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Virgin Media brings its TV Anywhere service to UK Android devices
It took a while, but Virgin Media has finally brought its TV Anywhere service to Android. Already available on the iPhone and iPad for more than a year, the app comes to Android smartphones and tablets with nine new UK TV channels including Alibi, Dave, Drama, Good Food, Home, Really, Watch, Yesterday and CBS Reality. That takes the total number of mobile channels up to 67, with up to 90 available online. Virgin Media boasts it now offers more choice than rival service Sky Go, but like it's competitor, some might be frustrated by the patchy support for Android devices. Although you'll find support for Samsung's Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note, HTC One, Sony Xperia Tablet Z and Google's Nexus tablets, you might experience issues if your device is running Android 4.4 KitKat. While you won't be able to install it on your Nexus 5 just yet, Virgin says more Android devices will join the line-up "in the very near future."
Virgin Media's SmartCall app lets you make WiFi calls with landline minutes
Those of you with long memories will recall that Virgin Media announced a WiFi calling platform way back in November 2012. Nearly a year later, and the company is finally offering the system to Android and iOS users. Virgin Media SmartCall is an app that lets you make calls while roaming and charge them to your home package,cutting the cost of getting in touch with your nearest and dearest. It'll also let you make international calls through the app, and you'll be charged as if you were making the call from your domicile. Either way, nice to know that someone's looking after your wallet in these straightened times, eh?
BSkyB paying Virgin Media $74 million for a network makeover
Customers with Sky Broadband might find their provider's capacity crawling northward toward the end of the year. The broadcaster is paying Virgin Media's business arm £49 million ($74 million) for some of Richard Branson Liberty Global's deliciously fast fiber infrastructure. While there's no mention of BT, we wouldn't be surprised if this technological makeover was prompted by its corporate rival's recent assault on Sky's sporty golden goose.
Virgin Media adds a YouTube channel to TiVo's guide, ensures you can't escape kitty clips
Annoyed that YouTube had reached Freesat boxes and not just TiVo? Worry not, for Sir Richard and his chums at Virgin Media are on their way with a basket of soothing balms. Your DVR's EPG will soon feature baked-in YouTube results along with regular TV listings, giving easier access to all of those shudder-inducing Harlem Shake videos without resorting to a smartphone. It's been positioned at Channel 198, and you can also access it via the Search and Browse menus on your box -- no matter the paint job.
PSA: Virgin Media begins charging for tube WiFi today
Today's the day that your cost-free tweeting about red signals comes to end, as Virgin Media begins charging for its WiFi service on the London Underground. If you're a Virgin, Vodafone or EE customer, then you just need to sign up to continue getting access as part of your mobile plan. For everyone else, avoiding getting your fingers sticky on that day's issue of Metro will cost you £2 a day, £5 per seven-day week or £15 a month. If you take up the latter option at any point in February, you'll be given an additional sweetener: three months for the price of one. The company has also announced that Hampstead, Tooting Broadway and Great Portland Street are among 11 more stations that are due to come online this week.
Virgin Media extends free tube WiFi for all until 2013
Tweeting about the obnoxious individuals you share a tube platform with was expected to be a one-time thing if you weren't a Virgin Media customer. The Branson-backed provider had said that, once the summer games had finished, it would make the service exclusive to its own broadband subscribers. Now, however, the company has reversed that decision, extending the free period through until the end of the year. The Telegraph is reporting that the turnaround is in part thanks to wholesale talks with other ISPs, who are keen to offer the service as part of their own packages. Given that we're unlikely to make it into the stratosphere or the bottom of the ocean any time soon, we'll settle for pretending we're a daring explorer of the Piccadilly line.
Virgin Media begins pushing its UK broadband to 120Mbps, much to Usain's delight
If you're one of Virgin Media's top-tier internet customers, you may soon see your service getting a little speedier. The Branson-backed company is boosting its top speed from 100Mbps to 120Mbps, thanks to a £110 million ($169 million) infrastructure investment. The majority of the network -- around 60 percent -- has yet to be supercharged, but you can use the coverage checker linked below to see if you're in-line for an early Christmas present from Sir Richard.
UK pricing begins to filter out for Motorola's Intel-powered RAZR i smartphone
Soon after it's unveiling, the Intel-based RAZR i showed up in Clove's listings with a SIM-free price of £342, and now it looks as if a few more outlets are pushing pricing details to the world. Expected to storm the UK in October, the phone should ship to Virgin Media customers for around £23 per month on its Premiere Tariff, while T-Mobilers will be able to score one for £0 to £31 per month depending on the contract. All told, not too shabby for the world's first 2GHz Atom-backed Android phone, and if you're eager to push all of this iPhone 5 stuff aside, at least you know precisely how many quid to save up between now and next month.
Virgin Media unveils quartet of new SIM Only plans for data-focused Brits
It was only in June that we saw Virgin Media shaking up its regular mobile plans for UK residents. The carrier is back for another round, this time to serve the SIM Only customers who thrive on unlocked phones. Four plans starting from £12 ($19) a month all provide unlimited data and text messaging for bring-your-own-phone subscribers, with voice as the only real separating factor: the thriftiest callers get 150 minutes per month, while higher £15, £17 and £25 ($24, $27 and $40) tiers ramp up to a respective 250, 1,200 and 2,500 minutes for chattier customers. The chief gotcha is a lack of bundled landline calling for all but the priciest plan, although existing Virgin Media subscribers can knock an extra £5 off of that rate. If you're the sort who can't bear the thought of a contract, Virgin now has you better covered.
Plusnet pushes its UK-fibre-optic broadband to 76Mb/s
Stereotype-embracing ISP Plusnet has added a new tier of fibre-optic broadband, offering speeds up to 76Mb/s. The revamped Extra Fibre package now offers upload speeds of up to 19.5 Mb/s, with a 250GB monthly usage allowance, matching those offered by parent company BT. Of course, those of us who can't even get ADSL2 will just have to watch on, with jealousy in our eyes.
House of Lords wants UK TV to go fully online and leave airwaves clear for cellphones
The UK House of Lords' Communications Committee has suggested that all broadcast TV should be moved to the internet to free up wireless spectrum for cellphones. In its report, the panel found that whilst such a network would be cheaper and more efficient in the long run, it would also require extensive re-building of the country's archaic communications infrastructure. Given that the analog-to-digital switchover is currently in progress, it seems unlikely that a further transition will be timetabled -- especially since there are still concerns over the cost of bringing fiber-optic broadband to rural areas. Any change in the plan will need to be rubber-stamped by Government, but perhaps it'd be more amenable if they saw how good 8K video looks on one of those connections.
Virgin Media coats millionth TiVo in Gold (Gold!), always believed in your soul
Companies might not be able to mention that big sporting event, but that doesn't stop them from being clever. Virgin Media UK is one such enterprise, which decided to award its millionth TiVo customer with a gold medal in the form of a similarly-colored TiVo box. Rather than risk the ire of the IOC's lawyers, the company used the moment to (perhaps sarcastically) celebrate the release of Spandau Ballet's Gold. Bundling bassist-turned-soap-star Martin Kemp into a van, he turned up at the door of customers Allan and Christine Ward with the glistening PVR and a 3D-ready TV to surprise the couple. We don't know if he told the husband and wife from Nottinghamshire that the HDTV market is like a high prison wall, but we hope the gift of a new home entertainment system leaves them standing so tallllllllllll...
Virgin Media WiFi in London goes deeper underground, 41 stations now hooked up
While it's been in the pipes for a while, and some lucky stations got an early arrival, Virgin Media has confirmed that 41 stations in total are now lapping from the bowl of sweet, sweet free WiFi. Considering that a million tweets, Facebook updates, and emails were delivered in the first week, and over 100,000 commuters have logged on in the last four, appetite for the service is high. While use is free at the moment, and TFL travel info will remain without charge, non Virgin Media customers will have to start paying up, once the Olympic Games are over. By then the full expected 120 stations should be plugged-in and switched on. For the current list of connected stations, head past the break.
Nokia's 808 PureView will not be sold by major UK carriers, time to save up some pounds
If you Brits were looking forward to utilizing the 808 PureView's 41-megapixel sensor while sipping Pimm's this summer, well, be prepared to pay a hefty price. We've heard from O2, Three and Everything Everywhere (the parent company of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK) that they will not be selling said Nokia device in the UK, and Virgin Media told us it isn't in the pipeline "just yet." Our friends over at Wired UK have also heard the same bad news from Vodafone and O2, with a source close to the latter laying the blame on Nokia's "outdated" Symbian Belle system. Ouch. So yes, this means all the major carriers in Her Majesty's backyard are out of the game; but until we hear back from Carphone Warehouse, there may still be a small chance for keen British mobile photogs to dodge the full £500 ($780) price tag on Amazon (in comparison to $699 on the US site), so stay tuned.
Virgin Media revamps mobile tariffs with Premiere plan, tells Three UK and T-Mobile to keep up
Virgin Media is announcing a new set of tariffs in order to compete with its UK network rivals. The Premiere plan is an attempt at winning the hearts and minds of customers used to Three UK's One Plan and T-Mobile's Full Monty. For £21 per month, users will get all-you-can-eat data, unlimited texts, unlimited calls to UK landlines and 2,500 minutes to other cellphones. Meanwhile, a lower-spec Starter tariff will offer a teasing deal for new customers for £18 per month, but that figure drops to £13 if you also sign up for the company's other Cable TV and Broadband services. Subscribers will also have free and unfettered access to all of that Underground WiFi when the service starts charging users of other mobile networks in the autumn.
Vodafone gets green light to buy Cable & Wireless, goes on a high-fiber diet
Vodafone has succeeded in its attempt to buy Cable & Wireless in a bid to become the UK's second largest telecoms company. The £1.04 billion ($1.6 billion) purchase had been at risk thanks to a C&W shareholder rebellion, but will will now go ahead barring regulatory approval. Big Red will take control of undersea cables that connect global telephone lines, a booming business division and a national fiber-optic network, which it'll use to boost its mobile data service -- sad news for anyone hoping the company would offer triple-play services on all that shiny fiber.
Virgin Media activates more tube WiFi hotspots, minds the gaps in its coverage
Virgin Media has flicked the switch and coated Kings Cross and Warren Street tube stations in gloriously free WiFi. The pair will be joined tomorrow by Oxford Circus and Green Park, while Victoria and Euston will do the same on the 9th. In order to use the service, which is free during the Olympics, users need to hop onto the network and register their email address. Once the summer is over, Virgin Media customers will get preferential treatment on the network, with everyone else buying pay-as-you-go minutes so they can tweet about how long we're stuck at Edgware Road... again.
Virgin Media names the first 80 tube stations to get WiFi hotspots
Transport for London and Virgin Media have announced the first 80 London Underground stations that'll receive free WiFi in time for the Olympics. By the end of July, users will be able to surf from the train platform, ticket offices and escalators -- ideal for a few extra rush-hour injuries. The partnership will offer the internet free during the games season before switching to a pay-as-you-go model, with plans to swell the network to 120 by the end of the year. If you'd like to know if your morning commute is about to get some extra connectivity then head past the break for the full list.
UK High Court rules ISPs to block Pirate Bay, forgets it ain't the boss anymore
The High Court has ruled that British ISPs must block web-browsing citizens from accessing the infamous Pirate Bay. The controversial ruling comes just six months after the European Court of Justice (a superior court) declared that companies like Sky and TalkTalk were protected against injunctions to block, filter or monitor internet traffic for that purpose. Virgin Media told the BBC that it would comply, before sensibly adding that censorship measures like this are ineffective in the long term.
Vodafone looking to buy Cable & Wireless, just can't resist that fibre-optic infrastructure
UK mobile giant Vodafone is planning to buy up commercial network provider Cable & Wireless for just over £1 billion ($1.7 billion). If successful, it'll gain a national fibre-optic broadband network (separate to BT and Virgin Media's), a large portfolio of business customers and a backbone venture that connects 150 countries with undersea cables. The latter will probably be sold off so that Vodafone can concentrate on winning more enterprise customers from its rivals while also easing the burden on its own network. It's also worth pointing out that C&W previously offered retail broadband and cable services, but any notion of Vodafone using this acquisition to offer the same would be pure guesswork.
