Virgin Mobile UK announce VIP plans: Unlimited everything for £26 or £15 sim-only!

   If you live in the UK at the moment then things are starting to get quite interesting in the mobile arena. On the one hand you have all the big mobile networks getting ready for 4G launches, unless your EE and you already have a head start, networks are trying their best to work out how much data people actually need without overloading their systems and at the same time prices are pretty reasonable, especially if you go SIM-only!

   That's what we've got here today, a new set of mobile contracts from Virgin, the MNVO who piggy backs on T-Mobile's [Read: EE] network! The first set of plans are just for Virgin Media customers and they all come with phones in their pricing. On the basic side of things you can get 200 minutes, 500 texts, 500MB data and unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin customers, as well as phone insurance thrown in for £7.50 for 6 months and then £15 a month after that, otherwise you can go for unlimited everything including calls to 0800, 0845, 0808 and 0870 with the insurance thrown in for £26 a month, which is a stellar deal. Shame it's only for Virgin Media customers really. There's two other contract options in the middle of those which you can see here!

   These plans are joined by a set of 30 day rolling contracts which you can see below, but these are open to everyone! The highlight of which is the £15 per month deal which gives you unlimited allowances for everything! You can get them here!

   One thing to point out is that your data usage is unlimited, but it does not include tethering and Virgin's Terms and Conditions on the contract say that if you sign up to it now then you will been considered to be an excessive user if you gobble down more than 3.5GB of data over a month which will result in your speeds being slowed to '384kbit/s downstream [and] 200kbit/s upstream' until the end of the month!

   These are pretty good deals and the SIM-only deals main competitor is T-Mobile's Full Monty plan which is reduced to £16 a month now and then!
Via PocketLint.

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ZTE announce the Blade III for Virgin UK!

   We first covered the ZTE Blade III in September last year, as you can see from that post a lot of things have changed here at TTF, but there hasn't been any change to the device which launched in Europe's Nordic countries late last year. 

   On board you'll still have your 4 inch WVGA, that's 800×480p, a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 A processor, Android 4.0, a 5 MP rear-facing camera, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of expandable internal memory. All of this will along with the normal set of connections you would expect from a phone in 2013 and a solid 1600mAh battery, which should last relatively well.

   Now we know that the phone on it's own isn't exciting, but much like the OG Blade and the Blade 2 (Orange San Francisco and San Fran 2) before it the real story is the price. Surprisingly this phone won't currently be offered up by Orange, instead it'll find a home on Virgin Mobile, where it will retain the very reasonable price tags the predecessor championed! For those of you after the phone on  Pay As You Go prices will start from £79.99, which seems very reasonable for a 4" Android smartphone. Contracts aren't quite as good value, the phone will cost you £18 per month, or £13 if you happen to be a Virgin Media subscriber (we all know how Virgin love their bundled discounts!).

   For the Pay As You Go price you can't really go wrong, but if you're looking at contracts and you're undecided then you might be tempted by Samsung's super-cheap Gaalxy Ace instead which is currently available on contracts which cost a mere £7.50 a month!
Via AndroidCentral.

ZTE Blade III arrives in the UK to follow up on the Success of its Predecessors
Featuring a 4-inch screen, 5MP camera, expandable memory and Android 4.0, the Blade III brings big value to the big screen experience
6 February 2013, London, UK – ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions, and mobile devices, has launched the ZTE Blade III 4-inch smartphone in the UK.
Promising an even sharper multimedia and gaming experience than its predecessors, the Blade III can be purchased in store or online from Virgin Media from today for £79.99 PAYG* or from £13 a month**.
The latest addition to the successful Blade family, the ZTE Blade III features a larger screen, memory capacity of 2.5GB which can be further expanded with a 32 GB memory card and Android 4.0, providing a smooth user experience at a modest price point.
“We paid close attention to user feedback when designing the Blade III. It is the first smartphone in its price range with a 4-inch touch screen and Android 4.0 and is very well suited for the UK market. We believe that the ZTE Blade III will bring a quality mobile experience to a larger UK audience,” said Kalam Meah, Account Director, ZTE UK.
The expanded storage memory of the Blade III offers extra space for music, apps, pictures and games while the 4-inch WVGA touch screen and upgraded operating system provide a sharp multimedia experience. The 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, and support for video and audio standards including MPEG4 and AAC+ makes it easier and more fun to watch movies, use social networks and listen to music. This, combined with the sleek body and modern design of the phone prove that ZTE is delivering on its promise of better performance for money.
Jamie Heywood, director of mobile at Virgin Media said, “With expandable storage and the most affordable 4 inch screen on the market, the ZTE Blade III offers customers plenty of smartphone bang for their buck. The Blade III is a great addition to our range and when combined with Virgin Media’s ‘Premiere’ tariff which offers unlimited data and calls from just £21 per month, it’s proof that you can go big with your smartphone without breaking the bank.”
ZTE previously partnered with Virgin Media to launch the ZTE Tania Windows Phone and two Android phones: the Grand X and the best selling ZTE Kis (in black and white). The ZTE Blade III has also been launched in key European countries including Germany, Spain, the Nordics and Eastern Europe amongst others. The Blade lll will also be launched in other European countries soon.
Key specifications of the Blade III
-  4 inch WVGA (800x480) 65K TFT capacitive touch screen
-  Weight: 130 gram
-  Size: 120.5 x 63.5 x 10.85mm
-  1GHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 A processor
-  Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
-  Memory: ROM 4 GB, ca 2.5GB accessible to the user, RAM 512 MB
-  Supports Micro SD memory card up to 32 GB
-  5.0 MP AF camera with 4 x digital zoom
-  Mobile standards: HSDPA (7.2Mbps) /HSPA/HSPA+/UMTS/GSM/GPRS/EDGE
-  Audio standards: MP3, AAC, AAC+, midi, AMR-NB
-  Video standards: MPEG4, H.263, H.264
-  Wireless communications standards: Bluetooth™ 2.1, A2DP1.2, GPS, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
-  Battery capacity: Li-ion1600 mAh
-  FM radio
ZTE is the 4th biggest handset manufacturer in the world according to IDC, a leading provider of global ICT market research and advisory services.
About ZTE
ZTE is a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions with the most comprehensive product range covering virtually every telecommunications sector, including wireless, access & bearer, VAS, terminals and professional services. The company delivers innovative, custom-made products and services to over 500 operators in more than 140 countries, helping them to meet the changing needs of their customers while growing revenue. In 2011, ZTE’s revenue increased by 29 per cent to USD13.7 billion. Its overseas operating revenue grew 30 per cent to USD 7.4 billion during the period, accounting for 54.2 per cent of overall operating revenue. ZTE commits 10 per cent of its annual revenue to research and development and has leadership roles in several international bodies devoted to developing telecommunications industry standards. ZTE is committed to corporate social responsibility and is a member of the UN Global Compact. The company is China’s only listed telecom manufacturer that is publicly traded on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ). For more information, please visit www.zte.com.cn.

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05/11/2012: Samsung rebrand rumoured, iPad sales from the first weekend and more!

There's a huge Samsung re-branding rumoured!

   Today the Australian news company aptly named, ChannelNews, has said that their sources have received some reports from Asia that  Samsung is planning an impressive overhaul of its brand and marketing in time for CES 2013!

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Deals, Deals, Deals!!!

   So you're in the market for a new phone, sim-free, unlocked and no long expensive contract, well you've come to the right place.

   Below is a list of the best devices you can spend your hard earned cash on at the moment!

Motorola Madness at Expansys.

   Got your eye on anything made by Motorola at the moment? Well Expansys have a few deals you may be interested in!

All The Razr, Xoom 2 Media edition and the Xoom 2 10.1" are available for £250, £200 and £250 respectively. So head over to their site to take advantage of all the deals!

LG Prada 3.0.

   This deal won't last long at all! Just yesterday Asda were offering up the HTC Sensation XE for a measly £247, but today they've outdone themselves by offering the LG Prada, complete with ICS for £230!!!

   This phone is well worth a look it's got great specs and the fashion conscious will love it too! Remember it won't last long these are basically firesales from Asda!

   Click here to head over to the deal!

ZTE Kis from Virgin.

   The ZTE Kis is a budget smartphone but for £59.99 and a years allowance of 1GB of internet per month thrown in as a free, the phone just got a lot more appealing. The device is slightly outdated as you would expect; a single-core 800mhz processor powers Android 2.3 Gingerbread. But, for such a bargain price it's almost impossible to complain!

   The phone is available from all Virgin outlets at the moment, or you can get it online from their webstore by clicking just here.

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