phones2buy.co.uk

O2 UK Apologises for Poor Mobile Broadband Performance in London

Julie — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:00:37 +0000

The CEO of O2 UK, Ronan Dunne, has apologised for the poor performance of its mobile data network since the summer, especially in London. Dunne admits that the operator’s network was simply unable to cope with the surge in data usage by Mobile Broadband and iPhone users, though improvements are already working their way into the system.

Mr Dunne told the Financial Times:

“Where we haven’t met our own high standards then there’s no question, we apologise to customers for that fact. But it would be wrong to say that O2 has failed its customers en masse.”

No mobile operator is immune from capacity problems, with recent Mobile Broadband benchmarks indicating that most have enough trouble achieving a stable average speed of 1Mbps let alone the dizzy heights of 3.6Mbps to 7.2Mbps promoted by some.

O2 plans to solve its problems by imposing better Traffic Management, installing 200 additional base stations in London and working more closely with handset manufacturers to help keep usage down. Future LTE technology will also help, but ultimately operators will have to find cash and invest in more capacity.

iPhone on Vodafone available from 15 January 2009

Julie — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:42:31 +0000

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER OR LOOK AT TARIFFS

I think vodafone are offering the best deals at the minute on the new iphone 3GS you can pre-order for delivery on 15th January and they are offering unlimited texts where as O2 are only 500

Sony Ericsson Jalou

Julie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:34:25 +0000

The Sony Ericsson Jalou is a very distinctive looking and lightweight fashion phone

due to hit the shops in time for Christmas.

Sony Ericsson describe the Jalou’s shape as a “facet cut jewel form” and although the look is reminiscent of the Nokia 7070 Prism, the Jalou is a much more sophisticated handset.

The “Jalou” and “BeJoo” are two different names for the same device – the phone will be called the “Jalou” worldwide except for France where the “BeJoo” name will be used. The reason? Well, according to Sony Ericsson the “Jalou” name is too close to the French word for “Jealous”, which goes to show that giving products a name rather than a number can be fraught with danger*.

In addition to the standard version of the Jalou, there is also a Dolce & Gabbana variant with gold plating, a rose colouring and exclusive D&G content. Alternatively the standard (and presumably cheaper) Jalou comes in “Deep Amethyst”, “Aquamarine Blue” and “Onyx Black” colour combinations.

The diamond shape is not the only thing that gives the Jalou a distinctive look – it’s also a lot less tall than most clamshell phones, measuring just 73 x 45 x 18mm when closed. Sony Ericsson have gone for this unusual size to make the phone as compact as possible, so it should fit it into the tiniest bag or jacket pocket. The Jalou is also very lightweight, coming in at just 84 grams.

So, what does the Jalou actually do from a technical perspective? Well, it’s a fairly standard 3G phone with a 2″ 240 x 320 pixel display, a 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD expandable memory, stereo Bluetooth and a multimedia player. There’s a semi-concealed external display underneath the glossy casing, and you can also use the Jalou as a mirror to check just how gorgeous you are looking.

In Europe, the Jalou will support 2100 MHz UMTS plus HSDPA downloads, there will also be a US version which supports 900 and 1700 MHz UMTS and has the very useful addition of built-in GPS. We don’t know why there’s no GPS in the European version.. that would have been a pretty cool thing to have in a fashion phone. But, in other words.. the Jalou’s beauty is not just skin deep.

It’s an unashamedly girlie phone – some of the applications on the Jalou include a step counter, zodiac application and of course all the usual features such as a web browser and email client, plus a media player and FM radio. The display might be a little small for web browsing, but the inclusion of 3.5G data does at least mean that it will be quite fast.

There’s no word on pricing, our best guess is that the standard Jalou will retail for about €400 SIM-free. Sony Ericsson say that both the standard and the D&G version should be available during Q4 2009.

Article By Mobile Gazette

Tesco and Asda go head to head on termination rates

Julie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:19:22 +0000

Tesco Mobile echoes O2’s position, while Asda is for lowering the charges

Two of the UK’s biggest supermarkets have taken opposing positions on the reduction of termination rates.

Tesco has warned Ofcom that lowering charges would mean price hikes for customers, while Asda is supporting lowering the charge, saying it encourages a ‘level playing field’ between operators.

Tesco Mobile, which runs off the O2 network and is jointly owned by the O2 and Teco in a 50/50 split, has echoed O2’s position in which the operator claimed that lowering termination rates would mean increases for customers.

The predominantly prepay provider warned Ofcom that lowering termination rates would mean a price hike on call tariffs and that the effects of raising prices would have particular effect on prepay customers. Tesco said: ‘Ofcom should consider carefully the impacts on customer segment rather than this spurious impact on new entrants.’

Meanwhile, Asda claimed that a reduction would result in lower prices for customers and a more level playing field for operators.

Asda supported the lowering of termination rates despite having a wholesale agreement with Vodafone, a network which is also staunchly against lowering termination rates.

A number of companies made submissions to Ofcom from the end of July as part of a consultation taking place on termination rates.

Tesco Mobile said: ‘Tesco Mobile believes that reducing mobile call termination charges below long run incremental costs will have a significant impact on the structure of the UK mobile market and in particular on certain groups of customers. Changing where common costs may be recovered will have implications for pricing structures.’

Asda said: ‘Deregulation would present a level playing field for all Mobile Network Operator (MNO) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). It would reduce both MNO and MVNO costs and create greater competition in the market place. Low cost providers will then be able to offer low price products to the customer.’

Written by Mobile Today

Pre Pay Broadband Dongle – ONLY £14.67 on O2 OFFER EXTENDED

Julie — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:33:57 +0000

O2 have slashed the price of their pre pay dongle in half. From now until 6th August it can be purchased at this extremely low price then it will revert back to its original price of 29.35, and because its pre pay there are no monthly contract charges just pay as you use it.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

25% Off – Summer Sale only on 3

Julie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:53:19 +0000

3 are offering a massive 25 % off their Mix & Match 500 tariff

This promotion will be available on the following handsets: LG KF310,
Skypephone S2, Sony Ericsson
G502, Nokia 6120

Available from Monday 20th July 2009

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

Samsung Jet – Now available to pre order free on £25 per month tariff

Julie — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:14:21 +0000

The Samsung Jet offers the following:
Free on £25 per month tariff – 400 Mins, Unlimited Texts, 9 Months Half Price! (other deals also available)
Vivid 3.1 inch OLED Touchscreen display!
Lightning quick user interface thanks to 800 MHz processor!
Run multiple applications with the Samsung Jet’s Multi tasking!
5.0 Megapixel camera with auto focus, face detection and smile detection!
DVD-like video capture and TV Out!
HSDPA mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and built-in GPS!

CLICK HERE TO PRE ORDER FOR 17 JULY 2009

New iPhone 3G S crack expected

Julie — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:28:10 +0000

The unlocking community is expecting new surge in business as crack for O2-tied iPhone 3G S is in the pipe

Dealers are confident the new Apple iPhone 3G S will be an unlocking success, but said it will take time before they can find an appropriate solution.

The new model, released again on the O2 network on June 19, has seen a surge of buyers ask unlockers to free the handset up from O2 tariffs they deem too expensive.

Fone Doctors proprietor Faisal Sheikh said: “We had a few enquiries over the opening weekend but we’re still getting a lot of the old 3G models in for unlocking.

“We have an unlocking solution but the problem is how to load it onto the handset. It may take a few weeks for this to happen and once people realise that this is again possible, the encouraging sales of the iPhone 3G S are likely to get better, fuelling more unlocking requests.”

Phone Tek-Nation store manager Jamie Turner said: “We’re offering an unlock but we’re still to test it and are working out how exactly to use it.

“We’ve had about a dozen requests and are openly advertising that we can unlock the phone. It appears that the unlock could take as little as 30 minutes so once word spreads on that, I’m confident we’ll be flooded with requests.”

Article by Mobile News

Samsung aims for top spot with five new phones revealed

Julie — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:55:30 +0000

New releases include flagship touch-screen ‘Jet’

Samsung launched five new high profile handsets in a bid to snatch the number one spot back from Nokia this week.

The manufacturer unveiled its main flagship device for 2009, ‘Jet’, as well as four new devices in the Omnia range, at large scale launches in London, Dubai and Singapore.

The touch-screen Jet (pictured), which has an iPhone-like ‘zoom’ capability, took almost all of the limelight at the London event (15 June). The phone will go head to head with the iPhone 3G S and the Nokia N97, as all three enter the market within the next month.

Nokia is currently number one on UK market share, but the margin is narrow and Samsung hopes its latest clutch of big releases can propel it back to the top.

Samsung has arguably released more high profile handsets this year than ever. In the past few months alone, the manufacturer has launched the Tocco Ultra Edition, i8910 (Omnia) HD and the Pixon 12, as well as the five devices unveiled last night.

Some believe the aggressive strategy will hit Samsung’s profits, but the manufacturer is showing no signs of letting up.

Samsung Mobile UK’s general manager, Derek Williamson, told Mobile: ‘There will be more big launches this year, it won’t stop here. One will be our Google Android device, which will be along similar lines to the Jet’s specs, looks and feel.

‘We’ve been back and forth with Nokia, but we prefer to focus on bringing out great products, and our market share will take care of itself.’

The Jet is expected to hit shelves next week and has been offered to all networks and retailers. The device offers an 800MHz processor, a
3.1-inch AMOLED touch-screen and a five-megapixel camera.

A high five?
The five launches Samsung hopes will propel it to the top spot:
Samsung Jet
A wannabe ‘iPhone killer’ offering a 3.1-inch AMOLED screen, 800MHz processor and five-megapixel camera. Samsung’s big hope for the second half of 2009.

Omnia II (i8000)
A Windows Mobile 6.1 follow-up to the original Omnia. It looks almost identical to the Jet and offers the world’s largest AMOLED display screen at 3.7 inches.

Omnia Pro (B7610)
A hybrid device offering both a QWERTY keyboard and full touch-screen. Billing it as a business phone that’s just as usable on your day off.

Omnia pro (B7320)
This compact QWERTY device bears a strong resemblance to Nokia’s E71. Offers corporate push-email as well as social networking applications.

Omnia lite (B7300)
The black sheep of the family, looking nothing like the rest. It has similar specs to the Pro B7320, but doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard.

Article by Mobile Today

Launch of iPhone 3G S boosts O2 store footfall by ten-fold

Julie — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:52:54 +0000

The new iPhone went on sale today (19 June)

The launch of the new iPhone 3G S saw long queues outside stores this morning as O2 claimed footfall in its stores was 10 times higher than on an average day.

The operator said it sold more of the new devices in the first two hours than it would normally sell in one day, while its online shop saw a 150% increase in traffic.

Over half of O2’s iPhone customers have downloaded the new 3.0 software, after it went on sale on Wednesday (17 June).

The black version of the new iPhone is outselling the white by a 3:1 ratio, with O2 adding that it is ‘likely to sell out of some variants’ in ‘a number of stores’. More stock will be shipped this weekend.

Meanwhile, Carphone stores had started to sell out of the new model by lunchtime, with one Oxford Circus store sporting a ’sold out’ sign in the window.

Carphone CEO, Andrew Harrison, said: ‘The launch has gone incredibly well for us with sales of the iPhone 3GS surpassing even our expectations.

‘We received 18,000 pre-registration inquiries for the handset, which is the best response of any handset we have had. Stores across the country opened from 7.30am onwards and we’ve seen streams of customers through our doors.

Written by Mobile Today