Tag: network

Samsung Galaxy Mega now at Three

We have just had the press release from Three UK confining that the new Samsung Galaxy Mega is now available to buy both online and in stores. Available for £37 a month on The One Plan and £449.99 on PAYG,  the Mega might be a big price but …

HTC One X+ 64GB model going cheap – Deal

The HTC One X+ is rather special because of its huge internal memory. It has 64GB, yes 64GB and it is the deal of the week over at Expansys. They are on sale for £319.99 including VAT and delivery here. The specs are pretty good as well. – …

Xperia Z Tablet coming to Three

Whilst we have had no official press release, no information on pricing and no video from the team talking about the new Xperia Z Tablet, it has appeared over on their ‘Coming Soon’ section of the UK site thus confirming it will be coming shortly. The Xperia Z …

Three add new Ultrafast MiFi

On picking up the latest Three UK price guide today I came across a new device listed which is not even on the website yet and that is a new MiFi using the ‘Ultrafast’ technology. The device is made by Huawei and is called the E5756 and is …

EE pass 500,000 4G customers

EE have sent a press release out this morning confirming that they’re 4G network has now passed the 500,000 customers. They are well on their way to hitting 1 million by the end of the year – a goal set by the company themselves. EE also highlight a few other …

Three data offline across the UK

We’re receiving reports that the Three network here in the UK has experienced a pretty large issue. Several people have contacted us to say that their data connectivity isn’t working or even being presented. Some are saying that it began to fail last night. We’ve contacted Three for …

Huawei Ascend P2 now at Three

Three have just sent out a press release confirming the new Huawei Ascend P2 is now on sale here in the UK We got hands on the P2 at MWC this year and were very impressed with the design but we’re unable to test the superfast networking due …

The Sony Xperia SP is now available on Three

Three have just announced that the Xperia SP which we reviewed the other week here. The Sony Xperia SP is available for £26 a month with no upfront cost on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan and for £29 a month with no upfront cost on The One Plan. Both …

EE adds another 12 cities to 4G

Speed. Speed. I am speed. Yes, if you want to be the “Lightening McQueen” in the office then you could dress up and make “Vroom Vroom” noises or, instead, you could get some hard 4G action courtesy of EE. They have added a further 12 cities to their …

Huawei Ascend Mate video overview

Yesterday we took a look at the Ovivo Mobile offering. Grab a SIM card for £15 and they’ll dish up 150 minutes, 200 texts and 500MB data on their Freedom Plan and you pay a big fat nothing per month. When you’re browsing you get an advert pop …

Ovivo on test, just how does £0 per month actually work?

During our continuing look at virtual network operators, we featured Ovivo. They operate on the Vodafone backbone and have a rather unique proposition which has just been boosted with an extra data allowance. It’s simple really. You buy an unlocked phone, then you pay £15 for one of …

Had a big phone bill? It’s nothing compared to this, but..

You may have seen stories about the recent Orange customer who received a rather substantial bill. His Business Sense 1500 plan covered 10 phones and had bills of around £300 per month. Alan and Carolyn Mazkouri, from Swansea, have been with Orange for 15 years. However, one day …

Vodafone 4G launch gets pushed back

On Voda? Waiting for 4G? Looks like you’re going to wait longer. The network wanted to get the 4G network started up either this month or next, but now it has been pushed back until September. This is almost a year after EE turned on their 4G network …

When tethering is a bad idea

I’m going to see how long it takes for someone to add a comment stating, “You should’ve know, you plonker”, but give me a minute to explain this one. I’ve been using a Three SIM Zero card for quite some time. They don’t do this particular plan any …

EE – Selling your details and location

I’m reaching the end of my mobile contract with Orange. I’ve been with the company since 1995 and they’ve always treated me pretty well. However, this last year I’ve seen my contract price increase and an increased push to get me onto 4G with EE which, strange as …

Three to stock Huawei P2

Well well well, this is a litle surprise tonight but it now looks like UK network Three are going to stock the new Huawei P2 we saw announced back at Mobile World Congress this year There was no news on this over on the coming soon section of the website …

BT to assist in building the O2 4G network

It’s looking like O2 and BT are getting quite pally in the 4G world. O2 got a slice of the 4G pie in the recent auctions, as did BT, but it looks like BT will be providing a large amount of infrastructure for the O2 4G network after …

Is speed important to you? The results.

Getting a fast car is great. You can beat people off the lights and smile as they stuggle to keep up. Trouble is, in the long run, you’re going to run out of fuel quicker and that guy you accelerated away from will end up driving past as …

Sunday Bargains – Pretty hot T-Mobile SIM-only deal

The guys from T-Mobile have a pretty decent deal on right now. It’s 5000 texts and 300 minutes per month plus another 500 minutes to T-Mobile customers every month. There’s also 750MB of data per month but, right now, they’re giving another 250MB of data per month for …

A couple of rather good Three deals for the Galaxy S4

The Galaxy S4 is just around the corner now and, if I’m honest, I’m looking around for an upgrade. I’ve started looking for a more data on my next plan because I got kicked for going over my paltry 750MB data allowance with my current network… Doah… And …

Ofcom to standardise 0800 and 0845 call costs from mobiles

Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator has announced that they are looking into the standardisation of the “confusing” costs of calling non geographical 0845 and freephone 0800 numbers from mobile phones. Costs of calling these numbers currently can vary from 20p to 40p per minute for 0800 and vary …

MVNO Feature – TalkTalk Mobile

Over the next few weeks we’re taking a look at the many MVNO’s here in the UK. That acronym, by the way, is just fancy talk for a network using masts owned or operated by others. With the shift and merger of Orange and T-Mobile into “EE” you, …

O2 to make mid-contract swapping easier with O2 Refresh

You know how it is. You’re on the bus with your Samsung Galaxy S2 or HTC Desire S and some flash Harry steps on with the latest HTC One, iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4. It’s a pain, but we’re all resigned to either waiting our turn for …

Poll – Is speed what you want, what you really, really, want?

According to Wikipedia EE have around 28 million customers in the UK. That’s Wikipedia numbers though, so I wanted to be sure about this before I started to write this article. The Q3 2012 financial figures seem to have a slightly different number.. … EE is the most …

MVNO Feature – Virgin Mobile

I was having a think last night, which is pretty unusual for me. It was a good think. It occured to me that here on Coolsmartphone we’re always mentioning the major networks when mentioning which new phones are arriving and when, but we don’t mention the MVNO’s – …

EE 4G to double in speed

With other networks (most notably Three) ramping up their existing 3G speeds, EE had to do something. Three are already offering speeds on their DC-HSDPA+ network of around 12Mbps and were keen to state that they’re not in a hurry with 4G because it would only offer customers …

Live at EE event in London

We have been invited to The Royal Institution – Science in London where EE have an announcement to make around their 4G network here in the UK. There has been little information leak out about what this event is for and the only bit of information on the press invite …

Sony Xperia Z – On test by a baby

The Sony Xperia Z is a crackin’ handset. Me though, I’m after the Xperia Z Tablet, which is just as thin as the phone and just as waterproof. Now, just to show how useful the dust and waterproof features are, Three have employed a little baby to fully …

New Vodafone Freebee Rewardz are go

It’s that time of year again. We’ve just lost the weight we added on over Christmas and somehow I’ve finished off that box of broken biscuits. Now it’s Easter, and (with my utter weakness for anything Cadbury) there’s going to be quite a few eggs eaten over the …

Galaxy S4 heading to Three?

Samsung are set to announce their new flagship phone in a few days time over in New York. We are all expecting this to be the Samsung Galaxy S IV which might be dropping the Roman Numeral system and be called the Samsung Galaxy S4. We have just …

Networks rule out unlimited 4G plans

We have said before that data use is on the rise every year. Now the average smartphone user on EE’s 4G network uses around 1.4GB in a month thanks to all the high speed services such as Netflix or YouTube. Three have already announced they are not charging …

Three say “neigh” to data limits

Three have gone a bit pony with their new ad campaign. The new commercial features a moonwalking Shetland Pony (yes, you read that right) and you’ll be able to share version of the ad through an online remix tool – ponymixer.com. It’s to promote the fact that people …

HTC One heading to Vodafone

Vodafone are the latest network to announce availability of the new HTC One device and even have a date of 15th March if you you are me and itching to get your hands on one! We are expecting to hear pricing over the next few days We’re live …

Three confirmed to range HTC One

Three have just emailed us to confirm they will be stocking the brand new HTC One on their network here in the UK.  No real information as of yet but we expect to hear much more over the next few days Also remember the HTC One is an …

EE posts loss of £249m

The UK’s first 4G network, EE, today announced a loss of £249m before tax for 2012, more than double the £113m loss for 2011. Although not specifically stated in the announcement, at least part of that loss will be from the ongoing rollout of their new 4G network. …

Looking for a good roaming deal?

So, you’re going abroad and your normal knee-jerk reaction is to not use your phone. However, if you have to use the phone then you might look for a cheap roaming deal. A few UK operators are adding these add-on plans now, which is a start. My usual …

The EE Juggernaut rolls on, another 27 towns added by June

EE have been the subject of much less than positive press regarding their 4G offering.  From complaints around data allowances to speeds that are less than that being obtained on other DC-HSPA networks, the flak just keeps on coming. One area where EE cannot be faulted however is …

Exclusive – O2 Pricing on BlackBerry Z10. Buy tomorrow

Tomorrow you’ll all hear about the new BlackBerry Z10. It’s a hotly anticipated phone but it’ll be appearing in shops straight away. We’re already hearing that Vodafone will be selling the device tomorrow here in the UK, but we’ve also got some exclusive information about O2. I’ve received …

Free EE 4G SIM with one month free – Give it a try while you can

You’ve heard all the kerfuffle about the new 4G network from EE. You’ve seen Kevin Bacon walking around with his phone and you’ve checked the EE coverage maps. Now is your very last chance to give the network a spin for nothing. Right now, provided you’ve got a …