Vodaphone will soon launch Europe's first smartphone to support both Android and LTE in the continent's first real adoption of 4G. The carrier has confirmed that it will soon begin shipping the HTC Velocity in Germany, with other countries arriving soon afterwards. It represents a white colored variant of the HTC Vivid being sold in the US by AT&T, and elsewhere as the Raider.
Vodafone became the first Australian carrier to begin offering the Galaxy Tab 10.1 following the reversed preliminary ban. The Android tablet's 3G version comes subsidized with the device price factored into the monthly rate. It can cost as little as $39 AUD ($41 US) a month on a two-year contract with a 1.5GB monthly cap or as much as $109 AUD ($114 US) on a one-year contract with a large 16GB cap.
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.
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.
The Dutch competition authority, NMA, searched the offices of wireless providers KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile on Tuesday over alleged price fixing. The three carriers are accused of sharing of market information and cartel prices, Reuters said. The three companies are cooperating with the investigation.
Carrier IQ's problems mounted dramatically on Thursday after Senator Al Franken sent a letter to the company demanding answers as to the company's extensive phone logging practices. He was concerned that Carrier IQ might be violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the pen register statute, and Stored Communications Act by recording without consent not just diagnostic information but phone numbers, text messages, web addresses, and the location. Carrier IQ's earlier denials that it wasn't tracking keystrokes or personal content were "especially concerning" given evidence showing just the the opposite, Franken said.
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.
Early benchmarks of the Galaxy Nexus have shown it to be the first Android phone that can outperform an iPhone 4S on the web. The AnandTech tests show that Google's late addition of dual-core processor support gave the phone the edge over Apple both in the SunSpider JavaScript test and Rightware's BrowserMark. The only other Android device to get close, the Droid RAZR, slightly won in one test but lost in another.
Telefonica Czech Republic in an interview on Friday said it was open to the prospect of a future Apple deal after dropping iPhone sales. Representative Hany Farghali told Bloomberg that the carrier's current rejection "doesn’t mean that Telefonica won’t sell Apple products in the future." While not saying how amenable Telefonica might be, the representative noted it was "purely a business decision" and wasn't permanent.
(Update: not worldwide) Google has just informed The Verge that the Galaxy Nexus will be "pretty much everywhere" beginning Monday, November 21. This likely means a launch in Canada and the US among other countries, making North Americans wait an extra weekend compared to UK buyers. The UK version is LTE-less, just like the Canadian version, while the US phone will have an LTE radio onboard.
The GSMA have announced that 45 of the world’s major carriers have committed to supporting SIM-based Near Field Communications (NFC). Among the carriers to pledge their support of the new standard are AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, China Mobile and China Unicom, Vodafone, and Telefonica. In making the announcement, the GSMA have now published (PDF) a new set of industry specifications to further accelerate adoption of the technology.
Australia as is often case has had the distinction of being the first for an Apple launch in carrying the iPhone 4S. Apple's flagship Sydney store showed that demand hadn't tapered for the new model, with hundreds of buyers queued up in line. Both official and unofficial reports have pointed to "tens of thousands" of pre-orders at Optus and Telstra each, selling out of 64GB pre-orders.
Vodafone Germany may have supported talk of an iPhone 4S as this year's model after putting it in a device compatibility listing. Versions with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of space have shown up in both black (schwarz) and white (weiß) alongside the regular version. The carrier doesn't have listings for the phones themselves.
Vodafone will begin selling non-Apple branded Micro SIM cards. The wireless carrier has confirmed to Pocket-lint that it will begin offering the miniature SIM cards in the "not too distant future." Currently the only devices using these cards, which are functionally equivalent to a regular SIM card in a smaller form factor, are Apple iPhones and iPads.
Intel and Samsung partly confirmed rumors by unveiling Tizen. The effective successor to MeeGo still uses Linux as an open-source foundation for a mobile OS but is focused on a much broader coalition of LiMo supporters that includes Japanese phone makers NEC Casio and Panasonic Mobile, OS developer Access, and carriers NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom, Telefonica (O2), and Vodafone. The group will focus more on HTML5- and Wholesale Applications Community-based apps that can run on MeeGo and can share much of their code for other platforms and devices.
Vodafone Australia has posted a not particularly subtle sign-up page for the iPhone 5 to get customers involved. Calling it only "this year's biggest smartphone release," the carrier asks users to sign up for notifications. Simultaneously, it invites customers to get a SIM-only smartphone plan so they can switch phones without having to pick a plan at the same time.
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 largest wireless spectrum auction in the UK may be pushed back to the spring of 2012, according to a Tuesday report. The country's regulator, Ofcom, blamed the delay on many technical and legal issues. The potential delay is at least three months later than originally planned, though Ofcom added it has always said the original timescale was ambitious.
Vodafone has added a white Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone to its portfolio to sell alongside its black version. The phone is available at no cost with a two-year £36 ($58 USD) monthly contract.
Last week, HTC unexpectedly announced a two month delay in shipping the GSM version of its Evo 3D smartphone until September. Vodafone subsequently backed away from carrying the phone. Digitimes reports that HTC denies this, contending that Vodafone will still carry the phone.
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.
HTC will delay the European version of the Evo 3D smartphone, and it will now arrive in September in the UK, SlashGear learned. This represents a two-month delay, and no reason was revealed. Vodafone UK this week backed away from the Evo 3D entirely and said it will no longer bring the glasses-free 3D handset to its lineup.
Microsoft on Tuesday announced the launch of its cloud-based Office 365. Available in 40 markets, it includes Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online. All apps are always up to date and accessing them costs $6 per month, though service plans range from $2 to $27 per user per month. This full-blown launch follows a beta release launched last fall.
The three largest UK wireless providers that include O2, Vodafone and Everything Everywhere have announced they will join forces to offer mobile wallet services to customers. According to MocoNews, the three will offer a cross-platform solution to banks, merchants, advertisers and other marketing partners to get the technology and its widespread use off the ground. The cooperation seems to be just what NFC needs, as the hardware is becoming increasingly available, with many of the Android-powered handsets getting it and the OS itself coming with the needed software hooks.
Vodafone in the UK has dropped the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v, its exclusive version of the 10-inch Galaxy tablet, in favor of the newer Galaxy Tab 10.1. The newer version is thinner (8.3mm vs. 10.9mm), but has sacrificed the eight-megapixel camera for a three-megapixel version. Vodafone felt that the 10.1 is more competitive with the 2nd-generation iPad than the 10.1v.
A shipment of Sony Ericsson Xperia Play handsets headed to New Zealand has been stolen, Vodafone announced over Twitter on Tuesday. This is the latest problem for the gaming-oriented smartphone, which suffered delays and hasn't been selling well in some areas since its launch. Vodafone hasn't revealed how many phones were taken, but simply stated there had been a security breach.
European wireless provider Vodafone introduced the self-branded Smart phone. The Android 2.2 device will let pay-as-you-go customers access the Android Market, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Talk. Users interact through a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen and access the web through 3G and Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is also onboard.
The European Commission will, yet again, propose legislation over the next few weeks that would reduce roaming charges across European Union member countries, Reuters was told on Thursday. The cuts would be closer to national rates and while they would cut profits for carriers such as Vodafone, Telefonica (O2), Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile, and France Telecom (Orange), subscribers would get closer to regular rates for roaming. The draft is expected to be approved by June and would lower the price maximums carriers can charge for voice calls and text messages while their subscribers are traveling throughout Europe.
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.
UK provider Vodafone has listed the dual-core HTC Sensation handset on its website. The carrier promises to deliver pre-orders by May 19, with those who opt for a minimum £35 ($58) per month plan getting the handset free. Highlight features of the phone include its dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor and its 4.3-inch, 540x960 display.
UK provider Vodafone is allowing its subscribers to pay for a ride in London's black cabs by sending a text message to a certain number. They need to include the cab's license number in the message, and the fare is charged to their phone bill. At the same time, about 500 branded cabs will be equipped with chargers for popular phones, including iPhones and BlackBerry devices.
In a move that was hinted last week, Vodafone Portugal will begin selling the original design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. According to the Vodaphone website, the tablet will be available starting April 26 for the equivalent of $860. Samsung was forced to rethink its strategy after the introduction of the iPad 2, and halted production of the original Galaxy Tab 10.1.
An inventory discovery Saturday has helped confirm Apple's plans to launch the white iPhone 4 next week. Best Buy's inventory system showed at least the AT&T, 16GB model being in stock on April 27. The 9to5 tipster didn't know which other versions would be coming, but the Verizon inventory system has also shown the different hue on its way.
Virtually guaranteeing the white iPhone 4 would ship next week, a customer claimed to have successfully bought one at Vodafone UK. A 16GB version was sold through the system as though it were a white model and is now confirmed to have a slightly different MC604B/A model number instead of the usual MC603B/A for black. Vodafone helped confirm suspicions further when it put out a store notice after the one customer passed through to withhold further "until next week," Engadget said.
Vodafone has taken to its support forums to reveal a freeze on the Samsung Galaxy S update to Android 2.3 for the UK and other areas. The delay is likely to apply to all Galaxy S handsets at other carriers, as the update was suspended by Google. Exactly what the issue is with the update hasn't been revealed.
Samsung's newly thinned Galaxy Tab 10.1 was given a hands-on Friday (video below) that supported its fiercely disputed claims to having a thinner design. Well-known prototype leakers at Vietnam's Tinhte found the supposedly 0.33-inch Android 3.0 tablet in working form at a trade show and gave it a quick demo, proving that it still had the speed of the dual-core Tegra 2 but did appear to be slightly thinner than the iPad 2. The tablet also appeared to be running stock Android 3.0 rather than the custom live panels we saw ourselves at CTIA last month, although whether that will reflect the final version or was just temporary wasn't made evident.
HTC as expected used its London event on Tuesday to unveil a new flagship Android phone, the Sensation. It packs the same dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor as the Evo 3D we tried last month as well as the 4.3-inch, 540x960 display, but with a more conventional design. HTC is using a regular 2D display and packs a single eight-megapixel, 1080p-capable camera on the back instead of the two five-megapixel cameras used to make 3D movies on the Sprint-specific phone.
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.
UK-based electronics retailer Expansys is now offering the dual-core LG Optimus 2X smartphone for sale. The device uses NVIDIA's 1GHz Tegra 2 chip and is priced at £450 (about $722) without any associated contracts. To sweeten the deal, Expansys ships the phone with a £10 car charger. UK providers like T-Mobile, Vodafone and others offer it with contracts for free.
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.
The UK branches of Vodafone and 3 have both confirmed their intentions to sell the iPad 2. The carriers are mum on exact details, but are likely to carry over existing data plans. 3 charges £20 for 15GB of data a month on a two-year contract, or £15 for 10GB on a month-to-month basis; a contract also knocks down the price of the hardware. Vodafone is charging £10 for 1GB, £15 for 3GB and £25 for 5GB per month.
A rumor that's nearly a year old and has been brought back again six months ago has once again made the news. This time, however, UK's Vodafone and US-based Verizon are said to be combining parts of their businesses and share equipment costs. The two would merge enterprise divisions that cater to clients from more than one country, according to plans the Times had on Sunday.
Vodafone Egypt confirmed on Sunday that it had brought FaceTime to local iPhone 4 users for the first time as of Saturday. The liberation of the country from Mubarak's regime had removed the restrictions previously imposed upon it and would give it the same access as in other countries. Most users should have it soon, if not already, through a carrier update delivered through iTunes.
A theft of Vodafone's network equipment in Basingstoke, southern England has left many subscribers without any mobile voice or data services in the region on Monday. The issue is said to be now fixed, though Vodafone didn't issue a statement regarding the problem for nearly 12 hours. Only BlackBerry users were unable to access e-mail as of early Monday, and those with other devices were unaffected.
UK wireless carrier O2 communicated over Twitter that it will be the exclusive provider of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play smartphone in white. Other carriers that will get the so-called PlayStation phone include Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone in the UK as well Rogers exclusively in Canada. In the US, it will arrive at Verizon sometime in the spring.
Vodafone has just introduced its Webbox product, which is a keyboard that brings the ability to browse to Internet to users' TVs. It connects via a wired RCA connection and uses Opera Mini 5.1 to supply a web link. Coming from a phone carrier, it also supports built-in SMS and e-mail messaging, along with an FM radio, photo gallery and a music player.
