July 3 - 12:50pm EDT   Ahead of a scheduled UK launch event next week, Dutch wireless provider Hi has posted a product page on its website advertising the Palm Pre smartphone. Hi is a sub-brand of KPN, which has ties to Telefonica. As Telefonica runs UK carrier O2, which was reported to be the exclusive carrier of the Pre, the posting implies that Telefonica may have landed a multi-country deal. The product page reveals Hi will sell the Pre only subsidized with a contract. [full story]

June 30 - 7:55am EDT   Palm may have sold as many as 300,000 Pre phones in less than a month on sale, according to a investor's note by Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder. He estimates that about 120,000 Pres were available on launch day but that these sold out within days and that about 15,000 examples of the multi-touch phone are being made every day, leading to the final estimate for the month. As many as 1 million phones could reach Sprint by the end of the first quarter of sales, which for Palm finishes at the end of August. [full story]

May 25 - 1:20pm EDT   Wireless providers NTT DoCoMo and Telefónica on Monday announced that the TG01 full touchscreen handset, Toshiba's first, will launch in their respective markets of Japan and Spain. The Japanese version, called PRO T-01A, will arrive sometime in June, while Spain will get the TG01 in July. [full story]

May 1 - 12:45pm EDT   Apple and its US carrier AT&T are some of the most important technology companies in terms of brand worth, the latest Brandz Top 100 ranking (PDF) from MillwardBrown indicates. Gauging them not just on their actual income but also their social impact, the firm estimates that Apple has the sixth-largest brand value in the world and has seen the rough value of its brand climb 14 percent to about $63.1 billion. AT&T ranked 28th but was also one of the fastest-rising companies, jumping 67 percent to just over $20 billion. [full story]

March 11 - 6:40pm EDT   Telefónica's Movistar has negotiated an exclusive deal with Palm to distribute the upcoming Pre handset in Spain and Latin America, according to a number of Spanish news outlets. Sources also claim that the company's subsidiary, O2, will sell the device in the UK market. The reports mark the first alleged confirmation of carriers beyond Sprint to get the smartphone, although outside of the domestic market. [full story]

February 18 - 5:35pm EST   Ericsson on Wednesday announced it will partner with wireless provider Telecom Italia to bring wireless data speeds as fast as 28Mbps when downloading and 5.8Mbps when uploading thanks to HSPA+ technology. Milan will be the first Italian city to offer the fast speeds in June, with a nationwide rollout due for the second half of the year. At the same time, Telefónica O2 Germany has said it will launch its HSPA+ network for cellphones and computers in the second half of the year in Munich. [full story]

February 17 - 12:30pm EST   Most cellphones could use a single, interoperable standard for their power chargers within three years if a GSM Association initiative proves successful. The partnership includes phone makers like LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson as well as carriers like AT&T, KTF, Telefonica, T-Mobile and Vodafone; all have developed a format that would use micro USB as the standard and cut the typical power use by about half. The plan would cut back on the number of chargers thrown out after switching phones as well as reduce the amount of energy used to keep phones running. [full story]

February 9 - 4:15pm EST   The LiMo Foundation on Monday announced six new wireless providers have committed to release LiMo Platform based handsets in 2009. The Linux OS-based phones will become available from Verizon Wireless, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica and Vodafone sometime in 2009. The open-source Linux operating system in the devices will be based on the latest version of the LiMo Platform. [full story]

July 31 - 10:10am EDT   Spanish carrier Telefonica has reported a decline in its second-quarter profits despite the help of the iPhone, according to published results. Profits dropped 20 percent in Q2 over the same period a year ago, with net income sliding to $3.21 billion from $4.01 billion. This still beats the predictions of a Bloomberg survey however, which had suggested profits of only $2.84 billion. [full story]

July 10 - 11:40am EDT   Spanish carrier Movistar, owned by Telefonica, has published its official subscription plans for the iPhone 3G. The company has prepared two iPhone-specific data plans: the basic one costs €15 (plus VAT) per month on top of a voice plan, and is technically unlimited, but after the 200MB threshold reduces speed to 128Kbps down, and 64Kbps up. The Plus option costs €25 and has similar throttling, but moves the threshold to 1GB. [full story]

June 27 - 11:15am EDT   Prices for Spanish subscriptions to the iPhone have been leaked, according to reports. Exploration of the Movistar website has allegedly uncovered a page displaying phone prices, with a cost of €99 for an 8GB iPhone, and €199 for a 16GB model. Options are further divided into "iPhone" and "iPhone Plus" tariffs. [full story]

June 26 - 1:40pm EDT   Spanish carrier Telefonica has large plans for the debut of the iPhone 3G, sources say. At the heart of this is Telefonica's building in the Gran Via shopping district of Madrid, which is having its first floor completely redone in time for July 11th, the official release date of the 3G in 22 countries. Window displays have been emptied out, and installed video signage currently remains non-functional. Both Apple and Telefonica are said to want a "media extravaganza" around the world in advance of the 3G's availability. [full story]

June 25 - 4:25pm EDT   Dow Jones reports that Telefonica SA has received 300,000 pre- registrations in the United Kingdom and Spain to buy the iPhone 3G. A company spokesperson said that individuals have been reserving units of the device on the Telefonica Web site. Telefonica will begin selling the 3G iPhone July 11 in Spain, the Czech Republic and twelve Latin American countries. Apple's own retail stores in the UK may not be able to sell the iPhone 3G on July 11th, an industry publication reports. The issue stems from Apple's new activation policy, which forces customers to subscribe to a given carrier in-store, rather than at home through iTunes. [full story]

June 9 - 12:45am EDT   Apple retail stores around the world are beginning to receive mysterious boxes (one box per store) with strict instructions not to be opened until next week, along with new unidentified signage. It's unknown at this time what exactly is in these boxes but a couple false reports have come in stating they contain a version 2.0 iPhone display unit. An AppleInsider report is posting similar information taking place in Apple retails stores across Australia. [full story]

June 4 - 9:15am EDT   Telefonica has issued a terse confirmation that it will be distributing the iPhone in Spain, a local site reports. While the company has made earlier statements suggesting it would bring the phone, and its subsidiary Movistar is preparing to carry the device, Telefonica itself now says it has reached a deal. "Telefonica has signed an agreement with Apple to market the iPhone in Spain," the company's statement reads. "The iPhone will begin to sell this year." [full story]