The wait is nearly over… Apple’s iPad – the tablet computer designed and marketed by Apple for internet browsing, media consumption, gaming, and light content creation, is now available for pre-order online in nine international countries; Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Both the WiFi-only and 3G versions will officially go on sale from May 28, 2010 plus Apple has confirmed that its iBooks e-books store will also launch in these countries on the same day. This will be followed with the release of the iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July, says Apple.

And importantly, Apple has confirmed the UK pricing for the device (supported by network operators Orange, O2 and Vodafone);

The Wi-Fi only iPad will cost £429 for the 16GB version, £499 for the 32GB version, and £599 for the 64GB version. With, 3G-enabled models priced at £529, £599 and £699 respectively.

Source: GSMA Mobile Business Briefing

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Nokia is suing Apple again saying the firm has infringed five patents with the Apple iPad 3G, reports BBC News Online. The world’s biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia, said the patent infringements involve technology which is used to enhance speech and data transmission and antenna innovations for compact devices.

The two companies are already involved in another dispute over infringed patents relating to the iPhone. And Apple has counter sued Nokia over claims that its smartphones infringe Apple patents.

Apple is also involved in a dispute with HTC of Taiwan which makes the Google Nexus One phone. Apple is accusing HTC of infringing patented technology.

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Source: BBC News Online

Independent mobile phone retailer Phones 4U is selling the Google Nexus One in its stores and online from today (May 7, 2010) following in the footsteps of Vodafone who already stocks the smartphone device in the UK.

The Nexus One from Google features Google Maps, Google Mail, turn by turn SatNav style instructions, YouTube and Android Market. Furthermore, the hardware includes a five megapixel camera with autofocus and a 512MB internal memory which is expandable to 32GB via an SD Card.

Phones 4U spokesperson, Russell Braterman, commented:

“We’re really proud to be one of the first mobile retailers to stock Google’s Nexus One and we anticipate a rush of customers to be the first to get their hands on the phone”

The Nexus One is available from Phones 4U for free when taking out a 24-month contract, from £35 per month – this deal offers 600 minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB of data and unlimited Wi-Fi.

Source: Mobile News

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Mobile network operator 3 has this week launched its refreshed brand in an attempt to attract new customers as it strives to become the premier network for data services – and in doing so, the company has also simplified its brand logo into a single monochrome design that will literally be displayed as the word ‘Three’ instead of in the previous numeric format.

According to reports, the operator has decided to switch its business strategy from being price-led to focus on the quality and service of its data propositions instead. Furthermore, the company is aiming to re-educate the public by removing any previous “stigma” which may have existed in the past.

In addition, 3 is planning to update its tariff structure to include free data as part of the package for the first time – instead of it being an add-on product.

This brand new look incorporates a complete point of sale refresh within all the company’s channels including retail and online.

A spokesperson for 3 said:

“We think the refresh, which includes changing the way we write our name from ‘3′ to ‘Three’, results in a simpler, warmer and clearly internet-focused brand…

… It’s designed to be a more approachable look and the incorporation of Three.co.uk into the logo reflects our drive to be the home of the mobile internet”

Source: Mobile News

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Skype, the internet phone service used by thousands to make free phone calls and video calls has introduced a variety of new monthly subscription services, reports The Daily Telegraph.

The new subscriptions offer the cheapest calls yet to 170 countries and also a new video functionality. Its subscription packages have been increased from 40 countries to 170. The monthly packages include calls to both mobile phones and landlines. At the moment many people use the service on a pay as you go basis and the new rates offer savings of as much as 60% compared to the pay as you go rates.

A package which lets a user call from their laptop or Skype mobile application to anywhere in the world can cost from 69p a month costing as little as £0.01 a minute.

The subscriptions were announced at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco and the general manager of Skype’s Consumer Business Unit told The Daily Telegraph, “This is groundbreaking in terms of prices. We have moved from covering 40 countries in our subscription packages to more than 170 – all while offering up to 60 per cent savings on our pay as you go rate per minute. Previously you couldn’t use our paid subscription service to call mobile phones, the prices were higher and it only covered 40 countries – with prices differing between each country”.

Many people use the free Skype-to-Skype video and phone web service while those who want to call mobiles and landlines around the world without a subscription can still do so by buying Skype Credit or by using the Pay As You Go option.

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Source: The Daily Telegraph

Microsoft and Nokia have launched their first product which comes after an alliance between the two companies. The product is called Microsoft Communicator Mobile software which lets business mobile users see the availability of their colleagues and enables them to message them via email, text, phone or IM, reports BBC News Online.

Nokia and Microsoft decided to work together in order to challenge the dominance of companies such as BlackBerry. Later in the year they plan to offer customers phones which run Microsoft Office.

The new software will run on Nokia E52 and E72 phones which run using the Symbian operating system and other handsets will be developed later.

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Source: BBC News Online

Orange is trying to appeal to small and medium sized businesses by offering them flexible mobile plans, reports v3.co.uk. The business mobile tariffs are designed to allow business users to change their plans on a month by month basis.

The new tariffs offer businesses the ability to switch between services which include unlimited texts, free calls from aboard and data roaming. It means businesses can work out which services they need the most or prove most useful before going into a long term contract. It also means that if necessary small businesses can change their services as their needs change over time.

The new tariffs are available now for new and existing customers who are renewing their contract and come as part of the Orange Business Solo, Business SIM and Business Sense packages.

Business mobile customers can also include specific add-ons including unlimited texts, Orange to Orange calls and landline calls.

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Source: v3.co.uk

According to mobile today, supermarket giant Tesco is preparing for battle with plans to take its mobile phone shops to the streets and take on network operator Carphone Warehouse by opening Tesco Phone Shops on every high street.

Tesco wants to open three new mobile phone shops each week in order to command a minimum of one hundred Tesco Phone Shops by the end of the year in an attempt to reach a target of five hundred shops by the end of 2013 – with 107 already open.

Over this three year period, Tesco estimates it will create 3,000 jobs with the first two hundred Tesco Phone Shops scheduled for Tesco Extra stores, followed by a further 300 expected to open in Tesco Superstores and high street Metro stores.

Lance Batchelor, the chief of telecoms for Tesco, commented:

“We are working out how to put a full service Phone Shop in our Metro stores and we are trialling different ways of doing this. This will give us the ability to be on every high street in the country. With prepay, we were only playing in half the market. Now, with our Phone Shops and the addition of 28 new handsets in our contracts range, we have moved into the whole of the consumer market”

Source: Phones Review

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Last year the Palm Pre Smartphone was launched exclusively by network operator O2 in the UK with the Carphone Warehouse purchasing directly from O2. However, according to mobile today, it transpires that O2 and Carphone Warehouse have now stopped ordering the Palm Pre handset.

Confirming the news, O2 is rumoured to have said that the reason is because they have “enough to meet the demands” of O2 customers. Carphone Warehouse is also said to have confirmed the same.

According to O2’s website blog, Steve Alder, the general manager of devices for O2 said:

“When we first announced our exclusive relationship to sell the Palm Pre we talked about how exciting the webOS platform was and how it was a breakthrough in bringing information from lots of different places together”

However, reports suggest that the Palm Pre has actually struggled to have any real impact in the UK market, and O2’s retail staff have complained of poor sales.

Source: Phones Review

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Hewlett-Packard (HP) is buying the smart phone manufacturer, Palm, for $1bn, reports BBC News Online. The smart phone market is growing fast and HP said they hoped Palm’s webOS operating system would help the firm to expand into the smart phone market. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Palm released its touch screen smart phone the Pre last year but it hasn’t proved a match for the Apple iPhone and it didn’t meet its sales target. This is an example of how Palm has struggled to compete with smart phones such as the BlackBerry and the iPhone.

It remains to be seen if this buy out will improve Palm’s fortunes over the forthcoming years and give it the impetus to compete with Apple and Research in motion for a share of the lucrative smart phone market.

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Source: BBC News online