Hasta La Gadget!

While EE celebrates reaching 1 million 4G subscribers, Vodafone is stepping up its game to get you to become part of its LTE family. Originally limited to London at launch, Vodafone says it plans to roll out its 4G network in Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield on September 28th. On top of that, the operator will also throw in an extra 4GB of data if you join before the end of October. Vodafone already offers customers unlimited data for the first three months of their tariff, along with your choice of Spotify Premium or a Premiership football bundle (free for six months), so this will help to soften the blow when that comes to an end. Right now, Vodafone’s 4G footprint is still relatively small but it plans to push its LTE network live in Bradford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle by the end of the year.

Filed under: Wireless

Comments

There are always a few treats to be had at Vodafone’s IFA booth. This year, the company was showing off the successor to the Smart Tab II — a device we happened to first glimpse at last year’s event. The Lenovo-designed Vodafone Smart Tab III comes in two flavors, a 1280 x 800 10-inch model and a 1024 x 600 seven-inch version. Both devices are running Android 4.2.2, with promised upgrades to Kit Kat when the time comes. The models we saw here in Berlin were also running Bild, a skin that aims to make app discovery easier from within the OS itself, thanks in part to its clustering together titles in categories like Social and Travel — of course, that all makes things a bit tougher to find the first time you boot things up. We did manage to locate the settings panel eventually, though.

There’s a 1.2GHz processor inside of both, along with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, which is expandable via a microSD slot. Both slates also feature front and rear facing cameras, the latter of which clocks in at five megapixels. Both are pretty solidly designed, with fairly slim profiles. The seven-incher has a front-facing speaker grille and the 10-inch version has two on the top of its textured backing. Also, in spite of Lenovo’s input, the company hasn’t branded either device at all. Instead, there’s a single Vodafone logo smack dab in the center of both tablets’ backs. %Gallery-slideshow83279%

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

Filed under: Tablets, Lenovo

Comments

Source: Vodafone (Translation)

It was rumored last week that both Verizon Wireless and Vodafone were having discussions over a possible buyout of the latter’s 45 percent stake in Verizon. Vodafone had confirmed the talks a few days ago. Yesterday it was rumored that both parties might make an official announcement on Monday, which is today. The rumor has turned out to be true. Verizon Wireless has just confirmed the $130 billion deal which will take away the entire Vodafone stake.

This transaction costs Verizon $130 billion, which it will pay primarily in cash and stock. Verizon will pay $58.9 billion in cash to Vodafone, the rest will be covered by common stock to the tune of $60.2 billion. It will be distributed to Vodafone shareholders, subject to a collar arrangement with a floor and cap price of $47 and $51 respectively. In addition to this Verizon will also issue $5 billion in notes to Vodafone and will sell its 23.1 percent stake in Vodafone Omnitel N.V. to Vodafone for $3.5 billion. The remaining $2.5 billion will be a combination of “other consideration.” The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Verizon and Vodafone. Subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, this transaction is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2014. Once it is closed, Verizon will have 100 percent ownership of the largest wireless carrier in the U.S.

Verizon Confirms $130 Billion Deal With Vodafone original content from Ubergizmo.

Weekend reports were suggesting that Verizon and Vodafone had agreed on a $130 billion deal to buy out the near-half stake in Verizon Wireless. Anyway, as was expected, Verizon has come forward with an announcement confirming the deal. The deal and the dollar amount were indeed accurate and it looks like Vodafone will be parting […]

Britain’s Vodafone Group Plc currently holds a 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier in the U.S. Last week it was rumored that both parties were involved in discussions regarding a possible buyout of Vodafone’s stake, analysts believe such a deal might cost Verizon around $130 billion. Vodafone confirmed the talks a few days ago but an agreement has not been reached as of now. According to Reuters, boards of both Vodafone and Verizon have met over the weekend to approve the proposed transaction, a formal announcement is expected tomorrow.

According to the report, under the terms of this deal Verizon Wireless would buy Vodafone’s U.S. holding company, Vodafone Americas, which owns the 45 percent stake in the Big Red apart from several other assets. In order to reduce Vodafone’s tax bill, after acquiring Vodafone Americas, Verizon will sell back the holding company’s European assets to Vodafone. This move alone is expected to save the British telecommunications giant nearly $5 billion. Verizon will reportedly raise $65 billion through a combinations of bonds and bank loans whereas the difference is expected to be covered by Verizon shares. As per sources, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays will aid Verizon in raising the $65 billion.

Verizon’s $130 Billion Vodafone Stake Buyout Might Be Announced Tomorrow original content from Ubergizmo.