Compare Mobile Phone Deals UK

CES 2008: Sony Ericsson gets fashion focused with Z555

2008-01-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Sony has launched a fashion focused mobile phone as apart of its Z range at CES in Las Vegas.

The new model, called the Z555 will come with an optional "Design Collection" of four leather bags all offering unique and creative carrying solutions, as well as three new sleek Bluetooth Headsets, HBH-PV708, HBH-PV770 and HBH-PV712.

"The Z555 is designed to reflect your look and attract attention," said Sven Totte, Head of Style Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "We've created it for people who are looking for a beautifully designed phone that reflects their personal style and does not compromise on features or performance."

However rather than tie up with a fashion like most of the competition, Sony Ericsson is hoping a bit of bling design and some innovative features like gesture control that allows you to manage calls with a wave of your hand will seal the deal with beautiful people.

Available in Diamond Black and Dusted Rose the clamshell design won't feature an outside screen, but like the company's S500 model will have theme's that change with the seasons.

The Z555 will also come with a 1.3 megapixel camera and Sony Ericsson Blogger software.

The Z555i is an EDGE/GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets from Q1 2008. The Z555a is an EDGE/GSM/GPRS 850/1800/1900 phone, available in the same timeframe.

Source:http://www.mobilephoneshopuk.net/blog/

Disgrace of mobile network coverage

2008-01-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

AN INVESTIGATION into the quality of mobile phone coverage in Wales is to be launched by the telecommunications regulator Ofcom.

The move follows concerns about the credibility of industry claims that only 0.2% of the Welsh land mass cannot pick up a signal.

More detailed statistics suggest that mobile phone users in Wales get a poorer deal than those in England, where only last week mobile and broadband coverage was compared unfavourably with that in India and Malawi.

Last night Rhodri Williams, Ofcom’s director for Wales, said, “We have had a number of representations expressing concern about the claim that 99.8% of Wales has mobile phone coverage. The point has been made to us that many people travelling between North Wales and South Wales by car or train experience difficulties with mobile phone reception as they pass through rural areas.

“We are planning to look into these concerns, and are currently considering how to bottom out the figures.”

According to international mobile phone industry trade association Groupe Speciale Mobile, both Wales and the UK as a whole have 99.8% coverage for so-called 2G coverage – the basic phone and text service.

Wales fares worse than the UK – predominantly England, of course – when it comes to districts served by at least four mobile phone operators. For the UK as a whole, 81.6% of districts have that degree of choice. In Wales the figure drops to 57%.

When it comes to so-called 3G coverage, where mobile phone users are able to browse the internet and send “richer” messages from their phones including videos, Wales is at a considerable disadvantage to the UK as a whole.

Across the UK, 91.4% of districts have 3G coverage, while in Wales the figure is 74.1%. The contrast is even starker for those districts having coverage from at least four 3G operators – 67.6% in the UK, and only 32.3% in Wales.

But the true picture appears to be even worse because of a difference in the way districts are counted. For the UK as a whole, districts are said to have coverage when at least 95% of the area has access. The figures relating to Wales alone, however, allow districts to be counted as having coverage when only 50% of the area is within reach of a signal.

Mr Williams said, “My personal view is that including districts as having coverage when only 50% actually have it is a strange way of counting.

“Historically, the deployment of mobile telephones in the UK has been entirely a matter for the private sector. Companies have rolled out their networks on the perceived judgment of the financial return available. The extent of coverage has been a factor in the competition for business. But there is nothing like the concept of universal service obligation that exists so far as conventional land-line telephones are concerned. That principle dates back to the time when BT was a public sector organisation.

“A decision was taken that, unless you lived at the top of a mountain in a very remote area, you would have a right to be connected to the land telephone network for the same price as someone living in Chelsea. That remains the case.

Mr Williams said the statistics released by GSM may suggest that the market will not necessarily ensure that everyone has coverage.

Asked what Ofcom could do, he said, “Ultimately this is not a matter for the regulator, but for the Government. In a very competitive market, where operators have an obligation to make a return to their shareholders, it is not feasible to impose an obligation that each of them must provide universal coverage.

“One possible solution is a government subsidy. When BT decided that it was not commercially viable to provide broadband capability to 35 telephone exchanges in Wales, the Assembly Government decided to provide a subsidy. But this is a matter for government.”

In Wales there has been criticism from some businesses in rural areas that the availability of broadband – a much faster internet connection – has been subject to lengthy delays.

In some areas, firms have been told it will cost them many thousands of pounds to be linked to the broadband network, in apparent contradiction of the Assembly Government’s stated aim of having universal broadband capability.

“Take-up of broadband in Wales has also increased considerably over the past few years. Up from 15% in 2004 to around 43% by early last year.”
Source:http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk

T-Mobile + 3 = Europe's Largest HSDPA Network

2007-12-31T23:07:00.000-08:00

This could be one of the biggest mergers in the cell phone industry we've seen in quite some time. An announcement has just been made wherein T-Mobile and 3 UK are planning to merge their networks, effectively forming Europe's largest HSDPA network. This means that consumers will have coverage up the wazoo and the companies will save plenty of dough in the process.

Full details have not been released just yet, but by combining the 3G networks of the two British mobile giants, both firms stand to save about one billion Pounds Sterling (about $2 billion USD). Those are some rather substantial savings, but it's hard to say whether they plan on passing these savings onto their subscribers.

As far as I can tell, the two companies will continue to operate independently with neither owning the other; they'll just be sharing their 3G networks. Let's just hope this doesn't go the way of a drunken NYE one-night stand.
source:http://www.mobilemag.com

UK lags avoid mobile phone jam

2007-12-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

THE UK government has apparently rejected the use of mobile phone jammers to prevent mobile phones smuggled inside prisons being put to nefarious uses such as drug dealing.

The plan was rejected on the grounds that such jammers might interfere with handsets being used in cars outside the prison grounds.

The revelation came as the result of a Parliamentary question from Lady Hermon, an Ulster Unionist, to Maria Eagle, the Labour MP, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

In the year to September 30th 2007, prison officers had discovered a total of nearly 3,500 mobile phones with SIM cards, mobile phones without SIM cards and SIM cards on their own.

Prison establishments are required to send all seized mobile telephones to HMPS Security Group for investigation. Investigators hope the lags will have left behind some incriminating phone numbers.

Curiously, Wandsworth Prison seems to be the worst offender. Out of the approximate 1,500 phones recovered from all England and Wales jails in five months, one sixth of them (circa 250) were found in
Source:http://www.theinquirer.net

T-Mobile to offer Samsung's Wi-Fi VoIP mobile

2007-12-11T21:57:00.001-08:00

T-Mobile has started selling the much-rumoured Samsung Katalyst Wi-Fi VoIP handset in the US. Available at just £40, the question is when it will reach us here in the UK.

The Samsung SGH-T739 Katalyst allows you to call your friends and family free of charge using VoIP services when you're within range of a Wi-Fi network. When you're not, the phone automatically switches to a mobile GSM network so that you can continue yakking away without interruption.

The slider handset features quad-band GSM/GRPS/Edge connectivity, a 176 x 220 and 262,000-colour screen, 1.3-megapixel camera, expandable microSD card slot up to 2GB and Bluetooth 2.0, Register Hardware reports.

The Samsung SGH-T739 Katalyst is said to offer around five hours of talk time and up to 240 hours of battery life in standby mode. The handset is available on T-Mobile in the US, from around $80 (£40), depending on what contract you're on. T-Mobile could not confirm a UK release date.
source: http://www.tech.co.uk

China Produces 40 Percent of Mobile Phones

2007-12-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Roughly 500 million of the world's mobile phones, or more than 40 percent of the global total, were or will be produced in China this year, according to the country's Ministry of Information Industry.

Those numbers, which were reported via the Chinese government's press agency Xinhua, represent a 41 percent increase in handset production over 2006.

The report also says that 80 percent, or 400 million of those devices, were or will be exported.

Chinese handset makers saw a drop of two percentage points in domestic market penetration, however, due to increased competition in the space, namely from Finland's Nokia. Chinese mobile phone manufacturers shipped less than two-thirds as many devices to Chinese retail outlets than Nokia.

Nokia recently predicted that the global mobile phone market will increase by 10 percent in 2008 to roughly 1.2 billion units, according to Xinhua.

Another recent study by market research firm In-Stat, said the number of smartphones, or Web-enabled mobile phones, in use throughout the world will increase by an average of 33 percent each year through 2012, so demand for Chinese handsets will likely only grow as more and more people purchase such devices.
source:http://www.pcworld.com/logon

US mobile industry in turmoil

2007-12-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

THE demise of the $US95 billion ($108 billion) US mobile phone industry as we know it is not quite imminent, but if the events of the past week are taken at face value, it seems a lot closer today than it was last Tuesday.

First Verizon Wireless, the second-largest US mobile phone operator, announced it would open its network to devices or applications bought by users from third parties, as long as they met its required technical standards.

While this is only the first step towards a wireless marketplace that encourages far more innovation and choice, it is significant because Verizon Wireless (55 per cent owned by its namesake parent and 45 per cent by Vodafone) has until now been the major player most resistant to growing pressure for openness from wireless consumers, regulators and firms such as Google and Microsoft.

Verizon's move was followed three days later by public confirmation that, as anticipated, Google will bid in the Federal Communications Commissions auction next month of the nationwide 700 megahertz spectrum being vacated by the US television networks. This potentially positions Google to exercise immense influence over the future direction of the US wireless and broadband markets either by working with partners to roll out services with dramatically different pricing models (probably supported by advertising and more use of low-cost voice-over-IP), or perhaps even by operating a wireless network itself.

As a result, the four major (and hugely profitable) US wireless carriers - ATT, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile - face an upheaval that will erode their margins, curb their control over the devices and services using their network, and eventually force them to scrap their current revenue model.

Verizon's announcement should be viewed cautiously until its minimum requirements are spelled out and it becomes clearer how open it really intends to be.

While in part triggered by Google's looming threat, at least the move is an attempt to get out in front of painful market changes, rather than being dragged along.

Combined, the two events are definitive evidence the command and control approach the telephone industry has pursued for most of its history, and which US wireless carriers insist is still the only way to guarantee reliable service to customers at all times, is quickly crumbling.

source:http://www.australianit.news.com.au

Apple facing laggard O2 iPhone sales in UK?

2007-11-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

Having witnessed the ridiculous hype and initial demand for the iPhone here in the States, overseas iPhone carriers are going to have a hard time matching the feverish rate of US iPhone sales. But, that didn’t stop O2 from expecting to sell/activate upwards of 100,000 handsets during the O2 iPhone’s initial launch window.

So, how did O2 fare in their initial iPhone sales? Not as well as they would have liked, apparently. “Slow” would be one way to describe iPhone sales in the UK. The Register reports that initial iPhones sales figures have yet to break 30,000 units - with 26,500 iPhones having been activated in the two weeks since the iPhone’s launch on O2. Carphone Warehouse reported sales of 11,000 units over the launch weekend. And, an unnamed source told AppleInsider that the premier Apple Store in the UK, located on Regent Street, was still working to sell the entirety of their initial iPhone stock - which was shipped to the store prior to the iPhone’s UK launch on November 9. The Regent Street Apple Store has reportedly been selling a laggardly 100 iPhone handsets per day (compare that with the LG Shine that effectively sold more than 10,000 units worldwide for every day it was on the market this past year).

TAG Heuer to launch mobile phone

2007-11-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer, part of French luxury goods group LVMH, said on Monday it had licenced its name to French customised design manufacturer Modelabs for a series of luxury mobile phones.

"The launch of the first TAG Heuer mobile telephone is foreseen for the second half of 2008," the companies said in a joint statement.

Luxury goods companies, which realised long ago their brands could be extended to more than clothes and bags, have been rushing to embrace the mobile this year.

Prada and Armani have both recently launched phones made by, respectively, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics.

TAG CEO Christophe Babin said in the statement the launch of its eyewear line in 2002 convinced it of the wider potential of the brand, popularised in its adverts by Formula 1 drivers like Kimi Raikkonen, actor Brad Pitt and golfer Tiger Woods.

"The success of this line, already market leader in luxury eyewear, confirmed for us the potential of TAG Heuer as a brand for contemporary, technological and timeless products...such as luxury mobile phones," he said.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk

Free phone calls for UK mobile users

2007-11-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

The United States is way behind when it comes to mobile phones, mobile broadband and even land line technology but our friends across the pond are finding entirely new things to do.

A new device may soon be on the market that would allow mobile phone subscribers to redirect those calls to a broadband line, almost like VOIP. In fact, exactly like VOIP except from your mobile.

That would make the phone call technically free but you would still need to buy the £100 ($206) device that makes it all possible, the femtocell. I think it could have used a better name but I can’t think of any right now.

The Telegraph reports that mobile phone companies may give the devices away so they can carve out a piece of the broadband pie for themselves. But, don’t count on it. Since when has a phone company done anything to benefit their customers (unless it was forced by the government).

Sony Ericsson concept phone with full-sized USB port

2007-11-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

The image above does NOT present an actual phone - rather it’s a concept device designed by Vincent Palicki. I’ve no doubt Vincent is cool guy — after all he’s thinking the way (I believe) we all do. Yeah, we hate BOTH mini and micro USB ports, pop and all other cables. Why wouldn’t handset manufacturers made a device that has a standard USB port built inside. It doesn’t sound that hard, does it? .

T-Mobile forced to sell iPhone without a T-Mobile contract

2007-11-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile are to allow customers in Germany to buy Apple's iPhone without having to sign a T-Mobile contract, after rivals Vodaphone obtained a court injuction against it.
T-Mobile planed to sell the iPhone without a T-Mobile contract for 999 euros at its outlets.
The move will allow those customers in Germany who bought an iPhone since November 19th, to unlock the device free of charge so it can be used with other SIM cards.
However, that will not enable customers to make use of all the functions that the music playing Web-browsing iPhone offers.
The court's injuction prevents T-Mobile from locking iPhone's SIM to T-Mobile when making a sale

UK Mobile Phone Retailer Goes Bust

2007-11-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

The UK based online mobile phone retailer, Phonebox Direct has filed for bankruptcy with reported debts of between £4-10 million. Phone Box had been actively marketing via the internet mobile telephones which offered cash-back incentives to customers, providing certain conditions were met by those customers. In a statement on the company's website, it says that the number of customers that were able to comply with the terms and conditions and hence became eligible for the cash-back payments exceeded the company's expectations. The company is therefore no longer in a position to meet its ongoing liabilities to those customers.

This is not the first time a mobile phone retailer has offered cash-back incentives to customers, then filed for bankruptcy before it was obliged to make payments to its customers. Dialamobile, another retailer following the same business model went bust a few months ago. The company was investigated by Trading Standards offices after the collapse.

Source:http://www.cellular-news.com

Sony Ericsson W910i phones recalled by Orange

2007-11-16T21:37:00.000-08:00

The first wave of W910i’s are all being recalled by Orange. Why? Because the phone function is somehow causing the device to switch off after 10 seconds and its also not answering calls.

Well, that kinda makes a phone, well, not a phone, doesn’t it? Some people who are returning them, are getting exchanges, and then the exchanges are having the same damn problem.

Someone needs to do something, preferably Sony Ericsson, letting such a fiasco get this out of hand is ridiculous. So, I’d definitely recommend waiting to get the latest installment of Walkman line of phones
Source: http://www.slashphone.com/70/8808.html

Compare Mobile Deals UK

2007-11-16T01:12:00.000-08:00

These days you find a lot of Mobile phone deals UK offered by the online mobile shops. These deals have attractive offers like a free handset, free accessories, cash back offers, free talktime, etc. You need to research thoroughly before opting for one that suits your mobile lifestyle. Mobile deals change so rapidly that every other day you would find the deal updated in the market. Before you compare a mobile phone deal in UK, work out your caller profile to find the best tariff for you.

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So collect information about various mobile phone deals available in the market and go through them and compare them with your needs. If you sms a lot, you can find deals which have free sms’s offer and if you talk a lot, you can find a deal with some free talk time. Compare offers offered by different mobile shops and choose the one that suits your communication needs. The best part of these mobile phone deals is that you can get to own a free mobile phone. These mobile phones can also be the latest model with many other free gifts. You need to decide out of all networks which mobile phone plan would be suitable for you. But you need to be careful while choosing any offer or you could be deceived.