Fresh checks have shown the earliest signs that iPad 2 supply might be ramping down ahead of the iPad 3 launch rumored for the next few weeks. The 9to5 investigation pointed to sales channel sources who said supply of 3G models was "constrained" across the board. Supporting this, searches at Carphone Warehouse and Orange in the UK both had some or most of their supply as "out of stock."
ARCEP, the French telecom regulator, has said it is going to inspect low-cost wireless provider Iliad's backbone network to make sure it is compliant with its bandwidth licensing requirements. The action takes place after Iliad's competitors raised complaints about Iliad's network performance and customer service. Iliad, which operates its wireless service under the Free name brand, denied the claims, discounting them as false rumors.
Wireless provider Orange will give free access to Wikipedia from mobile devices in the Middle East and Africa. This will give millions of users access to the digital, user-generated encyclopedia without incurring data charges. Orange said this deal is the first of its kind.
The LG Prada phone 3.0 will soon arrive at T-Mobile UK, the carrier revealed. The date is sometime in February, though no other details were given. Third-party vendor already offers the handset with contracts through Vodafone and Orange starting at £31 (about $48) per month without a fee for the handset, so T-Mobile UK's price should be similar.
Free's new mobile division has become the fourth major carrier in France to offer the iPhone. The Iliad-owned group plans to carry the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on January 27 with one of the least expensive plans yet. At 20 euros ($25) a month for a 16GB iPhone 4S with unlimited voice and texts as well as 3GB of unfettered data before a cap, Apple's smartphones would cost roughly half as much or less to own as a phone with an equivalent plan.
Chinese handset maker ZTE has teamed up with Fashion TV on its first fashion-oriented smartphone, the FTV. It has the same technical specs as the original San Francisco available at Orange, GSMArena found. Unique to the phone are the FTV paint and logos along with exclusive FTV apps, wallpapers, widgets and other content.
The Lumia 800 represents more than just a radical break from the past for Nokia; in many ways, it's the company's entire future. As its first Windows Phone device, it's not just a switch to a much more modern platform but a clue as to whether or not Nokia can still stand out in an era when iPhones and Android smartphones are taking over. Our review of the Lumia 800 will answer that -- and whether or not it might just be the best Windows Phone on the market.
European Union ministers has asked the European Commission and pan-European regulator BEREC to look into whether some ISPs are throttling some services in favor of others. According to a Tuesday Reuters report, the concern is that net neutrality may be hampered, with Internet calling services such as Skype possibly affected. BEREC will publish a joint report from regulators in the 27 EU member states in February that will summarize its findings.
Everything Everywhere has announced that its T-Mobile and Orange brands in the UK will soon benefit from approximately £1.5 billion (~$2.3 billion USD) in network investments. The funds are said to be primarily allocated for building an extensive 4G LTE network that will be available for subscribers from both carriers.
A recent research study from carrier Orange has that, in Europe, tablet usage cannibalizes TV viewing. In contrast, smartphones tend to complement TV consumption. The research also found that tablet users are more likely to make purchases using the device than their handset counterparts.
Acer started off the week by launching a new budget Android phone. The Liquid Express revives the 3.5-inch formula seen in the Liquid Metal and even shares its 800MHz Snapdragon and five-megapixel camera, but adds NFC for short-range payments and tag sharing. The company has teamed up with Cityzi to take advantage of tags both for virtual cash as well as for travel info and reviews.
A survey of European carrier stores has shown potentially promising demand for Nokia's Lumia 800. Its first Windows Phone is ranked at Vodafone UK and at KPN in the Netherlands as second for popularity only to the 16GB iPhone 4S, beating out every Android phone. At Phone House in France, the Lumia 800 is the top-selling phone of any kind where the iPhone is fifth, although feature phones like the Nokia C2-02 dilute its ranks.
UK wireless provider Orange has revealed plans to launch the San Francisco II, a successor to its previous budget Android smartphone. It replaces last year's San Francisco and will be available on pay-as-you-go or monthly plans. It moves to an 800MHz processor along with 512MB of RAM, a five-megapixel camera, and Android 2.3.
UK wireless provider Orange revealed on Wednesday that the just-released Nokia Lumia 800 now holds the record for the number of pre-orders for Nokia smartphones. Half of the pre-orders are from existing customers who also happen to be eligible for Nokia's free Xbox 360 promotion. The record-breaking customer interest comes ahead of Orange's marketing campaign.
Microsoft's Eric Hautala said that his company's stepped up Windows Phone 7.5 updates were now virtually done. The company had good enough results that it was "opening the spigot" and that almost all of the user base would have the update. The only ones left were those with specific issues, such as some Orange subscribers.
On cue, the online Apple Store and numerous carriers including AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have begun taking online preorders for the iPhone 4S. The picks include carrier-locked models as well as the full-price but unlocked GSM versions for those who want to switch carriers or avoid early cancellation fees.
Spanish site Xataka Android has come across a Google-branded SIM card bundled with the Nexus S. The bundle is apparently being distributed to Google engineers. Little is known about the purpose of these, though the screen shows that Google_Es is the carrier once the handset is powered up.
Twitter has upgraded the direct messaging capabilities for its texting service. Now, in addition to tweets, users whose service providers support MMS can attach and share videos. To send, all a user need do is enter the text of a tweet as normal, attach a photo to the message, and send it to the relevant Twitter code.
The iPhone 5 will launch on October 15th, claims Stéphane Richard, the CEO of French carrier Orange. The executive reportedly made the comment during an interview on a TV business program. Hardmac notes that Richard has let slip similarly secret Apple information in the past, namely about the first-generation iPad; he wrongly stated, though, that the tablet would have a camera. Investigation of the hardware would eventually show space for a camera, suggesting that Apple removed it late into development.
Orange may be the first major carrier taking on the HP Pre3 in the UK. The smartphone, although not yet appearing on any of the carrier's sales-related pages, has cropped up on Orange's support page. The phone, had been showing up for pre-sale at several UK retailer's sites, with an expected ship date of July 8 but has now had one of its first official appearances.
Apple and Orange UK have launched a new iTunes movie rental program, Film to Go. Every Thursday, Orange customers will be able to get a code for a free iTunes rental, although only one pre-determined selection is being offered each week. The first movie is My Blueberry Nights; some other planned titles are The Wrestler, The Ghost and Che: Part One.
UK regulator Ofcom proposed on Friday that paid smartphone content bought through a carrier's site should be regulated by carriers and not PhonepayPlus, as it is currently. The content on an industry-owned Payforit gateway should be overseen by PhonepayPlus, it continued. Wireless providers asked Ofcom to look into the matter, but they didn't want Payforit content to be regulated.
AT&T's wireless head Ralph de la Vega in an interview late this week said his company was also joining in Apple's plan to develop an even smaller SIM card. He hesitated to directly make the link with Apple, like France Telecom's CEO did, but confirmed AT&T was "working with the industry" to shrink beyond existing sizes. It would "probably" happen, he explained to AllThingsD, and was something that was a logical conclusion.
France Telecom appears to be attempting to team with Google to find new ways to increase profits amid a surge in wireless data traffic. The cellular carrier's chief executive, Stephane Richard, has hinted that the talks are focusing on segmented access to the networks, in what is viewed as a possible reference to tiered pricing structures.
The head of Orange's parent company France Telecom, Stéphane Richard, gave clues in an interview Monday as to the design of the next iPhone. He confirmed once more that Orange was working with Apple on smaller SIM cards and asserted to AllThingsD that it was for the "next iPhone," hinting that the results could show up later this year. The smaller card would help Apple get its design down in thickness and overall size.
UK cell provider Orange and Barclaycard have teamed up to launch Quick Tap, a contactless NFC mobile payment service. Using a phone with a specially enabled SIM card, a customer can pay for a purchase simply by touching it to a retailer's contactless reader. Currently there is a limit of £15 ($25 US) for each transaction.
French carrier Orange on Tuesday revealed that Apple had put forward a new standard for SIM cards that would even smaller than the micro SIMs in the iPhone 4 and all iPads. Mobile services lead Anne Bouverot said Apple had suggested it to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) with the endorsement of Orange and other, carriers unnamed in a speech at a Reuters summit. The first phones and tablets based on the format could arrive sometime in 2012.
The French government is finalizing the terms for its upcoming auction of 4G bandwidth, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro. France represents the third-largest telecom market in Europe after Germany and the UK. It will be auctioning off four lots of the premium 800MHz range and an unspecified number of lots for the 2.6GHz band. France hopes to generate at least $3.5 billion from the auction.
HTC's Facebook-oriented smartphones, the ChaCha and Salsa, have now gone up for pre-order on Amazon UK. The ChaCha lists for £250 (about $409) and the Salsa is priced at £320 (nearly $524). The phones are due to arrive on June 26 and are sold as unlocked devices.
Motorola Mobility has announced that beginning today, its ATRIX smartphone will be available in the UK exclusively through the carrier Orange. Orange is offering the ATRIX free to customers with a £35 ($58 USD) per month, 24 month contract. The Work and Play kit, which includes a remote control, mouse, HD multimedia dock and keyboard is being offered at a special price of £50 ($83 USD). It normally retails for £130 ($215). Orange is discounting the Lapdock from its regular price of £300 ($496 USD).
Orange's parent company France Telecom and T-Mobile's equivalent Deutsche Telekom on Monday confirmed their rumored joint venture. The deal will see the two combine their activities for buying phones, network hardware, and other parts core to their cellphone businesses. The two hoped both to get economies of scale and expected to save the equivalent of $1.86 billion over the course of the first three years.
Two major European telecommunications providers, T-Mobile's owner Deutsche Telekom and Orange's parent France Telecom, will share network gear in order to save on operating costs, sources told Reuters. The savings is expected to add up to 650 million euros (about $939 million) by 2015 with the shared hardware located in Poland, Austria, and Romania. While neither of the two providers have officially commented on this agreement, they are expected to do so at a joint press conference in London on Monday.
France's Vivendi said on Sunday that it was buying Vodafone's 44 percent share of SFR. The deal, worth 7.95 billion Euros ($11.32 billion), gives it complete control of the carrier. It and Vodafone will keep running SFR as a joint venture for three years, after which Vodafone would have to either talk to another provider or enter on its own.
As suspected, Microsoft's first wave of NoDo updates to carrier-locked Windows Phone 7 devices has started reaching phones. Both of T-Mobile USA's phones, the Dell Venue Pro and the HTC HD7, are getting the update immediately. All WP7 hardware on Orange UK and 3 UK should also be getting the upgrade regardless of the make.
New hints have suggested Microsoft plans to push its NoDo update to carrier-locked phones on Tuesday, March 29. The company's first wave would include at least Orange UK and Canada's Telus as well as a handful of unnamed other carriers, WinRumors heard. A second wave would take place on April 5, which would bring in at least O2 and Vodafone.
O2 UK on Friday said it would delay the launch of the Xperia Play past its original April 1 target. Internal testing had shown "some bugs" that would sour the experience for early buyers. It was collaborating with Sony Ericsson to make sure they were fixed and still left a window open for an April 1 launch if they were fixed in time.
UK carriers Orange and Vodafone have announced details of their subsidized iPad 2 plans. Beginning tomorrow, Vodafone is selling 16, 32 and 64GB tablets at prices of £199, £249 and £349 for existing subscribers. For new customers, a £30 premium is being imposed.
ZTE's UK mobile division head Wu Sa in an interview on Friday hinted that his company had been shot down by Microsoft for trying to make too cheap a Windows Phone 7 device. The executive confirmed that it had been testing WP7 phones in its labs but suggested that Microsoft hadn't been happy with their speed. In talking to the WSJ, he chafed at Microsoft's demand for a consistent hardware and software experience and hinted that he wanted prices to go lower.
Google Voice users learned late Monday that the service now has a way of making purely Internet-based phone calls. Making a SIP call with a "sip:" prefix, the Google Voice phone number and @sip.voice.google.com skips the conventional phone network entirely, saving users cellphone minutes. Disruptive Telephony tested it and found that a call worked "great."
(Updated with Walmart confirmation) At least three major third-party retailers should be carrying the iPad 2 during the US launch, information indicates. A definite partner is Best Buy, which has already posted a splash image advertising a March 11th rollout. Meanwhile, a source claims that iPad 2 SKUs have entered inventory systems for Walmart and Sam's Club.
France Telecom mobile division Orange is set to bring a new app to the iPhone that enhances its built-in voicemail functionality. The new ON VoiceFeed app gives users the option to create personalized messages for individual callers or even groups of callers. In practice, the app can be used to set up a universal greeting for unknown callers, and then tailored messages for loved-ones, friends or work groups for example.
The first-generation iPad appears to be on the way out in Canada and the United Kingdom, reports say. In Canada, major retail chain Future Shop is said to be low or completely out of stock for some models at some outlets. UK retailer Carphone Warehouse is now claimed by 9to5 to be out of the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad, as well as all 3G tablets.
European cell carrier Orange said on Wednesday that it disapproved of what it calls a closed mobile system from the recent Nokia-Microsoft tie-up. Chief marketer Jean-Paul Cottet said providers prefer to offer open systems that give its customers choice. They have a say in the popularity of phones as they choose how much to subsidize them.
The Xperia Play handset has been confirmed as coming to several carriers on Monday, including Orange, T-Mobile, O2 and Vodafone in the UK. In Canada, the phone will be exclusive to Rogers, according to MobileSyrup. Orange and T-Mobile UK have also confirmed they should have the PlayStation phone, has has O2, though no release date is known for Canada.
The white iPhone 4 could potentially cost buyers extra, listings at Orange France suggest. Pages on the carrier's website already depict 16 and 32GB white models, even though Apple has yet to announce the color as a shipping option. Orange is notably applying a €20 premium, for instance raising the cost of a 32GB phone from €299 to €319 on a two-year contract.
French telecommunications provider Orange has began negotiations with online video hosting company DailyMotion in order to purchase a 49 percent interest for 58.8 million euros (about $80 million). The deal, which is expected to close within a few months, also gives Orange the option of buying the remaining stake in 2013.
Orange UK did much poorer than expected in launching subsidized iPads during the holidays, according to industry sources. The carrier is said to have been expecting tens of thousands of iPad sales, helped by a cheaper £199 base price tag tied to a two-year contract. In reality the company only sold 1,000 or so in the first week, the sources claim.
A joint proposal from contractors Allot Communications and Openet could lead to charging by the online service and a potentially severe violation of net neutrality principles on cellphones and tablets. The newly developed system would let carriers charge different rates depending on the nature of traffic while exempting their own services. Carriers could also throttle or fence off services such as Facebook or YouTube to discourage using them too often.
European cellular carriers have reiterated calls for content providers like Facebook and device makers like Apple to shoulder the costs of traffic on their networks. The CEO of Orange's parent company France Telecom, Stephane Richard, recapped his view at the LeWeb conference today that it was unfair carriers had to pay for investments to handle the load for the iPhone or a website but wasn't collecting any extra revenue from the traffic. Heavy data use was "good news" but has prompted questions about business models, including the decision to cap bandwidth, Richard said with Bloomberg in attendance.
Several UK cellular carriers are now selling subsidized versions of the iPad, having previously relied on standard pre-paid options. In all instances, only 3G versions of the tablet are eligible, tied to two-year contracts. A 16GB model costs £199, while 32GB is £249 and 64GB is £349. Normally a 3G iPad costs a minimum of £529.
