Virgin Media outlines Galaxy S 4 pricing, starts at £31 per month with £99 down

Samsung Galaxy S 4 angle

We’ve seen a few UK carriers show their cards ahead of the Galaxy S 4 launch this weekend, but MVNO Virgin Media has been slightly coy with details compared to bigger peers like EE and Vodafone. Better late than never, we suppose: the provider has outlined just how much we’ll have to spend to get Samsung’s flagship. Customers who have Virgin broadband or TV services can pay the same £31 per month as their EE counterparts, getting a lower £99 device cost and insurance in exchange for a more limited service that includes 200 minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of data. When mobile-only customers have to pay £5 more per month, though, we’d think carefully about signing up just for the sake of the GS 4. There are better deals afoot if you’re not already a loyal Virgin customer.

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Source: Virgin Media

LTE iPhone 5 coming to EE and Three in UK, but not O2 and Vodafone

LTE iPhone 5 coming to EE and Three in UK, but not O2 and Vodafone

Brits ready to stake their preorder claim this Friday might have a harder time deciding between the myriad of networks offering the device. While all of the major UK carriers will be ready to offer you the iPhone 5, that LTE radio will only be working on the newly-christened EE from the start, with Three likely to use that purchased spectrum (after getting the okay from Ofcom) to similar effect in the near-future. Unfortunately for Vodafone and O2, the forthcoming Ofcom spectrum auction is gearing up to sell off the 800MHz (Band 20) and 2.6GHz (Band 7) frequencies — neither of which are found on Apple’s multiple iPhone 5 models, and the latter being a bigger problem in Europe and Asia, where LTE networks already make use of the 2.6GHz frequency. However, Apple have followed up an initial phone launch with additional network-specific models before — so there’s a slim chance we could see another model at a later date. All the UK carriers are keeping their contract prices a tightly-guarded secret at the moment, but we’ll update as soon as we hear more. Meanwhile, those on that little European isle can expect to pay £529 for the entry-level iPhone 5 from the source when pre-orders start this Friday.

Update: Pocket-lint‘s been told that those looking to grab the EE iteration will need to initially register with either Orange or T-Mobile, with your service bizarrely migrating across on a later, as-yet unconfirmed, date. This is because its new 4G network won’t be ready when the iPhone 5 first hits shops on September 21st. Before that, you’ll have to make do with HSPA+ speeds.

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LTE iPhone 5 coming to EE and Three in UK, but not O2 and Vodafone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virgin Media unveils quartet of new SIM Only plans for data-focused Brits

Virgin Media unveils quartet of new SIM Only plans for datafocused Brits

It was only in June that we saw Virgin Media shaking up its regular mobile plans for UK residents. The carrier is back for another round, this time to serve the SIM Only customers who thrive on unlocked phones. Four plans starting from £12 ($19) a month all provide unlimited data and text messaging for bring-your-own-phone subscribers, with voice as the only real separating factor: the thriftiest callers get 150 minutes per month, while higher £15, £17 and £25 ($24, $27 and $40) tiers ramp up to a respective 250, 1,200 and 2,500 minutes for chattier customers. The chief gotcha is a lack of bundled landline calling for all but the priciest plan, although existing Virgin Media subscribers can knock an extra £5 off of that rate. If you’re the sort who can’t bear the thought of a contract, Virgin now has you better covered.

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Virgin Media unveils quartet of new SIM Only plans for data-focused Brits originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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