Everything Everywhere launches a new company brand, LTE in Britain

Everything Everywhere, the UK telecommunication company that was formed following the merger of T-Mobile and Orange UK, today announced a new company brand and details of their LTE network, the first in Britain. The company will from today be called EE, though the T-Mobile and Orange brands will continue to co-exist. EE is positioning the new brand as one focused on delivering super fast broadband via fiber and 4G LTE service.

EE’s 4G network will be switched on for trials today in London, with more cities joining at a later date. In addition to London, EE aims to launch LTE Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Southampton, Hull, Nottingham and Derby by Christmas of this year. They aim to provide a coverage for 20 million people, a third of the population of Britain, by the end of the year.

EE has insisted that the new brand will allow them to tap other markets, including fibre and broadband as well as other new categories. While the 700 T-Mobile, Orange and Everything Everywhere stores will be rebranded to EE, there will be three distinct brands for consumers, with EE focused primarily on the top-end of the spectrum. Phones confirmed to be launching on the network includes the Samsung Galaxy S III LTE, HTC One XL, Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 920.

Press release after the jump.

Continue reading “Everything Everywhere launches a new company brand, LTE in Britain”

Smartphones running Firefox OS to cost between $100 and $115

Mozilla, the company that gave birth to Firefox at the turn of the century, wants to make smartphones cheaper for people living in emerging economies. To do that, they’re writing their own mobile operating system, dubbed Firefox OS, and partnering with operators and Chinese handset makers. According to The New York Times, the company aims to make devices that retail for $100 to $115. It’s pretty obvious that you’re not going to get anything high end at that price point, but that’s not the goal here. We should see these devices start hitting the market in 2013, but should consumers actually care?

Companies like ZTE, Huawei, Lenovo, and some local brands like Micromax in India, are already selling sub $100 Android smartphones. They come with Google’s services preinstalled, they come with access to the Google Play Store, they basically come with everything a person needs to live an online lifestyle. Mozilla on the other hand, being an open source company, is obsessed with a certain ideology, that everything should be free and equal. Sadly that’s not how the world works. Firefox OS might end up being the most awesome HTML5 technology demo to ever be created, but do you really think that people living in parts of the world where $150 phones are considered expensive don’t really care about that?

Then there’s the whole aspirational thing. Would you, as someone with hardly any personal possessions, be seen walking down the street with a Samsung or with a no-name Chinese handset that looks like a knock-off of a knock-off?

We wish the Mozilla people the best of luck, but at the same time we’re trying to be realistic and set people’s expectations appropriately. Open source doesn’t really mean anything at the end of the day. Products matter, not ideas, and anything running Android is practically flying off store shelves.

[Hat Tip: @andreascon]

CyanogenMod rolls out M-Series, monthly taste of stable CM for super users

It’s very difficult for less adventurous Android users to get around stable versions of CM from time to time, the adventurous kind are usually happy with the nightlies. So then others have to look out for third party unofficial builds of CyanogenMod ROMs which are unreliable and can give problems. So the awesome guys at CyanogenMod have come out with M-Series, where they release a somewhat stable version of CM  for everyone to use as a daily driver.

Continue reading “CyanogenMod rolls out M-Series, monthly taste of stable CM for super users”

Google releases new YouTube app for iPhone

Since the license to include the YouTube app in iOS is over Apple removed the YouTube app in the latest iOS 6 beta, and said it would not come pre-installed with the iOS 6. Now, Google has released a separate YouTube app for iPhone. This app has new UI that looks similar to the Android app with the channel guide UI that shows subscribed channel on the left pane. It also has a search box with auto complete feature and voice search option. The user profile doesn’t have a card-like structure like the Android app. Continue reading “Google releases new YouTube app for iPhone”

T-Mobile USA Launches “Bring Your Own iPhone” Offer

Just a couple of days before Apple unveils the next-generation iPhone, T-Mobile announced a new “Bring Your Own iPhone” initiative including demo iPhone units in its stores, new apps, and enhanced staff training to help iPhone owners get up and running on. T-Mobile is only one of the four major U.S. carriers that does not officially offer the iPhone for sale.

iPhone users on T-Mobile USA have been limited to the carrier’s 2G network due to differences in frequencies between the iPhone and T-Mobile’s 3G network. However, the carrier has been working to update its spectrum to bring advanced 4G HSPA+ speeds to the iPhone and other devices. T-Mobile also touts the increased speed iPhone users will see on their network versus AT&T.

The carrier is also advertising a significant savings for customers switching from AT&T. T-Mobile advertises a $69.99/month Unlimited Talk, Text and Data plan, which is $50 cheaper than a plan from AT&T offering unlimited talk and text and 5 GB of data.

Google Drive for Android, iPhone and iPad updated with new features

Google has updated the Drive app for Android, iPhone and iPad. The new Google Drive for iPhone and iPad version 1.1.0 update brings Real-time collaboration feature finally. This feature was introduced in the Android app back in February. The Android app also have new features. This update also brings option to view richer presentations with animation and speaker notes for these devices. Continue reading “Google Drive for Android, iPhone and iPad updated with new features”

Micromax Funbook Pro Review

After finding success with their 7 inch tablet offering, Micromax has decided to out a tablet more suitable for multimedia consumption. The 10inch Micromax Funbook Pro is aimed at those who require something larger but are still constrained by a budget.

The ridiculously low price point of Rs. 9,999 might throw you off balance and make you think that this is a low cost unbranded tablet but by making some smart choices, the company has managed to bring out something which gives you great bang for the buck. Read on to find more. Continue reading “Micromax Funbook Pro Review”

Samsung Galaxy Note 800 Unboxing

Here is the unboxing of the Galaxy Note 800, Samsung’s latest tablet that launched in India in August. It packs in a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) TFT display, 1.4 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It also comes with a stylus called S Pen. It has a SIM card slot, microSD card slot and has support for voice calls. It has 5 Megapixel Auto Focus Camera at the back with LED Flash and a 1.9 Megapixel front-facing camera. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 800 Unboxing”

Sony Xperia tipo Unboxing

Here is the unboxing of the Xperia tipo, Sony’s first affordable smartphone running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It was announced in June along with the tipo dual, the Dual-SIM variant. It packs in a a 3.2-inch (480 x 320 pixels) 262k color TFT display and is powered by a 800 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It has a 3.2 Megapixel auto focus camera at the back. It went on pre-order online in India last week, but we manged to get one from UK. Continue reading “Sony Xperia tipo Unboxing”

Apple’s Yerba Buena Decoration Shows Stretched iOS Icons

Earlier this week, we reported that Apple had started to decorate Yerba Buena Center with colorful banners for the upcoming media event on September 12th. The decoration have now been completed. At first glance, there seems to be no obvious hints regarding Apple’s announcements, but now a MacRumors reader points that an eagle eyed shot shows stretched iOS icons.

After shrinking and skewing several images, they have seemed to verify his findings. The reader points out that you can see stretched versions of iOS icons including Game Center, iTunes, Music and App Store in the image and provides an example image. Very clever if true.

Speculation has it that these stretched icons hints at a long-running rumor that Apple will be introducing a taller iPhone with a 4″ diagonal screen. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 AM PST on September 12th.

[Image credit: MacRumors]

Next generation iPhone to support global 4G LTE reports WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that the next generation iPhone will include worldwide 4G LTE support. The new iPhone is widely expected to pack in LTE radios like the 3rd generation iPad. The current iPad only supports two LTE frequencies and automatically shifts to the lower speed HSPA+ networks.

Continue reading “Next generation iPhone to support global 4G LTE reports WSJ”

Samsung Galaxy S III spare battery now available in Retail Stores in India


Samsung Mobile India launched the Galaxy S III, the flagship Smartphone in India in late May, 2012. Samsung has announced that most of the accessories for Galaxy SIII will be available along with the phone in retail market. Accessories like additional battery ( 2100 mAh with NFC) was not available till now. But now it is available in the market, so if you want an additional battery for the Galaxy S III, you can get it now. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S III spare battery now available in Retail Stores in India”

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Dual-SIM support surfaces in China

Samsung announced the Galaxy Note 2 at IFA, which is expected to arrive in UK in mid-October. Now, Galaxy Note 2 with Dual SIM support and Dual Standby has surfaced in China for the operator China Unicom. This phone would come with a normal SIM slot and a micro SIM slot, other than the microSD card slot, as you can see in the image above. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Dual-SIM support surfaces in China”

TRAI issues guidelines to service providers to prevent missed calls from International numbers


The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued direction to service providers regarding provision of ISD facility to prepaid subscribers to curb international missed calls, calls from international numbers on winning of prizes or lottery and inform customers through SMS at periodic intervals not to respond to missed calls from unknown international numbers. Continue reading “TRAI issues guidelines to service providers to prevent missed calls from International numbers”

Banners for Sep 12th Apple Media Event Now Going Up

As Apple’s media event scheduled for September 12th nears, the company has already started to make preparation at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco where the event will be held. Apple has started to put up colorful banners on the exterior of the building. The colorful banners seem to suggest that Apple will also be introducing multicolored iPods during the event. The company usually posts colorful graphics signifying its events at the site.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10 AM PST on September 12th.

[Image credit: AppleInsider]