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T-Mobile tries to rob Vodafone of "first HSDPA in UK" title
Apparently looking to steal some of Vodafone's thunder in their home country, T-Mobile went ahead and soft-launched its HSDPA service in the UK on Tuesday of this week -- a full two days before the other guys. Like Voda, T-Mobile is initially launching on laptop cards only, with handsets promised later in the year. The announcement is a bit confusing, saying that T-Mobile is offering the "first live UK mobile HSDPA network, already covering 65% of UK population," while also stipulating that commercial availability doesn't start for customers of its web'n'walk service until August 1; we're not sure whether the launch announcement was hastily thrown together just for the bragging rights or it's all just a coincidence, but either way, our friends across the pond are suddenly finding themselves flush with speedy mobile broadband.[Via cellular-news]
Voda first to UK market with HSDPA
Brits feeling left behind in the HSDPA game are about to get their day in the spotlight. Vodafone is prepping its UMTS follow-on for a Thursday launch, offering their Mobile Connect HSDPA data card for laptop users seeking a little extra WWAN oomph. Availability is initially limited to London, Glasgow, Sheffield, Greater Manchester and Tyneside with a nationwide rollout scheduled for summer 2007, but if neither the limited coverage nor the £45 monthly price tag for unlimited data scare you, get ready to whip out £49 for your card come tomorrow.[Via The Register]
Carriers and manufacturers form pact to push mobile Linux
Yeah, we've heard it before, but they mean it this time. Carriers Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo have teamed up with Motorola, Samsung, NEC, and Panasonic to succeed where others have failed, busting out a common Linux-based smartphone platform and sharing costs and R&D resources along the way. Besides unifying the fragmented mobile Linux community behind a single open platform, the group's goal is to see the light of day in a production phone before the end of 2007, but let's be honest -- the project won't be considered a success unless the joint venture can produce a popular, well-known platform that can scrap with the Symbians and the Windows Mobiles of the world. Hey, Access PalmSource, you guys paying attention?[Via Mobiledia]
Vodafone Germany takes the guesswork out of Orb setup
If you've been curious about Orb but you're sweating the installation process or you're worried that your carrier might frown upon your indulgent use of data, life just got a little easier -- if you're on Vodafone Germany's UMTS network, that is. Their new "Vodafone-Mein PC" service, which is in public trial through September, includes a PC installer that reportedly does just about everything for you -- just add content and you're ready to roll. The service communicates with Vodafone's Live! portal, which you then access via your compatible, UMTS-capable handset. If the service flops, Vodafone is reserving the right to drop it following the trial period, but if it takes off, they're reserving the right to charge a few euros, too. If Vodafone's bandwidth wasn't already saturated with streaming Knight Rider and Baywatch reruns, this might just do the trick.[Via the::unwired]
Samsung ZV50 now on Vodafone Germany's "UMTS Turbo"
Speed freaks, rejoice: another carrier's customers are ready to be comforted by HSDPA's warm embrace. The Samsung SGH-ZV50 has dropped on Vodafone Germany, and although we're seeing some mention of the term "UMTS Turbo," let's be honest with each other and take this phone for what it is -- Voda Germany's first HSDPA handset. Data rates, which can be piped to the device of your choosing via USB or Bluetooth, are claimed to top out at 1.8 simultaneous-voice-callin' megabits/sec. Other than the blazing data speeds, the 105-gram handset itself isn't anything too spectacular, serving up 30MB of internal flash, QVGA display, and a MicroSD slot with a 64MB card thrown in the box. Without contract, the ZV50 will run you a whopping €799.50 -- yes, a shade over one grand US -- but that comes down to €229.50 with a signup.[Via Slashphone]
Nokia's N92 DVB-H handset in World Cup trial
Although announced way back in November, Nokia's flagship N92 DVB-H phone still isn't shipping. Of course, that hasn't kept it from making the occasional appearance at DVB-H pilots across Europe. And with Germany (and the world) now fully consumed by the World Cup, yet another German DVB-H pilot project has launched with local operators E-Plus, O2, T-Mobile, and Vodaphone pumping out that mobile digital feed. The pilot consists of 14 television channels (and six radio) broadcasting live matches and other programming to "guests" using a variety of DVB-H handsets (presumably from LG, Samsung and maybe even BenQ-Siemens), including the N92. The pilot is being held in the largest German cities and will run until August 31st, except in Munich where it ends on July 31 allowing ample time to prepare for beer drinking season. And in case you're wondering, the N92 is expected to hit Europe mid-summer for an unsubsidized price of €600 ($758); beaucoup bucks for a service offering in trial-mode everywhere 'cept Finland and maybe Italy. [Via Mobiledia]
Vodafone launches Nokia 6234
The news took a little while to cross the pond, but our trusty carrier pigeons bear exciting news for Vodafone Germany users -- Nokia's 3G 6234, announced last year, is now available. The well-equipped candybar, sporting a 2-megapixel camera, QVGA display, MicroSD slot, digital music player, stereo speakers, and Bluetooth, complements the Sharp 904SH and the Samsung SGH-ZV50 in Voda's growing UMTS stable. Expect music downloads and mobile TV via Vodafone live!, initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand.
More European carriers agree to cut roaming fees
It looks like the days of bloated roaming fees within Europe are nearly over. Orange, Telecom Italia, Telenor, TeliaSonera, and Wind have joined T-Mobile in an agreement to cap the rates they charge eachother within the European Economic Area – 45 euro cents per minute from October 2006 dropping to 36 euro cents per minute by October 2007. In time, that should result in a savings of nearly 50% for consumers travelling within Europe and from abroad as the proposed cap is extended to operators outside the sub-continent. An independent watchdog group will then monitor fee reductions on the open market and publish an index every six months. And what of Europe's largest carrier, Vodafone? Well, they're apparently sticking to their rather dubious "Vodafone Passport" scheme said to save punters 40% on roaming fees after registering for the service, after a "connection fee" of 75p per call and after April 2007 when the rate cuts would go into effect. Now this isn't the first time the cabal European operators have agreed to lower roaming tariffs so we'll just have to see how this plays. Just remember dear carriers, the world and Viv is watching.
BlackBerry 7130 invading Europe
RIM's latest piece of SureType goodness, the 7130, is starting to drop on European carriers. We've found it on Vodafone's UK site, and we have word (and pictures to back it up) via pinstack.com that we should be seeing it on O2 any minute now. US users drooling at the device's shapely form factor, EDGE, and Bluetooth 2.0 need not wait long -- Cingular and T-Mobile should be getting one flavor of the 7130 or another before too long. See a screen cap of the 7130 on Vodafone UK's e-shop after the break.[Thanks, Gina Lisa and Iain M.]
Das BlackBerry 8707v now available on Vodafone Germany
If it's not the South Koreans or the Japanese having all the fun, it's those crazy Germans, what with their Autobahn, Oktoberfest, and now the BlackBerry 8707v. In releasing RIM's first UMTS device, Vodafone is upstaging T-Mobile Germany on its home turf, having just released the more pedestrian EDGE-only 8700g earlier this year. Besides the addition of UMTS 2100 and a fresh look, users will barely notice the difference between the two device's spec sheets: both come equipped with quad-band GSM, a 320x240 display, and 64MB of onboard flash. Some select 8707v pr0n after the break.
Vodafone sheds 21.9 billion in fiscal 2005
Despite a $15 billion sale of Vodafone Japan to Softbank, Vodafone proper managed to lose some $40.7 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, making it the largest single full-year loss in history for any British company. The world's #2 operator blamed writeoffs and stiff European competition, but another contributing factor could be Vodafone's ongoing trend of hemorrhaging much of their revenue in the form of dividends -- over $10 billion of the Japan sale, for example, was returned directly to shareholders. We know they're denying it, but is a sale of Vodafone's stake in Verizon starting to look appealing? Or is Vodafone itself looking ripe for the picking?
Sony Ericsson V630i 3G musicphone shows up in UK
Sony Ericsson keeps cranking out the high-style musicphones, and the V630i looks to be the latest edition to the line -- for UK Vodafone customers, that is. The phone, which eschews the Walkman branding used in other recent music-centric models, includes 10MB of internal memory, Memory Stick Micro support, a 176x220 display, 2 megapixel camera, trimode GSM support, and A2DP for Bluetooth stereo output. In sum, it reminds us a lot of another recent Sony Ericsson, the W810i, which has a similar feature set, but lacks A2DP (and that alone, of course, makes this one a new fave). [Thanks, Goku]
Vodafone Japan announces summer lineup
New Softbank property Vodafone K.K. has announced four new 3G handsets -- along with the 2G Toshiba V304T "simplephone" -- that will be released this summer in Japan, including Sharp's 905SH clamshell with a 2 megapixel camera and One Seg digital TV reception. Also seen before was Voda's version of Nokia's N71, dubbed the 804NK, which sports those same multimedia and smartphone features along with obvious addition of bilingual menus. Like the three models mentioned previously, the Toshiba 705T and Sharp 705SH SLIMIA also sport clamshell designs, with the Tosh featuring external music controls and the Sharp (pictured) rocking dual cameras. Additionally, a sixth model, Sharp's 2G V403SH (also a flip phone), was announced as getting a summer makeover, and will now come in your choice of cloth beige or cloth blue.
Vodafone Japan to become Softbank Mobile
As announced earlier this year, Softbank had no intention of keeping the Vodafone name around for long after buying the company's Japanese division. But we were left hanging on what the company would actually be called -- we're sure the suspense has been unbearable for you too. Well, after months of what must have been tireless research and development, Softbank has finally revealed the new name: Softbank Mobile. We hope you all can rest easy now.
Softbank denies iPhone rumors, kind of
Following a weekend of stiff-drinks and intrepid mulling, Vodafone Japan Softbank just went official regarding the supposed iTunes playing cellphone they are co-developing with Apple – officially denying it, that is. Well, kind of. See, our brethren over at Engadget Japan tell us that Softbank's response (in Japanese) to the claims made in that un-sourced Nikkei article are mere "speculation. The source is not us. We have nothing to say about it." Hmm, that sounds more like a plea to Apple not to kill the deal than a denial that they're in cahoots on the popularly dubbed, and oft speculated iPhone which is not pictured to the right.
Apple said to be working with Softbank on "co-branded" handset
Japanese news agency Nikkei is reporting that Apple and new Vodafone Japan owner Softbank are working together to develop cellphones capable of downloading and playing music from the iTunes store. Details are, of course, very slim at this point, as we don't even know whether to characterize this as a "true" iPhone, or simply a ROKR-like model featuring only software from the iPod manufacturer powering a non-Apple handset. However, Nikkei is quoting sources that say the phone, which may be released as early as this year (and which is definitely NOT pictured alongside this post), is expected to sport both Softbank and Apple branding, which may indicate that Cupertino will have a hand in developing the hardware as well. Whatever they're working on, we wanna know about it, and we won't rest until we have a ton of specs and pics for you.
Vodafone and T-Mobile reduce roaming rates
At the risk of being forced into lowering their lucrative roaming fees across Europe, Vodafone and T-Mobile have agreed to cut these charges under their own, likely more-favorable terms. See, just yesterday Vodafone announced a drop by 40% for UK customers traveling in some 14 European countries... with a few catches. First, customers must register for a free "Vodafone Passport" which allows punters to be charged at UK rates after suffering a one-off connection fee of 75p ($1.38) per call. Kind of the equivalent of those mail-in rebates companies know we'll forget to return. Oh, and the discount won't go into effect until April 2007. T-Mobile is taking a different, more straight-up approach by charging a flat rate of 55p ($1.02) per minute for calls in Europe and North America starting June 1st -- a 27% savings over existing contract rates. It's not clear if these changes will appease the concerns of EU Commissioner Vivian Reding, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
Vodafone Germany to offer Samsung's HSDPA-enabled SGH-ZV50
Slashphone's got the inside dirt on a new feature-filled Samsung clamshell coming to Vodaphone Germany, whose claim to fame is surely its ability to hop on Voda's high-speed HSDPA network. You get more than zippy web browsing with the SGH-ZV50 -- which gets its design from another Sammy handset, the V7400 -- however, as this clamshell also sports a two megapixel camera, 40MB of internal memory plus microSD slot, and a set of dedicated music controls on the front of the flip. Exclusively available to Vodafone customers, the ZV50 will probably be most popular in Hanover, Dorf, Munich, and Frankfort, which is where the company currently offers 5GB of HSDPA usage per month for what appears to be 49 euros. No pricing or launch date for the handset itself, but Slashphone tells us that it will be in stores "very soon."
Softbank says farewell to Vodafone brand
Vodafone K.K. might be third place in Japan, but as a former part of the world's largest phone company, you would think Softbank would want to keep the name around. But after buying the Japanese division of Vodafone for 14.9 billion USD, Softbank has decided to drop the name and go with a new one, which has yet to be announced. Along with the name change, Softbank plans to announce a new management line-up in April, along with having the Softbank pres move to a dual role over both companies. The acquisition should be complete by April 24th, so we suppose we'll know more then.
Sharp 905SH undressed, swivel mechanism exposed
The inner workings of Sharp's 905SH have recently been revealed to all by a Japanese site. Have they no shame? So just in case you were wondering, it seem like swivel displays aren't actually powered by dark magicks or agile gnomes. Sorry to disappoint.[Via Slashphone]
