LTE: UK: EE to launch first 4G service.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

LTE: UK: EE to launch first 4G service.

EE has confirmed it will officially launch the UK’s first 4G service at the end of this month, announcing the availability of a range of handsets that will be compatible with the new network.

EE is the new 4G brand recently introduced by the country’s largest operator, Everything Everywhere, owner of the UK arms of T-Mobile and Orange.

While the operator had earlier pledged to switch on 4G-LTE in 16 UK cities by year-end, it appears to have held off on announcing an official launch date while regulator Ofcom was involved in ‘crunch’ talks with rival operators.

Ofcom announced earlier this week that all the country’s mobile operators should be in a position to launch LTE services using new spectrum from spring 2013, five months earlier than previously planned. This was seen as an attempt to appease Vodafone and O2, which had been angered by Ofcom’s controversial decision to allow EE to refarm its 1800MHz spectrum for LTE – and therefore launch 4G ahead of rivals.

“This is a significant milestone for the United Kingdom, and for the people and businesses of our country who will now be able to enjoy the huge advantages of superfast 4G technology for the first time,” said EE CEO Olaf Swantee .

EE will launch 4G in ten cities on the 30 October, and will cover 16 cities – a third of the UK population – by the end of the year. It is aiming for 98 percent coverage by 2014.

From today, the 4G ready Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE, HTC One XL and Huawei Ascend P1 LTE will be available to buy on Orange and T-Mobile 3G price plans. They join the iPhone 5 which was launched recently. Once 4G launches, Orange and T-Mobile customers with 4G ready handsets can then choose to move across to the new 4G EE customer brand or remain on the existing 3G network.

LTE: UK to launch LTE services in Spring 2013.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

LTE: UK to launch LTE services in Spring 2013.

UK regulator Ofcom has confirmed that all of the country’s mobile operators should be in a position to launch LTE services from spring 2013, five months earlier than previously planned.

In a statement yesterday, the regulator noted: “Following discussions with TV broadcasters, Digital UK and the transmission company Arqiva, Ofcom has secured the earlier release of frequencies that were previously used for digital-terrestrial broadcasting. This spectrum will now be cleared and ready for 4G mobile services across much of the UK five months earlier than previously planned, from spring 2013. This has only become possible in the past few months as a result of the significant progress that has been made to date with the digital switchover and the clearance programme itself, which has been running ahead of schedule.”

Specifically, Ofcom said that the clearance date for TV transmitters in Oxford and Waltham – which would otherwise prevent deployment of 4G mobile services to around 9 million people in cities including London, Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield – will be brought forward by five months to May 2013. Similarly, the clearance date for transmitters which impact around 1 million people in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh will be brought forward by more than three months to April 2013.

This progress comes in the same week that Ofcom has held “crunch meetings” with UK operators. The meetings appear to have been an attempt to appease Vodafone and O2, which have been angered by Ofcom’s controversial decision to allow market-leader Everything Everywhere (EE) to refarm its 1800MHz spectrum for early LTE services – and therefore launch 4G ahead of rivals. Last month EE launched a new 4G brand and pledged to launch LTE services in 16 UK cities by Christmas.

Auctions in the ‘digital dividend’ 800/2600MHz bands suitable for 4G are expected to start in December, with official bidding taking place early in 2013.

UK: Samsung Galaxy S3 now available in Garnet Red color.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Rare and special, the gemstone Almandite Garnet was worn as an amulet by the ancient Egyptians who believed the stone contained protective powers. Garnet Red holds the delicateness and elegance of Almandite Garnet, in line with the GALAXY S III’s soft curves and smooth lines.

The Garnet Red Galaxy S III , which has been announced for AT&T in the US a while ago,  is now available in the UK SIM-free and unlocked via Expansys. 

The Red variant of Samsung’s most popular Android handset at the moment can be purchased for £429.99 ($695/€540), which is considerably cheaper than the initial cost of this smartphone. 

The specifications list of the smartphone remain unchanged, which means that users will enjoy the same large 4.8-inch screen, a powerful quad-core CPU, and the 8-megapixel photo snapper on the device’s back. You can see it listed at Expansys on this page.

LTE: Huawei launches the Ascend P1 LTE smartphone. Video promo.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

LTE: Huawei launches the Ascend P1 LTE smartphone. Video Promo.

Huawei announced availability of its Ascend P1 LTE smartphone, describing it as “the device compatible with the highest number of frequency bands”. As previously announced, it will initially be available in the UK through Everything Everywhere, with other markets set to follow.

According to the Chinese company, Ascend P1 LTE is being tested on operator networks across Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia Pacific regions. It is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Earlier this year, Huawei revealed aggressive smartphone targets for 2012,looking to ship 60 million devices – compared with 20 million in 2011. Much of the growth will come from its home market, as customers transition from smartphones to feature phones.

The company is already offering a non-LTE version of the Ascend P1 worldwide, and has created a TD-SCDMA market for China Mobile.

Specifications: (Please click on the two images below to enlarge the view)

UK: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, 10,1 inch tablet 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G available on CarphoneWarehouse Aug 22.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

UK: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, 10,1 inch tablet 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G available on CarphoneWarehouse Aug 22.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, 10,1 inch tablet  16GB will be available in the UK on CarPhoneWarehouse in August 22nd in two versions: Wi_Fi only price GBP 299,99 and 3G price GBP 399,99 . In two colors black and white.

RAM (MB): 1GB  The amount of memory available for managing open tasks.

Dual Core Processor Faster performance, plus better web browsing and gaming. Processor Speed 1GHz 

Navigation Navigation Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Source: carphonewarehouse wifi version  and carphonewarehouse 3G version

Sony Dual-Screen Tablet P drops to 199.97 GBP ($313)

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Sony Dual-Screen Tablet P drops to 199.97 GBP ($313).

The interesting tablet is now available for considerably less than half of its initial price and the amazing thing is that this is happening just nine months after the launch, back in November 2011.

The company seems to have given up on trying to make the Tablet P a best seller and, although an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is planned, there is no other similar successor in Sony’s current plans.

The Tablet P has that atypical dual-screen design, two cameras, Nvidia’s Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, while Android 3.2 Honeycomb is running the show. Ice Cream Sandwich update is planned, though we’re not sure when it will be released.

Therefore, anyone wanting a unique piece of high quality Japan-made technology should not miss this opportunity.

Source: Dixons