Category: Networks / Carriers

Three simplify Pay As You Go

You’re going to hear the words “clear” and “transparent” quite a lot on the Press Release below because Three are introducing a new Pay As You Go offer. Basically put, it gives you a set cost for texts, data and calls – you only pay for what you …

Xperia Z Tablet coming to Three

Whilst we have had no official press release, no information on pricing and no video from the team talking about the new Xperia Z Tablet, it has appeared over on their ‘Coming Soon’ section of the UK site thus confirming it will be coming shortly. The Xperia Z …

Sprint launch the Samsung ATIV S Neo

In this US this morning Sprint told us that two new handsets were coming to their network and yes, they’re hopping onto the Windows Phone boat with both feet. The second handset is this, the Samsung ATIV S Neo. We’ve seen it pop up on the web already, …

HTC, Sprint and Microsoft join forces – The HTC 8XT

HTC look to have taken some parts from their excellent Android-powered HTC One here. Meet the 8XT. It’s powered by Windows Phone 8 but has dual front-facing stereo speakers, Beats Audio and BoomSound technology like the HTC One. Available from “later this summer” it’ll go for just $99.99 …

Ovivo ramps up data allowances again

Remember Ovivo Mobile? They’re a virtual mobile network running on top of the Vodafone masts and have an interesting proposition. You pay £15 for one of their SIM cards and then, on some of their plans, you pay nothing else per month. Nothing. We did a feature on …

Nokia Lumia 925 available now on Three

You’ve read our review, you may even have pre-ordered one, now it’s available to buy from Three. If you are one of our good-looking, smart and intelligent regular readers and you pre-ordered it then it should start arriving today PLUS you’ll also receive a free wireless charging stand …

T-Mobile UK have updated their Windows Phone app

T-Mobile UK have had a Windows Phone app for a while now, I gave up using it a long time ago. It was too buggy and packed features. Well today might be the time to just reinstall it. As they’ve pushed out an update to fix various bugs. …

Silence is golden.. sometimes

I’m out in America at the moment. I’ll admit that I’m very lucky, and have had the opportunity to visit a good many times now. I usually plan things out and ensure that my phone, which is unlocked, has a US SIM card so that I can make …

Three add new Ultrafast MiFi

On picking up the latest Three UK price guide today I came across a new device listed which is not even on the website yet and that is a new MiFi using the ‘Ultrafast’ technology. The device is made by Huawei and is called the E5756 and is …

91% of American adults now have a mobile phone

Over here in Europe we’ve become accustomed to everyone having a mobile handset.. maybe two..maybe three. In the US they were slow to start, but now ownership has hit 91% of adults, with Pew Research declaring that 56% of American adults have chosen a smartphone. The stats are …

Vodafone Smart Mini is now available on Pay As You Go

The Vodafone Smart Mini is the smaller brother of the Smart III and it is even more affordable. It is available for just £50 on Pay as you go. Here are the specifications: – Dimensions (mm) 115 x 62.3 x 12.2 – TouchScreen 320 x 480 HVGA Capacitive …

EE ‘double speed’ in action?

A good friend of mine is an EE customer and lives in London. He’s been a good mate for years now so I asked about his new EE 4G contract. Being in London he gets 4G all the time but it seems that the ‘double speed’ rollout is …

Vodafone starts Lumia 925 pre-orders

Vodafone UK have opened up pre-orders for the latest Lumia device. The 925 and the deal below is rather good when you consider this is the 32GB model that is exclusive to Vodafone. Orders can be made now with delivery due on the 12th June, so not long until you …

Three data offline across the UK

We’re receiving reports that the Three network here in the UK has experienced a pretty large issue. Several people have contacted us to say that their data connectivity isn’t working or even being presented. Some are saying that it began to fail last night. We’ve contacted Three for …

Huawei Ascend P2 now at Three

Three have just sent out a press release confirming the new Huawei Ascend P2 is now on sale here in the UK We got hands on the P2 at MWC this year and were very impressed with the design but we’re unable to test the superfast networking due …

Vodafone use clever tracking technology to help save the planet

Down in Newbury 30 acres of land is occupied by Vodafone. Their space-age HQ is simply massive and there’s an F1 car on display outside. Inside there’s information boards which constantly update to show how many calls and texts have been sent over the network and staff are …

The Sony Xperia SP is now available on Three

Three have just announced that the Xperia SP which we reviewed the other week here. The Sony Xperia SP is available for £26 a month with no upfront cost on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan and for £29 a month with no upfront cost on The One Plan. Both …

Let’s go Funkyfast

Three are now branding their dual-channel HSDPA as something different. Something new. Something exciting. Sure, while EE are calling their 4G network “superfast”, Three call theirs “ultrafast”. So what’s better? Ultrafast or Superfast? Well, I’m not totally sure, but I somehow want to create a network myself and …

Three launch a new SIM-only data plan, but we’re not happy

I’ve got a SIM card here from Three. It’s on the SIM Zero plan which the network doesn’t actually do any longer. For £5 I get 2GB of data per month. Sure, I don’t get any calls or texts included, but for my tablet or secondary smartphone it’s …

EU looking to make roaming charges history

We all know that using a phone abroad can be very expensive especially for data. There may be hope on the horizon though thanks to this woman. This is Neelie Kroes and she is the European Commissioner for Digital Agenda. With EU roaming charges already set to drop …

S4 Mini coming to Three

Three have just uploaded a video to their YouTube channel with a hands on of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. It’s only just been announced, but Three have already confirmed that they will be taking it. The S4 Mini features a 4.3 inch screen, 1.7GHz Dual-Core processor, …

EE adds another 12 cities to 4G

Speed. Speed. I am speed. Yes, if you want to be the “Lightening McQueen” in the office then you could dress up and make “Vroom Vroom” noises or, instead, you could get some hard 4G action courtesy of EE. They have added a further 12 cities to their …

EE announce new 30 day 4G plans

EE have just announced new 30 day rolling SIM-only contracts here in the UK. The new plans will allow access to the 4G network without the long commitment. Customers can then try 4G to see how it works for them and sign up to a longer deal with …

Huawei Ascend Mate video overview

Yesterday we took a look at the Ovivo Mobile offering. Grab a SIM card for £15 and they’ll dish up 150 minutes, 200 texts and 500MB data on their Freedom Plan and you pay a big fat nothing per month. When you’re browsing you get an advert pop …

Ovivo on test, just how does £0 per month actually work?

During our continuing look at virtual network operators, we featured Ovivo. They operate on the Vodafone backbone and have a rather unique proposition which has just been boosted with an extra data allowance. It’s simple really. You buy an unlocked phone, then you pay £15 for one of …

Confirmed – HTC First UK launch cancelled

Over a week ago we reported that the HTC Facebook phone – the “First” – had vanished from the “Coming Soon” section of the EE website. We reached out to EE about this and, at the time, they told us that they still intended to range the handset …

Had a big phone bill? It’s nothing compared to this, but..

You may have seen stories about the recent Orange customer who received a rather substantial bill. His Business Sense 1500 plan covered 10 phones and had bills of around £300 per month. Alan and Carolyn Mazkouri, from Swansea, have been with Orange for 15 years. However, one day …

Vodafone 4G launch gets pushed back

On Voda? Waiting for 4G? Looks like you’re going to wait longer. The network wanted to get the 4G network started up either this month or next, but now it has been pushed back until September. This is almost a year after EE turned on their 4G network …

Three dish up some cheap May deals

Fancy saving some money? Who doesn’t eh? Right now Three have chopped down the cost of the Sony Xperia T, Nokia Lumia 620 and Samsung Galaxy Ace. It’s purely for this month, but you can get all three on Pay As You Go and ther Xperia T is …

MVNO Feature – Ovivo. Plans from £0 per month

Welcome back to our irregular look at the various MVNOs (virtual networks) here in the UK. You know what they say, you get nothing in this world for free. Well… perhaps from that nasty rash I had from that girl the once. Ooh.. But what about a free …

Vodafone Smart III is now available

The Vodafone Smart range are at the budget end of the Smartphone market. Not everyone wants the latest and greatest device and not everyone wants to spend a whole load of cash each month either. That’s where the Smart III comes in with it’s basic spec and budget …

Sad news, 4G at 800Mhz fails to kill “Made in Chelsea”

Television, the drug of the Nation. Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation. But hey, things are still looking good for the 800MHz tests that are being performed by at800. They’ve moved onto London and have also performed tests across Brighton. Everything so far is looking good, with no complaints …

BlackBerry Q10 now on Three

Three have just announced that the new BlackBerry Q10 is launching on their network. It is also 4G ready for when their network starts to roll out later this year. Costing £49 up front on The One Plan including AYCE data with tethering and 4G later this year, …

5G approaches, data limits explode.

Want to bust a 1GB monthly bandwidth allowance in just 8 seconds? 5G could be your answer, and Samsung have now achieved a speed of up to 1.056 Gbps for up to 2 kilometres, roughly 1.2 miles. Using a frequency of 28 Ghz they’ve used “adaptive array transeiver …

When tethering is a bad idea

I’m going to see how long it takes for someone to add a comment stating, “You should’ve know, you plonker”, but give me a minute to explain this one. I’ve been using a Three SIM Zero card for quite some time. They don’t do this particular plan any …

EE – Selling your details and location

I’m reaching the end of my mobile contract with Orange. I’ve been with the company since 1995 and they’ve always treated me pretty well. However, this last year I’ve seen my contract price increase and an increased push to get me onto 4G with EE which, strange as …

Huawei Ascend P2 – Release details

Three, already famed for their rather speedy and unlimited data access, are to take the Ascend P2 from Huawei. Now, if you’re a regular visitor (and we hope you are), then you’ll remember that we got a hands-on demo from a rather lovely rep at Mobile World Congress …