Author Archive: Gareth

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

Perfect Vision for iPhone released

We are watching the newly released apps in iPhone app store every day and when we notice something of interest we are reporting here. While there are many apps that let you excercise muscles in your fingers, or even tongue, with this app, that was released to the app store merely few hours ago, you can excercise muscles in your eyes:

LG Snapdragon Android smartphone coming Q2 2010

Using the Acer s200 at the moment I’m suitably impressed by the snappy Snapdragon processor. The idea of phones using this processor as a standard is tremendous. LG’s new device caught my attention over at Slashgear. Android and a slide out qwerty keyboard look like a winning combination.

LG have announced that they will be offering a Snapdragon-based Android smartphone in Q2 2010.  The device – which will initially be available in the Korean market – has not yet been named, and LG are keeping full specifications close to their chest, but according to the company’s VP of electronics, it will be a “more mature” device than the LG GW620 Eve which went on sale in Canada this week.

Second iPhone app store revolution has begun

The first iPhone app store revolution was the launch of the app store – the first one that provided automatic updates and global distribution and very good conditions for developers – 70% of sales goes to developers. Everybody had to rethink everything then. Now second time such moment of rethinking has arrived.

Now Apple has done it again and the second app store revolution has just begun. Think about it: how it is possible that an app that is FREE is among top grossing apps, i.e. apps that earn the most money:

Dell Mini 3iX spotted in Brazil, Includes WiFi, 3G

Another day, another Android phone. Here’s a snap shot and article I noticed over at PMPtoday of a new device that might just turn some heads next year.

The last time we talked about the Dell Mini 3i Android phone was way back in August when it debuted in China. That particular model was only limited to the Asian country and sadly lacked bothWiFi and 3G connectivity. That was 3 months ago, but today, a Dell Mini 3iX Android phone was spotted over in Brazil.

While it looks every bit the same externally as the one in China, you’ll be happy to know that this Dell Android phone finally comes with WiFi and 3G UMTS/HSDPA as well as tri-band (850/1900/2100MHz) network support. Its other specs were specifically detailed out, but we’re guessing it’ll pretty much retained most of its features although we’re not ruling out the possibility that other enhancements could have been added to this latest version of the Dell Mini 3i. The price and release date of the Mini 3iX likewise wasn’t available.

[PMP today via unwiredview]

Motorola Droid not coming to T-Mobile or O2 in the UK

According to reports this morning by T3 Magazine here in the UK, the Droid won’t be launching on mobile networks O2 or T-Mobile, with Nicola Shenton, Head of Handset and Device Marketing at T-Mobile UK, confirming to them today that they passed up the Droid some months ago.

According to Shenton, they tested it six months ago, though it wasn’t running Android’s latest version of software, Éclair 2.0, at the time. She recalled that it was a “great phone, had a lot to offer” and that the software, even back then, was still used to the Droid’s advantage. Why T-Mobile passed up the Droid is unknown, but with the network already selling the G1and Hero (both manufactured by HTC) and the Huawei-made Pulse, there’s a chance that it just didn’t sit right amongst their portfolio, or for their target customers. T-Mobile’s become known as the destination for Android devices here in the UK, thanks to its early involvement with the Open Handset Alliance and the launch of the G1 last October, where it was the first company worldwide to release an Android mobile.

With T-Mobile and O2 out of the Motorola Droid race, it’s up to Orange, Vodafone or 3 Mobile to bring this innovative Android device to the UK.

On a slightly brighter note, Superetrader have just opened up Pre-Orders for the European version of the Droid, which will be called the Milestone at a price of £439.99 inclusive of Vat, but no idea yet on the availability.

via T3

Speed improvement coming to Pre in 1.3

The biggest concern with the Pre so far is speed. Every single update has shown us a tiny speed bump which seems to quickly fade away after a week or two of use. Well the UI is set to receive a huge speed bump in one of the next updates very soon and it may be because Palm has finally decided to use the powerful GPU inside the Pre. According to Everythingpre Ben and Dion of Palm were quoted at a London event saying,

"On ease of use, multitasking has been great; UI latency is still an issue even though the hardware is comparable to 3GS. The problem is the path to the GPU didn’t exist, but now with CSS transforms, that will be solved in the immediate future."

Google Mobile Search adds Voice to S60

Google’s S60 ‘portal’ search utility, ‘Google Mobile App’ just got itself an update to v2.03(8), bringing voice searching – and it works rather impressively.

You can get Google Mobile App for yourself by going to m.google.com on your phones browser, after a quick install, you’re results are shown by distance from your current location. Update today!

Via

Firefox on the N900

The N900 hits the shelves on the 14th November, to keep you going until then, heres a quick look at Firefox on the N900. Jay Sullivan, Mozillas VP of Mobile shows us how its done. Tabs, weave and add-ons are all here.