02/15, 5:40pm
T-Mobile UK may be price of ATT merger dying
T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom may be looking to offload T-Mobile UK after AT&T dropped its bid for T-Mobile USA, insiders asserted Wednesday. Tips to Bloomberg had it in the early phases of considering a British "exit" now that AT&T's $39 billion proposal had been deemed anti-competitive. The choices could include anything from letting Orange UK take over the other half of the Everything Everywhere partnership to an outside company.
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02/02, 7:40pm
Available with either 24 month plan or no contract
Wireless carrier 3 has introduced its Web Cube 3G hotspot to the UK. The broadband router, made by Huawei, offers broadband networking to up to five Wi-Fi devices. 3 is targeting renters and students who want Wi-Fi at home without being tied to a contract or a landline.
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04/18, 1:05pm
3 UK claims legitimate white iPhone 4 sale
British carrier 3 has oddly broken out and posted an order page for the white iPhone 4. The site only allows use of the £35 The One Plan but allows a legitimate checkout. Support staff have said the sales are legitimate.
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04/10, 4:45pm
Nokia E6 and X7 slip early through highlight clips
Nokia's plans for an April 12 Symbian revival grew clearer on Sunday after British carrier 3 and Nokia itself posted briefly available videos (one of which is republished below) of the E6 and X7. The second device, spotted earlier by Nokia Blog, promises not just the known four-inch ClearBlack display and eight-megapixel camera but a newly revamped version of Symbian. The browser should be three times faster than it is in Symbian^3 devices like the N8, a 3 UK spokesman said in one clip, and it should also finally have a portrait ratio on-screen keyboard instead of requiring a switch into landscape mode.
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04/06, 5:55pm
Samsung Galaxy S may get Android 2.3 in two weeks
A representative from 3 UK said Tuesday that the Samsung Galaxy S was close to getting an Android 2.3 upgrade. The British carrier expected it in the "next couple of weeks" but "cannot confirm a date." Samsung had previously hinted 2.3 was coming, but it has never given out a date of its own.
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03/29, 4:30pm
Windows Phone 7 NoDo update live, hits HD7
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.
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03/20, 4:45pm
Samsung Galaxy S II Mini leaked by 3 UK
Samsung's plans for a smaller high-end phone were outed Sunday in a leak from 3 UK. The Galaxy S II Mini will shrink down the Galaxy S II and slow it down, but still carry most of its features. The design will use a 3.7-inch screen and switch out from a dual-core chip to a 1.4GHz single-core chip, Engadget heard.
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03/16, 10:40am
Carriers stay ambiguous on release dates
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.
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02/09, 6:05pm
INQ Cloud Touch, Cloud Q unveiled
INQ today confirmed plans for a jump into smartphone-level devices. The recently spotted Cloud Touch now uses Android underneath and is designed to put Facebook at the front of the OS. While it's not an official Facebook phone, it puts the social network's chat, contacts, events, notices, places and the news feed at the front through widgets and shortcuts.
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12/03, 10:20am
Plans vary mostly in data caps
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.
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11/26, 2:55pm
3 UK plans to carry subsidized 3G iPad in months
3 UK and T-Mobile UK have confirmed Apple's widening plans to offer subsidized iPads with a deal of its own. The British carriers will have 3G versions of the tablet available, including at "more affordable prices" when tied to a data plan. The companies wouldn't detail the prices or their plans other than to say the device would come in "coming months."
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09/22, 12:00pm
WP7 handsets launching at all major UK carriers
Microsoft on Wednesday assured UK phone buyers that all major providers will carry Windows Phone 7-powered devices at launch of the mobile OS. Orange, O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile and 3 will all have one or more models. UK phone retailers The Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4u will also carry the devices.
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09/08, 8:10am
Will be available from eight UK carriers
Nokia has confirmed that it will begin selling its new N8 flagship in the UK during the last week of September. The phone will be available directly from the Nokia website. The long delayed device will become available on October 1 from third parties and mobile carriers. All major providers are onboard, including 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Tesco, Virgin and Vodafone, along with retailers such as Carphone Warehouse and Phones4u.
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07/28, 3:30pm
Virtually all major carriers accounted for
Two more carriers, 3 and T-Mobile, have finally announced UK release dates for the iPhone 4. Both will launch the device on Friday, July 30th, the same day as it becomes available in 17 other regions such as Austria, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Hong Kong. Nearly every UK carrier now has the phone, the one stand-out being Virgin Mobile. The company was last reported to be in negotiations.
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06/30, 3:40pm
O2 holds as only carrier with in-store units
The iPhone 4 is currently in extremely scarce supply in the UK, the Telegraph reports. Out of several carriers, only O2 is said to have any units still in retail shops. None of the companies are selling units online, though Vodafone has set up a back-order process through which people can have phones delivered as soon as new ones come in. A recent resupply shipment was entirely consumed by back-order customers, a Vodafone spokesman notes.
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06/24, 12:05pm
Carrier still not selling device
Carrier 3 UK has finally published its pricing for the iPhone 4, which it has yet to launch. Plans start at a minimum of £30 per month, which brings 500 standard voice minutes. Five tiers exist, running up to £45 a month; beginning at one of two £35 options, as many as 2,000 voice minutes can be had. All plans include 5,000 3-to-3 minutes, 5,000 texts, and 1GB of cellular data.
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06/23, 12:50pm
3 still keeping prices close to chest
UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced pricing for the iPhone 4, which is set to launch in the region on June 24th. Subscription plans begin at £20 per month for a 12-month contract, which includes 250 voice minutes, unlimited texts and BT Wi-Fi access, and 1GB of cellular data. At the top of three tiers is a £45-per-month plan, attached to a 24-month contract, but with unlimited voice. The cost of a phone itself also declines with more expensive plans; a 16GB model, for example, costs £349 under the £20 plan but only £19 under the £45 scheme.
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06/10, 9:20am
Only Virgin Mobile missing iPhone 4
3 UK will also be selling the iPhone 4, the carrier has announced. No prices or plans have yet been revealed, but 3 says it will be launching the device on June 24th, the worldwide debut. Prospective buyers can register their interest through a sign-up page.
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06/08, 11:55am
First official iPhone for British carrier
T-Mobile UK will sell the iPhone 4, the company has announced. Dates, prices and subscription plans are expected to be released at a later time, but the carrier is likely to ship on June 24th, the first global launch window. The device will also mark T-Mobile UK's first official entry into iPhone sales; the company has reportedly engaged in under-the-table offers to keep high-paying customers.
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05/25, 10:50am
3 UK reveals iPad plans
The iPad will be available from UK Apple Stores at the early hour of 8AM on Friday, Apple has announced. The timing is notable, as rumors suggested that the company would simply open shops at normal hours for the region's iPad launch. Should an Apple Store not be an option, The Times reports that Currys, Dixons Travel and PC World will all carry the tablet beginning at 9AM. Comet, Tesco, John Lewis and Carphone Warehouse will only launch sales two months later, kept out as a result of a deal between Apple and retailer DSGi.
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10/22, 11:55am
Company reverses course on smartphones
3 UK is hoping to carry the iPhone 3GS sometime in 2010, according to the carrier's CEO, Kevin Russell. Russell comments that the company has had a deficit of smartphones to date, as a result of focusing on conventional phones in order to build up a subscriber base. That should change in 2010, as the company intends to add a variety of high-end smartphones to its network. Efforts are beginning late this year with devices like the HTC Hero.
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10/13, 3:25pm
Region may see intense iPhone competition
T-Mobile is not the only UK carrier distributing iPhones unofficially, a report claims. The Telegraph says it has learned that 3 is also engaged in giving iPhones to its most lucrative customers, though 3's involvement in the strategy is thought to be recent, having only begun in recent weeks. T-Mobile has allegedly been giving away iPhones since the summer.
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09/05, 11:55am
3 UK interested in iPhone
British cellular carrier 3 UK may set its sights on selling the iPhone in the future, according to the company's CEO. Kevin Russell, who has only been in charge of the company for a year, says he is very interested in the iPhone, despite the company's recent rejection of a focus on media content, mainly video. "We are quite simple -- we provide communications-based services," says Russell. "I do not see us pushing to create a whole series of revolutionary behaviors -- what I do see is us helping people to do what they do today, when they are out and about."
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