Category: Networks / Carriers

Voda deny MVNO exit claim

Earlier today TalkTalk accused Vodafone of quitting all MVNO activity. In documents relating to the BT/EE merger, TalkTalk had info to suggest that Voda had served notice on Sainsburys and Carphone Warehouse following the discontinuation of service for TalkTalk. We now understand that Vodafone is in the process …

ther hz Bin a crash lolz. Pls cum qix sum1 iz hurt.

You may have seen the headlines today and, by the way they’re written, you may be of the belief that kids will soon be able to send messages littered with “text speak” to the 999 emergency number. It’s not quite going to be that way.. hopefully. If I’m …

Three launch new 8GB plan

For a long time now Three have been the network many people flock to for All You Can Eat (AYCE) data. The popular One Plan may be no more, but customers still got AYCE on the phone and up to 4GB for tethering. But what if that 4GB was …

Three looking to students to #makeitright

Three are offering students up to £1000 of tech in a competition to help improve the mobile industry. It is another step in their #makeitright campaign. The network is allowing students to fill in an online form with their ideas and the best 5 will be selected to …

Vodafone completes 100 remote not-spot fixes

About a year ago we covered the not-spot fixing being undertaken by Vodafone. Rural hamlets and villages, traditionally lacking any kind of signal, were getting outdoor “Sure Signal” boxes installed to boost coverage. The “Open Sure Signal” tech delivers 3G and voice / text coverage by hooking into …

Vodafone offer up the S6 edge – 32GB version

This is the 64GB Samsung Galaxy S6 edge on Vodafone. It was, until recently, the lowest capacity version on the network and would’ve set you back £41 per month with £149 up-front. That’ll get you 500MB data, unlimited texts and 500 minutes. However, if you want to spend …

Data roaming charges may actually get ditched this time – EU

Following a massive U-turn on the last attempt, the EU has today announced that data roaming charges will be dropped from June 2017. Other roaming charges, including calls and texts, are set to have additional charges removed too. For years this has been a massive cash cow for …

Got an LG G3 on O2? Notice any signal strangeness?

So, I wanted to put this out there as I think I could be going mad.  I have an LG G3. It’s on O2 and, for reasons I can’t quite explain, it keeps dropping signal. I’ve done the usual tricks – swapped the SIM card, reset the phone, …

Vodafone change excess call and text charges

Due to Ofcom changing the way service numbers (0845, 0870 etc) Vodafone are simplifying their excess charges. These out of bundle charges are what you pay if you exceed your monthly allowance or if you don’t have one. From the 10th August 2015 there will be a single …

BT Mobile decide to water down free BT Sports offering

With BT looking to takeover EE, all eyes were on their initial MVNO pricing and plans. For me personally, I try hard not to have anything to do with the company, but those that have already dived in appear to have been burned. Initially BT told us that …

The EE Power Bars return

If you’re on a train, on a bus or simply walking around town then you’ll know that looking down and spotting a “5% charge remaining” on your smartphone means that it’s time to panic. EE were previously handing out mobile chargers, which they called Power Bars. They proved …

Vodafone Smart ultra 6 – Review

Come, take a seat my friends, because something is happening again in the mobile industry. When I was young kid (when) started a little website called Coolsmartphone. It was all about a network-branded smartphone called the SPV. For years after we saw networks branding their logo onto phones …

Vodafone announce the Smart ultra 6 – Hi-specs, low-price.

Vodafone have just announced another branded handset – the Smart ultra 6. Perhaps the best part is the fact that this 4G, octa-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm CPU handset is just £125 on Pay As You Go. Yes, I did say Qualcomm. It’s also available to buy as of today. …

Huawei announce the T1 10″ tablet

How about a tablet with a 10″ IPS screen, Qualcomm quad-core 1.2GHz CPU and 4G connectivity for just £22.50 on a pay monthly deal with a £22.99 up-front cost? O2 will soon be selling the new Huawei T1 10″ tablet in white. It’s powered by Android 4.4 KitKat, …

EE announce Harrier branded tablet

Not long ago EE announced two new devices – the Harrier and Harrier mini. Now the network has added a new tablet to their range called the Harrier Tab and it costs £199 on PAYG, or £18 a month on contract giving 10GB a month. Specifications include an …

LG G4 Photo special – Teaser

Anyone who follows me on social media (I’m @mobilemandan on Twitter) will know that I love my phone photography. I am by no means a pro at it, and I’m still learning the different settings from ISO to shutter speed. However, with smartphone camera technology getting better all …

EE Osprey Mini 2 review

Getting online these days is more important than it ever was before, in some cases being able to get online for email and browsing is more important than a phone call or text message. There are a few ways to get online if you have a tablet or …

Vodafone SIMs become flexible

Vodafone SIM only deals are becoming more flexible. I don’t mean the SIM card will bend more (please don’t try that at home), rather Vodafone are relaxing the upgrade rules. Previously if you were on a 12 month SIM only plan then you could only upgrade to a …

Vodafone announce Connect home broadband

Vodafone today became the latest network to join the home broadband market, with their Connect offer. Vodafone Connect is a fibre service offering speeds of up to 76 Mbps with unlimited downloads. https://youtu.be/Ysjo5PsSb3I Rather than charging for different usage amounts, Vodafone have different tiers based on speeds, up …

Carphone Warehouse’s iD network to stock Huawei P8

  Huawei has just announced that its new flagship smartphone, the P8. Our very own James reviewed here and it’s now available for pre-order exclusively on iD, the new network from Carphone Warehouse. It costs £21.50 on a almost unheard of 12 month contract, which gives you 300 mins, 5000 …

Three vow to #makeitright

Three have today launched their latest advertising campaign featuring purple character ‘Jackson’ and will air tonight at 9:30pm in the UK. The new motto for the brand and advert is #makeitright where Three want to take on the challenges of the mobile industry….and if something sucks….they want to …

Tesco Mobile proper sticks the boot into Three

Yesterday we detailed the move by Three to tweak their terms and conditions and allow mid-contract price hikes. Now Tesco Mobile, an MVNO running on O2, have given us their take on all this. Other networks have “amended” their terms and conditions to allow increases in line with …

Alcatel OneTouch PIXI 3 (4) now available on O2

It’s been just a couple of weeks since we told you about the cheap and cheerful PIXI 3. This is the PIXI 3 (4) version, which basically means you’re getting a 4″ 480×800 pixel screen at 233 PPI. The phone is also available with a slightly smaller 3.5″ …

Hey Three. Remember your promise?

In January last year Three were quick to jump on EE mid-contract price hikes that had just happened. We covered the news following the EE fall-out and Ofcom decided to put in new rules to stop it reoccurring. Three were quick to congratulate and stated that… No nasty …

Vodafone unwrap their Big Value Bundles

Contract customers can get the latest phones for a low monthly cost, but if you choose a SIM-only or Pay As You Go plan you can get a better deal. New Big Value Bundle deals from Vodafone all include unlimited texts, 4G access and substantial data allowances. Plus, …

LG G4 up on 3UK too.

OK, OK, following our post mentioning the Vodafone pre-orders, you guys got in touch to point out that it’s on the Three website too. Prices start at £37 per month with the phone free and 4G is available for no extra cost. Three also has an exclusive on …

Update – LG G4 now available on Vodafone

If you read about our afternoon with the LG G4 and you’re looking to get it on Vodafone, here’s some good news. The network will be carrying the new handset and will have a network exclusive on the red leather version pictured above. To be honest, I’ve had …

O2 having signal problems

It appears O2 is having a rough time this evening. The network says it is having intermittent problems affecting some of its customers in various parts of the country including London and Birmingham. You can see from their with their own status checker that there’s a number of …

Get loads of data… for a bit..

If you like your data, check out this deal from EE. Right now they’re offering a limited edition SIM, plus you can win tickets to Glastonbury. Order by 31st May and top up a £10 1GB data pack with 50 texts and 50 minutes of calls. Once that …

18 month SIM only deals now available on Tesco Mobile

SIM only deals, to me at least, usually mean one month rolling plans. However, if you want to lock yourself into a longer deal and possibly get even better value for money, you can go for a 12 month plan. Tesco Mobile has today become the UK’s first …

EE reach 10 million 4G customer mark

UK network EE has announced they have reached the 10 million 4G customer mark. This makes them the biggest 4G network in Europe. The company, which was created by merging both Orange and T-Mobile UK, was a landmark merger for the telecoms industry. It meant that 4G could …

£0 per month is coming back. FreedomPop headed to the UK

A new MVNO is to come to the UK in July, but its a bit different. Called FreedomPop, it will offer free and paid-for SIM-only plans in a few weeks time. I’ve just used their website from the USA to check out what’s currently offer in America. For …

Thinking of getting a signal booster? Wait right there..

You young kids might call it “bantz” now, but I was having a “discussion” on Twitter with a few people about the in-building penetration provided by networks operating on 900MHz. The likes of O2 and Vodafone both seem to get through the walls of my home but, using …

Tesco to sell off its mobile division

UK retail giant Tesco has recently announced a operating loss of £6 billion This is strange really, considering how many pies the company has its fingers in. Anyway, in an attempt to stem to flow the company has already sold its Blinkbox streaming properties, including movies, music and books. The hope …

Today I ran out of data on giffgaff. Guess what happened..

I’ll be up front and honest here. giffgaff have not sent me any cake, beer or phones to say any of this. I’ve started using them because the in-building coverage on my previous network wasn’t great and giffgaff are offering plenty of data plus a fuss-free service for …