Press Releases

BlackBerry Bold 9790 now available at Vodafone

The easy to use BlackBerry Bold 9790, featuring a fantastic full QWERTY keypad and crystal clear 2.45 inch touchscreen, is now available to buy from Vodafone.

Running on the latest BlackBerry software – BlackBerry 7 – and powered by a fast 1Ghz processor, the 9790 meets all your essential mobile needs, and provides razor-sharp graphics and a smoother, faster browser. 8GB of on board memory (expandable to 32GB) means there’s plenty of room for all your music, photos and videos.

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is available free on £31, 24 month price plans, including 600 mins, unlimited texts and 500MB of mobile data.

New and upgrading pay monthly customers will benefit from Vodafone Data Test Drive which lets them use as much data as they like, for whatever they like, for three months so they can fully explore what their brand new BlackBerry Bold 9790 has to offer. They can also get up to £270 for their old phone with Vodafone Buyback.

We know our customers lead busy lives and may not wish to wait for their phone to arrive at their home. They can choose to collect their new BlackBerry Bold 9790 in a store convenient to them – we’ll let them know when it’s there. When they come to collect it, customers can have all the contents of their old mobile transferred to their new BlackBerry Bold 9790 using Vodafone’s innovative RED Box.

For more information on pricing, please visit the Vodafone online shop.

Our full and extensive review will be live in the next few days so keep your eye peeled.

Posted by: James

Samsung teams up with X-Factor judge Tulisa

Samsung today announces an exclusive collaboration with Tulisa Contostavlos, giving Phones 4u customers the chance to film a music video at an exclusive shoot with the singer. Customers who buy a phone from Samsung’s Galaxy Family (Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy Note or Galaxy Nexus) from Phones 4u from Friday 27^th January, can enter an exclusive competition and be in with a chance of winning a ticket to the shoot.

Fresh from her stint as the winning judge on last year’s X-Factor, Tulisa will be working outside of N-Dubz whilst releasing solo material this year. Samsung and Phones 4u are offering the chance to be part of it all by inviting one hundred competition winners to attend an exclusive shoot with a friend, where they will use their new Samsung Galaxy phones to film Tulisa performing. The content will then be used to create an alternative music video which will support the promotion and release of Tulisa’s new single.

As well as entry into the competition, Phones 4u customers will also receive exclusive preview content from Tulisa’s upcoming solo career, including video footage, photographs and wallpapers. The promotion will be supported in-store at Phones 4u throughout the country, with Tulisa set to make a personal appearance at the best performing store.

Nokia hits 1.5 billion sales of revolutionary Series 40 mobile phones

We may not be huge fans of Nokia’s Series 40 operating system here at tracyandmatt but that doesn’t mean it is not a popular OS for many people. With the Smartphone market growing so rapidly this latest press release from Nokia just goes to show that low to mid range devices are still selling by the millions.

Nokia today announced one of the most significant milestones in its history with the sale of its 1.5 billionth Series 40 mobile phone. The device was sold to a female consumer in the Brazilian city of São Paulo and represents a historic moment as Nokia continues its strategy of connecting the next billion.

The 1.5 billionth phone was a Nokia Asha 303, a stunning touch screen handset with QWERTY keypad designed for web browsing, social networking and gaming, that features pre-installed entertainment and applications such as Angry Birds Lite.
The device was purchased from a Magazine Luiza store in São Paulo by Mayara Rodrigues, a 21-year-old who loves staying in touch with friends and family through social networks.

Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale extend successful 4G LTE trial

UK’s first live multi-operator trial of next generation 4G LTE mobile broadband in Cornwall extended to end of June 2012

• Ofcom agrees to extend licence for UK’s first mobile and fixed line broadband network collaboration
• Landmark trial successfully highlights the potential of 4G LTE technology for broadband ‘not-spots’

Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale today announced an extension to the UK’s first live multi-operator customer trial of next generation 4G LTE broadband.

The trial has seen the two companies collaborate to provide wireless broadband to 180 customers living in and around St. Newlyn East in Cornwall since October 2011. The extension until the end of June 2012 has been granted by Ofcom to enable the companies to continue to investigate the application of 4G LTE in rural areas. This will be beneficial to the rollout of any potential subsequent commercial service.

Apple just getting bigger and bigger

Yesterday Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 first quarter which spanned 14 weeks and ended December 31, 2011. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 44.7 percent compared to 38.5 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
The Company sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 128 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, a 111 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

“We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.”
“We are very happy to have generated over $17.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 13 weeks, we expect revenue of about $32.5 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $8.50.”

Is there not stopping them?

Posted by: James

Thundercats and Ben 10 toys brought to virtual life with Aurasma

From today children can play with toys before even opening the box as new technology will allow them to see fully formed 3D models from the box packaging, allowing them to examine every part of the toy before purchase. There are also guidelines on mamonlineshop.com that parents can follow before buying toys for their kids.
The innovative technology pioneered by manufacturer Bandai, is set to transform the way consumers view toys as they can use a smartphone to view the 3D virtual models from the packaging anywhere in the world.
Selected toys including the brand new ThunderCats action figure of Lion-O, will showcase the technology as fans will be able to see a lifelike model of the toy projected from the box, simply from using a smartphone directed at the toy packaging.
Bandai has become the first toy company to work with Aurasma bringing their toy boxes to virtual life with the augmented reality app, meaning consumers can use the technology, whenever and wherever, not just in a toy shop. The new 3D engine will be showcased at London Toy Fair in Olympia today using Lion-O from ThunderCats and Ben 10 action figures. Users just point the camera of their mobile device at the boxes and using the app, a 3D augmented reality figure of the toy inside magically appears on top of the box.
Consumers will also be able to watch the corresponding toy TV commercials for Power Rangers, Ben 10, the highly anticipated ThunderCats range, and Harumika, a fashion design product for girls by pointing their smartphone at the toy packaging using the Aurasma app.

Research In Motion Names Thorsten Heins President and CEO

With market share being stripped from them by iOS and Android this latest piece of news has been on the cards for sometime and won’t be a surprise to many.

The Board of Directors of BlackBerry® maker Research In Motion (RIM) today announced that, acting on the recommendation of its Co-Chief Executive Officers to implement the succession plan they previously submitted to the Board, it has unanimously named Thorsten Heins as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Heins was also appointed to RIM’s Board. The Board acted after conducting its own due diligence. Both appointments are effective immediately.
Mike Lazaridis, former Co-Chair and Co-CEO, has become Vice Chair of RIM’s Board and Chair of the Board’s new Innovation Committee. As Vice Chair, he will work closely with Mr. Heins to offer strategic counsel, provide a smooth transition and continue to promote the BlackBerry brand worldwide. 
Mr. Heins said he looks forward to continuing to work with Mr. Lazaridis, globally recognized as a technology pioneer. He said, “Mike created a whole new way of communicating and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration.”
On the transition to CEO by Mr. Heins, Mr. Lazaridis said, “There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership. Jim and I went to the Board and told them that we thought that time was now.  With BlackBerry 7 now out, PlayBook 2.0 shipping in February and BlackBerry 10 expected to ship later this year, the company is entering a new phase, and we felt it was time for a new leader to take it through that phase and beyond.  Jim, the Board and I all agreed that leader should be Thorsten Heins.

Samsung and VisitBritain announce ‘The Best of Britain’ mobile application

Today, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a market leader in consumer electronics and Worldwide Olympic Partner in the wireless communications equipment category, announced the launch of ‘The Best of Britain’ mobile application in partnership with VisitBritain, the national tourism agency.

The app launch realises an agreement announced in 2010 between the two organisations to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by providing visitors with a wide scope of social, cultural, fun and enriching experiences during their stay in the UK. The Best of Britain app focuses on making fresh content supplied by VisitBritain accessible to users of the Samsung GALAXY smartphone and GALAXY Tab ranges.

Motorola Mobility and JCB Announce Limited Edition Motorola DEFY+

Motorola Mobility today launches a limited edition Motorola DEFY+ handset which transforms the UK’s favourite life proof handset into a ‘work proof’ model.

The exclusive Motorola DEFY+ JCB Edition features exceptional work-orientated protection for anyone operating in the demanding construction and engineering sectors, or who work in the rugged outdoors and in extremely demanding conditions thanks to its patented visco-elastic protective sleeve from JCB with re-entrant geometry.

Taking ‘work proof’ functionality one step further, the Motorola DEFY+ JCB Edition handset also offers construction site users and outdoor enthusiasts who routinely work with core technical and measuring materials a range of built-in options. It comes pre-loaded with bespoke JCB applications including: a spirit level, theodolite, decibel meter and recorder, torch, unit converter, calculator and DIY store locator.  This saves the user time and effort of lugging around a boot load of individual work components and also serves to speed up their productivity and output at the touch of a button.

Samsung adds Netflix to its Smart TV Apps store

Samsung Electronics Co. UK Ltd, the UK’s number one TV brand with the most awarded TV range, today announces Netflix, the global internet subscription service for films and TV programmes, as the latest partner for its Smart TV App store, Samsung Apps.  People who log on to the Netflix website (www.netflix.com) today can start a free, one month trial of Netflix to instantly watch unlimited films and TV programmes streamed over the Internet to their Samsung Smart TV, PC or mobile devices.

The Netflix App, which is currently available on Samsung’s D7000 and D8000 Smart TV series (and in the coming months on 2012 Smart TV and Blu-ray players), will give viewers instant and unlimited access to tens of thousands of great films and TV programmes including recent big screen hits like The Expendables, popular US series such as 24 and 90210, previous full seasons of UK favourites including The Only Way is Essex, Top Gear and The Inbetweeners plus a wide-range of documentaries, art house films and film classics ranging from The Princess Bride to The 39 Steps.

More films and TV programmes will be added regularly, where Samsung Smart TV users can instantly select and play films and TV programmes for the monthly price of just £5.99 without any contracts or commitments.