nexus Prime (SCH-i515). [Droid-Life]
HTC Rhyme clicks its heels, calls O2 its exclusive UK home
Listen up, all you single ladies, err, people with style -- HTC's charm-dongled handset's about to dash across the pond. Launching as an exclusive on UK carrier O2, the 3.7-inch device'll saunter its way into handbags throughout the British isles on October 17th, bringing with it that recently unveiled slew of accessories -- headphones, dock, charm and leather pouch. If you were hoping for some mobile color options to match that endless wardrobe, you're going to be sorely disappointed -- the operator's only offering this phone in its debut shade of plum. It's not the worst hue to be stuck with, but you'll still have to coordinate accordingly -- a no-brainer for this target demo. Right, stylistas?
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 5, 2011
This week, as always, was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 5, 2011: It appears that Sprint employees are being informed that vacation requests anytime between September 30th and October 15th won't be approved, due to "the possibility of a major phone launch in October." Vacation blackouts are typically used during certain times of the holiday season, so the timing on this particular memo is a bit striking -- as usual, we invite you to come to your own conclusions here. [via SprintFeed] Two BlackBerry devices breathed life on T-Mobile this week in the form of leaks. First, the Curve 9360 began showing up on marketing material focusing specifically on its prepaid campaign, which says the device will be offered for $230 without having to sign a new contract. It didn't mention the on-contract price, but if all goes according to rumors, it'll likely be out this time next week (September 14th, to be specific). [via TmoNews] Speaking of the Curve 9360, the phone will probably be hopping across the pond to a Carphone Warehouse near you (if you live in the United Kingdom, that is). It's ready for pre-order now on the retailer's site with a prepaid option for $200. Not bad for a brand-new BlackBerry at full retail cost. [via TechnoBuffalo] The second BlackBerry we saw leaked for T-Mobile this week was the Torch 9860, which may have been discovered in T-Mo's inventory system, according to a leaked screenshot. This doesn't help us know the date or pricing of the new Torch, but it does signify that it's likely just around the corner. [via TmoNews] It's possible that the Droid Prime and Nexus Prime have passed through Bluetooth and WiFi certification. Since names were not provided in the documentation, we're left to speculate using the devices' model numbers -- rumored to be the SCH-I515 and GT-I9250. We're naturally skeptical, but we'll keep a close eye on the FCC in hopes that we'll see these mystery devices pop up soon with at least a few revealing details. [via Droid-Life] We've been expecting the recently announced Samsung Galaxy W to arrive this month in the UK, but all of our sights have been set on Three as the only known carrier... until now. O2 placed a teaser page on its website this week, listing the Galaxy W as "coming soon: September." [via MobileBurn and AndroidCentral]
Telefonica iPhone stock being recalled in time for September 12th launch?
Well folks... looks like we're finally getting some meat to all the iPhone 5/4S rumors that have been swirling around for months. We got some interesting news from a vigilant tipster today: beginning August 22nd, Telefonica will begin scaling back its current iPhone stock through September 12th. According to the source, this three week program is a move that "will of course prepare us for the launch of a new smart phone." While the date next month should sound familiar, we've heard recently that the launch will actually take place sometime in October. Either way, a move like this is usually a telling sign that points directly to a new model launch. Keep your eyes pinned here, and prepare yourself, as it appears Mr. Jobs may have something planned for the fall. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Xperia Mini Pro taunts Orange UK customers with free pricing, 'coming soon' status
Let's assume you're enjoying a warm pint in Notting Hill while texting your mate, when suddenly it hits you: the Xperia Mini Pro (X10) is no longer the beguiling beauty you once adored. If this describes your plight, worry not, because Sony Ericsson's latest Xperia Mini Pro is coming to Orange UK, where along with its 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and Gingerbread OS, it's teasing a free price with qualifying monthly plans. While the citrus-themed network hasn't named an official release date, it's erected a "coming soon" page in anticipation of the QWERTY slider's inevitable debut. If you're hoping for something more definitive, O2 is tempting its customers with a September arrival -- although pricing remains up in the oxygen-rich air.
webOS Skype integration revealed in screenshots
We know you've all been losing sleep, wondering what exactly Skype integration on webOS will look like. Well, tonight, you should sleep like a baby, knowing you've gotten a solid peak at how the Pre 3 will handle the VoIP service. Similar to Google Voice on Android, you'll be able to either route all international calls through Skype or force is to ask every time you press that precious dial button. We also know that it will be able to handle video calls and, at least on the O2 network in Germany, both voice and video chat will be available over WiFi and 3G. You'll also be able to initiate sessions from either contacts or the messaging menu, so there's no need to fire up a separate app. Now, we just need HP to get this out the door and for Microsoft to work out those reliability kinks. Check out the source link for the full-sized images.
O2 UK spurns BlackBerry PlayBook, cites issues with 'end to end customer experience'
Today is the PlayBook's official launch day in the UK, but one of the island kingdom's biggest mobile players won't be taking part. O2 has apparently been reaching out to subscribers who've expressed an interest in acquiring RIM's 7-inch tablet on the network with word that the company "will not be selling the device." The communiqué to those users states that "unfortunately there are some issues with the end to end customer experience," though O2 continues to work with RIM on future PlayBook products and releases and doesn't rule out carrying this particular slate in the future. We reached out for an official statement and the company confirmed that it has no plans to sell the PlayBook at this time. Maybe once it gets a native email client, eh? [Thanks, Stephan]
HTC Sensation bids tearful adieu to Vodafone exclusivity
It was fun while it lasted, but Vodafone's expected two-week reign of exclusivity on the HTC Sensation has dropped, leaving the phone ready to be scooped up by other networks. Carphone Warehouse is now offering the dual-core Gingerbread device on pre-order for O2 and Orange with plans starting at £40, expecting to ship the week of June 20th. If neither carrier sounds overly tempting, BuyMobilePhones is also commencing pre-orders for T-Mobile and Three with a minimum tariff of £15; no delivery date was mentioned here, though we hope to be looking at a similar timeframe. Already sold? Head south to the source links, wallet clutched firmly in hand.
Xperia Play finally lands at O2 UK, available in black or white
It took a while, but that O2-exclusive (for the UK) white Xperia Play is finally with us. Earlier this month, the UK carrier had promised to deliver the Play in June, but evidently things have gone better than expected, as we now see "in stock" signage next to both the black and white models of Sony Ericsson's gaming phone. Pricing is identical for both color variants, starting at "free" when attached to expensive (£34 per month) two-year contracts and peaking at £430 ($702) on pre-pay deals. O2 also throws in a matching multimedia dock plus three bonus games to sweeten the deal. We're guessing that Android 2.3.3 update that Sony Ericsson just rolled out for the Xperia Play might finally have allayed O2's software concerns, which has allowed it to now start selling the device in earnest.
Alcatel Onetouch 990 coming to O2 this August, wants to be held (even just once)
When you previously met the Alcatel Onetouch 990 at MWC, it frankly wasn't behaving very well. Still, we were mildly pleased to see a phone aimed squarely at the prepaid market that featured a 3.5-inch screen and a 5 megapixel camera with flash. Apparently O2 agreed, because it's bringing the 600MHz handset to market in August for £99. This value menu option is expected to ship with vanilla Froyo, but the carrier promises to serve up helpings of plain Gingerbread during Q4. Meanwhile, Electric Pig got its hands on a pre-production unit, and their early impression seems positive. Apparently the poor load times and unresponsive interface that we experienced are resolved -- it's said the phone is now quite zippy. So, how's this OT-990 striking you as a worthy adversary to the £129 Samsung Galaxy Mini? Yea? Nay? Meh?
HTC Sensation confirmed for all UK carriers, ready for summer fiesta
As you've probably gathered from our HTC Sensation preview, Vodafone managed to nab a two-week head start (plus a cheeky premature leak) with this dual-core Android across Europe in mid-May. Unsurprisingly, fellow UK carriers were quick to announce that they'll also be picking up said phone afterwards. In fact, this time round all the big players are involved, with Everything Everywhere (Orange and T-Mobile UK) promising a June launch, Three mentioning a vague "summer" release, and O2 only saying it'll sell the Sensation at some point. Yes, you Brits better keep that kettle warm -- it'll be at least a few more weeks for you non-Vodafoners.
O2 scraps mobile tethering surcharges, cheers up a whole United Kingdom
This is weird. UK carrier O2 has decided to do exactly what we've been asking mobile operators to do for donkeys' years -- it's going to allow users to chew through their data allowance in whatever fashion they like, without imposing artificial surcharges for tethering secondary devices to your phone. Up till now, you'd have had to swallow a salty £7.65 ($12.24) charge each month to get your tether on with O2, but for whatever reason, that has now been scrapped for subscribers on pay-monthly deals. Hit up the source link for a detailed list of O2's new contract options -- they don't include any unlimited 3G data plans, unfortunately, but we'll take what we can get for now. [Thanks, Neerav]
UK cell operator O2 changes tariffs, offers free tethering
Here in the UK, O2 was Apple's partner operator for several years, and it remains the default choice for a lot of us iPhone users. With the new emphasis on tethering in iOS 4.3 via Personal Hotspot, many of us O2 users (particularly those of us with Wi-Fi iPads) have been clamoring for better tethering plans (as Ben Sillis notes, O2 has recently fallen behind rival networks in terms of its value for money.) Today, O2 is announcing new tariffs (note that in UK jargon we say "tariff" instead of "plan") across the board, for both its subsidized handset contracts and its SIM-only deals. The full details are here, but the important details for iPhone owners are: Tethering is now completely free. If you have a 1 GB data allocation, then it doesn't matter if you use that data on the phone or on a connected device -- it's all charged the same. Data allocations are now tiered separately to your base plan. 100 MB of data is £3/month, 500 MB is £6 and 1 GB is £10. The basic 300 min voice / unlimited SMS / 500 MB tariff is £37 per month with an 18 month subsidized handset deal. If you commit to a 24 month contract, you can deduct £5 per month. This used to cost £30.64 per month (Google Cache of the old page). The same tariff structure on a 1-month-notice SIM-only deal is £21.50 per month (previously, this was £20.43). If you commit to a 12 month contract, you get twice as many voice minutes. Upgrading customers can now choose 12 month contract lengths, meaning you can get each new iPhone release when it comes out. Previously, most people were on 18 month contracts, which didn't sync up very well with annual iPhone refreshes. What do you think of the new plans, readers? Personally, I'm going to be calling them today to move my SIMplicity over to the new structure so that I can tether my iPad at will -- I might bump up to 1 GB per month of data, too. Thanks to Jonny Riches for sending this in.
