News

Vodafone reduce EU roaming data charges

Vodafone has kindly decided to slash the price of using a smartphone for UK consumers travelling in Europe. How decent of them.

The new pricing provides daily and monthly rates for customers to use their domestic smartphone data plans when they are abroad. Those who travel occasionally can take a domestic data plan abroad for ?2 per day, which represents a cost reduction of up to 60% over existing plans and includes an increase to the data allowance.

Meanwhile, frequent travellers can select to take a price plan which includes data roaming within their monthly domestic package. Both offers are available for consumer or business customers.

The new plans will be rolled out in Vodafone’s major European markets during November and December 2010, in time for the winter holiday season, and across the company’s entire European footprint by summer next year.

The announcement is backed by a major marketing campaign with the strapline ‘feel free to use your smartphone abroad’.

Black Friday deals from Apple UK

With it being Black Friday today in the USA Apple UK also have many items on sale. If you are thinking of getting an Apple product then today is the day to do it.

With £81 off the price of an iMac and £35 off the iPad you cant grumble at that.

Click here to see all the discounts.

Posted by: James

Three announces it will offer new purchase options for iPad users

Three UK today announced it will offer new purchase options for iPad users, including more affordable prices when purchased with a data service plan, for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models in the coming months. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface.

Prices re not yet confirmed but this may well be the cheapest way to get an iPad. I see a network price war coming!

Posted by: James

The official word from RIM re Kik Messenger

If you listen to our podcast you would have heard us talking about Kik messenger and how cool it was. Then about a week ago we learnt that RIM had pulled Kik from BlackBerry App World. To make things worse for existing Kik BlackBerry users RIM kindly disabled push which kind of spoils things a bit! It would seem now that they have have released an official statement as to why:

RIM became aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding the Kik app and service. Following discussions with Kik, the app was removed from BlackBerry App World on November 12. Upon further investigation, RIM concluded that Kik had breached contractual obligations. Based on the broad scope and seriousness of the issues and concerns, RIM terminated its agreements with Kik and withdrew RIM’s support for Kik’s service.

Lets hope that Kik sort out the requirements for BlackBerry and re submit the app soon. I kind of miss it.

Posted by: James

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 finally, really getting Éclair update

Believe it or not, it doesn’t say ‘delay’ in that title. After countless false starts, Xperia X10 owners are finally getting their first taste of Android 2.1. Despite 2.3 Gingerbread being just around the corner, Sony Ericsson has finally seen it fit to let 2.1 go on their X10s. Sim-free X10s, X10 minis and mini pros have just had their share; now O2 are rolling out theirs, and T-Mobile are prepping for a launch.next week. (now where have we heard that one before?!) If you still have one and have been living off donuts patiently waiting for over a year to get that promised update, you deserve a medal. Still, better than waiting for a white iPhone 4 I guess.

Posted by: Vince

Apple iOS updated

This one has been a long time coming. Plug in your iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches as iOS 4.2 is now available to download.

iPad owners will benefit the most from this update as it will at last give us multi-tasking, something that has sorely been missing up until now.

Now your iPad has more room for more apps. Move apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity to declutter your Home screens and keep your apps organized for fast access to your favorites.

AirPrint makes it simple to print email, photos, web pages, and documents right from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. A few taps is all it takes to go from viewing it onscreen to holding a printed copy. There’s no software to download, no drivers to install, and no cables to connect.

Blackberry Bold 9780 in white from Vodafone

As the title of the post suggests, if you are in market for a new BlackBerry then you may want to consider the white 9780 from Vodafone.

You can get the 9780 from free on monthly plans from £29.37. Sounds alright to me.

Head on over to Vodafone and see what plan suits you best and if you have not seen our BlackBerry Bold 9780 review you may want to check that out too.

See a reminder of the 9780 specification after the break:

Amazon Kindle – Clever packaging

A warning for all who are interested in buying an Amazon Kindle for a loved/liked one this Christmas, don’t open it when it arrives. As you might not expect from a lump of technology the box it arrives in, through the post, is the actual packaged unit. Have a look as the pictures submitted by a friend Paul. Paul has now opened his wife’s present. He will have to tape it up and hope she does not notice.  Cool move Amazon.

A sliding QWERTY for the iPhone

Boxwave have produced a rather nice sliding keyboard for iPhone users. AT $70.00 it is not cheap but I do see this as being pretty good value for money.

The case can be pre-ordered from the Boxwave website and delivery is showing as mid December. 

Clean and modern, the Keyboard Buddy Case appears to simply be a protective case when the keyboard is not in use. Combining ergonomic technology with sleek aesthetics, the Keyboard Buddy Case is a protective backing for your Apple iPhone 4 that also includes an integrated slide-out Bluetooth keyboard. The low-profile keyboard slides out smoothly, allowing you to easily transition between the Apple iPhone 4’s touch screen and a physical keyboard.

More features and photos after the break:

Orange San Francisco coming soon in White

I just spotted this over on the Orange sites coming soon section. It’s the San Francisco but this time reincarnated in White.

The white version clearly doesn’t make the phone any better but it does look pretty cool and may even turn a few heads.

If you have not seen our review of the San Francisco you really should. If you want a decent Android phone and don’t want to spend a lot then what better way than getting the San Francisco for only £99.00!

Posted by: James