SAMSUNG LAUNCHES THE GALAXY NEXUS WHITE

Samsung’s latest Android device coming to UK shores 13th February

6th February 2012, London, UK – Samsung has today confirmed the availability of a white variant of the Galaxy Nexus in the UK. The first smartphone to feature Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus White can be bought in a range of stores across the country from 13th February.

Simon Stanford, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division said: “After much speculation, we are pleased to announce the availability of the Galaxy Nexus White which follows the great reception the phone has received since it was launched back in November. One of the things we at Samsung pride ourselves on is the choice we offer customers, and we’ve enjoyed huge success to date by introducing white variants of our most popular models to our product portfolio.”

The Galaxy Nexus™ White offers customers all the features found in the original Galaxy Nexus, from the 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display which boasts a market-leading resolution of 720p (1280×720), to the 5 megapixel camera and super-fast 1.2GHz dual core processor and HSPA+ connectivity so owners can connect to and browse the internet quickly and easily when they’re out and about.

Smartphone retailer Carphone Warehouse has confirmed that the Nokia Lumia 900 is “coming soon” to the United Kingdom, and recent reports suggest the phone could launch as soon as this June. The Lumia 900 was announced during the Consumer Electronics Show for AT&T as Nokia’s latest flagship Windows phone device. It’s equipped with a 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, a 1.4GHz processor, 4G LTE connectivity support, a 1,830 mAh battery, 16GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM. Carphone Warehouse did not reveal pricing for the phone and Nokia has not made any announcements outside the U.S. at this point.

[Via WPCentral]

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A 22-year old student allegedly associated with the hacking group “Anonymous” has been arrested and charged in the United Kingdom. Peter David Gibson is charged with “conspiracy to do an unauthorized act in relation to a computer, with intent to impair the operation of any computer or prevent or hinder access to any program or data held in a computer or to impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of such data,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement Thursday. Gibson is out on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on September 7th to stand trial. It is believed that Gibson was involved on a number of Anonymous’s DDOS attacks against large corporations; the “Anonymous Operations” branch of the hacking group most recently attacked Apple. Authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom have arrested a number of hackers believed to be associated with Anonymous and a sub-group called LulzSec. LulzSec spokesperson and hacker Jack Davis, aka Topiary, was arrested earlier this month and released on bail.

[Via Bloomberg]

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Research firm Ofcom recently released its annual Communications Market Report that surveyed 2,073 adults and 512 teenagers in the United Kingdom. The results revealed that 32% of adults preferred using the iPhone as their primary handset while 37% percent of teens chose to carry a BlackBerry smartphone. Ofcom didn’t reveal whether it was cost or feature sets that drove the preference, however. The firm also found that 37% of adults considered themselves “addicted” to their smartphones while 60% of teenagers admitted being addicted. What was the most visited website on a smartphone? Facebook clocked in 43 million hours of usage in December 2010 alone, according to the firm.

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We’re expecting Samsung to begin launching its flagship Galaxy S II handset in the United States any week now, and on Thursday a render of a white version of the device popped up online. Until recently, Samsung only offered a black hued model of the phone in Europe, but a number of retailers are beginning to stock the new white model pictured above. The Galaxy S II packs a dual-core processor, Samsung’s stunning Super AMOLED Plus screen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the latest TouchWiz user interface and more. So far it has been Samsung’s fastest selling smartphone and 5 million units have already been shipped. Hopefully one of the U.S. carriers have this hue scheduled for launch because we’re definitely fawning over the milky color scheme.

[Via Android Central]

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Yankee Group is set to release its European Mobile User Study next month and the research firm has just provided a quick glimpse into its early findings. Reportedly, 40% of European smartphone buyers plan to purchase an iPhone as their next device. 19% plan to purchase an Android powered device, 17% have their eye on a BlackBerry, and 15% plan to buy a Nokia smartphone. “These findings highlight the continued strength of Apple in the European smartphone market and, in particular, its phenomenal brand appeal,” Yankee Group research vice president, Declan Lonergan, said. “The data also highlights the enormous challenges faced by Nokia and RIM to retain mind share and market share in this increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.” In addition, the firm found that employees argued they are 58% more productive while on long-distance travel trips when they have a tablet in tow. Yankee Group also argues that consumerization is taking over the workplace and that four times more employees are now using tools designed for the consumer market for work purposes — with IT’s approval, of course. The survey involved 5,000 consumers, 2,250 employees and “IT decision makers” in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Read on for the full press release.

Yankee Group Unveils New European Mobile User Study

New survey offering finds 40 percent of smartphone buyers plan to choose an iPhone.

London, U.K. Jun 22, 2011 – Yankee Group today announced the 2011 European Mobile User Study, which is designed to help both European and global firms make better product, pricing and segmentation decisions. The new study polls 5,000 consumers and 2,250 employees and IT decision-makers across five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

Available in July, this new survey offering provides key insights into European mobile user behavior, attitudes and purchase plans. For example, it finds 40 percent of consumers who intend to buy a smartphone as their next mobile device will choose an iPhone. Android-based devices come in second (19 percent), followed by BlackBerry (17 percent) and Nokia (15 percent).

“These findings highlight the continued strength of Apple in the European smartphone market and, in particular, its phenomenal brand appeal,” said Declan Lonergan, research VP at Yankee Group. “The data also highlights the enormous challenges faced by Nokia and RIM to retain mind share and market share in this increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.”

Other study findings include:

• Consumerization is taking over the enterprise. Four times more employees use consumer tools for work purposes with IT’s explicit approval.
• New devices spur productivity. Employees say they are 58 percent more productive during long-distance travel when they have a tablet.
• Mobile users are multi-device-savvy. Most users have more than one device and they access the same services and content via the screen best suited for the time and place.

In addition to the new study, Yankee Group also announced that Simon Rodd is joining the firm as portfolio manager within the company’s European sales team (see accompanying release). To learn about additional open Yankee Group positions in Boston, London and other locations, visit http://www.yankeegroup.com/careers.do

There are numerous reports claiming that the leader of the now infamous hacking group LulzSec has been arrested in the United Kingdom. According to London’s Metropolitan Police, the shadowy leader was a 19-year old responsible for hacking “a number of international businesses and intelligence agencies.” The group took responsibility for Sony’s recent massive security breach and has also targeted a number of high-visibility websites, including that of the Central Intelligence Agency, and has waged war on the U.S. government with another group dubbed Anonymous. Despite the reports, however, LulzSec has denied that any of its members have been arrested. Early Tuesday morning the group tweeted: “Seems the glorious leader of LulzSec got arrested, it’s all over now… wait… we’re all still here! Which poor b****** did they take down?”

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According to AllAboutPhones, Nokia will launch its first Windows Phone handsets in six European countries this year. Oddly, Finland will not be one of them. The Finnish phone maker has said that it plans to launch the new devices by Q4 2011, and the first six countries named include France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands. If your country isn’t on that list, fear not. Nokia has said that it plans to launch as many as a dozen Windows Phones throughout 2012, some of which will pack dual-core processors. We’re looking forward to Nokia bringing its drop-dead gorgeous hardware to U.S. store shelves, too.

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Nokia has lost a patent battle with a Germany-based IPCom that took place in a U.K. court, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. ”As far as we know, this is the first time that an essential telecoms 3G patent was ever upheld and judged infringed in the U.K.,” Bernhard Frohwitter, IPCom’s Managing Director, said. Nokia sees the ruling a bit differently, however, and has argued that IPCom’s claims “[reflect] a severe misunderstanding” of the U.K. High Court’s ruling. IPCom originally alleged that Nokia had been infringing on a tech patent that “allows mobile telephony networks to assign priorities to users.” The German company was seeking damages and an injunction to halt the sale of certain Nokia phones in the U.K., but Nokia said it is confident it can continue selling all of its current devices legally. Nokia believes IPCom’s tactic is to try to trap it into “unrealistic licensing terms,” and that it will “continue to defend itself vigorously.”

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Citing issues with the user experience, O2 UK announced on Thursday that it “will not be selling” the BlackBerry PlayBook. The wireless carrier began notifying customers who had signed up for more information about its change of heart on Thursday. The carrier officially stated: “unfortunately there are some issues with the end to end customer experience,” but didn’t delve further into its reasons for the decision. We suspect it could be the lack of a native email client, an addition that RIM has said it will add in a future update, but we also noted that it felt like an “unfinished product” in our recent review. O2 did say that it could offer the product at a later date, and that it will work with Research In Motion on its BlackBerry PlayBook products in the future.

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RIM has announced that the company’s first BlackBerry tablet will go on sale in sixteen new countries over the next month, including Australia, France, Germany, India, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Its unclear if RIM has any carrier partners lined up or how much the device will retail for abroad. In the United States, Sprint most recently announced that it will begin selling the Wi-Fi PlayBook, and it also has plans to sell a 4G WiMAX version of the tablet this summer. Read

Apple’s new iCloud service — announced during Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote on Monday — will not launch in the United Kingdom until at least the first quarter of 2012. A representative from the Performing Right Society (PRS), an association of songwriters, music publishers, and composers in the United Kingdom told The Telegraph that negotiations with Apple are still at a “very early stage.”

The licensing team at the PRS have started talks with Apple, but are a long way off from any deals being signed … It is very much the early stages of the negotiations and is similar to the launch of iTunes – which began in the US and took a while to roll out to other countries

iCloud will launch in tandem with iOS 5 in the United States this fall.

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RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook will make its U.K debut on June 16th. The 7-inch QNX-powered tablet will be available from a number of retailers, including Phones 4u and The Carphone Warehouse, and the 16GB model will start at £399.95 ($648). iPhone 4u will also sell a 64GB version online for £559.95 ($907), while The Carphone Warehouse will also carry a third 32GB model for £479 ($777). U.K. customers can pre-order the PlayBook from either retailer beginning today. [Via Engadget]

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Good news for those of you reading this from across the pond. Samsung has let it be known that its new flagship handset, the Galaxy S II, will be available in the United Kingdom on May 1st. The company confirms that the S II — which will be knighted with the model number GT-I9100 — will indeed have its processor upgraded to 1.2GHz as rumored last week. Other specifications include a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 21Mbps HSPA+ radio, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p video recording, front-facing camera, and the Gingerbread operating system (Android 2.3). Price was not specified, but Samsung noted that the handset would “be available in the UK across all major networks and retailers.” The official press release is after the break.

SAMSUNG ANNOUNCES UK AVAILABILITY OF THE GALAXY S II

Samsung’s most powerful smartphone yet set to hit UK shores on 1st May

11th April 2011, London, UK – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., today announces that its slimmest and lightest smartphone yet, the Samsung Galaxy S II (Model: GT-I9100), will be available in UK shops on 1st May 2011. The Galaxy S II is the first handset to offer Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus screen technology, the largest, brightest and most colourful screen available in Samsung’s portfolio of devices.

Super slim (8.49mm) and lightweight (116g) Samsung’s Galaxy S II runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and is super-fast thanks to its dual-core 1.2GHz processor. The device’s exceptionally bright screen makes it perfect for watching movies and TV or playing games and looking at apps, with its ground-breaking ‘organic’ LED technology, Super AMOLED Plus also saving energy so you can enjoy watching content without affecting the battery life.

The Galaxy S II is built for multi-tasking, its dual-core processor makes switching between applications and loading web pages such as Google, Yahoo and YouTube quick, whilst superior 3D hardware means games and videos can be loaded and played with ease. What’s more, there’s immediate access to content and services such as catch up TV and movie downloads, thanks to super-fast connectivity and WiFi, with speeds up to 21Mbps which provides increased download speeds, and Bluetooth 3.0+HS which reduces data transfer times significantly.

Simon Stanford, Managing Director, Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “From the moment it was revealed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona there has been a huge buzz about the Galaxy S II, so we’re pleased to announce that it will be available for UK customers to buy from 1st May. Our slimmest, lightest, fastest smartphone is our first device to offer of Super AMOLED Plus screen technology, alongside the most advanced technical specifications including the latest Android OS and a dual core processor. We’re confident it’s a great package for anyone wanting a superior smartphone experience.”

The Galaxy S II also features an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording and playback, Samsung’s patented AllShare technology so you can share pictures, movies, and music with other devices and Samsung’s new Kies Air which lets people manage their smartphone contents from their PC via local WiFi connections.

A new ‘Live Panel’ feature on the Galaxy S II allows aggregation of live web, social networking and application contents to a single customisable home-screen, whilst it’s possible to place all the important parts of your life onto three adjacent home screens which you can switch between simply by pressing and holding on the screen. As with all the Samsung Galaxy family, the Galaxy S II features Samsung Hubs, providing a huge range of entertainment content, advanced mobile games and the ability to manage social networking accounts.

The Samsung Galaxy S II will be available in the UK across all major networks and retailers.

eBay has revealed sales figures for the iPad 2 during its first two weeks on the market. The online auction house created a chart that shows just under 12,000 iPad 2 units were sold during the two week period that it was exclusively available in the United States. The graphic notes that 35% of iPad 2 units sold during that 2 week period were to international customers looking to get an early taste — that figure is down from the 65% of international customers who purchased the original iPad on eBay. Canada and Russia were the two largest importers, each purchasing about 500 iPad 2 tablets. Hong Kong, Japan, and the United Kingdom each bought about 350. Australia purchased 317 iPads last year, but only purchased 110 iPad 2 devices in 2010. The 16GB Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 was the most popular, as it represented 30% of all iPad 2 sales. Apple has yet to release its official iPad 2 sales figures.

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