01/29, 11:31am
Will be awarded title alongside Melinda Gates
Apple's incoming retail head and former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is being named a Dame of the British Empire, according to Vogue. The honor is a female equivalent of a knighthood. Since Ahrendts is originally from the US, her damehood has been approved by the Queen, but will not be awarded by a member of the British royal family. The same is true of Melinda Gates, who is being granted damehood at the same time.
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01/16, 3:10pm
Court says anonymized data can still be used to identify people
Privacy activists have won the right to sue Google in England over fooling Safari into accepting cookies, according to reports. Some time ago, Apple updated Safari to allow people to block cookie-based tracking. Google developed a workaround, but was discovered, and punished with multiple fines by the US government. An American class action lawsuit was tossed out of court in October because the judge ruled no one could prove they'd been harmed.
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01/13, 2:52pm
Testing of hands-free Beacon system expands
Transaction service PayPal has started testing a new web feature called In-Context Checkout, reports say. Normally, web-based PayPal transactions have to be completed at paypal.com. With the in-context code in place, choosing PayPal checkout at a retailer's website will simply conjure a pop-up, where billing and shipping information can be entered. At the moment only a handful of retailers have the option, but PayPal is promising that more vendors will adopt it in the first half of 2014.
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01/03, 1:46pm
Fraud estimated to be worth £450,000
A woman from Newton Aycliffe in the UK has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding people in an iPad scam, the BBC reports. Kirsty Cox was found guilty of four fraud charges connected to taking thousands of orders for iPads between March and December of 2012. Cox claimed a contact could help her get the tablets for £50 to £100 off their retail prices, but she ultimately couldn't provide them.
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12/26, 8:00pm
US residents enjoy special holiday 'channels' on iTunes Radio instead
While US residents can brag on their ability to listen to special "holiday" channels on iTunes Radio, other countries have their own iTunes celebrations going on -- the Canadian iTunes Store, for example, has launched a "Boxing Day" sale on select albums and songs, while the UK store has a similar sale (but not, strangely, labeled as "Boxing Day" related). In both countries and a few others, "Boxing Day" kicks off a week of sales from all manner of retailers.
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12/19, 10:38am
Fails to block all adult sites, blocks public health resources
Adult content filters rolling out on the major Internet service providers (ISPs) in the United Kingdom are found to be a mix of ineffectual and over-effective, according to a report. The new filters, pushed for by Prime Minister David Cameron, are seemingly blocking access to useful health-related sites, while at the same time failing to block pornographic material.
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12/17, 2:18pm
Day passes available for limited viewing
UK satellite television broadcaster Sky has announced that Apple TV users in the UK can watch Sky Sports content. The Now TV app enables users to sign up for a day pass that provides access to six Sky Sports channels, including four standard channels, the Sky Sports News channel and another dedicated to Formula One racing.
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12/17, 7:58am
AT&T signs deal with EE for 4G roaming in UK, will offer similar connection in early 2014
AT&T has signed a deal with Everything Everywhere in the United Kingdom, allowing the US carrier's subscribers access to the 4G network when visiting, in a similar deal to one between AT&T and Rogers in Canada. Though the pricing of the deal were not disclosed, Pocket Lint reports that EE customers will be able to get 4G speeds from AT&T's network in the US in the first half of 2014.
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12/16, 6:03am
Commercial version of educational tablet touts included data connections
The creator of the Aakash 2 tablet, an educational Android slate sold in India, has launched a commercial version in the United Kingdom. Though the range of 7-inch UbiSlate tablets do not match the entry-level specifications found in retailer-branded budget tablets like the Tesco Hudl, it does appear to be competing on sheer pricing of the hardware to consumers alone.
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12/02, 10:13am
Feature additions go unmentioned
Various editions of FileMaker Pro 13 have gone on sale at Apple's UK online store ahead of an anticipated official announcement. The listings don't make mention of specific feature upgrades, but in screenshots the OS X release appears to have a new "Share" button, while the companion iOS app - FileMaker Go -- has been given a visual overhaul for iOS 7. Still missing is a matching FileMaker Server update.
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12/02, 9:39am
Most countries participating
Most of Apple's online storefronts for Europe have announced zero-percent financing deals, available today through January 10th. Some participating countries include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The deals are only eligible on hardware purchases worth over €400, or £449, but let shoppers spread costs over time without incurring the interest Apple normally charges. Depending on the country, payments can be spread over 10 or 12 months.
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11/20, 11:28am
Shorter UK domain names to cost the same as existing registrations
Nominet, the domain registrar of the United Kingdom, will soon start offering shorter .uk suffixes to websites. The new address ending, set to become available from the summer of 2014, will bring the UK in line with other country-based suffixes, such as .fr for websites serving France, .de for Germany, and .ca for Canada.
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11/13, 10:55am
Pickups already taking place at some stores
Some delivery orders of the Retina iPad mini are already en route, buyers say. In the UK, Apple notifications mention some deliveries shipping as soon as Friday, November 15. Day-one US orders are meanwhile shipping anywhere between November 18th and the 21st.
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11/12, 7:58am
Provides free six-month subscription to higher-tier cable customers
British cable operator Virgin Media has completed its trial of offering Netflix on 40,000 of its set-top boxes, opening it up to all customers. Subscribers with a TiVo box, in over 1.8 million UK homes, will not only gain access to the streaming video service on the device, but will also gain six months of Netflix service for free to Premiere or VIP Collection customers.
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11/11, 7:19am
Amazon listing confirms 4.5-inch display, Android KitKat upgrade in future
The Moto G could be shipping to customers the day after its expected launch on November 13th. A sales page for the phone on Amazon UK shows the device, under the previous name of the Motorola DVX, as being "due to be released on November 14th," as well as seemingly confirming a number of rumored specifications.
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11/01, 5:13am
iPad Air availability spreads to more countries
Following earlier launches in Australia and Asia, the Apple iPad Air has gone on sale in the UK and Europe, as well in the US online store, as it moves to launch in 42 countries by the end of today. The new tablet has been released in Apple retail stores across Europe, some of which have opened earlier than normal in order to sell the iPad Air to waiting customers.
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10/31, 9:20am
UK carriers only beginning to make announcements day ahead of launch
The UK branch of Three has announced plans to carry both the iPad Air, launching tomorrow, and the Retina iPad mini, due sometime in November. Data plans will start at £7.50 per month for 1GB of data, and scale up to £25 per month for 15GB. Costs for the iPad Air will be in line with Apple's own, beginning at £499 for a 16GB 3G/4G model. Three's LTE network will only begin rolling out in December.
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10/24, 10:16am
Apple TV users see movies disappear completely
(Updated with Amazon disappearance) Some Disney and Pixar movies have been pulled without warning from the US and UK iTunes Stores, accounts say. These include titles like The Lion King and Mater's Tall Tales. The situation is worse in the case of Apple TV owners, who are no longer seeing the titles in their libraries. No refunds have been offered.
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10/18, 2:04pm
Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter memo over spying concerns
A group of technology companies has asked members of the UK government that there needs to be a debate about Internet surveillance. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and Twitter have jointly written a memo to Members of Parliament (MPs) calling for more transparency in requests for information by government-controlled organizations, such as GCHQ.
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10/18, 7:14am
Amazon opens pre-orders for Kindle Fire HD, HDX in UK, Canada
Amazon has opened up pre-orders for its new Kindle Fire HDX and updated Kindle Fire HD in the United Kingdom and Canada. The lower-resolution Kindle Fire HD will be shipping in both countries from October 24th, starting from £119 and $149. While those in the UK will have to wait until November 19th to receive their HDX models in both 7-inch and 8.9-inch forms, starting from £199 and £329 respectively, Canada will have to wait until November 26th, with the tablets priced at $254 and $399.
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10/16, 12:56pm
Option to pay extra for faster connection, international roaming
British carrier Everything Everywhere, known as EE, has made a number of changes to the way it offers its service to customers. Monthly price plans for the 4G service have been restructured to include tiers with extra speed and more data, with the carrier also offering a prepaid 4G service to its customers for the first time.
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10/14, 10:06am
Expansion to rest of Europe still uncertain
Earlier than anticipated, Apple has launched a UK version of its iPhone Reuse and Recycling program. The initiative lets people trade in older iPhone models for cash towards the purchase of a new one. In the UK, a Dataserv web calculator estimates the value of the older device based on factors like capacity, screen and shell damage, and whether or not a phone is locked or unlocked; a carrier-locked but otherwise perfect 16GB iPhone 4S, for example, comes out to GBP 52.50. Dataserv says however that it will only decide the real cash value of a phone once it has received it.
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10/10, 11:17am
Beats predictions from sources
iTunes Radio is already rolling out in Canada and the UK, according to anecdotal reports. Until this week, the service was only accessible in the US. The timing beats out predictions by Bloomberg sources, who suggested that Canada and the UK would only get Radio in early 2014. There is no word yet of Australia, New Zealand, or various Nordic countries getting access; the Bloomberg sources suggested those regions would be joining Canada and the UK in roughly the same timeframe.
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10/09, 4:57pm
UK to serve as pilot country
Apple is planning to bring its iPhone trade-in initiative -- officially known as the Reuse and Recycling Program -- to European Apple Stores, a source claims. The company is reportedly already preparing training materials for UK staff, with the intent of launching the program locally in the next few months. A small group of stores in the region have actually started training, but it's expected to take a few weeks for the process to reach every UK shop.
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10/07, 11:04pm
English-speaking and Nordic countries in initial rollout plans
Apple is expected to make English-speaking and Nordic countries the first wave of its expansion of iTunes Radio into non-US countries, pulling ahead of main rival Pandora in terms of international reach, Bloomberg reports. Citing "people with knowledge of the situation," Apple expects to bring the new streaming-radio feature of iTunes to Canada, the UK, several Nordic countries, Australia and New Zealand in a timeframe said to be aimed for early 2014.
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09/30, 11:34am
BBC adds podcast download options to iPlayer Radio app
The BBC has updated its iPlayer Radio app for iOS and Android, adding the option to download podcasts from the broadcaster. Downloaded shows will appear under the new "My Downloads" part of the app, with the option to force the app to only download podcasts while connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, in order to avoid potential extra data charges from carriers.
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09/19, 1:29pm
Few launch units available worldwide
Although the phone has only just launched in the eastern hemisphere, the iPhone 5s is proving to be in extremely short supply, reports suggest. Online orders of the device have opened up in Australia and mainland China, but Apple is already listing the product as shipping in 7 to 10 business days in those regions, regardless of color or capacity. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the 5s is simply quoted as shipping in "October."
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09/17, 12:42pm
Carriers offering iPhones for 'free' on some plans
Chinese carriers are heavily subsidizing the iPhone 5s and 5c to make them affordable in the country, rate cards show. Off-contract, even a 16GB 5c is 4,488 yuan, or over $730. China Unicom however has eight plans under which a 5c is available for free. At China Telecom, even the 5s is available for "free" under three plans, although these involve extremely long contracts and/or high fees.
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09/10, 3:32pm
Leaves North America for first time
As anticipated, Apple has brought AppleCare+ plans to Europe for the first time. Initially, however, the option is only being sold in the UK, France, and Italy. In the UK, the fee to replace an accidentally-damaged iPad under the two-year plan is £39; replacing an iPhone is £55. Defective units should be swapped out at no extra cost.
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08/30, 3:31pm
Apple partnering with AIG
Apple's rumored European expansion of AppleCare+ will initially reach just six countries, sources say. A launch is reportedly "imminent" in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the UK, although no exact dates are available. Apple is said to be partnering with AIG on the service; local AppleCare and Genius Bar workers started training for AppleCare+ earlier this week.
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08/30, 10:41am
Digg releases app on Android with Digg top stories, Digg Reader intact
Digg has launched the Android version of its mobile app on Google Play, following a successful launch on iOS. The new app brings with it the Digg Top Stories curated newsfeed, as well as the ability to Digg and share stores through social networks and other apps. Digg Reader, the RSS reader built to replace Google Reader, also makes an appearance in the app.
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08/29, 6:56am
O2, Vodafone agreement allows networks to roll out simultaneously
British carriers O2 and Vodafone have launched their 4G networks in the United Kingdom. The launch of both high-speed phone networks in the country, following behind established 4G network EE, is accompanied by a confirmation from competitor Three that it will begin to roll out its own 4G network from December onwards.
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08/12, 4:54pm
New countries to join August 16th
Apple is extending the number of eligible countries in its USB adapter takeback program. The program began in China August 9th, and is coming to the US on August 16th. Now also joining on the 16th will be Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK.
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07/01, 3:40pm
HTC One hinted at release on Verizon this summer with image
The HTC One is heading to Verizon in the future, according to the EVleaks Twitter account. A picture showing the silver version of the smartphone is displayed along with the "for Verizon" claim, but there is no mention of price, an expected release date, nor if there will be any other color options. The carrier has previously said it will start selling the HTC One "later this summer," but the on-screen clock in the image offers the date September 5th, which could be a potential launch date.
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07/01, 1:29pm
Company pulled in £68M in UK profits
Apple paid no UK corporation tax for 2012, according to new filings. The Financial Times reports that Apple escaped paying taxes through deductions on share awards to its workers. This is despite the company's three main British subsidiaries -- Apple UK, Apple Europe, and Apple Retail UK -- pulling in a combined £68 million in pre-tax profits. The deductions amounted to £27.7 million.
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06/30, 8:59pm
Compensation, possible rebranding could be ordered by judge
Microsoft has lost a trademark case in the United Kingdom over the branding of its cloud storage service. The ruling, which covers both the UK itself and the European Union, states that Microsoft infringed on British Sky Broadcasting's trademark of the Sky brand with SkyDrive, which could impact the way that the software company offers it across the continent.
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06/27, 8:05am
HTC One in red appears at UK phone retailer, on sale mid-July
A red version of the HTC One will be going on sale in the United Kingdom. Previously thought to be offered as a "limited edition" device, British retailer Phones 4U gained the rights to sell the smartphone in the country, with pre-orders starting at £33 ($51) per month ahead of a release in mid-July. Red versions of the HTC One is likely to start appearing on carriers in other parts of the world in the coming months.
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06/24, 9:24am
Early Java update may be faulty
Two significant technical problems hit Apple over the weekend, accounts say. The first is the discovery that early installers of last week's Lion/Mountain Lion Java update may have downloaded a premature build, xM4508, which can prevent some Java apps from working. The corrected version is xM4509, and is available via Software Update or Apple's support page. People can check which build they have installed by entering "/usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.6 -exec java -version" into Terminal.
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06/24, 9:14am
Amazon signs deal with CBS, Star Trek reaches Lovefilm in UK, Germany
Amazon has signed a multi-year deal with CBS Studios to stream shows from CBS and Showtime on Lovefilm in the UK and Germany. Subscribers of the streaming service will have access to episodes of Californication, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, and both the 1960s original Star Trek and Star Trek Voyager from today, with other shows heading to it in the future.
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05/30, 4:14am
Pebble smartwatch firmware update adds multiple notifications, watchface
The Pebble smartwatch has received a firmware update, introducing more changes to the user interface. Notifications have been updated to allow for multiple items to be viewed, the UI for setting the time has been reworked, and the wearer's current speed in the RunKeeper app can now be viewed from the Pebble display. The minimalist Simplicity watchface has been added as an option instead of the Fuzzy Time watchface, which has now been transitioned to the watchapp library, according to the version 1.11 firmware release notes.
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05/17, 9:00am
Trend predicted by Apple CEOs Jobs, Cook: tablets up 188 percent from Q1 2012
A report from market analysts IDC looking at market conditions in the United Kingdom says that in the first quarter of 2013, tablet shipments outpaced the combined desktop and notebook PC for the first time. A total of 2.8 million tablets were shipped in Q1, outpacing the 2.3 million PC units (which include Macs alongside Windows desktops and laptops) by a half-million units -- a rise of 188 percent year-over-year. While the report is limited to the UK, the results likely foreshadow future trends elsewhere.
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04/23, 1:32pm
4G subscriber numbers after five months of service in UK
British carrier Everything Everywhere, known as EE, has revealed that 318,000 people have signed up for its 4G LTE service, just five months after it launched the first 4G network in the country. The carrier hopes to extend the number past 1 million UK customers using its high-speed network by the end of the year.
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04/19, 9:50pm
Harvester restaurant creates special offer for iPhone users only
A UK restaurant chain is experimenting with an iPhone-only coupon, usable through Apple's Passbook app, in an effort to attract new customers. The Harvester coupon, which offers £5 ($7.60) off any bill of £30 ($45.70) or more, "exceeded our expectations," according to the chain, with a nearly five percent redemption rate (similar ads generally see only a 1-2 percent redemption rate in most industries). The promotion was limited only to iPhone users who had Passbook, a feature of iOS 6 -- but the app is catching on with other businesses.
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04/11, 11:23am
Google Map Maker extended to United Kingdom
Google has added the United Kingdom to the list of countries able to contribute improvements to its mapping data. Enabled in North Korea earlier this year, Google Map Maker allows users to submit adjustments to the main Google Maps database, including new roads not picked up from Street View cars, changes in coastlines, and areas not usually covered by Google's normal cartography efforts. The changes are then periodically reviewed and rolled into Google Maps itself.
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04/09, 6:15am
Carrier to test 4G connections over multiple bands
British carrier EE is planning to double its spectrum allocation and increase its 4G speed in the country, before other phone networks are able to launch their own 4G LTE offerings. It plans to roll out its expanded spectrum service to 10 cities by June, and to trial carrier aggregation in an effort to provide even more bandwidth to its service.
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03/25, 10:11am
Apple refusing to refund £3,700 bill, paper
A UK policeman, Doug Crossnan, has reported his 13-year-old son Cameron for fraud after he spent £3,700 on in-game purchases on his iPad, the Daily Mail reports. Doug tells the paper that his son was unaware he was being charged for the purchases, but that Apple has so far refused to make a refund. The fraud charge, he explains, is now the only way to recoup the money, since he needs a crime reference number for any hope of a claim.
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03/19, 8:30pm
New OS not able to advance further than BlackBerry 7 in certifications
BlackBerry's new BB10 software and hardware package has failed tests performed by the UK's Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) and will not be used for work above the "restricted" level, two levels below "secret." Allegedly, the BB10 and BlackBerry Balance software firewall -- which is intended to separate work and personal data -- does not adequately prevent the transfer of information between accounts.
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03/19, 11:10am
Spotify lifts five-play track limit on free accounts in UK
Spotify has lifted its five-play restriction on tracks used in its ad-supported free service in the United Kingdom. The play-limit, preventing users from listening to the same track too many times once an account is six-months old, is revoked for all users, with previously greyed-out and blocked tracks now able to be played again. While France is the last remaining country to have a five-play limit, all free accounts are still restricted to a maximum of 10 hours of music per month.
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03/18, 12:38pm
Leeds store marks rare Thursday opening
Plans for three new Apple Stores have emerged. Apple itself has announced a location in England; the Trinity Leeds outlet is launching on Thursday, in a shopping center opening on the same day. Thursday store openings are rare for Apple, which normally prefers weekends, especially Saturdays.
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03/07, 9:40am
Legal tide so far in Apple's favor
A judge in a London court has ruled against a Samsung claim that Apple is violating a standards-essential 3G data patent. "We are disappointed by the court's decision," says a Samsung spokeswoman in an official statement. "Upon a thorough review of the judgment, we will decide whether to file an appeal. For decades, we have heavily invested in pioneering the development of technological innovations in the mobile industry, which have been constantly reflected in our products."
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