Archive for November 9th, 2009

Google to Acquire AdMob

It looks like Admob have agreed to sell to google.  Admob is used by many developers on not only Android but iphone.  Clearly google are now seriously entering into the mobile advertising market in a major way. 

Today we announced that AdMob has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Google for $750 million. We are extremely excited about this new partnership and what it means for our advertiser, developer and publisher partners. 

AdMob’s people, products and tools will continue to work to deliver successful campaigns for you and to effectively monetize your mobile traffic – no interruptions.  Our product and engineering teams will keep building great products for our customers. Our sales team will keep working with our thousands of advertisers to deliver successful campaigns. Our business development team will keep working to maximize ad revenue for the more than 15,000 mobile Web sites and applications that make up AdMob’s publisher network.

Unlock your iPhone with O2

Who’d have thought that O2 would be offering a legitamte unlocking service for the iPhone after all. This should please a fair few folks out there as they will slip in their Vodafone/Orange sims and see the signal rise. You obviously have to ride out the O2 contracts and who knows, this may ease conjestion on O2’s network as some may opt for a different carrier most of the time. Details after the break:

O2 launches Total Connectivity for iPhone customers

O2 announces the iPhone Total Connectivity Bolt On, which allows new and existing iPhone customers to purchase the iPhone Internet Tethering bolt-on and receive the standard O2 Home Broadband package completely free.

Pay Monthly iPhone customers who purchase the discounted £9.79 per month 3GB Internet Tethering Bolt On before 31 December 2009 will be entitled to the O2 Home Broadband standard package for free. The service means users can stay totally connected and get the best connection possible, whether at home or out and about on their phone or laptop.

The 3GB Internet Tethering and O2 Home Broadband package is available for just £9.79 per month and will be compatible with all versions of the Apple iPhone 3G. Alternatively, customers can claim a £7.34pm discount against any other O2 Home Broadband product including Premium, Pro or O2 Home Broadband Access.

Peter Rampling, Head of Consumer Mobile at O2 said, “This is a brilliant deal for people who want tethering and home internet. Effectively you get both for just £9.79 a month. Total Connectivity means our customers will always be connected, at home and on the move”

Terms apply, see o2.co.uk/iPhone

Offer available from 10 November 2009.

Source – Press Release

Vodafone taking Pre-orders for the iPhone

Vodafone is going to be doing a new phone called the Apple iPhone 3Gs. This is a phone that has made a bit of noise over the last couple of years, but no one could blame you if you haven’t heard of it before.

In this press release oddly hosted by Cheetahmail.com you can read but not pre-order. Instead there is a link to the Vodafone Access Gateway and you can give Vodafone some ideas about their approach to the iPhone.

O2 to unlock iPhones for free

O2 has confirmed to TechRadar that iPhone users will be able to unlock their iPhone for free and use it on any network they wish at the end of their contract term.

“The Apple iPhone has been available in the UK exclusively on O2 since November 2007. Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks, Pay Monthly customers on a consumer or business account will be able to unlock their iPhone without charge at any point during their contract.

“This also applies to BlackBerry and Xda. All other devices are unlocked on o2 automatically. Customers will still have to honour the remainder of the minimum term on their contract even if they place a non-O2 SIM into it.

“Pay & Go customers can unlock their iPhone or any other device on Pay & Go, after twelve months with O2, for a £14.69 one-off fee, which is deducted from their airtime balance.”

Freedom

CEO Matthew Key was quoted in The Times as confirming the network would be allowing customers to unlock the iPhone after it was rumoured the network would be blocking it.

“At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator – though naturally we hope they won’t want to!”

Smart

This is a smart move by O2 to protect revenue and reduce churn as more carriers are due to offer the iPhone this year. By allowing customers to unlock without penalty means those who are out of contract may choose to test Orange and Vodafone’s network before signing up for a 2 year tie in and decide they want to stay with O2. If you’re using a Samsung you should also know how to S10 network unlock.

To compete with O2, the other carriers may feel compelled to do the same, which can only be a good thing for consumers. O2 link here.

Meet the HTC HD2

Tracyandmatt.co.uk are doing some paralleled coverage of the HTC HD2. Packing the site with videos, pictures and commentary it’s porbably the closest you are going to get to the device without buying it. Check out these two links below for the heads up on the HTC HD2.

HTC HD2 demonstration video

HTC HD2 unboxing video