Press Releases

Orange unveils partnership with premier music streaming service Deezer

• Orange is partnering with music streaming brand Deezer to launch Deezer Mobile which will be exclusively available to Orange pay monthly customers.
• The launch of Deezer Mobile means that for the first time customers in the UK can stream up to 13 million tracks on their phones as part of their tariff.
• Deezer already has 20 million users worldwide and is hoping to become the number one destination for UK music fans offering a service that rivals their competitors

Orange today announced an exclusive partnership for their customers, with music streaming service Deezer. The launch of Deezer Mobile which is exclusively available to Orange pay monthly customers means that for the first time customers can stream music on their phones as part of their tariff.
Deezer will be offering a standalone service at £9.99 per month which gives customers access to millions of music tracks and albums, as well as 30 radio channels in 12 music genres, 30,000 artist based radio channels and thousands of artists’ discographies, biographies and reviews on their mobile or PC. However, Orange mobile customers will be able to get an exclusive mobile only package, Deezer Mobile, included as part of their tariff which means they can stream up to 13 million tracks from all major labels without the interruption of advertisements, as well as the ability to download music and play it offline.

BlackBerry App World 3.0 goes live

Attention BlackBerry fans. The new and improved App World has gone live today with a user friendly and more modern look to it.

New features include:
·         Sleek New Design – The BlackBerry App World experience has been enhanced to help users discover the latest and greatest apps and content, starting right on the BlackBerry App World home screen where rotating spotlight banners show off all that’s new and exciting.
·         New Channels – Apps, Games, and Themes now have their own channels so users can get to what they want even faster.
·         Introduction of My Account – My Account makes managing BBID and payment options easy with direct access to all account information from the home screen.
·         New My World Features – My World gives users a streamlined view of their apps and status, and now at a glance, in addition to seeing which apps are installed and uninstalled, users can manage subscription content and services.  When new updates or subscription renewals are available for apps, users will be notified using push technology.
·         App Social Sharing – When a user finds an app they can’t live without, they can share it directly from the app details screen through BBM, Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS.
·         Evolved App Details Screen – At a glance, users can get a quick summary, check out reviews and star ratings, take a look at screen shots, and more.
·         More Search Options – Quickly find apps with a Search Bar now appearing on the storefront home screen and search results are presented across Channels as well as My World.  Search Bars are also within each Channel and users have the ability to filter by App Name, Price, Rating, Newest, Best Match, or Popular.
BlackBerry smartphone users running BlackBerry OS 5.0+ will see on-device upgrade notifications appear in the coming days.
If you are interested in screen grabs of BlackBerry App World 3.0, or would like to talk to anyone at BlackBerry, please get in touch or visit: www.blackberry.com/appworld

Posted by: James

Orange reduce home broadband & calls packages prices

Orange today officially launched a fresh assault on the home broadband market by introducing the UK’s lowest unlimited broadband price point across its direct retail channels. The move forms part of Orange’s ongoing commitment to offer UK customers the best value home broadband propositions in the market.

• Orange customers can now get home broadband and off peak calls from just £5 per month
• Customers in rural areas also set to benefit as Orange reduces prices nationwide
• Customer loyalty to be rewarded with the new home broadband and off peak calls package available at half-price for life as long as they remain an Orange mobile customer
• Orange pay monthly mobile customers who take out Orange home broadband and calls also receive inclusive Wi-fi Hotspot access at over 200,000 UK locations

Orange customers can now benefit from a 12 month home broadband price plan from just £5 per month, with no connection fee, unlimited broadband usage, inclusive off-peak calls and line rental for just £12.75 – saving up to £170 a year on similar packages from BT (not including the additional savings made on landline calls). And it’s not just customers in Orange’s network areas that stand to benefit, as Orange is also reducing the prices on its price plans for those in rural areas by 15%.
What’s more, as part of the price promise promotion that ran earlier this year, Orange is committed to offering those who are eligible the new low price plan in the coming months.

The Smartphone Centre launches

As you know, we work with a few UK smartphone retailers and the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed some new banners appear on the site last night.

Whilst the The Smartphone Centre may be new there’s a wealth of experience behind the company. Check out their full press release below then head over to visit their shiny new site. www.thesmartphonecentre.com

The Smartphone Centre Ltd are pleased to announce the immediate launch of their brand new website, thesmartphonecentre.com.

The Smartphone Centre Ltd has been developed to address an ever expanding and confusing SIM Free smartphone market place.

The Smartphone market continues to grow at a rapid rate and with almost half of the UK population accessing the web on their smartphone, the choice of handsets can be confusing.

Our approach to providing simple unbiased assistance to customers of any technical know-how has helped us achieve our goal. Combining over 25 years of smartphone knowledge, we believe our approach is unique.

As a web based smartphone store, we are able to pass our savings direct to our customers and we’ve been told our customers like this approach.

The Smartphone Centre Ltd have a strong partnership and work extremely closely with HTC, BlackBerry, Motorola and ZTE to ensure we provide the very latest smartphones and an affordable price.

All of our stock is sourced within the UK and is manufacture unlocked. This enables you to stay with the network of your choice without having to worry about unlocking your smartphone. We are provided with priority stock allocation and access to special offers on new products providing us with an edge over our competitors.

The Smartphone Centre Ltd provide free standard delivery on all in-stock items, many of which arrive the following day.

Our dedicated customer care team can be contacted by calling +44 (0)1945 897 597, weekdays between 9am and 6pm or via email at any time, [email protected]. We are also available on Twitter; @tsctweets

For further information, please visit www.thesmartphonecentre.com

Posted by: Matt

HTC Titan and Radar press release

Following on from the news today that HTC have announced two new Windows Phone handsets I have pleasure in bringing you the full press release from HTC. As already stated we’ll be doing our best to get our hands on these new bad boys soon and will have videos and reviews asap.

Both devices are going to be available world-wide from October this year!

Samsung Galaxy S II now available in white

Samsung has today announced that its award winning handset the Galaxy S II will now be available in classic white, in retailers across the UK.

Simon Stanford, Managing Director, Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “Since its launch in May the Galaxy S II has been a huge hit with Samsung consumers. We always want to offer a range of products that suit different people and are delighted to now be able to give consumers the choice of the UK’s leading Android smartphone in black or white.”

Slim (8.49mm) and lightweight (116g) Samsung’s Galaxy S II White runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and is super-fast thanks to its dual-core 1.2GHz processor. The device’s exceptionally bright screen makes it perfect for watching movies and TV or playing games and looking at apps, with its ground-breaking ‘organic’ LED screen technology, Super AMOLED Plus.

The Galaxy S II is built for multi-tasking, its dual-core processor makes switching between applications and loading web pages such as Google, Yahoo and YouTube quick, whilst superior 3D hardware means games and videos can be loaded and played with ease. What’s more, there’s immediate access to content and services such as catch up TV and movie downloads, thanks to super-fast connectivity and WiFi, with speeds up to 21Mbps which provides increased download speeds, and Bluetooth 3.0+HS which reduces data transfer times significantly.

The Galaxy S II White is available at all major retailers online and in store from 31^st Augusts 2011.

Posted by: James

Toshiba announce the AT100 tablet

Toshiba Europe GmbH today announces that its latest multimedia tablet will be available in the UK on 1st September 2011. Following our announcement early in 2011, the device will be known as the Toshiba AT100 and combines leading hardware with Android 3.1, Honeycomb, to deliver a highly versatile tablet allowing users to enjoy many experiences such as browsing the web, reading emails, watching HD movies, reading ebooks and online newspapers and catching up with friends on social networks.

Ideal for users who want to enjoy HD performance on their tablet, the Toshiba AT100 combines NVIDIA® Tegra 2 processing technology with Android 3.1 providing both power and everyday ease-of-use. Its 25.7cm (10.1”) HD capacitive display is ideal for watching movies and Adobe® Flash® support, Toshiba Resolution+ image enhancement and innovative sound technology ensure premium multimedia performance.

The Toshiba AT100’s touchscreen provides simple and intuitive web browsing and social networking. Wi-Fi connectivity provides access to the web, while the long-lasting battery enables users to enjoy up to 7 hours of multimedia playback on a single charge. With a stylish design and weighing just 765g it is compact enough to be carried around to enjoy the AT100’s full experience on the go. Integrated USB and HDMI ports also provide flexibility to connect to devices and share and store content. Access to both Toshiba Places and Android MarketT enables users to access more than 250,000 applications. Front and back cameras also provide the perfect combination for mobile video chat and high quality still and video photography .

A range of accessories
The Toshiba AT100 is compatible with a range of optional accessories from October. The AT100 Multi-Dock with HDMI® for TVs enables users to switch to large screen HD playback on TVs using HDMI connectivity. Plus an external case, the AT100 Cover, offers protection and doubles up as a stand for comfortable typing and multimedia playback. Replaceable battery packs and AC adapters are also available.
For more information on the Toshiba AT100, including full details on product specifications, please visit http://www.toshiba.co.uk/

More images below:

Motorola DEFY+ poised for a UK September launch

Motorola recently announced the forthcoming DEFY+ but we were not too sure how soon we would see it here in the UK. Well it’s good news as you wont have long to wait. Motorola have today confirmed the device will be available in September which means it could be as near as only two days away.

You can see the full press release below along with a video of the DEFY+.

Live life to the fullest with the latest life proof smartphone from Motorola Mobility, Inc., Motorola DEFY+. Building on the Motorola DEFY’s life proof heritage, Motorola DEFY+ offers exceptional protection from whatever life throws your way with its water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof design (IP67). In addition, Motorola DEFY+ has a 1GHz processor that runs 25 percent faster and is more fun with the latest version of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) delivering a smarter operating system and better battery life to fully enjoy your experiences. Motorola DEFY+ is expected to be available the UK in September.

The Countryside Alliance and Three UK to team up to bring mobile broadband to rural areas

Three and the Countryside Alliance today announces the launch of a project aimed at getting people online in rural areas of poor or non-existent broadband.

Called the Rural Broadband Working Group, the initiative will see the operator work with local politicians and the Countryside Alliance to identify rural broadband ‘not-spots’ and give away around 4m MBs of free connectivity, alongside the dongles and MiFi’s needed to get people online.

The project, which will also involve input from Race Online 2012, is aimed at helping communities, families and businesses in rural areas that while not served by fixed line broadband providers, do have access to Three’s high speed mobile Internet network.

BlackBerry Torch 9860 available from Vodafone

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone hit Vodafone stores this morning and will be available online this weekend. 

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 offers the fast, fluid BlackBerry 7 experience in a stylish new all-touch design, powered by a 1.2GHz processor – available for free on £36, 24 month price plans including 1,200 minutes, unlimited texts and 500 MB of mobile data.
With a spectacular new 3.7″ display – the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone – the device is optimised for viewing and sharing photos, videos and powerful gaming experiences without compromising the essential tools unique to BlackBerry devices.
Like the Bold 9900 the Torch 9860 runs on BlackBerry 7 OS, providing new apps and technologies, as well as access to BlackBerry App World which gives you all you need to get the very most out of your smartphone.
Please check the Vodafone website for updates.

Our hands on video will be live in the morning. Please pop back and have a look.

Posted by: James