O2 reprices 4G contracts, 1GB plans now start at £17 per month
Now that O2′s caught up to its UK competition with the launch of pay-as-you-go and data-only 4G plans, the network’s revisited its standard contract tariffs and taken some sting out of those monthly charges. Two-year contracts now start at £17 per month for 1GB of data (unlimited everything else) and go up to £27 per month for 8GB. These are O2 Refresh plans, mind, so there’s an additional monthly bill that goes towards the 4G handset you’ve opted for. In comparison, the cheapest 24-month contract we could find with EE was £19 per month for 500MB of data, 1000 minutes and unlimited texts, as long as you stump up £30 for an Alcatel One Touch Idol S.
O2′s altered its one-year SIM-only plans, too, now offering 1GB of data for £21 per month, 5GB for £26 and 8GB for £31. Monthly damage on EE for the same data caps are £21, £31 and £41, respectively. O2′s revamped tariffs benefit new customers, sure, but there’s something in it for existing ones, too. Anyone already on a 4G plan will get a bump to their monthly data limit, and those with 3G contracts can now jump seamlessly over to 4G, as long as their plan is for at least 1GB and they have a 4G-compatible phone. And, if they need to upgrade to an LTE handset, they can leverage a 25 percent saving on the outstanding line rental. We know you love tables, and you’ll find one breaking down all of O2′s new prices below the fold.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Via: Pocket-lint
South Korean Court Dismisses Samsung’s Patent Lawsuit Against Apple
A judge representing the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea has dismissed a Samsung lawsuit stating that Apple had infringed on three of the company’s patents, removing the opportunity for Samsung to receive monetary benefits and impose a sales ban on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, reports Reuters. The verdict comes after a August 2012 ruling by a South Korean court declaring that Samsung and Apple had violated each others patents, ultimately resulting in the sales ban of some older products from both companies in South Korea.
A judge at the Seoul Central District Court said Apple products such as the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad2 did not violate Samsung patents on short message display methods and messaging grouping features.
The court ruled against a sale ban on the products and threw out Samsung’s claim for 100 million won ($95,100) in damages.
“We are glad the Korean court joined others around the world in standing up for real innovation and rejecting Samsung’s ridiculous claims,” Apple Korea spokesman Steve Park said.
In the same ruling, the court also fined Samsung 25 million won (approximately $23,785) for violating the “rubber banding” patent that enables a visual effect when scrolling through a document on a touch-screen device.
Last year, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple a total of $1.05 billion after a U.S. jury found the South Korean company guilty of willfully violating multiple Apple patents. Back in March, Judge Lucy Koh struck $450 million from the $1 billion awarded to Samsung after deciding the jury may have miscalculated the damages due to a misunderstanding of patent issues.
A retrial held last month found Samsung liable for $290 million in damages. The company replying to the verdict by filing a motion to halt payment, requesting a reevaluation of the validity of No. 7,844,915 covering Apple’s “pinch-to-zoom“ gestures. The motion to stay the damages however was denied, with a reevaluation of the pinch-to-zoom patent still set to take place.
     |
Alliance for Wireless Power introduces Rezence as its consumer-friendly brand
The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) was formed over a year ago to come up with a wireless charging solution that would allow for greater spatial freedom when charging your favorite gadgets. “A4WP” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue however, which is why the group today announced its consumer-facing brand, hereby known as Rezence. The release states that the name was derived from the words resonance and essence, which tells the tale of how the technology works — that of non-radiative magnetic resonance — and how it can be used to charge all kinds of devices, not just phones. Indeed, the alliance teased us that a major PC OEM has just got on board, and will reveal more about it at CES next month.
The logo, which is simply the letter Z with an electricity symbol running through the middle, will be used on all devices that have gone through A4WP certification. This way, consumers will know that any surface with the logo will play nice with a Rezence-compatible item. Geoff Gordon of Qualcomm, who’s also A4WP’s marketing committee chair, tells us that the introduction of the Rezence brand goes hand-in-hand with the certification program it’s about to roll out by year’s end. Indeed, they’ve just completed their third and final Plugfest, which is an event where electronics makers get together to ensure interoperability of a certain standard. While we’re not sure just what devices will be incorporated with the Rezence technology — that’s up to the individual member companies to decide — it seems we’ll finally be able to see the fruits of A4WP’s labor sooner rather than later. To find out more about Rezence and A4WP, go on and hit the source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc
Source: Rezence
Amazon opens digital PlayStation store in the UK
While Microsoft is slowly ramping up the price of exclusive Xbox One digital games in the UK, PlayStation 4 owners could soon witness the opposite. Following its launch in the US, Amazon has launched the PlayStation Network store on the other side of the Atlantic, letting you buy digital Playstation 3, Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita titles, as well as season passes and DLC, through its website. Although Amazon offered a number of launch promotions in the US, including $5 credit on digital orders, the company isn’t spreading the love to the UK and currently matches Sony’s PSN pricing. However, Sony’s decision to let PlayStation owners shop around for digital titles looks set to increase competition, lowering prices and helping you discover a Knack for finding the best game deals.
Filed under: Gaming, Sony, Amazon
Via: Eurogamer
Source: Amazon UK
UK mobile phone users to get free 0800 calls by mid-2015
Ofcom, the UK’s communication regulator, has toyed with the idea of making freephone numbers free to call from mobiles for over two years, but now it’s finally looking to put that plan into action. In an effort to clear up confusion over call charges, the regulator announced it intends to bring mobile freephone calls in line with landlines, letting everyone in the UK call 0800, 0808 and 116 numbers for no charge. It’s been a long time coming: Ofcom actually began conducting research into call charges in November 2011, but the new guidance comes with a few extra cost-cutting measures when it goes into effect. By June 2015, Ofcom will introduce caps on premium rate calls and clarify the cost of calls to 0845 numbers, encouraging transparency and giving people a clear of idea of how much they’ll be debited when they pick up the phone.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Ofcom
Google Santa Tracker On Android Helps You Track The Big Man Himself Again
It’s that time of year again and Google has launched its new and improved Santa Tracker app. The Google Santa Tracker is available for download now from the Google Play Store and follows a similar vein to Google’s web version of the Santa Tracker (which you can check out here). When you fire up the app, you’ll find it’s a little less comprehensive than the web page, but still contains some nice, Christmas gems.
On the front page, you’ll be greeted by a countdown to the 24th of December when ol’ Santa saddles up and the real tracking begins, however, while we’re all waiting for that magical night, the Santa Tracker app has a set of mini-games to keep you busy including Gumball, Memory and Elf Jetpack. At present, only Gumball is available to play with Memory and Elf Jetpack unlocking on the 17th and 19th respectively. The games appear to be fun enough to burn some time, and there’s Google+ integration as well if you feel the need to share your high score.
The app also apparently includes Chromecast support which will allow you put the countdown on your other screen while you continue to play the game on your device. It’s definitely a cool little app, which will get better as the 24th approaches. You can download the Google Santa Tracker now for free on the Google Play Store so hit the links below to pick it up.
Source: Phandroid
Application: Google Santa Tracker
Price: Free
‘The Room Two’ Now Available for iPad [iOS Blog]
Developer Fireproof Games has released The Room Two for iOS devices, which acts as a follow up title to Apple’s 2012 selection for iPad Game of the Year, The Room. Much like its predecessor, The Room Two centers around puzzle-based gameplay as the player attempts to solved a general mystery left behind by a scientist, traveling through various locations in search of various clues. The game also includes iCloud syncing and Game Center Support for saves and leaderboards respectively, as well as dynamic sound effects that adapt to the game environment.
Welcome to The Room Two, a physical puzzler, wrapped in a mystery game, inside a beautifully tactile 3D world.
The much anticipated sequel to ‘The Room’, Apple’s Game of the Year 2012 and recipient of a BAFTA award, is here at last.
Follow a trail of cryptic letters from an enigmatic scientist known only as “AS” into a compelling world of mystery and exploration.
</center
The Room Two is a $4.99 download for the iPad and is available now. [Direct Link]
| |
Android 4.3 For Xperia Z and Xperia ZL Now Available
A flurry of devices have been updated to Android 4.3 these past few weeks, including the Note 2 variants and now a build of Android 4.3 has been leaked out allegedly for the Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Labelled as a “Commercial&Journalists” build, it’s difficult to tell whether this is the final version of Android 4.3 for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL as the formal build isn’t likely to roll out for a little while longer.
Even so, if you own either of these devices, you can download the build below, which carries the firmware build number of 10.4.B.0.569 on both devices. Links go to the relevant XDA Forum pages so make sure you click through and check it out:
If you do download it and give it a try, we’d love to know how you find it and what differences there are.
Source: XDA (1), (2) via Xperia Blog
GTA San Andreas Released On iOS Today, Android Version Coming Next Week
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is still, to this day, my favourite game in the GTA franchise. I know a lot of people might not agree with me, but when I heard that Rockstar Games was bringing the game to mobile platforms in December, I was overjoyed. As is apparently the natural order in mobile games, however, iOS more often than not gets first dibs on important releases and the release of GTA San Andreas is no different. The game is out on iOS today (available here) with Rockstar promising the Android release will follow in a week’s time.
The iOS version comes in at $6.99, which is a little higher than previous GTA releases, however San Andreas is a far more expansive game than its predecessors. It really is a testament to how far mobile technology has come in the last few years where we were initially amazed that a mobile device could handle the graphics and processing required to run the now ancient GTA 3 and now here we are about to get our hands on the epitome of that generation’s open-world games.
We’ll be sure to let you know when GTA San Andreas finally launches on Android, so stay tuned. What is your favourite game of the GTA franchise? Let us know in the comments.
Source: engadget
Severe Winter Weather Is Causing Delays To Moto G And Moto X Orders
Those of you who live in the States might have noticed a bit of the white stuff (snow, that is) already falling around your area. You might also have heard that up to 62.1% of your country is currently covered in the stuff, which is almost double the snow coverage you experienced around the same time last year. An unfortunate result of this extra wintery weather is that even Motorola‘s factory way down in Fort Worth, Texas, which produces the Motorola smartphones like the Moto X and most recently the Moto G, has been affected, causing Motorola Mobility to issue this statement on Twitter earlier today:
The winter weather conditions near our Texas factory caused product delivery delays. We’re working hard to get people’s orders shipped ASAP.
— Motorola Mobility (@Motorola) December 11, 2013
Unfortunately, this does mean delays to Moto G and Moto X orders, though Motorola is trying to mitigate the situation any way they can. Although shipping dates have been thrown out of whack, they have sent an email to people who have ordered the Moto G offering a free upgrade to overnight shipping and promised to ship the device by December 17th. Looks like Motorola is trying to get everyone their devices before Christmas, but we’ll have to see how this pans out, weather permitting.
Anybody who ordered a Moto G or Moto X being affected by this shipping delay? Let us know in the comments.
AIVAnet 