Orange to launch iPhone in UK on 10 November

Orange looks set to release its version of Apple's iPhone 3GS from 10 November, according to industry sources.

The Guardian is stating that it 'understands' the release date will be early next month, which is the day after O2 loses exclusivity for the device.

It's unlikely that the move will trigger any price war though, with Apple said to be holding firm on the cost it wants to deliver the iPhone at.

This means that when Vodafone launches its device early next year, the price is also likely to stay the same, with the networks offering packages around the iPhone rather than further subsidising the cost.

Price war

However, when 3 picks up the phone next year (as TechRadar exclusively revealed last week) it seems possible the iPhone 3GS will be mature enough to take a small drop in price, as nearly all the networks look for differentiation.

The new iPhone will be offered through Orange's online and high street retail chains, and also from Phones4U. The Carphone Warehouse, which is a re-seller of the device for O2, is also expected to follow suit.

We've spoken to Orange and are waiting to find out any more information about pricing and availability, as it seems likely there will be strong interest from Orange customers looking to get their hands on the device.

Source: http://www.techradar.com/

iPhone coming to Orange in two weeks

O2’s era of sole iPhone providership is almost over and on the stroke of midnight on November 10th, their impressive leather exclusivity glove will go ‘POOF!’ and turn to dust. Likewise, their dress will turn into a bin bag, their chariot will turn into a matchbox, their horses will turn into shrews and one of their bejewelled shoes will drop off as they scamper back off to the clutches of their ugly sisters.

Hmm, possibly got a bit carried away with the metaphor there. However, if you’re somehow still reading this, the news is that Orange will start selling the iPhone in the UK from 10th November, the day after O2’s two-year exclusivity deal for the Jesus phone comes to an end.

The Guardian are reporting that it will be sold through Orange’s retail shops and Phones4U, while Carphone Warehouse will continue to provide it for O2 and for Orange. No pricing details have been announced yet, despite what you might have heard from gangs of silver-tongued tariff-jockeys in Carphone Warehouse.

Source: http://www.bitterwallet.com/

Samsung announces UK launch of Samsung F400

Samsung Mobile is launching their latest music mobile phone in the UK, the Samsung F400 which has Bang & Olufsen ICEpower audio technology. The Samsung F400 is a dual slider design mobile handset incorporating the expertise of fidelity sound tuned by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower tech via a slide up speaker that uses Samsung DNSe technology which creates a 3D sound effect and backed by the SmartBass system with full digital amplifier.
The Samsung F400 music phone also features a dedicated music interface that has music recognition by means of FindMusic which allows a user to access their full music library by hitting the music hot key. The Samsung F400 also incorporates Windows Media Player Sync allowing the user to upload songs to a PC, and an FM radio with RDS. The F400 also features the Shazam music recognition application which is similar to that of Sony Ericsson’s TrackID application.

Samsung offers its users of the Samsung F400 internet access to download songs via the 3.6Mbps Download Packet Access – HSDPA which allows the user to download music at decent speed rates. The F400 also has a 2.2 inch QVGA 262K colour display, a 3 megapixel CIF camera with flash, and the usual trusty microSD expansion slot to take up to 4GB card.

The UK launch of the Samsung F400 music phone will initially be with O2, Virgin, The Carphone Warehouse, Orange and Phones4U, and measures 103 x 48 x 16.9mm, and is all controlled via the now standard Samsung graphical interface which is easy with no real surprises.

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