Gotta love it when carriers update their networks for a faster and better mobile experience. Case-in-point today comes Hong Kong’s SmarTone-Vodafone (NYSE: VOD). They’ve announced the launch of their HSPA+ network upgrade. The upgrade (in theory) brings peak network speeds of 21 Mbps.

Douglas Li, CEO of SmarTone-Vodafone commented on the upgrade:

“SmarTone-Vodafone will continue upgrading network speeds to 28 Mbps and 42 Mbps next year, paving the way for 80 Mbps and even higher speeds with implementation of LTE…We are firmly committed to delivering best-in-market broadband services and customers will love the difference.”

Besides the groovy network upgrade, SmarTone-Vodafone has introduced 3 new mobile broadband price plans as well. The new plans are designed to meet customers’ different needs. The new ‘Power 3′ plan provides usable speeds of 2.3 Mbps, the ‘Power 7′ offers 2.6 Mbps, and the ‘Power 21′ plan brings speeds of 2-14 Mbps. Depending on your requirements and needs, it looks like SmarTone-Vodafone has a plan tailored for folks in Hong Kong.

[Via: Cellular-News]

LTE, Long Term Evolution, 4G, whatever you want to call it, was designed to be a complete IP based system. Many of you may be surprised to hear this, but when LTE became a standard, it only supported data. That’s right, 4th generation networks didn’t have an interoperable standard for voice and SMS. Several solutions have been proposed, and I’ve extended my support to VoLGA, but it looks like Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has decided IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) will be the way going forward.

Who supports the decision? AT&T, Orange, Telefonica (many of you know them as O2), TeliaSonera, Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE). That’s a lot of companies. Their posse is called “One Voice Initiative” and now that the big boys have all decided on a standard, progress towards getting LTE networks up and running will start to pick up. Verizon and TeliaSonera are competing to see who will launch the world’s first commercial LTE network in 2010, but it’s going to quite a ways off until 4G coverage is equal to the current 3G footprint.

If anyone can point me (and IntoMobile readers) to a blog post or a book that explains how IMS works, that would be greatly appreciated. I’ve always avoided the standard since I thought it would never fly. Oh how wrong I am now.

Update: The One Voice spec has been published, check it out [PDF] if you’re a network engineer.

[Via: Press Release]

Vodafone and Optus have announced the light, affordable BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) 8520 Curve to Australia and New Zealand today. To sum up our review, the BlackBerry 8520 cuts out a lot of the higher-end features, like a decent camera with flash, GPS, and a high-res screen in favour of keeping the price point down. Even with a few features cut, the new design and especially the optical trackpad make the 8520 a sleek, functional little smartphone. You can grab the Optus version here for $AUD 379.99 or Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) here for $AUD 399.99.

[via Media-Newswire]

Electricpig.co.uk have got their hands on the second device to be launched under Vodafone UKs ‘360′ moniker. The Samsung M1 is the little brother of the H1 – but still packs a good wadge of features! How does 3G + 3MP camera + 3.2″ screen strike you?

Of course the main thing punting this device along is the Vodafone 360 software layer – which syncs in all your contacts from numerous social networks, along with IM and email.

Anyhow, check out the Electricpig.co.uk photo gallery from their time with the device here.

We don’t know pricing and timing yet, but let’s hope we find out soon enough!

[Via: Electricpig.co.uk]

Unwiredview.com has come up with the good again, and spotted that owners of the HTC Touch Pro 2 on Vodafone UK, are going to be getting a software upgrade – and not just any old upgrade – but to WinMo 6.5!

You’ll need to follow the Vodafone link at the bottom of this post to find further instructions, or alternatively (and this is very cool), you can take it to a store and they’ll do the upgrade for you! First time I’ve heard of that happening….!

Here are the pre-requisites if you are going to D-I-Y:

• You need a broadband connection.
• We recommend that you backup all important content – contacts, photos, ringtones, games etc – stored on your phone before you start.
• You’ll need your phone’s USB cable. If you don’t have one you can buy one from your local Vodafone store.
• You’ll also have to download an application to your PC.

So there are your two options: D-I-Y or take it to store – to get started on the former, click here to go to the Vodafone UK support pages!

[Via: Unwiredview.com]

The guys over at fonehome.co.uk have managed to get themselves a Samsung H1, running the Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) 360 service, which is due to come online from 30th October for general consumers.

In case you are wondering what Vodafone 360 is, check out my post on it here.

So you want the vid right? Well then best head on over to the fonehome.co.uk site (click here) and view it in all it’s glory! You can pre-order a Samsung H1 from Vodafone here BTW.

[Via: fonehome.co.uk]

Of course, now that Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) has spilled ’some’ of the beans on the Storm2, you’d expect to see some love on their website, right? At least, on the UK website as they’re getting hands on the device first. Sure enough, after a quick check, I noticed that BlackBerry Storm2 up for pre-sale (free on monthly plans starting at £35) on Vodafone UK. And, if you take a quick look, you’ll notice Vodafone UK is expecting the device by October 26th. Cool beans.

So, to all of my friends in the UK… You going to pick up a Storm2? Or is the second coming of the Storm of absolutely no interest to you?

I’m going Storm2 crazy over here! So much to talk about today with Storm2 reviews popping up left, right and center. And now, I stumbled upon an official release from RIM and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), making the Storm2 official in seven European countries, PLUS South Africa! Of course, no exact pricing launch dates were specified in the release, but I can tell you that the UK and Ireland will get their paws on it first… Followed by Germany, Netherlands and Spain. All of these launches are lets say, ‘coming soon’. France, Italy and South Africa will receive the Storm2 ‘in time for Christmas’.

For more, you can check out the whole release at MarketWire.

Note: In case you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to read our BlackBerry Storm2 Review. It’s jam-packed full of good stuff (and a little bit of awesomeness).

The latest rumours have pointed to an October 14 release date (i.e. tomorrow) of the Verizon (NYSE: VZ) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm 2, and between dummy units, BOGO flyers, and accessories arriving in stock, it’s seeming very likely.  Across the pond, Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) will likely be launching the device around the same timeframe,  and lately we’re hearing specifics about pricing (£35/month on two-year contract). If we start seeing the same kind of promotional materials show up at Vodafone, it’s safe to say the Storm 2 (or Odin, if you’re feeling nostalgic) will at least be announced before the end of the week. Best Buy might not get the BlackBerry 9550 until the 25th., which could indicate a later date for when we see the device proper on store shelves.

If you haven’t had a chance to get a close look at the Storm 2, it’s RIM’s second touchscreen smartphone, rocking Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headphone jack, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 360 x 480 capacitive display, 3G (EV-DO or HSPA, as the case may be), and OS 5.0. The SurePress clicking touchscreen has apparently been overhauled since the original Storm and renamed TruePress. Based on a few teardowns, folks think that the Storm 2 has four piezoelectric pads beneath the surface that can lock the clicking mechanism. So far, we’ve only seen that happen when the phone is turned off, but we’ll have to wait to see if a retail unit uses the technology in any other ways.

In any case, it’s an exciting time – does anyone think that they’ll give this bad boy a shot, or did the first iteration turn you off of SurePress for good?

[via Engadget, CB, BlackBerry Rocks, TechRadar, pic]

Following on recently available pre-orders, the fabled Sony Ericsson Idou has just landed on British shores as the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Satio! The touchscreen Sony Ericsson Satio is the Swedish-Japanese phone maker’s first Symbian S60 5th Edition smartphone and it oozes high-end sex appeal. We had a chance to put hands-on the Satio back when it was known as the Sony Ericsson Idou, and it’s one helluva device – especially since it runs the so-old-it-hurts Sybmain platform.

Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) UK is the only carrier to offer the Sony Ericsson Satio at the moment, but Orange has the Satio tagged as “coming soon.” Underneath that high-resolution 3.5-inch touchscreen lies all the high-end smartphone bits that we’d expect to see from a 12.1-megapixel cameraphone monster – DNLA-compatible WiFi, GPS, and 3G data. The glossy-black finish highlights the 12.1-megapixel camera (with Xenon flash) while the 3.5-inch touchscreen plays video with aplomb. Did we mention it sports a 12.1-megapixel camera? Yeah, it’s awesome.

Vodafone is offering the Satio for free when purchased with qualifying 2-year contract. Have at it!

If you’re not lucky enough to live on the British side of the pond, keep yourself busy with our Satio hands-on gallery.

[Via: TechRadar]