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Samsung has finally revealed the shipping date of its Omnia M smartphone in Europe. The handset will arrive at UK retailer Phones4u, where it will be an exclusive. The Windows Phone device will ship with the 7.5/Mango version of the operating system onboard and be available to purchase with or without a plan.
Although previously clued earlier in the week, the once-mysterious Phones4U and Samsung event on Friday was revealed to be a Samsung store-within-a-store at the phone retailer's location on Oxford Street in London. As caught in a quick tour by Engadget, the store has slight traces of an Apple retail store, including dedicated tables with fully working samples and staff trained to answer detailed questions.
British retailer Phones4U has posted an uncharacteristic teaser for a Samsung event on March 30. At least its Oxford Street store in London is mostly blacking out windows with the exception of the Samsung logo behind theater curtains, one eyewitness for Eurodroid noticed. Other than a "coming" notice for the date, no clues exist of what the event is for.
UK cellphone store chain Phones4U has introduced a new upgrade plan for users who want to upgrade their handsets as often as six months. Dubbed JUMP (Just Upgrade My Phone), the scheme involves splitting up the cost of a new phone over a new, second two-year contract. Users also have the option of trading in their current handsets.
(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.
British phone store Phones4u partly debunked beliefs the iPhone 4S might not sell well after touting very high early interest on its sign-up page. The major reseller has so far doubled the number of customers taking an interest versus the iPhone 4's interest last year. iPhone 4S interest was already past its predecessor in five hours, the chain said.
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.
Carphone Warehouse today raised its profit estimates for its fiscal year based on the surprise success of its smartphone business (subscription required). Its earnings for its first fiscal half-year before tax and other factors jumped sharply from £65 million ($107.2 million) a year ago to £103 million ($169.9 million) and is attributed directly to the success of its smartphone sales, particularly touchscreen devices. Its sales of the iPhone were considered a strong factor, as were sales of BlackBerry devices and Nokia's Nseries.
