News - 112 - Mobile News

Budget: key announcements for the mobile industry

The promises were made as Chancellor George Osborne delivered his eighth Budget

Three aims to improve UK’s digital skills with Discovery Spaces

The Spaces will be available in 50 stores nationwide this year, with the first being in Islington and Swansea

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S now available to its business users

The 2-1 tablet runs Windows 10 operating system and can be fixed to an attachable keyboard

Ofcom: Prices could rise 20.5pc if Three merges with O2

Study of mobile prices in 25 countries over a five year period concludes consumers could end up paying a fifth more for their contracts

Hutch to offer up to 30pc of spectrum to seal O2 deal

Reports claim that the Three-owner will seek to win over sceptical EU regulators by offering up additional remedies to allay competition fears over £10.25bn merger

Vodafone creates new Enterprise Security Services division

‘VESS’ designed to help its customers protect their businesses from cyber threats with increased portfolio and stronger partnerships

LG expands mid-range with K8 and K5 smartphones

K Series now increased to four products, with the K8 slated for a UK release over the coming weeks

Manchester tops latest RootMetrics network tests

Liverpool replaced as the best performing city in the second half of last year, while London dropped to 13 out of the 16 cities tested

Vodafone teams with Phillips for connected lighting

Operator will become a global Internet of Things (IoT) managed connectivity partner for Philips Lighting as part of the agreement

Ingram now a true “lifetime partner”

Distributor can now provide full “cradle to grave” management services to the market

Alcatel eyes mid-tier move

Manufacturer drops OneTouch brand as it launches new Idol 4 premium handset

iPhone 6s tougher than Samsung Galaxy S7 in SquareTrade tests

Apple’s handset could not keep up with Samsung’s latest flagships in water resistance tests, however

Apple rumoured to be launching new iPhone SE at March 21 event

Updates to the iPad and Apple Watch are also expected

Samsung boasts “record demand” as Galaxy S7 goes on sale

Flagship range, which also includes the S7 edge, was launched at Mobile World Congress last month

Samsung, Plan and Lebara win big at Mobile News Awards 2016

Korean manufacturer nabbed three gongs at industry’s biggest awards, while Lebara and Plan.com also walked away from the Hilton in Park Lane with two Awards

Child says Tech Data Mobile team is in great shape

UK head hails distributor’s record quarter in final three months of 2015

GfK: UK smartphone market is “bucking the trend”

Market analyst forecasts that sales will continue to grow year-on-year despite global slowdown

Lenovo meets vow to break even after Motorola buy

Prospects for 2016 are “extremely encouraging” as manufacturer aims to expand global presence

Three challenges industry to address its approach to advertising

Operator announces partnership with ad-blocker firm to stimulate dialogue around ad experience

Swantee takes up Sunrise CEO role

Former EE chief will join Swiss operator on May 9 after he left EE following BT’s buyout

Building for a Brighter future

Brightstar CEO Jaymin Patel tells Mobile News about his first year in the hot seat since replacing founder Marcelo Claure and how he is transforming the business

Carphone to spend “millions” revamping its retail business

Retailer’s stores and website platform set for major overhaul

Brightstar launches own accessory brand, M.E.

Mobile Enhancements range described by CEO as “affordable” and “high-end”

IHS: UK broadband connections to grow 70pc in five years

Surge to 15.5 million connections driven by driven by new entrants to high-speed market that offer an alternative to BT

Samsung steals the show with Galaxy S7 unpacking

Manufacturer says it is leading the charge on virtual reality with Gear 360 camera

Tech Data claims Accelerate service can drive partner sales

The new service offers partners tools to create marketing emails and e-commerce sites

Dunne rejects Ofcom chief’s merger concerns

He argues the formation of a “customer-led mobile champion” would benefit consumers

Nimans gives Bury College students glimpse into telecoms industry

The eight students were given a tour of the building and the distributor’s various departments

Exertis “reviewing” future in airtime distribution

The distributor partnered with EE, Vodafone and Three to enter the airtime space in 2013

Tech Data sees yearly global revenue dip by 5pc to $26.4bn

Distributor posted strong end to 2015 as YOY Q4 revenue grew by $150m to $7.4 billion

Mainline comms on track to double connection base since purchase by EE

Airtime distributor’s base set to top 150,000

Morrison leaves as Huawei UK Enterprise Business Group VP

He spent four years at the Chinese manufacturer before leaving last month

Chess, Daisy and Welcomm win O2 Direct Partner Network Excellence Awards

This is the second year O2 has ran the awards, which recognise the achievements of its partners

CK Hutchison set to meet EC & rivals over O2 acquisition

Reports claim the Three-owner will meet with regulators on March 7 over £10.25 billion buyout of UK rival

HTC sold 15,000 Vive VR headsets in just 10 minutes

Manufacturer revealed that virtual reality headset saw a massive response when it went on pre-order on Monday

Global smartphone sales rose 7pc to 1.3bn units in 2015

Sales surged 14 per cent from Q3 and six per cent from last year to a record 368 million units in Q4

MWC: HTC Vive demo

Mobile News was given a demonstration of HTC’s new Vive headset in Barcelona

EE partners with MTV for new prepay SIM

The new SIM comes with a subscription to the MTV TRAX music streaming service

February 29, 2016

EE and Chess gain highest rankings in Sunday Times Best Companies list

Gamma was also featured in the annual list, which ranks companies throughout Britain based on employee feedback

February 29, 2016

STK hits ‘milestone’ with OXXO retail agreement

The OXXO supermarket chain has 14,000 stores across Mexico

February 29, 2016

Huawei Matebook hands-on

Hands-on with the Huawei Matebook at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

February 29, 2016

HTC Vive goes on pre-order for £689

VR headset, launched in partnership with Valve, will go on sale in UK on April 5

February 29, 2016

O2 customer base has now surpassed 25 million

The network revealed the figures in its latest financial results published February 26

February 26, 2016

Mobile World Congress visitors surpass 100,000 for the first time

The total number of visitors at this year’s conference nearly hit a record 101,000

February 25, 2016

Samsung and Vodafone win at GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2016

The ceremony was hosted by BBC presenter Suzi Perry (pictured) and Gadget Show host Ortis Deley.

February 25, 2016

BT must make Openreach more available to competition, says Ofcom

The regulator made the decision in its first major review of the telecoms and broadband industry for a decade

February 25, 2016

MasterCard to bring selfie ID technology to UK this summer

The company claims the technology has had a successful trial in the US and Netherlands

February 24, 2016

Hands-on with the Acer Liquid Jade 2

Mobile News and sister publication What Mobile had a look at the new Acer Liquid Jade 2.

February 24, 2016