Orange beats T-Mobile to Bold in UK

T-Mobile might have announced that it will be offering the new BlackBerry Bold from September, but it looks like Orange is going to pip it to the punch.

According to the operator, BlackBerry fans will be able to get their hands on the new emailing focused device from the 16 August in the UK.

A spokesperson has told Rob Kerr over at the Inquirer that "Orange will be taking stock on the 14th and will have them in its shops by the Saturday 16th, along with online ordering."

The website is saying that the tariffs start at £45 a month, with the phone free.

Vodafone or O2 has yet to confirm when their versions of the device will be available however Pocket-lint's review sample contained an O2 sim card in it.

Sources within Vodafone have told Pocket-lint that it hopes to announce its dates "soon".

3, is the only other operator to announce when it will be offering the handset however as it is still busy setting up its BlackBerry services it says this is unlikely to be until November.

Pocket-lint has just reviewed the BlackBerry Bold giving it a coveted "Hot Product" award.

source : http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/

T-Mobile Pushes The Envelope In U.K.

T-Mobile's U.K. ad may be testing the bounds of good taste. In "More minutes for £30," a veterinarian wearing a long yellow glove apparently puts his arm up a cow's rear end, searching for a better deal than most mobile companies offer.

The campaign created by ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, per guardian.co.uk, takes a different approach than the TV ad running in the U.S, though both focus on consumers finding more minutes to talk to their hearts' content.

In the U.S., T-Mobile focuses on home service. Speaking to consumers with home phone lines, the "Say Good-bye to Good-bye" campaign message tells consumers T-Mobile gives them so many minutes, they never need to say "good-bye."

Research reveals that most people typically have longer conversations on a landline, compared with a cell phone. Rather than pay $40 for a monthly landline, T-Mobile customers get unlimited nationwide calling for a fraction of the cost, per the company.

"Sometimes you have to say good-bye because you're worried about running up a large bill because of the time you're spending on the phone," says Bob Moore, chief creative officer of Publicis in the West, which runs the T-Mobile account and oversees the creative directors and products in the States. "Since there is no longer a need to say 'good-bye,' in the ad where people would normally say 'good-bye,' they say 'hello'."

The campaign is running on network, cable and TV, as well as in newspapers and on various Web sites, including the dedicated T-Mobile @Home microsite, www.t-mobileathome.com.

T-Mobile appears to reach out to consumers, communicating a similar message in completely different ways. Amy Shea, EVP at marketing research firm Brand Keys, believes most U.S. consumers would accept the UK ad, the critical point being that cows are not pets. "For most of us, they are food, and we won't respond the same to a bovine with a sardonic look as we do to Fluffy or Rex in any sort of distress," she says. "There also is a rather large contingent that likes humor. This certainly fits, or should I say the glove fits."

Though not convinced the ad will bring success for the brand, Shea wonders whether people remember the compelling message about saving money on minutes from T-Mobile or just the cow. She says humor works for the breakthrough--research repeatedly demonstrates--although it is not always great at driving sales.

source : http://www.mediapost.com/

New colours on Sony Ericsson TM506 says T-Mobile

We are all aware that the Sony Ericsson TM506 mobile flip phone will be coming out in black on green, because it popped up of the FCC website. But maybe you are just not a green colour person, or you find the black on green a tad unsightly.

Well if you want the Sony Ericsson TM506 flip but are so put off but the colour, you may be pleased to know that the word is T-Mobile is to be offering this mid to high range 3G clamshell design mobile phone is a more restrained black on black and even black on white.

These alternate colour offerings on the Sony Ericsson TM506, which holds the codename Bella, will still be toting a 2 megapixel camera, web feeds reader for RSS, podcasts, news and the like, aGPS, along with support for dual band 3G UMTS/HSDPA frequencies.

source : http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/

T-Mobile launches Nokia 6550

Following the announcement of the launch of the Nokia 6650 at CeBIT back in March, the handset is now on sale in the UK and is available exclusively through T-Mobile.

The 6650 is "optimised" for use with T-Mobile services, and is exclusive to the operator. In the UK it is available on all T-Mobile pay monthly tariffs, both Flext and Combi.

On the Combi tariff the handset comes with unlimited text, internet use and 700 minutes for 18 months. Handset price has not yet been confirmed, but at launch it was said to be as low as one euro, so we expect a "from free" price tag.

The phone offers integrated GPS and multimedia player, and "easy access" to T-Mobile services such as Web'n'walk, MyFaves, Mobile Jukebox and NaviGate.

In addition, the stainless-steel clad clamshell offers HSDPA data connectivity, a 2.2-inch TFT QVGA colour display, dedicated music keys, built-in AGPS, a 2-megapixel camera with flash, 30MB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, FM radio and Bluetooth.

source : http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/

T-Mobile Officially Launches Motorola ROKR E8

One of the coolest phones from this January's Consumer Electronics Show, the Motorola ROKR E8 is a bar-style phone with a twist: The phone's keypad changes depending on whether it's in phone, music, or camera mode, displaying appropriate keys for the application in use. It's not an LCD touch screen like the iPhone's; rather, it's a less-expensive, more durable technology that lights up different layers under the phone's glass surface.

The E8 is Motorola 's most buzzed-about release in months, a flagship device that's supposed to raise the profile of the world's number-three cell phone maker. Like most recent, prominent Motorola phones, it's more about design than about features. The E8 is a 4.5-by-2.1-by-0.4-inch black slab, topped by a sharp 2-inch, 320-by-240 screen. Stand it on its end, and it may remind you of the monolith from the classic sci-fi movie "2001."

The keypad is dominated by a touch-sensitive scroll 'arc' that works like a jog dial on an old VCR—the farther you drag your finger along it, the faster you scroll. Below it, the keys use haptic force-feedback technology to convince you that you're actually pressing keys when you're just touching images on glass.

The E8 offers a strong, midrange feature set. It has 2GB of internal memory and a microSD memory card slot that carries up to 8GB cards; the phone comes with a 1GB card to get you started. It syncs via a standard microUSB cable with Windows Media Player 11 on PCs, playing protected or unprotected WMA, but also AAC, AAC+, MP3, WAV, and RealAudio files. You can listen to your music through the single speaker on the back, or through wired or Bluetooth headphones. The phone also has a 2-megapixel camera, an FM radio, a Web browser, and CrystalTalk, Motorola's noise-reduction technology. The phone creates virtual surround-sound effects with most headphones, Motorola said.

However, the E8 is missing one key feature for a new, flagship phone: 3G. The E8 only supports EDGE, which transfers data at around 100-120 kbps. The 3G networks run by Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and now T-Mobile are much faster. T-Mobile doesn't have media services that take advantage of 3G, but that's not a big minus for T-Mobile subscribers right now; it may be in the future.

The ROKR E8 music phone is going on sale with T-Mobile on July 7 for $199.99 with a two-year service plan.

source : http://www.pcmag.com/

T-Mobile offers faster wireless

T-Mobile USA Inc. of Bellevue, the nation's fourth-largest cellular carrier, said it has begun offering a new wireless voice-and-data network in New York, with plans to extend the service to major urban markets throughout the year.

T-Mobile, the last of the four carriers to implement a network of this speed, said its so-called 3G network will be available in Seattle between Oct. 1 and the year's end.

The new network uses technology called UMTS, or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, which downloads data at up to 300 kilobits per second. That's up to four times faster than T-Mobile's current technology. And handsets due for release in the third quarter will be able to use an even faster technology, HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), which operates up to 600 kbps.

By comparison, cable modems download 460 to 1,000 kbps. Faster connections mean Web pages load faster and documents can be sent or received more quickly. Upload speeds are typically slower than download speeds.

UMTS already can be used on four T-Mobile phones that went on sale last year: Nokia's 3555 and 6263 and Samsung's t819 and t639.

UMTS and HSDPA are upgrades from the current network, which is only one-third to one-quarter as fast as UMTS, said Neville Ray, T-Mobile USA's senior vice president of engineering and operations.

Though BlackBerry smart phones are an important part of T-Mobile's lineup, models with HSDPA likely won't be available until next year, Ray said. The new network can't use current HSDPA phones sold by AT&T or imported from overseas because it uses a different slice of the airwaves, or spectrum, for its 3G service.

UMTS has been used in Europe for several years, Ray said. Creating T-Mobile's new network took time, because incumbents on the spectrum bought by T-Mobile required "long discussions" before they vacated it, Ray said.

"It's been a tough road, but they've been very cooperative in recent months," Ray said. The speed of the rollout of 3G to other cities is now more dependent on how fast the company can get new equipment up and running, he added.

T-Mobile USA had 28.7 million subscribers at the end of 2007. It's due to announce new subscriber numbers and quarterly earnings Thursday.

In related news, T-Mobile USA's parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, reportedly is investigating a bid to buy Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third-largest cellular carrier.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting unidentified people familiar with the situation, reported Monday that deliberations between Deutsche Telekom and Sprint Nextel are at "a preliminary stage and management may very well turn away."

Such a deal would catapult T-Mobile USA to the top spot in the U.S. market, though the two companies use different technology. Sprint Nextel spokeswoman Leigh Horner said the company had no comment when The Associated Press asked about the deal. Ray also had no comment Monday.

source : http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/

T-Mobile Launches New Solo & Combi Tariffs

Following the growing trend of networks boiling down and simplifying their Tariffs is T-Mobile this month which has reworked and rebranded two of its most popular price plans.

From 1 May, the network's popular Sim Only deals will be renamed 'Solo' and its 18 month fixed minutes and texts packages known as 'Combi'. Its groundbreaking Flext package will remain unaltered and complete the trio - a system whereby users buy monthly 'credit' which is spent anyway they wish.

On with the new. As with all good Sim Only plans, Solo will place users on rolling 30 day contracts and offer an impressive range of tariffs from its £15pm deal providing 350 cross network anytime minutes and 650 texts to its £35pm package housing a whopping 1800 minutes and unlimited texts per month.

Moving across to Combi, it will launch with £25, £30, £35 and £40pm tariffs providing 300 minutes/300 texts and 600 mins, 800 mins and 1000 minutes with unlimited texts respectively. The full range of T-Mobile handsets are available on Combi with prices starting from free depending on your choice of phone and contract. Incidentally, if you're fans of T-Mobile's U-Fix, Family and MyFaves bundles don't worry - they're all still going to be available.

source : http://www.trustedreviews.com/

The UK’s best (and free) mobile phones

Thanks to the subsidies offered by the likes of Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone and 3, there’s an amazing selection of mobile phones available for free. You still have to sign up for a monthly contract, but you can get hundreds of pounds-worth of mobile phone technology for absolutely zip.

Put it this way: the 8GB Nokia N95 costs over £440 without a contract on Expansys, but it’s free with a £35 contract at the Carphone Warehouse. A SIM-free Samsung Soul costs over £300, but you can get it for nothing at mobiles.co.uk.

All of which got us to thinking… What’s the best ‘free’ mobile phone you can get your hands on? What’s the best free handset if you want good music playback? What’s the best free phone for business? Or for taking photos? Here’s what we think.

The best music phone – Sony Ericsson W890i

As the successor to the W880i Walkman phone, the Sony Ericsson W890i has a lot to prove. An upgraded feature set offers enhanced 3G (HSDPA) high-speed data connectivity, a 2GB MemoryStick, FM radio and a 3.2MP camera. Crucially, the Sony Ericsson W890i has also maintained the essence of the W880i’s slim, stylish design, high quality finishing and overall desirability. (Free on: 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile)

The best camera phone – Sony Ericsson K850i

The K850i brings the best of Sony’s Cyber-shot brand to bear on a 3G (HSDPA) mobile. Like many other Sony Ericsson handsets, the K850i is a music and video player, FM radio and Internet gizmo. But its key feature is a 5MP digital camera with 16x digital zoom and a Xenon flash. 40MB of built-in memory is available for photo storage, but this can be expanded via MemoryStick or MicroSD cards. (Free on: O2, Orange, 3, T-Mobile, Vodafone).

The best touchscreen phone – LG KU990 Viewty

The LG Viewty (aka the KU990) is certainly popular – it’s consistently been the most-searched for phone on TechRadar. The star of the show is the Viewty’s iPhone-esque 3-inch touchscreen. You use it to type text and email messages, view images, browse the web, shoot video and much more. A 5MP camera, stylish design and 3G (HSDPA) connectivity all contribute to make the KU990 Viewty is one of LG’s best ever mobile phones. (Free on: O2, Orange, 3, T-Mobile)

The best business phone – Blackberry Pearl 8120

Until Apple decides to give the 2nd-gen iPhone away for free, RIM’s Blackberry phones still dominate the business market. Dubbed ‘Crackberry’ phones by email-addicted owners, the 8120 Pearlhandset is the best way to get your messages on the move – enterprise server integration and personal email accounts are both supported. Once you’ve got used to the SureType keypad (two QWERTY keys per button), the Blackberry 8210 is a cracking smartphone. (Free on: O2)

The best sat-nav phone – Nokia N95

Whether you get the original N95 model or the new N95 8GB variant, Nokia’s do-it-all smartphone pushes GPS modules as the next standard-issue phone feature. Nokia uses its own mapping technology as standard - Nokia Maps. But third-party software, such as ALK’s more advanced Co-Pilot Live 7, can be installed instead. Whatever you use, the N95 is capable of giving standalone sat-nav devices a run for their money and is ideal for last-mile pedestrian location-finding. (Free on 3, O2, Orange, Vodafone)

The best slider phone – Samsung Soul

Samsung has blazed into the mobile phone market with a series of slick slider phones. The so-called ‘Soul’ is one such handset. The build quality is excellent, while the handset boasts 3G (HSDPA) support and a 5-megapixel camera. There’s a gimmick too: the Soul boasts dual screens, with a mini touchscreen below the main LCD. The touchscreen features dynamic icons that change depending on what you’re doing. (Free on: O2, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile)

The best free phone – Nokia N95 8GB

Yes, the Nokia N95 is a bit of a brick, but just look at all the functionality you can get for free: 3G, built-in 802.11g, GPS (with A-GPS support), an FM radio, 5MP digital camera (with Carl Zeiss optics), music and video playback, plus 8GB of internal flash memory. OK, so all of this power can drain the battery pretty fast. But in its new 8GB guise, the N95 is one awesome all-rounder smartphone. (Free on: 3, O2, Orange, Vodafone, read our full review).

And the best free gift is…?

A trawl of the mobile phone sites and stores on a Friday reveals that sellers will significantly sweeten the deal if you’ll buy a phone from them. Mobiles.co.uk, for example, is offering a Samsung J700 and a free PlayStation 3 if you commit to a £35 per month contract. Buy an LG Viewty via the Carphone Warehouse and they’ll throw in a free Nintendo DS. It’s well worth shopping around. Offers currently range from games consoles to HD TVs, Apple iPods to camcorders. And there are always cash-back deals to be had.

source : http://www.techradar.com/

Nokia and T-Mobile Collaborate on Mobile Services

Nokia and T-Mobile announced on Friday they will work together to accelerate the development of Internet services on mobile devices.

The deal will work both ways: T-Mobile customers will be able to access all of all to Nokia's Ovi services, and Nokia will also customize its devices to provide T-Mobile services.

Ovi is Nokia's portal for Internet services, which amongst other things includes music, maps and games. Ovi is at the heart of Nokia's push to supply content for its customers.

The announcement doesn't come as a surprise to Mark Newman, chief research officer at market-research company Informa Telecoms and Media.

"Nokia has already signed Ovi deals with Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange, so it was expected that T-Mobile fell into line," Newman said. "I think Nokia will have an easier time working with T-Mobile, since it has a more open strategy to services, compared to the other operators."

Nokia and T-Mobile will also work on widgets, web-based applications that give access to information, and the mobilization of social networks. Together they plan to enhance T-Mobile's community-oriented MyFaves service, according to a statement.

The companies didn't supply any details over how they will share revenue.

source : http://www.pcworld.com/

T-Mobile betting on 3G to close on high-speed competitors

T-Mobile USA is late to the high-speed wireless party, but it's going low-cost to catch up.

While rivals such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel have been talking recently about building new 4G wireless networks, T-Mobile--which will begin offering 3G wireless service this summer--is leveraging cheap, unlicensed Wi-Fi technology to bring true broadband speed over wireless networks to some of its subscribers today.

There's no question Wi-Fi is far from perfect. Its use of unlicensed bandwidth can mean signal interference. And it's a short-range radio technology that will never be able to provide ubiquitous coverage. But when Wi-Fi is combined with a new 3G wireless network using phones that T-Mobile claims switch seamlessly between the two networks, it becomes an interesting story.

As the smallest nationwide carrier in the U.S. market, T-Mobile is using $4.2 billion worth of spectrum it bought in the Federal Communications Commission's 2006 Advanced Wireless Auction to build a 3G wireless network that operates in the nation's top markets. The service, expected to launch this summer, will be up and running in 80 percent of the top 20 markets by the end of the year, according to Joe Sims, vice president and general manager of broadband products and services for T-Mobile USA.

Even without 3G services, T-Mobile has managed to become a formidable competitor. And even though it doesn't offer specific e-mail or Internet surfing service over its cellular network, T-Mobile has still managed to become a leader in messaging with its popular Sidekick device that's used for SMS text messaging.

Now, as T-Mobile prepares to open its 3G network for business, the carrier has also begun offering a companion service using Wi-Fi that will provide even faster upload and download speeds for mobile-phone users. And while Sprint Nextel struggles to roll out WiMax and Verizon Wireless and AT&T talk about LTE (long-term evolution) deployments, T-Mobile will be able to offer its subscribers true mobile broadband service through Wi-Fi hot spots. The combination of its 3G network and Wi-Fi strategy could help the company compete more aggressively as mobile Internet and data become more important sources of revenue for wireless operators.

"WiMax and LTE are a ways off from becoming reality," Sims said. "There isn't anything faster than Wi-Fi right now. And with the seamless handoff to a 3G network, we can get much wider coverage."

Last summer, T-Mobile launched the Hotspot @Home service, which allows people using any of T-Mobile's dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular phones to use their home Wi-Fi networks instead of the T-Mobile cellular network to make phone calls or access the Internet from their phones.

The company has expanded the service to also include its more than 9,000 public Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S., giving its customers even more places where they can use Wi-Fi. I must admit, I have never used the service myself, but T-Mobile's Sims says the handoff between the Wi-Fi and the cellular is seamless, and subscribers can walk in and out of either network as many times as they like without ever noticing they have hopped onto another network.

Since the Hotspot @Home service launched nationwide last summer, T-Mobile has assembled an impressive list of devices that can be used with the service. Earlier this month at the CTIA trade show in Las Vegas, the company introduced the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 with Wi-Fi. T-Mobile also offers two other Hotspot@Home-enabled BlackBerrys, the popular Curve 8320, and the business-centric BlackBerry 8820.

Using the Wi-Fi network instead of the cellular network benefits T-Mobile, as well as its customers. For T-Mobile, Wi-Fi helps reduce the amount of traffic that is running on T-Mobile's own wireless network. And consumers get better in-home or in-building coverage. It also greatly improves the upload and download speeds for surfing the mobile Web. And at only $9.99 extra per month for subscribers who spend at least $40 a month on T-Mobile phone service, it's not an expensive add-on for high-speed data access and better coverage.

The service, which began selling nationwide last year, has been a big success, Sims says. It's even helped the company entice some customers to switch providers for T-Mobile.

"Over half of the @Home customers are new subscribers to T-Mobile," he said. "And most of them seem to be coming on for the faster speeds and the increased coverage proposition."

T-Mobile also recently announced a home phone replacement service called Hotspot @Home Talk Forever that also uses Wi-Fi. The service is currently available in Seattle and Dallas. Essentially, it is a voice over IP service, much like services offered by cable providers and companies such as Vonage. It allows people to use their regular phones to make and receive calls over a broadband connection. The service only costs $9.99 more a month on top of the regular calling plan and Hotspot @Home charge.

"Hotspot @Home is great for one device and great for improving in-home coverage," Sims said. "But there's another demographic that wants one permanent line in the home."

He admitted that the new service is an attempt to take on companies such as AT&T and Verizon, which offer wireless as well as home phone service.

"We are absolutely going after the traditional phone companies with these offerings," he said. "And we're doing it in a way that is relevant to our brand."

But Sims also says that T-Mobile's ambitions for Wi-Fi go beyond simply using it in the home. The service can also be used in conjunction with thousands of T-Mobile public Wi-Fi hot spots. The company currently has more than 21,000 public hot spots around the globe, with more than 9,000 of them in the U.S. While these hot spots by no means provide ubiquitous coverage, Sims said the company is evaluating how to expand its hot spot footprint to bring more Wi-Fi access to its subscribers.

Currently, most of T-Mobile's hot spots are in places like airports or cafes where people typically use laptops. But as more dual-mode phones come online, he said the company will evaluate where it might be useful to deploy hot spots for "nomadic" use.

Considering citywide Wi-Fi
He even admitted that the company has considered deploying Wi-Fi citywide. The movement to blanket cities with Wi-Fi was badly damaged last year when EarthLink, the largest Internet provider to offer such a service, decided to stop building these networks. Since then cities have been struggling to figure out ways to bring inexpensive Wi-Fi services to their communities.

T-Mobile could be the perfect candidate to build such a network. Not only does the company already have its own Wi-Fi networks, but the use of dual-mode devices that can switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks would make the service more useful and appealing to nomadic city workers or even consumer subscribers looking for faster mobile Internet surfing.

"We've looked at citywide Wi-Fi," Sims said. "There's no real reason why it couldn't work from a technology standpoint. But there are different business models around using the technology in that way."

T-Mobile's service is already being used on some Wi-Fi-blanketed college campuses. The University of Texas at Austin launched a pilot program last month that will run through August and is allowing T-Mobile subscribers to use the university Wi-Fi network as part of their Hotspot @Home service. This means that in addition to using the @Home service in a dorm room, residents and faculty who subscribe to the T-Mobile service will be able to use it anywhere they can find the university Wi-Fi network, such as in the library, in classroom buildings, and in outdoor public hot spots.

The main reason the university is interested in allowing the T-Mobile service to be used with its Wi-Fi network is to provide better in-building coverage. The university currently is working with all the major cell phone carriers to improve cellular coverage on campus, but even with these efforts faculty and students complain of poor service inside many buildings.

Instead of investing in expensive femtocell technology, which uses a router-like device to boost cellular radio signals indoors, William Green, director of networking for the University of Texas at Austin, sees Wi-Fi as an inexpensive way to provide better coverage. At the same time, people in the university community with dual-mode phones can also benefit from the higher-speed network access using Wi-Fi.

That said, Green is skeptical that T-Mobile's Wi-Fi service could be as effective in a citywide deployment.

"Wi-Fi networks are very hard to manage in dense environments," he said. "And it's very hard for a city to deploy a network such as ours. We already own the fiber and all the rights of way."

Skepticism over Wi-Fi strategy
Indeed, other experts are also skeptical that T-Mobile's Wi-Fi strategy will find much traction beyond some niche applications. Roger Entner, vice president of communications for IAG Research, said T-Mobile has had little choice but to use Wi-Fi since it is so late to the 3G cellular game.

"They are trying to turn a virtue out of necessity," he said. "They're forcing a technology to be used in a way that it was not designed to be used. Can they get to it to work? Yes, but it doesn't work very elegantly."

At this point in the game, only time will tell. Sprint Nextel was supposed to have launched its Xohm WiMax service this month. But it now says it will launch the service later this year. And even though Nokia has announced one device to be used on a WiMax network, it will take awhile before more WiMax-enabled devices become available.

Then there's the other 4G technology, LTE. Verizon Wireless and AT&T have each said they plan to use wireless spectrum newly won in the 700MHz auction to build these networks, but it will be years before either provider offers a service on these proposed networks.

In the meantime, T-Mobile will be expanding its Wi-Fi hot spots and cell phone manufacturers will be embedding inexpensive Wi-Fi chips into more devices. So at least for the near future, T-Mobile, the laggard in the wireless speed war, could be the only provider to offer true wireless broadband speeds to its subscribers.

Coverage may not be everywhere, but it might just be enough to entice some subscribers to give it a second look.

source : http://www.news.com/

No U.K. iPhone price cut from O2

Germany’s T-Mobile generated a wave of media attention with its decision to subsidize the purchase price of the iPhone in a new €99 (US$155) deal, announced last week, but Apple’s U.K. partner, O2, has no immediate plan to emulate the discount.

T-Mobile’s plan has been seen as predicated by one of two reasons: to stimulate flagging sales of the device in Germany, or to clear stock from the network’s channel, pending the coming release of a 3G-supporting model of the device.

Apple’s German iPhone network partner has been selling the 8GB model of iPhone for €399, but reduced the cost of that model to €99 late last week.

O2 mobile has not chosen to emulate T-Mobile’s move, at least, not yet. An O2 spokesperson told Macworld UK: “We regularly examine all of our offerings to ensure they remain competitive and meet customer demands. We currently have no updates regarding iPhone pricing.”

While this response leaves the door open to future price cuts on the part of Apple’s UK network partner, it does mean there’s no immediate price discount plan to be announced.

source : http://www.macworld.com/

Owner of T-Mobile may buy Sprint, analysts say

Sprint Nextel may be a takeover target, according to one of the nation’s largest investment banking firms.

Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile and the world’s sixth largest phone company, may consider acquiring Overland Park-based Sprint to block a price war in the mobile phone industry, analysts for Merrill Lynch speculated in a report Thursday.

Merrill Lynch, which advises its clients to sell Sprint shares, said it is not aware of any acquisition discussions.

Sprint, as a matter of policy, doesn’t comment on market rumors and speculation.

Merrill Lynch said Sprint’s operational problems and shaky position in the U.S. wireless industry may force the company to cut prices even further to attract customers.

“In such a price war scenario, we think T-Mobile would face the most pressure, and Deutsche Telekom would see the increased urgency to drive market repair,” according to the Merrill Lynch report.

T-Mobile generally is considered to be the low-cost alternative among the top five U.S. mobile phone companies. Last week, Sprint introduced an unlimited voice and data wireless plan that undercut other U.S. companies.

A Deutsche acquisition is possible now because of Sprint’s depressed share price, according to Merrill Lynch. The plunging value of the U.S. dollar also makes a potential acquisition by a foreign buyer cheaper than it otherwise would be.

Investors on Wall Street didn’t put much stock in Merrill Lynch’s speculation. Sprint shares closed Thursday at $6.80, down 20 cents. Shares of the company have fallen more than 48 percent since the beginning of the year.

Sprint reported last week that it lost $29.5 billion, or $10.36 a share, on sales of $9.8 billion during fourth-quarter 2007. Sprint also suspended dividends for investors and said it expected the first-quarter loss of an additional 1.2 million subscribers.

Sprint, the nation’s third largest wireless company, after Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless, has about 54 million customers.

Based in Germany, Deutsche Telekom has about 120 million subscribers worldwide.

Source : http://www.kansascity.com/

T-Mobile invests in 'home phone mast' technology

T-Mobile has invested in a Swindon-based, home-networking company called Ubiquisys, which also counts Google among its backers, as it prepares to test the potential of the company's in-home mobile masts in the UK later this year.

Femtocells are essentially a very low-powered mobile phone base station, which consumers can place in their home. There are no health risks as the device uses less power than a wii-fi connection. When connected to a broadband line, it greatly increases in-home mobile coverage and allows a mobile user to make free calls while at home from their existing handset.

The technology is being tested by mobile phone companies including O2 and Vodafone as a way of increasing take-up of their own residential broadband services and differentiate them from existing providers such as TalkTalk, Sky and BT.

T-Mobile, however, does not have a residential broadband offering in the UK and its tests suggest it is looking at the potential of tying broadband with its mobile phone service.

Several major technology names have already become interested in the potential of femtocells and invested in a series of start-ups. Several major telecoms equipment companies such as Alcatel-Lucent and China's Huawei are also developing femtocell technology.

Cisco and Intel have put money into Cambridge-based ip.access while US mobile phone-chip group Qualcomm is an investor in the Nasdaq-listed Airvana, which also has its research base in Cambridge.

T-Mobile Venture Fund said today that it is investing an undisclosed sum in Ubiquisys. It plans to trial Ubiquisys' femtocells in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK in the Spring.

As well as Google, Ubiquisys, which manufactures its products in a former Sony plant in south Wales, has received funding from Accel Partners, Atlas Venture and Advent Venture Partners.

As well as cheap calls from home, T-Mobile said femtocells allow operators to bundle mobile and fixed broadband services, and to differentiate themselves by offering mobile applications based on home presence and sharing data with the home network.

For instance, one femtocell maker has suggested working parents could be notified of the return of their children after school as the femtocell would pick up their mobile signal when they come home and send an email or text alert.

"Femtocells are fundamental to the future of mobile," said Axel Kolb, fund manager at T-Mobile Venture Fund. "They pave the way for new mobile services that put the mobile phone at the centre of the connected home."

Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Nokia 6650 Introduced for T-Mobile European Markets

Today T-Mobile announced the Nokia 6650, an easy-to-use device optimized for T-Mobile services. Available exclusively for T-Mobile International customers, the 6650 is equipped with an integrated GPS and multimedia player, allowing customers access to a services such as web'n'walk, MyFaves, Mobile Jukebox and NaviGate.

The stainless-steel clamshell design is equipped with high-speed HSDPA data connectivity for fast web browsing and downloading. The 2.2-inch TFT QVGA color display can display up to 16 million colors, for comfortable browsing and viewing photos, videos and menus. T-Mobile MyFaves service keeps users in touch. Mobile Jukebox gives consumers access to music through dedicated keys for the music player. The Nokia 6650 has built-in AGPS (assisted GPS) for quick positioning with NaviGate route management.

The 6650 comes with a 2.0-megapixel camera with flash, 30 MB of internal memory and a microSD card slot, FM radio and many other features. Images and videos can be uploaded to the web, sent from phone to phone via a wireless Bluetooth connection, or viewed in full color on the device's large display.

The Nokia 6650 will be available from T-Mobile during the third quarter at T-Mobile sales points across Europe.

source: http://www.mobiledia.com/

Ofcom gives O2 3G deadline

O2's 3G coverage shortfall could see it lose 40 million pounds O2 could lose 40 million pounds if its 3G rollout does not reach 80 per cent of the population by June.

Ofcom last year requested each of the five networks with 3G licences to make 3G services available to at least 80 per cent of the population from December 31, 2007. An Ofcom assessment showed that O2 only reached 75.69 per cent of the population in the time given.

Ofcom has now issued O2 with a notice according to the Wireless Telegraphy Act for licence breaches. This proposes that if O2 has not met the rollout obligation by the end of June 2008, Ofcom will shorten the term of its 3G licence by four months to August 31, 2021.

O2 acquired its 3G licence in 2000 for just over £4 billion. Ofcom estimates that a reduction of the licence term by four months could see O2 lose at least £40 million.

O2 has until June 30 to meet its obligation.

source:http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/