As Dusan previously reported (here and here), the Blackberry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9000 (RIMs new HSPA email uber-phone) is now for sale with Orange and Vodafone in the UK. But where else can you get it?

Well apparently, 3 is going to be carrying it in November. That only leaves T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) and O2 (NYSE: TEF), who we’ve not really heard a peep from. Previous rumours suggested sometime in Q3 for the Operators, but right now the the respective websites only have the 8110 and 8310 listed.

Of course, another strategy you can employ is to go SIM-free – sure it will hurt your wallet in the short-term, but at least you are not going to be locked in to a longer contract that you already have. In that case, you can wander on over to Expansys, where the device is currently £619.99 (correct at time of posting).

Whichever route you decide to take, you’ll be getting a universally-acclaimed device – the screen in particular seems to have come in for endless praise – and of course, you’ll have all that Push-email goodness!

[Via: Mobile News]

Australian operator Telstra has partnered with Hutchison, allowing H3G to use it’s Next G network, in areas where the smaller company does not own a network. The deal comes at a good time for Hutch, who posted a half-year loss of $85 mn, but have strong revenue growth and customer acquisitions.

The new arrangement will allow Hutchison, which is growing faster than Optus and No3 mobile group Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), to compete for customers in 96 per cent of the country by the second quarter of next year. Hutchison will also build its own network to another 4 per cent of the country, taking its coverage to 60 per cent of the Australian population.

It’s understood that there is a strategic element here, with Telstra freezing out Optus, in a deal worth more than $120 mn per year. Certainly the difference in coverage between the operators is closed right up now. The Next G network apparently can burst up to 14.4Mbps, and covers a 2 mn square km area.

[Via: theaustralian.news.com.au]

Hutchinson’s 3 has recently announced the second generation of the Skypephone. The new device goes a little beyond Skype calls, bringing such Internet services as Facebook, RSS feeds, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Windows Live Messenger to the mix.

Specs wise, the new Skypephone is also better than its predecessor. For one thing, there’s a 3.2 megapixel camera on board, and so is microSD memory card slot. The handset measures 102.7×45x14 mm and has a weight of 95 grams.

Commenting on the announcement, 3 UK’s Kevin Russell said: “The first 3 Skypephone was about building one of the most popular Internet services, Skype, into the heart of the device. The 3 Skypephone S2 builds on this approach and brings a host of other popular Internet services to the front of the device.”

[Via: slashphone]

3 has announced sales of over 1m USB mobile broadband dongles to customers across the UK, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Austria. This has been due, in no small part, to the very attractive cost vs data propositions they have come up with:

Also, a new dongle is now available – the Huawei E160G is now available in black and white, and has a built-in Micro-SD mem card slot that can take up to 4GB capacity. It will cost PAYG customers £99.99, and either free or £49.99 (dependent on package) for contract customers.

[Via: Mobile Choice]

I’m not sure whether it’s the iPhone 3G or the HTC Touch Diamond/Touch Pro that took the flame from the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Xperia X1, but the truth is that lately we haven’t heard much about Sony Ericsson’s superphone.

Now we have a new tidbit of information. Apparently, Hutchinson’s 3 (Three) will get to carry one of the most anticipated Windows Mobile smartphones to date. From what we know, 3 will launch the device somewhere in November and will bind it with plans that start from 30 GBP a month. That may sound kinda steep, but considering you’ll be getting one of the most powerful handsets on the market, it’s not actually expensive.

We don’t know, though, how much the device will cost unlocked. It won’t be cheap, that’s for sure. Hopefully, we’ll have more to report on Xperia soon. Scrap that, we want the evaluation unit. Sony Ericsson are you listening?

[Via: Unwired View]

3 is apparently aiming to double it’s customer base to nearly 7m by 2012. Kevin Russell recently spoke to the Financial Times and laid down the gauntlet with this challenging stat.
Russell has apparently spent his first year cutting costs, and it now looking to boost profits – and a good part of that is adding customers. Interestingly, the latest data on 3UK shows 3.4m active customers and £1.6bn of revenue (in 2007).

In the last year Mr Russell signed an agreement with T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) for network sharing, meaning reduced CAPEX and OPEX. Additionally, he also added more high street shops – meaning more direct recruitment of customers, which is cheaper.

Well, I’m all for 3 growing their customer base – but it’s a slight puzzler as to where it’s going to come from – the UK is pretty saturated at the moment, and the likes of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and O2 (NYSE: TEF) have significant chunks of the mobile-wielding population. The next few years will continue to make for interesting times as the Operators come with ever more innovative ways to lure punters to their networks…

[Via: FT.com]

Whilst 3UK and Yahoo! are doing deals on Moby Ads, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and 3 Italia have signed an agreement giving subs access to the MSN Mobile portal – and more importantly perhaps, all of the Windows Live family of services.

So, that means the use of Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, and Windows Live Spaces (blog) – ooh, and Live Search too! Apparently the new service will be available to subs that have the “WWW3″ data package, or the “X-Series” option, at between 6-9 Euros per month.

[Via: Telecom Paper]

Yahoo! has just announced a deal with 3UK to be the exclusive provider of banners and sponsored links inventory on “Planet 3″ (the operator’s portal). The first ads will apparently appear later this month.

Head of On-Portal Advertising Neil Andrews said: “We believe Yahoo! has the experience to help us take full advantage of our advanced portal and unique all 3G subscriber-base. By combining Yahoo!’s expertise in mobile advertising with 3’s valuable inventory, we can help big brands target their advertising with maximum success.”

This isn’t the first time 3 and Yahoo! have collaborated – we could consider this news to be an extension of their strategic relationship – and of course, a nice win for Yahoo!

[Via: Wireless Week]

Following on their previous announcement that Hutchison Telecom’s branded “3″ wireless network will offer the iPhone in Hong Kong and Macau, the carrier has today announced its iPhone rate plan pricing schedule.

Set to make AT&T (NYSE: T) iPhone 3G customers green with cashless-envy, Three will be offering their iPhone rate plans starting from just $24 ($188 HKD) per month.

The lowest-tier calling plan offers 500 wireless minutes, 500 heart-to-hear minutes, 25 multimedia messages, 15 SMS text messages, 500 MB of data usage and unlimited Intra SMS messages. Three customers choosing this calling plan can nab their own 8GB iPhone for $377 ($2938 HKD), or the 16GB variant for $479 ($3738 HKD).

iPhone hopefuls looking to subscribe to 3’s highest-tier calling plan will be asked to fork over $64 every month, in return for 2200 wireless minutes, 1500 heart-to-hear minutes, 150 multimedia messages, 50 SMS text messages, unlimited data usage and unlimited Intra SMS messages. The most expensive iPhone calling plan subsidizes the iPhone purchase to give customers a free 8GB iPhone or a 16GB iPhone for about $20 ($138 HKD).

Now, let’s consider 3’s iPhone offerings compared to, oh, say Rogers (NYSE: RCI)’ iPhone plans. 3 seems to have the right idea here. The lower iPhone calling plan tiers offer limited data plans while the higher-tier offerings include unlimited data use. Rogers might do well to take a page out of 3’s marketing playbook.

[Via: AppleInsider]

Still tied to that wireline service of yours? If you just can’t bear to part with your landline and make the jump to go completely wireless, T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) has just announced their T-Mobile @Home service. The UMA service aims to marry your landline and wireless phone service in wireless minute-saving bliss. The service requires T-Mobile wireless subscription, purchase of a T-Mobile @HomeHiPort WiFi router ($50), a corded or cordless home phone, and a broadband internet connection.

The T-Mobile @Home UMA service has been kicking around for some time now, but T-Mobile’s announcement officially takes the wraps off the service. For $10 a month and a purchase of a new, compatible T-Mobile @Home WiFi router, T-Mobile customers can essentially use their mobile phone for all their calling needs. When within reach of the T-Mobile @Home WiFi router, any compatible UMA handset will lock on to router’s signal and pass all calls through the broadband internet connection – allowing you to talk on your mobile phone without ticking off minutes from your monthly allotment.

The T-Mobile @Home service essentially leverages the power of VoIP calling technologies to help customers cut back on their wireless minute usage. And, should you feel the need to use your landline phone to make calls, T-Mobile allows you to keep you home phone number and route calls from your phone through the VoIP internet connection – helping to save on costly wireline phone service.

Expect the T-Mobile @Home service to go live on July 2. Until then, T-Mobile users will just have to watch their wireless minute-consumption.

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