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Facebook Home Now Available in UK and Canada

Wade Keye — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:21:47 +0000

It didn’t take long for Facebook Home to run for the border and make itself a niche in Canada, and it appears to have set sail for the UK as well! Home, unveiled at an event at Facebook headquarters earlier this month, and out in the US since the 12th is now available in the Google Play store. Just like the US, Home will only be available for a few compatible devices; Samsung Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, HTC One X+, One X or One. In the States, the only phone Home comes pre-installed on is the HTC First. So far, there’s been no news about the First being available outside of the United States. But who knows what carriers might announce in the near future. We’ll be sure to keep our eye on this story!

[Via: Engadget]

HTC First coming Europe through Orange and EE

Dusan Belic — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:39:20 +0000

We know that AT&T will sell the HTC First in the U.S. and in Europe, Orange and EE will get that benefit. We’re not sure whether Orange will bring the Facebook phone to all of its markets across the continent, but we do know bits of EE’s plans for the UK. Unfortunately those “bits” don’t include the release date and price, but it’s fair to guess the phone will be offered for free to anyone willing to put his/her signature on a two-year contract.

In addition, HTC First customers with a 4GEE plan will also benefit from EE Film which combines 2 for 1 cinema ticketing, listings, trailers and digital film downloads in one place; a discount of 5 GBP per month on EE superfast Fibre Broadband; and Clone Phone Lite that provides users with free storage to backup the content “that matters most”…

Orange unveils a trio of own-brand Android 4.1 Jelly Bean smartphones

Dusan Belic — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:30:35 +0000

Orange keeps adding new devices to its own-brand range. Just before Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona, they’ve announced three new smartphones, all running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Orange Nivo, Orange Lumo and Orange San Remo. The press release doesn’t have all the details, so we’ll tell you what we know:

Orange Nivo – entry level device with a 4-inch screen and 5-megapixel camera.
Orange Lumo – the first ever 4G LTE Orange smartphone comes with a 4.5-inch screen (qHD or 720p HD – we’re not sure) and 8-megapixel camera.
Orange San Remo – features a large 4.7-inch (most likely 720p) screen, 8-megapixel camera and slim design at only 8.2mm thickness.

The mobile operator group also said that Orange-branded smartphones are selling like hot cupcakes on a cold winter day, with sales increasing by 62%, and market share increasing by 77% across Europe. In Spain, the Orange Monte Carlo was the top selling phone throughout 2012, and Orange’s devices made the top 10 in the UK, France and Romania with the Orange Dallas and Orange Sydney.

The new Orange smartphones will be launching from H1 across a number of Orange markets including Romania, Slovakia and Spain though not all countries will carry all three devices. Pricing and local availability information will be announced at a later date.

Fujitsu-made Orange Stylistic S01 makes Android accessible for seniors

Dusan Belic — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:10:45 +0000

We’ve already told you that Fujitsu wants to bring its senior friendly smartphones to other places outside of Japan. Orange is their first partner to help them do so and it’s launching the Orange Stylistic S01 in France.

The device is water- and dust-resistant, and comes loaded with features to make the phone easy to use by everyone. For instance, there’s a 4-inch screen that uses a “unique screen technology” to avoid accidental presses by requiring users to press as hard on an icon on the touchscreen as they would on a button on a keypad. In addition, thanks to the included sound enhancing mumbo-jumbo, users can hear better – with speech slowing down for fast-talking callers in real time. Plus, let’s not forget a loud personal security alarm that alerts people nearby if a user has fallen.

Specs wise, the Stylistic S01 sports Qualcomm’s MSM8255 1.4GHz processor, 8.1-megapixel rear camera, front-facing camera for video calls, while Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is running the show with a bunch of Orange apps preloaded on the device.

When it comes to availability, Orange will start selling Fujitsu’s phone in June and we’re sure that after France, other European Orange markets will follow shortly.

[Via: CNet]

Orange to exit Portugal by selling its stake in Sonaecom

Dusan Belic — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:36:04 +0000

France Telecom is selling its 20% stake in Portuguese operator Sonaecom to the affiliate’s majority parent, Sonae, in a deal worth up to 100 million EUR.

The move comes on the heels of similar deals the company has been making in the past by disposing its minority assets in Austria and Switzerland.

Under the put and call option agreement to transfer the stake, Sonae will be able to exercise the call over the next 18 months and the put will be exercisable by France Telecom during the three months following this initial period. They are both exercisable at the same price of 98.9 million EUR.

The price tag could further rise to 113.5 million EUR if Sonaecom participates in “a material transaction (involving Sonaecom or its material assets) that consolidates or restructures the Portuguese telecoms sector in the 24 months following the signature of the agreement.”

At the moment, Sonae holds a 53.17% stake in Sonaecom, which trades under the Optimus brand and is Portugal’s third-largest mobile operator after Portugal Telecom and Vodafone.

[Via: MobileWorldLive]