Android distribution numbers for October are in and Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean are still short of the reach Google might have hoped for.
At merely 2.7%, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean usage has jumped just 0.9% compared to September, 2012. The OS debuted exactly 6 months ago, and despite Samsung and HTC's best efforts to update their high-end devices, Jelly Bean is still to get proper traction.
Ice Cream Sandwich distribution is also on the rise clocking in at 25.8%, almost 2 points up from last month. With most manufacturers having completed their scheduled ICS updates, we don't expect this number to continue to climb. Especially with the majority shifting their attention to Jelly Bean.
Finally, Gingerbread is continuing to drop from 55.8% in September to 53.9% in October. With most devices comprising this number being low-end droids that would never see an update in their life, this number isn't likely to plummet anytime soon.
For more details and data, click on the source link below.
Google's October 29 event has reportedly been cancelled after a state of emergency has been issued in the US due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy, which will be passing through New York City, Google's venue for the event.
Although Google did not announce the specific purpose of the event, other than calling it an 'Android event', it was generally assumed that the company was going to announce the LG manufactured Nexus 4 smartphone and a 10-inch Samsung manufactured Nexus 10 tablet.
The event has likely been postponed to a later date although we are yet to hear when exactly it will be taking place. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 event in San Francisco is still on track, so we still have something to look forward to.
EE is calling its new service 4GEE and it will launch commercially stating next Tuesday (October 30). 4GEE stands for the services offered by EE's LTE network, which will allow the usual calls and texts, with the addition of mobile data speeds of about 8-12Mbps.
The 4GEE service will be initially available in only 10 UK cities (London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow), but you would be able to buy it throughout the country nonetheless.
Six new cities will be added before Christmas (Southhampton, Belfast, Derby, Hull, Nottingham, Newcastle) with plans to cover 98% of the population by the end of 2014.
All LTE smartphone plans include unlimited calls and texts, user simply pick a data allowance of their choosing. The prices of the new plans start from £36/pm (offering up to 500MB traffic) and going north to up to £56/pm (which gets you up to 8GB of traffic). So, yes, there are no unlimited plans just yet, but the offered plans are expensive enough as they are.
To make use of the 4GEE service, you would need an LTE-enabled handset purchased directly from Orange or T-Mobile or any of their partner retail stores. The only exception is the iPhone 5, which (if unlocked) would operate on 4GEE no matter where you got it from.
EE is not only launching its 4G LTE service next week but it will also be rolling out its new corporate identity. Starting on October 30, all existing Everything Everywhere, Orange and T-Mobile stores will be re-branded as EE stores.
Existing customers will keep their plans and will continue to use the combined 3G network of T-Mobile and Orange without any change (though the network identifiers on their phones will start showing EE).
However, to become a new EE subscriber, you would need to pick one of the 4GEE plans. This is a quite odd move as not that many people have the phones to utilize the LTE network. In the same time there are no EE plans without LTE connectivity and LTE coverage is pretty limited for now.
Google always seems to have something up its sleeve, but at least some of its cards are already turned. The company's October 29 event looks like it will reveal a refresh to the Nexus 7, a 10-inch tablet, the LG Nexus 4, and a new installment of the Android OS.
The month of October appears to be “steal your competitor’s spotlight” month, with almost every major mobile company participating in press conference one-upmanship. Trying to get the last word in before the month closes is Google, with an unveil that is scheduled for the same day as Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 event. Google is tagging its event with the phrase, “the playground is open,” and will likely have a lot of hands on available for attendees. October 29 will be a busy day, so here’s a cheat sheet of what to expect from the search engine turned major mobile player.
Nexus 7
As many expected, the Nexus 7 will be one of the stars of the show with a 32GB model. It appears that may not be the only change to the internals on seven inch tablet, as a 32GB with HSPA+ (3G) support is expected by some sources. This likely won’t be the Asus manufactured $100 model that was previously rumored, but the Nexus has been a leader in the budget-friendly tablet category.
10-inch Samsung-made Tablet
Hiding behind the internal alias of Codename Manta is a 10″ tablet manufactured by Samsung. This project has been the source of rumors for the past month, and it looks as though it may be confirmed at the October 29 event. According to sources reported on by The Next Web, the taller tablet will feature 300 pixels per inch spread across a 2560 x 1600 resolution display. The third generation iPad has 264ppi by comparison. The 10-inch device is also said to come running Android 4.2.
LG Nexus 4
While the handset has been cycling around the rumor mill for the Google event, it appears the LG Nexus 4 has RSVPed. The smartphone will be made by LG and will run with a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor. That, along with 2GB RAM, will power the 4.7 inch device and its 1280×768 display. The device will also sport a 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and 16GB of on-board storage. The Nexus 4, like the 10-inch Samsung tablet, is believed to run Android 4.2.
Android 4.2
The operating system formally know as Key Lime Pie will likely retain the Jelly Bean title of Android 4.1. The OS appears as though it will go at iOS 6 head on by including a panoramic camera feature with support for both vertical and horizontal settings. It will also aim to surpass its competitor with a feature called “content in the center,” which will allow for Play Store access from a widget. Tablet Sharing will also be introduced, essentially creating profiles for tablets that are used by multiple people.
October 26 will be a busy day for tech fans as Microsoft's SmartGlass app hits as the Windows 8 hardware goes on sale.
The free app transforms your tablet or phone into a second screen for the Xbox 360, and will be available on Windows 8 and Windows RT from October 26.
It'll be coming to Windows 8 PCs, Windows RT tablets, Windows Phone 8 handsets and iOS and Android devices eventually, but iOS and Android users may face a wait of several months.
Dashboard
SmartGlass will work with the new Xbox 360 dashboard (which is currently rolling out to all Xbox Live users) and offer web browsing as well as a place to track your gaming facts and figures.
As well as the stat attack, SmartGlass actually allows you to use your tablet or phone as part of certain games – titles like Forza Horizon and Ascend have already integrated the external devices.
SmartGlass can also act as a remote for when you're watching films through your console, streaming other content from the internet or using the newly-launched Xbox Music service.
EE has finally lifted the lid on its impending 4G prices, revealing some pretty eye-watering costs.
The new service will be launched on 30 October, and will feature other treats such as free films weekly and fixed line fibre optic broadband.
The pricing for the new 4G service is the subject most people want to know about, and while it's not going to cause you to need a new mortgage to get involved, it's not exactly cheap either.
For just 500MB of data you'll need to fork out £36 per month, with 1GB costing £41 for the same term. 3GB will come in at £46, 5GB £51 and the top end tariff offering 8GB for 56 pound coins each payday.
Handset Prices
As if the monthly costs weren't already enough, you may need to brace yourself when you cast your eye over the handset costs.
The cheapest, by a country mile, is the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, which will set you back just £19.99 on the £36 per month contract, while you'll be able to get it for free on anything higher.
That's about it for the good news though, as the next cheapest handsets at the £36 per month level are the HTC One XL and Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, both of which require you to shell out £149.99, with the most expensive being the iPhone 5 64GB, which costs £379.99.
Other than the Ascend P1, none of the other handsets can be picked up for free, even on the highest, £56 per month contract. The full details can be found in the table below.
12 month contracts
If you don't like the idea of being tied down for a whole two years, you can opt for a 12 month contract, which will see you pay slightly more each month, but the handset prices stay the same as shown in the table above.
Each tariff level on a 12 month contract will be £10 dearer than its 24 month equivalent, so the cheapest option with 500MB of data will set you back £46 per month, while the most expensive is £66 per month, giving you 8GB of data.
Freebies
It's worth noting that all these tariffs come with unlimited phone calls and texts, but when you consider you get unlimited data with T-Mobile's Full Monty plan for the same cost as 500MB on 4G, you have to wonder where the extra cash comes in.
Of course, with greater speed comes larger downloads, so unlimited data on 4G isn't something that would make a lot of sense at this stage, and of course this new billion pound equipment has to be paid for somehow.
But there will be a lot of consumers wondering why their data costs so much more for a faster connection – at least EE is going to give a free film to download or stream each week, without affecting their data allowance, and other films will start at 79p, rising to £3.99 for the most expensive.
Users will have the choice of 700 films at launch, with 200 new releases, however it's worth noting that all films will only be available in standard definition, slightly disappointing as the 4G handsets sport full HD displays.
SIM-only plans
On top of the 24 month contract, EE will also be offering 12 month SIM-only plans from November 9, starting at £21 per month all SIM-only deals include unlimited calls and texts.
Prises for the SIM-only plans will rise depending on how much data you want coupled with your tariff, more details on this will become available in due course.
If you're concerned about blazing through your new found 4G data allowance in a matter of days, EE has your back, as the network will send you a text once you've ploughed through 80% of your monthly allowance.
You'll receive another alert once you've used all your data, and it will offer you various data add-ons to see you til the end of the month - or you can opt out and stay data free until your balance resets.
Turbo homes
Fibre optic broadband will also be on offer, with speeds up to 10 times faster than currently available in homes and offices.
The 4G service will also support tethering and VoIP telephony, although we can see most consumers veering away from these services if they don't want to impact their data allowance each month.
If you fancy taking EE's home broadband package and a 4G phone plan together you will be offered a discount of up to £120 on your phone plan.
All those that have taken out an Orange or T-Mobile contract in the last six months can jump onto the new network, with the option to upgrade to a 4G phone.
Google has just sent out invites to the media for an Android event to be held on October 29. The event will be in New York at 10:00 AM and will be streamed live on YouTube.
As far as the purpose of the event is concerned, our psychic powers tell us it is going to be a new Nexus device, the same LG manufactured unit currently known as the Nexus 4 we have been seeing for a while now. There is a possibility that there could be multiple Nexus phones this year but other than some rumors we have seen zero proof to confirm that, so we won't be holding our breath for them.
It's likely that Google will launch this new Nexus device with a new version of Android, most likely the Android 4.2 that has been floating around these days. Other than that we expect to hear some updates on the Nexus Q, which has been an unmitigated failure since it was launched during Google I/O, enough for Google to pull it off shelves and go back to working on it. Google could also announce the 32GB Nexus 7 that we have been hearing about recently.
You may have noticed by now that the October 29 date coincides exactly with the Windows Phone 8 launch date and it would be naive to think that's a coincidence. Google must be pretty confident in its product(s) if it thinks it can go head to head with multiple Windows Phone 8 devices on the same day. We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out.
Brace your wallets cause next week is going to be a doozy.
Google has sent out press invites to an unspecified Android event on October 29 in New York.
Following recent speculation, the event is likely to showcase the next Nexus smartphone, which is widely thought to be the often-leaked LG Nexus 4.
Reports have also suggested HTC has been working on a 'Nexus 5' phablet, while Google-branded Sony and Samsung devices have also been mooted.
Multiple devices launches would not be a huge surprise, following widespread reports that Google intends to break from tradition and work with multiple manufacturing partners for the next Nexus launch.
The event is also likely to bring news on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean updates, so it would be a major surprise if there were any mention of the forthcoming Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie OS just yet.
The invitation itself features the Google search bar widget from Android filled with the cryptic message 'The playground is open.' Behind it, and the company logo is image of the New York City skyline.
The press conference will take place at 10am ET (That's 3pm UK time) and will also be live-streamed for the masses at YouTube.com/Android.
We do our best to follow all of the latest Apple October 23rd rumors, including a new Mac mini, a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, and the iPad mini.
This week is off to a flying start with several Apple rumors already “confirmed,” including new Mac minis, a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display, a curvy iMac, and an iPad Mini price list for good measure. All of these products are rumored to be announced at a press conference many think will happen on Oct. 23rd. From the looks of it, Apple may announce a number of smaller, ‘mini’ products at the event
New Mac Mini’s coming
Big fan of Apple’s tiny little Mac? You’re in luck. A new rumor from 9t05Mac points to new versions of the Mac mini rearing their adorable little heads at Apple’s rumored October 23rd event. Supposedly, the new Macs will come in two configurations, with varying memory and processor options as well as a third model for those who want to run OS X Server. Rumor has it that they’ll start shipping immediately after the announcement. Apple hasn’t updated the Mac mini in more than a year.
We assume that the new mini will get some form of visual refresh, but it’s hard to imagine Apple making it a whole lot smaller than it already is. Maybe we’ll get a Mac micro?
(Section added by Jeffrey Van Camp)
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
9to5Mac has also heard from a “consistently reliable source” that Apple will introduced a Retina display-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pro during the iPad Mini’s launch event later this month. It will apparently be thinner and lighter, and offer different combinations of processors and storage options too.
Macrumors.com has found a few potential features for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro on a Chinese website, which claims the smaller computer will still have two Thunderbolt ports, a USB port, a headphone socket, an HDMI-out and an SD card reader; just like its bigger brother. There’s also talk of an interesting battery design — although it’s not elaborated upon — and the report is accompanied by a couple of pictures that, frankly, could show absolutely anything.
Before we move on, it’s best to clarify that we’re talking about a product that doesn’t exist being launched at an event that hasn’t been announced for another non-existent product. That said, it’s logical for Apple to produce a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, but at the moment we don’t know when that will happen.
A curvy iMac
The curvy iMac rumors seems to originate from the same Chinese website, where it’s said that the new model will have a curved shell that’s something like “a water droplet,” which sounds more like Samsung’s design philosophy than Apple’s. Naturally, it too is going to arrive at the small “intimate” event apparently set for October 23.
iPad Mini prices
Finally, we’re onto the event’s main attraction, the iPad Mini. A picture supposedly showing a list of iPad Minis that will possibly be stocked by German electronics retailer MediaMarkt has been leaked, complete with prices and basic specs. In addition to the usual 16, 32 and 64GB models, an 8GB iPad Mini may appear. Each version will have the choice of a black or white finish, and either Wi-Fi only or “cellular” and Wi-Fi.
The most basic 8GB Wi-Fi iPad Mini is priced at 250 euros, and the top 64GB Wi-Fi with 3G or 4G at 650 euros. A quick currency conversion gives us $322 and $840 respectively, the latter of which will probably have seen wallets everywhere twitch nervously.
Just like all the other iPad Mini rumors, there’s no way to know if this is really a screenshot from MediaMarkt’s computer system, and equally we can’t take those prices as final either, as Apple’s US pricing is often lower than it’s European equivalent.
October 23 is one week away tomorrow, which means that if an event is to take place, Apple will start to send invitations out very soon. We really, really hope it does too; if only to put an end to these infernal iPad Mini rumors.
Update 10/16/2012 by Jeffrey VC: Rumors of a Mac mini announcement have surfaced and have been added to the list.
This week, the iPad Mini is rumored to be launching on October 23, just a few days before Microsoft will fully reveal its Surface tablets.
Now it’s October 12, and no iPad Mini invitations have fallen on to expectant doormats, it’s safe to say the Bigfoot of the tech world still isn’t quite ready to make its debut, despite the last rumor on the subject. If indeed, it ever was.
Not to worry though, you can leave the disappointment of October 10 behind and concentrate instead on October 23, as according to AllThingsD’s sources — unnamed, naturally — that’s the real date for the iPad Mini’s unveiling. Apple usually likes to distribute invitations to events a week or so before they take place, so they could begin to appear next Tuesday, October 16.
As the world has done a solid job of promoting the iPad Mini for Apple over the last months (and no, the irony of this statement hasn’t been lost on me), the company will save its money and won’t be inviting the Foo Fighters to return, or even bothering to pop down to the Yerba Buena Center, as the event will be “an intimate affair held close to home.”
Let’s take a moment and say that the iPad Mini is real, and that it will be unveiled on October 23. This is about as close as Apple would dare get to Microsoft’s Windows 8 event, stopping short of erecting a marquee outside Pier 57 on the big day and launching it there.
Microsoft’s Surface tablets are expected to be one of the day’s major subjects, where we’ll finally get to know how much they’ll cost, all ready for a midnight launch. The furore caused by an iPad Mini announcement certainly wouldn’t assist in Microsoft’s quest for column inches or tablet sales.
Right, now you can go back to the iPad Mini being just a rumor. Until October 23. Possibly.
Verizon Wireless announced that the Motorola DROID RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD duo will land on its shelves on October 18. The DROID RAZR HD will be priced at $199.99, while the 3300mAh sporting RAZR MAXX HD will set potential users back with $299.99.
There is no difference between the specs of the two smartphones, save for the battery and internal memory size. Both handsets feature dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 silicon, 4.7" HD screen, 8MP, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. An update to Jelly Bean is in the pipeline for the duo before the year's end. You can see our first look at the two smartphones over here.
The article doesn’t provide the source of this information, but claims this will be the worldwide release, while France will be introduced to the phone in December. It’s referred to as the Nexus 4 throughout, a name which has been circulating since it was discovered in UK retailer Carphone Warehouse’s computer system.
Leaks of the LG Nexus phone have shown it to be similar in specification to the Optimus G, meaning it will have that monster quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, a 4.7-inch, 1280 x 768 pixel resolution display and an 8-megapixel camera. This would represent a major alteration over the Optimus G, which has a 13-megapixel camera.
A supposed prototype of the Nexus 4 showed up in a series of pictures on the XDA-developers.com forums earlier this week, when it was shown to run Android Jelly Bean, but the version number wasn’t stated. Today, the device has appeared on a Russian website, which confirms all the above specifications, and publishes some new images.
October 29?
Leaving the feature list aside, let’s take a moment to consider that release date. October 29 is also the day that Microsoft will formally announce Windows Phone 8, so would Google really want to take on Microsoft in a battle for headlines on the same day? It’s not about who gets the most, remember, it’s about gaining the best coverage, and competing that way would be strange considering it has 364 other days from which to choose.
That said, if Google is gearing up to launch a host of new Nexus devices — from LG, Samsung, HTC and Motorola — then perhaps it will decide to go head-to-head with Microsoft, as all its hardware has already been revealed. It’s also not all that clear whether the article claims October 29 will be the release date or the date of the announcement. Either way, it’s still going to have to deal with Microsoft.
Then there is the question of the Optimus G, as if LG’s Nexus phone is based on the company’s new flagship — which comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich — then it may not want it on the streets beforehand either. The Optimus G is still waiting for its final release date, and rumors include a November date for the US and a December or early 2013 date for Europe and the UK. Any Optimus G-based LG Nexus phone may have to patiently wait its turn.
According to Samsung's JK Shin, the company will announce the Galaxy S3 Mini at an event in Frankfurt on October 11.
Last week, an invitation to a special Samsung event did the rounds, but rather than the company’s usual Unpacked logo and glitzy location, it was written in German and the event itself was to be held in Samsung’s own store in Frankfurt. The slogan across the top of the document was translated into English, and found to say “ So big can be small. And so small can be big,” or words to that effect, plus there was a familiar “S” logo in the background too.
This was all taken to be proof of a Galaxy S3 Mini device, and that Samsung was preparing it for launch at the October 11 event. Now, with a day to go until the mysterious event, Samsung’s Mobile Communications boss, JK Shin, has spilled the beans in a chat with the Korean press.
He appears to have confirmed that the event is indeed for a Galaxy S3 Mini, with TheVerge.com translating the article and finding these words “We’ll be launching a 4-inch Galaxy S3 on the 11th in Germany,” and adding that “there’s a lot of demand for a 4-inch screen device in Europe. Some call it an entry-level device, but we call it ‘mini.’”
You can read the Korean report here, but Google Translate doesn’t do as good a job as whoever translated for TheVerge.com.
Leaked specs recall the Galaxy S Advance
This isn’t the first we’re hearing of the Galaxy S3 Mini though, as it has previously been leaked after it was spotted in T-Mobile Netherlands computer system, where it was listed as having a 4-inch screen with an 800 x 480 pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1GHz, dual-core processor. Sammobile.com also repeated these specs in its own leak, and added a possible 250 euro/$320 price tag for good measure.
While this spec list is a considerable step down from the Galaxy S3 we’re already familiar with, that low-end price tag is less than half the cost of the full-size model, potentially pitting the S3 Mini up against Apple’s cheaper iPhone 4S, and leaving the iPhone 5 to its big brother.
The only thing is, the above specification is almost identical to the Galaxy S Advance, a re-worked version of the original Galaxy S which was released earlier this year. Could Samsung be taking the S Advance’s internals and popping them inside an S3-style body, purely to pull the range together and make it easier for the marketing folk? If so, that could explain why it’s not making a big deal over the S3 Mini’s release.
Whatever happens, we’ll find out tomorrow, October 11, when Samsung unveils something small in Frankfurt.
UK network EE will launch its 4G LTE network on October 30, while other carriers wait patiently for the 2013 spectrum auction.
The UK is poised to join the USA and many other countries around the world in offering 4G LTE high speed data to its citizens. This week has seen some important developments, not only because its first 4G LTE network has been given a launch date, but also due to the long-awaited 4G spectrum auction being brought forward to January 2013.
It’s EE, the parent company of Orange and T-Mobile, that has the honor of being the first to switch on a 4G signal. After months of legal wrangling, the network has confirmed it’ll provide a 4G connection in 10 cities from October 30.
CEO Olaf Swantee said in a statement that he was “delighted” to announce the launch of both EE as a brand — a network of EE stores will be opening around the country, through which EE’s 4G LTE phones will be sold — and “the UK’s first super fast mobile 4G and fibre broadband service.”
Initially expected to launch only in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol, delays have clearly allowed EE to boost its coverage, as 10 cities will now see the benefit of 4G from day one. A press event will be held soon, where those 10 cities and the final six expected to join them by the end of the year, will be revealed.
Early adopters of EE’s 4G service will need a compatible phone, a selection of which can be purchased through the company. The choice may be slim, but it’s eclectic, with the iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, the HTC One XL and the Huawei P1 LTE all available now. The Galaxy Note 2 will also be joining them from October 15, and the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 Windows Phone 8 devices will be added later in the year. Eligible Orange and T-Mobile subscribers will be offered the chance to upgrade too.
Tariff prices haven’t been announced yet, and will probably be discussed at the aforementioned press event, but it’s speculated that monthly costs will increase by around £10.
Spectrum auction brought forward
To enable it to be first out the gate with 4G, EE has refarmed its plentiful reserves of 1800MHz spectrum for 4G use. Its competitors, who don’t have anywhere near enough 1800MHz spectrum to compete, are understandably upset with both EE and the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, who approved the deal back in March.
Since then it has been one long round of complaints and threats from rivals, along with hastily formed partnerships — Vodafone and O2 have joined forces to jointly maintain its nationwide network infrastructure, for example — culminating this week in a meeting between them, Ofcom, EE and the UK government to sort it all out.
Competing firms Vodafone, O2 and Three have been considering legal action against EE, a move that would have delayed both EE’s 4G network launch, and Ofcom’s spectrum auction, which is essential to getting everyone else up and running for 4G.
The meeting not only saw the end of the legal threat, but also the date of the spectrum auction being brought forward to January 2013, which minimizes the period of exclusivity EE has over 4G in the UK. Everybody’s happy, then.
At the auction, all UK networks have the chance to bid on a slice of the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum, which is currently being cleared in preparation for use with 4G. Once the auction concludes, it’s estimated that it will take five or six months to get everything ready.
These positive developments mean Vodafone, O2 and Three will join the 4G party six months earlier than previously thought, with a limited launch being touted for summer 2013. Until then, EE gets to enjoy its moment in the sun as the UK’s only purveyor of high speed 4G data.
Things are about to get a bit speedier in the UK with the announcement of EE's 4G network launch date as 30 October 2012.
The date sees the new EE brand "go live" alongside the super-fast mobile network, which will go live in ten cities around the country (London, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham).
EE says that Belfast, Derby, Hull, Nottingham, Newcastle and Southampton will also join the 4G line-up by the end of the year.
You don't have to wait until October 30 to upgrade though; EE will let you buy the phones now then upgrade to 4G plans once they're available.
Speaking of which, there's still no word on tariffs and pricing for the UK's first 4G network; we'll be pestering EE every day until it tells us though, rest assured.
Of course there was time for a bit of smug gloating about being first to 4G, with Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, saying, "We are very proud to be pioneering, innovating and leading our industry in launching 4G for our nation through our new EE brand."
Samsung's rumoured Galaxy S3 Mini handset could launch as early as October 11.
The tech giant's German branch has begun inviting press to an event on October 11 to see something that Google Translate tells us means "As large and small can be so small can be big."
Luckily we have a German native in the office so we asked her instead. The flier proclaims, "That's how big small can be."
Fun with languages
The latter translation makes a lot of sense because the words are in a structurally acceptable order, but also because the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is rumoured to be not all that mini after all.
With a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen it would only be 0.8-inches smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S3's screen so, if true, the Mini-moniker is a bit of a misnomer.
Other rumoured specs include a 5MP camera and a price-tag of significantly less than the iPhone 5. We'd also say a lower-power processor and slightly less lovely back are a given.
Still, we won't know for sure until Samsung makes whatever it's unveiling official on October 11 and until then we have a couple of reservations - why a paper invite? And why is the invite so creased? (It's an excellent way to hide some shoddy Photoshop work.) And why haven't we got one yet?
Rumour has it that Google will release a new flagship Nexus phone at some point in October.
We've been hearing inklings of our own, bolstered by AndroidAndMe's "three different industry sources" who say that the new device has "already leaked" online.
Before you get too excited assuming that a new flagship Nexus means we're in for a slice of Key Lime Pie, the same sources say that the device will launch with a new version of Jelly Bean rather than a major software upgrade.
Speculate
But the hardware might just be exciting enough to keep us going into the new year; given that it may have already leaked, we're looking at a Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus 2, a cheapo Nexus 7 or perhaps a larger HTC Nexus 5.
It looks like the Motorola Razr i release date will be October 1, as several online retailers post stock information on their sites.
Both Clove and Unlocked Mobiles have revealed they will be shipping the Razr i on Monday, while Expansys claims it will have units in five days.
UK highstreet store Phones4U will also be stocking the Razr i, however it's yet to announce when it expects to receive the handset.
Edge to edge
The Motorola Razr i boasts an impressive edge-to-edge 4.3-inch display, 2GHz single-core Intel processor and super quick 8MP camera.
You'll be able to get the Razr i on T-Mobile, Orange and Virgin Media, with contracts starting at £23 per month with Virgin, but if you want to get the handset free opt for the T-Mobile/Orange £31 per month deal.
Motorola is still in talks with the likes of O2, Three and Vodafone about the possibility of ranging the handset.
The release of a new Apple iPhone, the collapse of service for BlackBerry users. Last October's 4s meets 4 days of outage for BlackBerry? No, today's latest failure in service for Research in Motion's mobile device.
As if to add insult to injury, on the morning of the day when the iPhone 5 went on sale internationally, BlackBerry users across the world woke up to discover that their devices didn’t work anymore.
Well, kind of.
What actually happened was that users throughout Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East had connectivity issues with the BlackBerry Messenger, email and Internet access for around four hours from 8am BST onwards. It took some time for BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion to acknowledge the problem – almost two hours, in fact, before the company Tweeted that “some users in Europe, Middle East and Africa are experiencing issues with their BlackBerry service,” updating around ten minutes later with “We are investigating and apologize for any inconvenience.”
Around two and a half hours later, service was fully restored.
An official statement from RIM offered “our apologies to any customers impacted by the BlackBerry service issue today,” going on to add that “We can confirm that services have been restored and are now operating normally.” It’s not known exactly what the problem was at this time; according to a spokesperson in London, the issue only affected users using specific carriers, with Vodaphone being named in a statement to the Guardian newspaper. John Jackson, a wireless analyst at CCS Insight told Reuters that the outage may be connected with a similar problem that befell the device last October, and suggests that it’s a bad sign of thing to come. “That RIM has experienced another outage is worrisome,” he said, adding that it could be seen as a hint that “something hasn’t been put right” after last October.
Oddly enough, that particular October 2011 outage – which lasted for four days and affected tens of millions of users across the world, embarrassing the company and leading to a public backlash against both Research In Motion and the BlackBerry as a device – also coincided with a major Apple release, this time the release of Apple’s iPhone 4S. While it’s a step towards conspiracy theory to suggest any connection between iPhone releases and BlackBerry outages, it’s definitely a very strange coincidence. Joking about the outages being some inept attempt to divert attention away from the iPhone sales, it’s perhaps woth suggesting that RIM should consider beefing up resources as soon as the next iPhone release is announced, just as a precaution, based on past experience. If nothing else, it couldn’t hurt.
In a public apology to users, RIM’s chief executive Thorsten Heins said that the company is “conducting a full technical analysis of this quality of service issue and will report as soon as it concludes.” The emailed statement ended with Heins adding “I again want to apologize to those customers who were impacted today.”
The HTC One X, the company's flagship Android device, will receive the anticipated Jelly Bean update in October, according to reports.
MoDaCo has word that unlocked devices will receive Android 4.1 within a matter of weeks, while those tethered to a network contract may have to wait until right before Christmas.
The 4G LTE version of the device, the HTC One XL (already available in the U.S. and rumoured to be on the way to EE) is also reportedly in line for the update and may have Jelly Bean built in, upon its U.K. launch.
Slow starters
HTC is notoriously sluggish when pushing out the Android updates, but perhaps the imminent Jelly Bean-ification of the Samsung Galaxy S3 has given the Taiwanaese a little motivation to get things moving.
The Galaxy S3 is also scheduled to receive the latest version of Android next month, while the 4G LTE version of the device, also confirmed for EE, will have Jelly Bean out of the box.
TechRadar reviewed the HTC One X and found it to be an extremely solid device and perhaps the company's best Android phone yet.
It has a great screen, stunning design, Beats Audio tech, the ever-awesome HTC Sense 4.1 UI, a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and a massively improved camera.
However, the device has been somewhat of a sales flop, and hasn't yet managed to push the company back towards its pre-2011 glory days as the de facto Android kingpin.
