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Online vs In-Store – Buying a phone in the UK

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Buying a new phone can be a daunting experience – especially if you are looking to buy one on contract – and dealing with sales people, advice from your friends and family and working out where to buy from can often take weeks of research and deliberation. Then comes the decision on whether to buy online or buy from a retail store and each has their pros and cons – here’s some things to consider when deciding whether to buy online or in-store. Continue reading “Online vs In-Store – Buying a phone in the UK”

BlackBerry Classic lands at Carphone Warehouse

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The BlackBerry Classic has already launched in the UK with Vodafone, Selfridges and BlackBerry Direct and now retailer Carphone Warehouse has announced it is stocking the handset from today. The retailer has the handset available on a range of contracts starting at just £26.50 per month and is also selling the handset for £329.99 SIM free. Continue reading “BlackBerry Classic lands at Carphone Warehouse”

EE now has 7.7m 4G customers, 80% UK coverage

EE this morning announced that it has signed up 7.7 million 4G customers as it continues the rollout of its 4G network to towns and cities across the UK. The figures show that EE managed to increase its subscriber base by 5.7 million customers since the beginning of 2014 and its rollout continued with 210 new major towns and cities added in Q4 2014. EE’s rollout means they now offer 4G to 80% of the UK and are likely to meet their target of 98% coverage by the end of 2015. Continue reading “EE now has 7.7m 4G customers, 80% UK coverage”

Apple to increase UK and Europe app prices

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Prices for content and applications in Apple’s App Store in the UK and Europe are to rise this week as Apple compensates for currency fluctuations and changes in taxation rates. The Cupertino company sent a message to Apple Developers on January 7th outlining that the prices would rise in all European Union countries along with Canada but will drop in Iceland. Continue reading “Apple to increase UK and Europe app prices”

Apple smashes App Store sales record

Apple has started 2015 with a bang as the company announced it broke its own record for weekly App Store sales in the first week of the year. As noted by Street Insider, Apple sold nearly $500 million worth of apps and in-app purchases in the first week of 2015 with its sales on New Year’s Day also breaking the record for sales in a single day. Continue reading “Apple smashes App Store sales record”

Samsung to launch round smartwatch at MWC?

LG G Watch R vs Motorola Moto 360_fonearena-04

Samsung looks set to follow rivals LG, Motorola and Acer by announcing a round smartwatch at Mobile World Congress in March. The annual conference is likely to see the introduction of a plethora of new mobile devices, tablets and wearables and Samsung’s first round wearable would run on its Tizen OS (and not Android Wear like its rivals). Continue reading “Samsung to launch round smartwatch at MWC?”

20,000 Nokia N1 units sold out in 4 minutes

Nokia-N1

The Nokia N1 went on sale in China earlier today and revealed that the Nokia brand still has the market appeal as all 20,000 units in the first batch of Nokia N1 sold out in just 4 minutes after pre-orders opened. Continue reading “20,000 Nokia N1 units sold out in 4 minutes”

Apple UK market share hits record high

Shortly after the global launch of the iPhone 6, Apple called its latest smartphone the greatest yet and according to recent figures, this has translated into sales and a noticeable improvement in Apple’s UK market share. Kantar Worldpanel Comtech report that strong sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus resulted in Apple’s market share reaching 42.5 percent in November. Continue reading “Apple UK market share hits record high”

Nokia N1 launches 28 Jan in China, pre-orders tomorrow

Nokia N1

Nokia’s return to the hardware market looks set to become official later this month as the N1 tablet will begin shipping in China on January 28th. Pre-orders for the Nokia N1, which is manufactured by Foxconn and sold under the Nokia brand, will begin tomorrow and the N1 tablet will cost 1599 RMB (equivalent to around $258 or £170). Continue reading “Nokia N1 launches 28 Jan in China, pre-orders tomorrow”

Alcatel OneTouch announces Android/iOS compatible smartwatch

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Alcatel OneTouch have unveiled their first smartwatch at CES 2015 this week – named the Alcatel Watch, it is a cost-effective entrant into the wearables arena and unlike many current smartwatches, it supports both the Android and iOS platforms. Continue reading “Alcatel OneTouch announces Android/iOS compatible smartwatch”

LG G Flex 2 exclusive to Vodafone UK, launches next month

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Vodafone have announced they have secured a six-week exclusive on the LG G Flex 2 which was announced at CES 2015 yesterday in Las Vegas. The follow-up to the LG G Flex – which launched in November 2013 – brings improvements to the processor, OS, screen and camera and will go on sale in Korea at the end of this month before launching in the UK next month. Continue reading “LG G Flex 2 exclusive to Vodafone UK, launches next month”

Sony SmartWatch 3 now comes in Stainless Steel

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Sony have today unveiled an updated version of their Android Wear powered Smartwatch 3 which aims to solve a large criticism leveraged towards the Android Wear device. Announced today, the Smartwatch 3 now comes in a fetching Stainless Steel option which offers an alternative to the rather plain silicone strap version currently available. Continue reading “Sony SmartWatch 3 now comes in Stainless Steel”

Spain and New Zealand join Three UK Feel At Home Roaming

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A sure fire way to run up a large phone bill is to use your smartphone abroad and whilst plans such as Vodafone EuroTraveller help to reduce this, there’s nothing quite like zero roaming charges. It might seem fanciful being able to use your minutes, texts and data abroad for free but if you’re on Three UK, Feel At Home roaming allows you to do just this. Continue reading “Spain and New Zealand join Three UK Feel At Home Roaming”

Entry-level HTC Desire 320 announced

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It’s not the HTC One M9 that everyone was expecting but as expected, HTC have expanded their Desire range with the entry-level Desire 320. The successor to the Desire 310, the Desire 320 aims to pick up where it’s predecessor left off and offer HTC’s Android experience at a low price point and will be available in the UK and Germany. Continue reading “Entry-level HTC Desire 320 announced”

Motorola Moto G 4G LTE now available from Three UK

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Motorola’s budget Moto G handset was one of the best value-for-money devices when it was announced back at the end of 2013 but came without support for the next-generation 4G LTE network. The Moto G 4G was announced six months later with some feature upgrades and this handset is now available in the UK from network Three. Continue reading “Motorola Moto G 4G LTE now available from Three UK”