Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Review: CAT Active Urban rugged phone case for iPhone 5 and 5s

Natasha Cooper writes:

As someone who has been through more iPhone screens than I’d like to remember, when I recently upgraded to an iPhone 5s I was keen to keep it in one piece - for a few months at least. Cue the new CAT Active Urban Phone Case, which claims to protect your phones from falls of up to 1.8 meters using a reinforced material that can also be found in protective equipment for motor bike riders.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Ovum reveals 2014 will be a year of innovation, disruption, and consolidation in mobile payments

Analyst firm Ovum has published its mobile payment and mobile advertising predictions for this year.

Ovum expects continued technology and service innovation, notably around location-based applications, in the mobile payments space in 2014. However, there will be increasing complexity within the mobile payments ecosystem this year, and on-going challenges around the business model for digital wallet services.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 13th January 2014

Arrivals, departures... and a little confusion

Mark Bridge writes:

Farewell for another year, dear old International CES. The Las Vegas-based consumer electronics show is but a fading memory as the mobile industry starts preparing for next month’s GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

However, what happened in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

The Apple iPhone first appeared seven years ago

Mark Bridge writes:

In a way, it’s hard to believe that the first Apple iPhone wasn’t seen in public until this day seven years ago. It - and the trend towards one-piece smartphones with hardly any buttons - seems to have been with us for much longer.

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 23rd December 2013

Something for everyone this Christmas

Mark Bridge writes:

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all thro' the mobile industry
came a sudden burst of news-related activity.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First678911131415Last

Recent Podcasts

Monday, July 14, 2014

Vodafone announces budget own-brand 4G smartphones

Vodafone has announced two new own-brand 4G smartphones: the Vodafone Smart 4 power and Vodafone Smart 4 turbo. They join other non-4G devices in the company’s ‘Smart’ range.

Both new phones run Android v4.4 (‘KitKat’) and are equipped with a set-up wizard as well as a selection of Vodafone apps. In addition, they’re supplied with NFC tags that can be programmed to activate features on the phones.

The Vodafone Smart 4 power is the flagship device, with a 5-inch qHD screen, a 5 megapixel camera and a MediaTek 1.3GHz quad-core processor. It’ll be available on ‘pay monthly’ and pre-pay deals (despite Vodafone's current lack of 4G pre-pay price plans in the UK), with pre-pay pricing from €169 (around £135) depending on markets.

Described as “the most affordable 4G smartphone in the Vodafone range”, the Vodafone Smart 4 turbo is priced from €99 (around £79). It has a 4.5-inch screen and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor.

Patrick Chomet, Vodafone group terminals director, said “The new Vodafone smartphones are ideal for anyone looking for the best 4G experience at a budget price. Put the Vodafone Smart power or turbo together with our Vodafone 4G plans and you have the perfect package: ultra-fast 4G networks, generous data, call and text allowances, and great support.”

Although availability in the UK hasn’t been confirmed, both handsets are expected to be available across Vodafone markets within the next few weeks.

Earlier this year, EE introduced an own-brand £99.99 smartphone called the Kestrel, which was described at the time as the UK’s lowest priced 4G smartphone.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«August 2025»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement