After lots of talk about T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) and Rogers (NYSE: RCI) releasing the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) 8220, it turns out that TIM, across the pond in Italy, actually got the BlackBerry Pearl Flip first. Our buddy Stefano actually went to the launch event about two weeks ago, so it’s not entirely a surprise. It’ll be going for 269 € (around $396) presumably before contract. Even if you’re about to jump on the BlackBerry 8220 (and we don’t know many who would be), you probably want to shelf your international shipping and unlocking schemes – it won’t be long before T-Mobile and Rogers has this one available too.

[via BBCool]

The BenQ S6 Mobile Internet Device

I don’t mean that BenQ used a person called Tim to launch the S6 (though they may have had someone of that name working on the launch), no, no, no – BenQ have launched the Mobile Internet Device called the S6 with Italian Operator TIM!

There is an Intel Atom processor inside, along with 4.8″ screen, and 370g of weight to account for. 3.5G and WLAN radios are onboard for InterWeb access, and Bluetooth even makes an appearance!

Apparently the cost will be 429 EUR, which isn’t too harsh, although it is going to have to compete with the increasingly popular netbooks at that price point.

You can check out BenQ’s info on the S6 here.

[Via: Telecom Paper]

Reuters is reporting that Italian carrier TIM will announce the 3G iPhone on Monday or Tuesday. And while we would like to believe that true — and considering WWDC starts on Monday it makes perfect sense — we still must post this under our “Rumors” section. Until we hear anything official from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) or Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) (owner of TIM), that’s the way it must go.

The problem, though, is in the face we still haven’t seen Apple pushing its 3G baby through FCC. Not that it’s required for launching a device in Europe, but that’s kinda way it goes (at least with other handset makers). Conspiracy theorists may opt for an idea that Apple somehow managed to make FCC’s process non-transparent, because of all trade secrets…

Anyway, if Jobs doesn’t unveil the 3G iPhone at the WWDC, I’m sure many will be disappointed. Hopefully, that won’t be the case…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

Who doesn’t love the Italian gusto that goes in to every Ducati motorcycle’s design? Ducati exudes a sense of passion and style that bikers the world over envy. There’s only the small issue of the higher price point that keeps a Ducati out of practical reach for many.

While a Ducati is pretty much the cheapest way to lay claim to an Italian-made motor vehicle, it’s not cheap by any means. But, that doesn’t mean that the average Joe-bike-rider can’t get their hands on some official Ducati-designed gear on the (relatively) cheap.

The Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Z770 Ducati edition brings the style and feel of Ducati’s motoring tradition in a more affordable handset. All gussied up in a Ducati-designed red and black paint-job, this Sony Ericsson Z770 flip-phone sports Ducati-branding. The handset comes with an HBH DS-220 based Ducati Bluetooth headset to match the trick color-scheme of the SE Z770.

Unfortunately for Ducati-fans in The States, the Sony Ericsson Z770 only supports tri-band (900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM. But, if tri-band works well in your corner of the world, the SE Z770 should serve up data through its web browser at UMTS/HSDPA speeds.

Sony Ericsson plans to bring the SE Z770’s Italian gusto to TIM in June.

[Via: Unwired View]

Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) Mobile (TIM) will reportedly introduce the recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9000 in Italy during the second week of July. Apparently, the best BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) to date will carry a hefty price tag, between 450 and 500 EUR. That’s a lot, but I guess the price will go down for business users who spend 100+ EUR a month on their phone bills.

And now the fan part. According to BB World’s sources, TIM may actually rebrand the Bold as Goldfinger! You read that correctly, it seems Bold doesn’t sound that good for Italian business folks. Goldfinger on the other hand, well, let’s just say carries a good 007 memories with it. This is unconfirmed, but let’s say it happens, how will they call the upcoming BlackBerry Thunder? Boy Genius suggests “BlackBerry Octopussy” and I like that. Still, if the price doesn’t move bellow 450 EUR, users may get their BlackBerries “another day.” Or on the other hand, heavy users may get a substantial discount and decide that a single BlackBerry “is not enough.”

[Via: Boy Genius Report]

Italy’s going to have some competitive iPhone sales later this year. With Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) already on-board to bring the 3G iPhone to Italy as part of a 10-country iPhone launch, the juggernaut wireless provider is an iPhone-force to be reckoned with. But, that’s not going to stop smaller Italian carrier Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) Movil (TIM) from giving it their best shot with an Italian iPhone offering of their very own.

TIM has announced that it “has signed a deal with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to bring the iPhone to Italy later this year.”  There’s no mention of whether TIM’s Apple iPhone will be the current-generation iPhone or the next-generation iPhone capable of 3G network data speeds. Previous speculation has hinted at TIM launching the 3G iPhone without contract or network-lock. We can’t wait to see if Apple will indeed let TIM launch an unlocked 3G iPhone alongside Vodafone’s offering…

TIM

The 3G iPhone launch has media outlets the world over buzzing over what the next-generation iPhone will look like and where it will be launched. The latest report comes from Italian language La Repubblica, and indicates that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) Mobile (TIM) have already signed a deal to bring the 3G iPhone to Italy. Franco Bernabè, CEO Telecom Italia, apparently made the trip out to Cupertino to meet with Steve Jobs and ink said deal.

More interesting is the speculation that the Italian 3G iPhone could break the mold and could be offered without contract or carrier lock. Apple has demanded revenue sharing agreements and on-contract, carrier exclusivity from all iPhone partners (with the exception of France), but this new deal represents a stark departure from Apple’s business model for the iPhone.

The deal is said to provide TIM with a 3-month exclusivity window on the 3G iPhone. And, Apple will reportedly allow the 3G iPhone to be sold unlocked, contract-free. The next-generation iPhone will be sold at a higher price than anywhere else in Europe.

Apple will likely maintain its revenue-sharing and carrier-lock policy with its 3G iPhone in other parts of the world. However, TIM could prove to be the sole source of unlocked and 3G iPhones – at a premium, of course.

[Via: AppleInsider]

You might remember a little while back that Dusan posted about us being teased by the Modu, and we were wondering what it is – well now we know….

At the heart of it is a tiny monoblock Mobile phone (get a picture of a Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) W880i in your head, but smaller), which can be inserted in a number of jackets (see pic above), or, into ‘Modu mates’ (please note: I did NOT say inserted in to your mates – that would harsh, painful, and largely unnecessary) The ‘mates’ are apparently Modu-enabled consumer electronics devices, and from the video, you could logically assume these were things such as a Sat Nav etc. In fact, there is a broader spread, and big names like Blaupunkt have signed up to create interworking devices.

The first MNOs to sign up for this are TIM (Italy), Beeline (Russia), and Cellcom in Israel – quite an eclectic bunch!

Ben’s take: So my thoughts on this are two-fold – having worked previously for a handset vendor that came up with the idea of changeable panels/fascias on devices, I know what might seem like a GREAT idea in Marketing, actually does not translate at all well practically – getting the panels/fascia/jackets in to the market widely, and the resulting punt you are taking financially, are major issues and risks, respectively.

On top of that, I remember from 3GSM a few years back a company called IXI, who had a Bluetooth gateway – essentially a good idea where you put the subscriber SIM in the gateway, and then have cheaper, simpler devices that connect via BT to it, such as a phone, PDA, etc.

Why do I mention these, you ask? Because Modu strikes me as a mashup of them both – changeable faceplates, and changeable devices – powered by a central component – whilst I don’t think either of the solutions I mentioned have gained what could be considered ‘mass acceptance’, Modu might just have that momentum. They have OpCos signed up, they have the consumer electronics manufacturers signing up – this could be a flyer. Stay tuned!

[Via: 3G.co.uk]

With Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) already having penetrated the European market in Germany, France, and the UK, it makes sense that Apple start casting a wider iPhone-net in Europe. And, it seems that Apple may just be in talks with a few more potential iPhone-partners.

Spain’s El Periodico has announced that the country’s Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) wireless network has been tapped by His Jobness to bring the iPhone to the country of tapas and high-quality leather. The new iPhone partnership is rumored to be announced at Mobile World Congress in Spain later this month.

Macity also chimed in on the issue and speculates that Apple has already decided to bring the iPhone to Italy’s Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) Mobile. It seems that the newest iPhone firmware has a telling piece of code embedded within – the firmware has revealed carrier bundle titled “TIM_Italy.bundle.”

And, lastly, the iPhone could make its way to Switzerland’s Swisscom. Le Temps reports that internal sources have confirmed Apple’s intention to go with Swisscom as the Swiss iPhone carrier.

We’ll likely know more at the end-all-be-all of mobile conventions in a coupe weeks. Stay tuned!

[Via: Macworld]

Following from my post yesterday about the multiple Mobile TV standards, today I thought we might take a short tour de force of Mobile TV handsets – with specific reference to the DVB-H standard….

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