Mobile Phone Blog:

Well, folks, that’s it for another year. After a week of exciting things happening, and me going squeeeee more than once, Mobile World Congress 2012 has drawn to a close. I’d say that I’m off to put my feet up and sup some sangria (what with MWC being in Barcelona), but since I don’t drink, and since I’m not actually in Spain, that’d be a bit pointless, really.

Instead, let’s have a look back at the smartphones that have been thrust mewling into the arms of an expectant public. And yes, that was an attempt at a poetic birth analogy. You’re welcome. So anyway, let’s look at my top 3 phones of MWC2012, and I bet you can guess which one I ended up being most excited about… (more…)

Right then, we’ve known for ages that Intel we’re getting ready to enter the mobile world, with their Medfield processor, and it’s been rumoured, since last week, that Orange would be the first people to release a phone rocking a Medfield CPU; that phone was rumoured to be called the Orange London.

Well, it turns out that rumour was wrong. Oh, the phone does exist, it’s just that it’s not called the London. Nope, according to Engadget, it’s called the Orange Santa Clara, and it’s the first Medfield-powered phone to hit Europe.

So, the question is, why should you care? What is about this Medfield CPU that makes it worth your time? (more…)

Ooh, now then, here’s something I’ve not heard a great deal about for, well, ages (since last September, in fact): Intel’s Medfield processor. Last we heard, Intel had developed a phone with one inside, to use as a reference design, but nowt’s happened since then.

Well, nothing visible to us consumers, anyway, ‘cos this new rumour (reported on by Unwired View) implies that quite a lot has been going on, behind the scenes. Y’see, it seems that someone is about ready to release a Medfield-powered smartphone on the UK market, and that someone is allegedly Orange. It seems to be based on that reference design that Intel showed off, and it’s purportedly called the Orange London… (more…)

Right then, if anybody is looking forward to the Sony Xperia S (like I am), and is wondering what networks it’ll pop up on, in the UK, then wonder no more! Thanks to Unwired View, we now know which networks it’ll be appearing on, over here in Blighty! So, who’s going to be getting it?

Well, let’s not beat about the bush, it’s O2, Orange and Three. They’ve all confirmed they’re going to have the Xperia S on their networks, which is no real surprise; the big surprise, though, is that Vodafone have said they’re not going to be selling it. Well, alright, they say they have “no plans” to sell it, so whether that means they will do, in future, is anyone’s guess. It seems to be a phone that’s worth getting excited over, too… (more…)

I have, in the past, got really rather excited about the own-brand Android phones Orange punts out, ‘cos considering how nice they are, they’re astonishingly cheap (the one that springs immediately to mind is the Orange Monte Carlo). So, when the news comes through, from their press room, that they’re releasing an own-brand tablet, you’d expect me to get excited about that device too, right?

Well, let’s not jump to conclusions, here, because the truth is, I’m not entirely sure. Y’see, the Orange Tahiti costs 70 quid, on a 24 month contract, at 25 quid a month, and I reckon there’s a very big issue, there. In fact, I have an issue with buying a tablet on a contract at all… (more…)

Hmm, Orange really are getting good at this whole “release a budget Android phone, that is unbelievably brilliant, when you consider what price it is” thing, ain’t they? Their latest offering is the Orange San Francisco II and, well, I’m getting the distinct impression this thing may have surprisingly high levels of WIN…

Okay, granted, it’s not going to give any of the big phones out there (like the HTC Sensation XE) any sleepless nights, but that’s not the point. The fact that it’s only got an 800MHz processor is also not the point. So, what is the point, then? (more…)

The iPhone 4S has taken a record breaking 1 million pre-orders in just 24 hours smashing all previous pre-order records for Apple products, including the iPhone 4 which managed 600,000.

Phillip Schille, Vice President of Apple’s Worldwide Product Marketing, commented: “We are blown away with the incredible customer response to the iPhone 4S.”

The smartphone is free from £46 a month on 24 month contract with 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB data with Orange.

Orange CEO tells all that we could be getting our hands on the iPhone 5 as early as the 15^th October. Stéphane Richards revealed in an interview that the network was told the next generation Apple iPhone will be launching mid-October.

However with so many rumours regarding the device’s release date and with the 15^th being a Saturday we can’t help being a little sceptical.

I can remember a time, not that long ago, when a “music phone” was a specific class of device (side note, it was most likely to have a Sony Ericsson badge on it, too, ‘cos of Walkman), but nowadays, basically every smartphone is a music phone. As well as an internet phone. And a camera phone. And an everything-else phone.

So, the new thing in music phones is streaming music, and Orange are now offering a new streaming music service for us Limey, Pommy customers, according to their press room. It’s called Deezer, and it’s already rather big on the continent, apparently. The idea behind it is similar to Spotify; pay a monthly fee, and you get unlimited music streaming… (more…)

Starting from today,6 September, Orange is refreshing its pay monthly animal portfolios, to include extra minutes and also to offer extra services to new customers.

The Panther plan now has three new tariffs from £15.50 to £26 to provide smartphone contracts at a lower price point. Data allowances have been strengthened to increase the minutes-data trade-off between Panther and Dolphin. ‘Swapables’, apps providing services such as news and music streaming, have come into play also offering up to two free services on the Panther plan, and available to purchase on the other animal plans as extras.

Customers will be able to change their swapabbles every 30 days via Orange World which will be accessible via an SMS link once the customer has signed up to a talk-plan. The Swappables that are available include MTV, The Times, Sky Sports and Sky News, Book Downloads and many more.

The Dolphin plan has had an increase in its minute allowance from its £26 tariffs to its £36 tariffs, and the Canary plan will receive more minutes than previously available in the £26 plans.  The Racoon plan is no longer offering any texts within its tariffs and is a ‘voice only’ option.