Hasta La Gadget!

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011:

• Vodafone’s very own budget-friendly Facebook Phone, the Vodafone 555, is now on sale. £62.50 is all it will take to get the non-touchscreen featurephone in your fingertips. [via SlashGear]
• A spec sheet and screenshots of the Sony Ericsson Nozumi leaked this week. The handset will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. Interestingly enough, the phone is rumored to require a micro SIM, much like the iPhone 4. [via XperiaBlog]
• US Cellular launched two new Android devices for its prepaid lineup, the Samsung Gem and HTC Merge. The Gem offers a 3.2-inch WVGA display, 800MHz CPU, and Android 2.2 for $140, while the Merge is a global-capable QWERTY slider with a 3.8-inch display, Android 2.2, and more for $300. [via US Cellular]
• Immediately following Google’s acquisition of Motorola, discussion centered around the possibility of the latter company becoming the preferred OEM for Android — a privilege that would, in theory, include designing and producing the next Nexus. Andy Rubin, the head honcho for the open-source OS, put such rumors to bed by offering more insight on the approval process for upcoming Nexus phones, and insisted that HelloMoto will continue to be treated the same as every other OEM; it will have to bid for the job just like every other company does. [via AndroidCentral]
• The Huawei Blaze, a budget Android handset that runs on Gingerbread, may arrive in the UK as early as September. The Blaze would mark the first time we’ve seen the company offer a phone under its own branding in the UK. [via CNet]
• Shocked to hear the Kyocera Echo isn’t selling as well as the company had hoped? Yeah, neither are we. Nonetheless, in the hopes of sparking sales, it’s started offering twelve premium games for free to the first 10,000 downloads as part of its “summer of free apps” campaign. Good luck with that. [via Electronista]
• With all of the buzz rightfully centered around Nokia and its quest for Windows Phone dominance, how bright does Vertu’s future look? If Eldar Murtazin is to believed, Espoo’s luxury phone branch will also be on the receiving end of WP7 devices. The main difference with Vertu’s version compared to the rest of Nokia’s lineup? It’ll most likely be covered with gold and diamonds. [via WMPowerUser]
• The Samsung Galaxy Q, another name for the Gravity Smart, is now available on Rogers. The device is geared toward the lower end, so it may not be the most lustworthy letter in the Samsung Galaxy alphabet. [via MobileSyrup]

Mobile Miscellany: week of August 15, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM was tight-lipped about pricing and availability when we went hands-on at the official launch of their OS 7-equipped Bold 9900, Torch 9810 and Torch 9860 handsets. We still can’t be sure exactly when the Torches will hit British shelves, but the Bold 9900 is already standing proudly up for pre-order at Vodafone UK, along with a commitment to arrive at your doorstep in roughly a week’s time if you take the plunge. However, just like the leaked T-Mobile USA pricing, it won’t come cheap in the UK either: you’ll need to swallow a £41 ($67) monthly price plan on a two-year contract before they’ll give you the handset for free. Alternatively, you can opt for a monthly contract at half that price and pay a daunting £399 ($650) upfront for the phone. Nevertheless, if you’re a BB fan and you’re convinced of this form factor, then we predict you’ll get on well with 9900’s particularly chunky keyboard, high-res screen and top-notch build quality — or you could just wait for our full review.

Update: It’s just been spotted going cheaper at Carphone Warehouse — free from £31 per month on Vodafone or £500 off-contract, also with an August 12th delivery date. Let the market forces ensue.

[Thanks, Roberto and Anthony]

Blackberry Bold 9900 up for pre-order at Vodafone UK, first official price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KPN may have shot itself in the foot, but the Dutch parliament certainly helped pull the trigger. Following a very public brag earlier this year that the operator was using deep packet inspection to throttle service and charge users for unintended network usage comes a massive industry buzz kill in the form of mobile net neutrality legislation. Pending approval by the Senate, wireless network operators in the Netherlands will no longer be able to shiv customers for using that nifty rival messaging, or VoIP service of their choice — Skype and Whatsapp, for starters. The country’s telcos put on their lobbying best to whine the usual lines about higher consumer prices, and shaky quality assurance, but the Dutch government called that bluff. Though the ruling bans traffic discrimination, it doesn’t preclude tricksier tiered data pricing — sneaky little carriers. While this win is a first for Europe, OG credit goes to Chile for paving the way. Not yet banned in the Netherlands? Amazing airports, tulips, and cheese wheels.

[Image courtesy Arbor Media]

Dutch net neutrality first in EU, mobile operators side-eye KPN originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in February, it looked like Vodafone UK was more than happy to get its hands on the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v, but with the impending UK release of a younger, slimmer model, the carrier is giving the 10.1v the boot. According to some helpful tipsters, customers who showed early interest in the thicker version of the tablet have received an “important update” from Vodafone saying, “We’ve decided to add the slimmer Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to our range, which will now take the place of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v.” The landing page for the original 10.1 has also been removed from Vodafone’s website. Looks like it’s a sad day for our friends across the pond who like their tabs with a little extra cushion, not to mention an 8 megapixel camera.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Vodafone UK bids adieu to Galaxy Tab 10.1v, likes its slates skinny originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As if Sony Ericsson hasn’t already had enough headaches with the Xperia Play. here comes Vodafone New Zealand with the announcement that its launch shipment of the gamer-friendly smartphone has been… stolen! We don’t know how many Xperia Plays were in those crates, but it must take a pretty sophisticated operation to snatch up all of Voda’s supply for an entire country. This slight hitch in transportation blatant lie follows an unexplained delay in shipments reaching the UK last month, and will compound shortages already caused by limited production capacity in Japan. Man, imagine how terrible this news might have been if the Play actually had any games worth playing.

Update: It’s all fake. Vodafone recently released some “security footage” of the “theft” in action, which only served to immediately incite outrage in viewers of the clip, and a Vodafone New Zealand spokesperson admitted to The Australian that the company made up the whole thing. For shame.

Xperia Play shipment to New Zealand stolen, Vodafone launch delayed (update: fake) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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