Tag / Orange

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Nokia announces Lumia 930, its new Windows Phone 8.1 flagship

At Microsoft’s Build developer summit today, future subsidiary Nokia has unveiled its new Windows Phone flagship device, the Lumia 930. Serving as true successor to the Lumia 920 (because the 925, 928, 1020 and 1520 just don’t cut it) which debuted in September 2012, the 930 is effectively Verizon’s recent Lumia Icon for a global market, with the relatively uninspired design being improved tremendously by the addition of chromatic rears, including black, white, green and, finally, orange. Continue reading →

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Digixav Podcast 015 – August 15th 2013

Remember the last time our trio of podcasters were all on the same show together? Neither do we, but today it happened. Like the reunionisation of the Wu-Tang Clan, Xavier, Henry and Chris join together to discuss copyright trolls, why Motorola should manufacture in Essex and keep the interns off Twitter, LG doing everything they can to be Samsung, synthetic burgers, Hyperloops, Samsung doing everything they can to be Samsung, Phoenix & R. Kelly, Ron Swanson’s stack of cows, Sony being Sony and more!

Right click and save this link to download, and you can subscribe (and rate and review the show) using iTunes! Don’t fancy iTunes or use a different podcatcher? Here’s our RSS link!

If you have any feedback, questions or comments, tweet us or send us an email to podcast@digixav.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Links

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Intel and Safaricom announce Yolo, a Lexington-powered phone for Kenya

Intel Yolo Lexington

Intel’s march into the mobile market hasn’t been as successful as they would have desired, with devices powered by the Medfield family of Atom chips such as the XOLO X900 and Orange San Diego struggling for traction, although things began to look up with the release and heavy marketing of Motorola’s RAZR i late last year. With its second wave of phone chips, codenamed Lexington, the company has decided to target emerging markets, and the first Lexington phone has now been announced in conjunction with Safaricom, one of Kenya’s largest carriers.

Intel Yolo

The Yolo (yep, YOLO) is essentially a consumer version of the Intel Smartphone Reference Design shown off at CES, and its Atom Z2420 chip clocks in at 1.2GHz, which Engadget notes makes the phone feel like 2009, and its 5MP rear camera is capable of 1080p video and a 7 shot-per-second burst mode. The Yolo will also have a 3.5″ touchscreen of as-yet-unknown resolution, and an HSPA+ modem will be responsible for connectivity. The Yolo will be available in Safaricom stores with 500MB of data for Kshs. 10,999 (£79.57) and will almost certainly make its way to Europe with alternative branding later this year.

Update: @tazersky tipped us of to Techweez’s review of the Yolo, complete with images and more spec information.

Via TechCrunch
Source Intel Newsroom
Image Credit Techweez

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

EE confirms 4G pricing as LTE network launch looms

In preparation for the launch of their 4G LTE service on October 30th, EE today confirmed the pricing of devices and services on their network. All deals will include unlimited calls and texts, while deals above and including the £41 tier will get an additional media service from a choice of Deezer, 2 Gameloft games per month or live mobile TV from up to 20 channels. A £10 surcharge is applicable to any plan to reduce its length from 24 to 12 months, and existing Orange and T-Mobile customers who have signed deals in the last 6 months may make the switch to an LTE-enabled device for £99 plus any applicable change in monthly cost.

The reception to the tariffs has been hostile from many consumers, with some accusing EE of abusing their temporary monopoly on LTE in the UK and others pointing out that the late timing of this announcement allows for the costs to be buried while many customers sleep. As more networks introduce LTE services over the next year prices will undoubtedly be cut down, but until that point EE’s stranglehold on the market will ensure that the price you have to pay for the fastest data connection in the UK is not a cheap one.

Contract pricing with devices
All plans include unlimited calls and texts.

Monthly cost Plan length Data
£36 24 months 500MB
£41 24 months 1GB
£46 24 months 3GB
£51 24 months 5GB
£56 24 months 8GB
£46 12 months 500MB
£51 12 months 1GB
£56 12 months 3GB
£61 12 months 5GB
£66 12 months 8GB

Subsidised device pricing (plus 24 month contract)

Device £36 (500MB) £41 (1GB) £46 (3GB) £51 (5GB) £56 (8GB)
Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE £179.99 £139.99 £89.99 £39.99 £29.99
Apple iPhone 5 16GB £179.99 £109.99 £49.99 £29.99 £19.99
Samsung Galaxy S III LTE £149.99 £49.99 £29.99 £29.99 £29.99
HTC One XL £149.99 £49.99 £29.99 £29.99 £29.99
Huawei Ascend P1 LTE £19.99 Free Free Free Free

Via The Verge / Coolsmartphone

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

EE 4G LTE network to launch in UK on October 30th

After introducing themselves and their initial 4G plans to the UK last month, EE CEO Olaf Swantee today confirmed that the nation’s first LTE network will go live on October 30th. The network will initially become active in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield, and service will expand to Belfast, Derby, Hull, Nottingham, Newcastle and Southampton before the year is out. From that point, their ambitious rollout plans expect to have 70% of the country covered by the end of 2013, with this figure increasing to 98% a year later, matching their current 3G footprint. Device-wise, 7 compatible phones and 2 mobile broadband devices have had compatibility confirmed. These are:

Pricing and availability for these devices have yet to be confirmed, but the press release also confirms a forthcoming event where full details will be announced. As for customers who have already purchased the iPhone 5 from T-Mobile or Orange, they will be able to switch networks at launch.

Press Release

Statement to be attributed to Olaf Swantee, CEO, EE

We are delighted to announce that the official launch of our new customer brand, EE, offering the UK’s first superfast mobile 4G and fibre broadband service, will take place on the 30th October 2012. This is a significant milestone for the United Kingdom, and for the people and businesses of our country who will now be able to enjoy the huge advantages of superfast 4G technology for the first time. We are very proud to be pioneering, innovating and leading our industry in launching 4G for our nation through our new EE brand.

Notes to editors:

1. EE will be releasing invitations to a press event shortly to announce full details of its new brand and exciting new superfast services.

2. EE will be the first brand in the country to offer a mobile 4G LTE service, the pioneering new technology that offers superfast mobile internet at speeds typically five times faster than 3G speeds today.

3. EE will launch 4G in ten cities on the 30th October, and will cover 16 cities – a third of the UK population – by the end of the year. Customers on the EE brand will also have access to the biggest and best 3G network in the UK. Further towns, cities and rural areas, will follow rapidly with coverage to reach 98% by 2014.

4. 4G technology provides indoor and outdoor coverage for superfast web browsing.

5. EE’s 4G services will be available on a number of exciting handsets including the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III LTE, Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820, HTC One XL and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE.

Via The Verge
Source EE Newsroom

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Everything Everywhere announces UK’s first 4G LTE network and name change to EE

At an event in London today, Everything Everywhere, the company that was formed from the merger of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom’s UK operations, announced their ambitious rollout plans for the UK’s first 4G LTE network. CEO Olaf Swantee also confirmed that the T-Mobile and Orange brands would remain in action, but the 4G network, along with superfast fibre broadband, would be marketed under the new EE brand.

 

EE’s 4G network, known as 4GEE, is set to initially launch in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol, with 12 more cities set to receive 4G by the end of 2012, covering a third of the UK population. By 2013, this figure is set to rise to 70%, and EE’s current 3G mark of 98% coverage will be matched in 2014 if all goes to plan. Speeds are expected to peak at around 25Mbps, but EE is advertising average speeds of 8-12Mbps at launch, in line with peak 3G speeds across the country.

The range of devices that will support the network is very limited, featuring 5 phones and 2 mobile broadband devices, but Swantee hinted at further announcements during the press event. Apple’s new iPhone, set to be announced tomorrow, is expected to carry support for LTE networks, but has been rumoured that support for UK networks such as EE’s may not be present in this generation of iPhone. The full device range announced today is below, and both Nokia devices, announced last week, are set to be exclusive to EE in the UK.

Update: EE has confirmed that it will have an exclusive on the LTE iPhone 5 in the UK.

Source EE
Via The Verge / Coolsmartphone

 

by Ali Wilson

Alternatives to SMS services cause financial dent to networks

Everyone jumps at the opportunity of not paying for something, even the smallest things. Text messaging is now included in that list. Apple’s iMessage, BlackBerry’s BBM and Facebook’s Messenger are all free messaging services and they are all very good. People use them as free alternatives to texting and they seem to becoming very popular, but too popular for the networks.

In 2011, mobile networks such as 3, O2, Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile lost over $13.9bn (£8.8bn) because of these new free massaging apps. With so many alternatives to SMS services available, people are not texting as much as they used to and are instead looking to free apps. Network providers are missing out on their usually vast amounts of money they receive from people who pay for large SMS plans.

Network providers are desperately looking for ways to win back the public into SMS. In the short term, I expect, they will be looking to lower the prices of SMS services and crack down on data usage. Let’s see what 2012 brings…