Omio News Blog

HTC Sensation XE ‘Lite’ Edition Scraps Pack-In Beats Headphones, Lowers Pay Monthly Cost

Wow, that was quick.

Mere weeks after Taiwanese manufacturer HTC said they would cease packing Beats by Dre headphones in with future devices, UK handset retailer BuyMobilePhones has already taken stock of revamped HTC Sensation XEs sans in-ear audio goodness.

The image above shows the new official HTC Sensation XE packaging (right) alongside the original Beats by Dre edition of the sizable smartphone, with the vendor dubbing it the ‘Lite’ edition and shaving a few quid off the monthly cost in the process.

You can see that the ‘Beats Audio’ branding – nor the headphones – are anywhere to be seen on the box, whilst the custom Beats wallpaper pictured on the Sensation XE has now been replaced with a stock Sense swirl of colours.

Word from BMP is that the device within is physically identical to the original XE and is still boasting Beats technology hardware-wise, just not shouting about it so loudly this time…also that this leaner package is available now.

It is all but certain the original HTC Sensation XE bundle is being phased out for this new cost-effective model to buoy a phone maker facing tough financial times, as well as stiff smartphone competition from the likes of Sony and Samsung.

The HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio is still available for free from £18.50 per month on various networks, but the canny retailer has also created some canny custom bundles by combining the stripped-down ‘Lite’ with pricier Beats Solo or Beats Studio headphones…effectively sweetening the deal for Android-loving audiophiles.

Despite word that recent corporate shuffles – CFO Winston Yung (said to have been instrumental in HTC’s $300m majority stake investment in the ‘Beats’ brand) being sent off into corporate development – have nothing to do with a costly foray into accessory territory, such a swift cost-cutting exercise does illustrate plans to shift the company into a stronger direction for 2012.

Sony XPERIA P Release Date and Price Revealed, Contract Deals Available Soon

The Sony XPERIA P will be released in the UK on May 7th 2012, initially sim-free via Clove for £330, and Expansys for £339.  Contract deals are available on Omio’s deals page now via buymobiles.net.  More deals will show up as the release date closes.

The Android handset is looking pretty shiny with a precision crafted aluminium unibody, and a 4” touchscreen that utilises Sony’s ultra-bright, ultra-crisp ‘Whitemagic’ technology.

Sony have also been pushing a novel yet practical use for the built in Near Field Communications, the same technology used in transport swipe ticketing, such as London’s Oyster cards.  Sony have developed Smart Tags, dongle like devices that you can hang in your car, home or office, that enable you to quickly change custom settings as you move from one area to another, which will no doubt kill those annoying scrambles to switch on bluetooth & GPS every time you get in the car.

The relatively slim 1GHz dual core processor won’t break any speed records, but may give some allowance for battery life.  The 8MP camera with Exmor R image processing should make all your snaps look gorgeous, and you’ve got a respectable 16GB of storage for pics video’s and music.

DLNA built-in will mean you can wirelessly beam video and images to compatible screens effortlessly. Full specs are available here. The handset will ship with the relatively antiquated ‘Gingerbread’ flavour Android 2.3, although Sony are promising a hop, skip and a jump of an upgrade to Android 4 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ in Q2 (so around the summer).

The XPERIA P sits in the mid-range of Sony’s NXT series of handsets, just below the more powerful Xperia S which is available now. The payoff with the XPERIA P is that you can get a great looking handset without breaking the bank!

You can bag yourself an off contract pre-order today, via Clove and Expansys. If you’re after an on-contract deal, keep an eye on the Omio deals page.

Apple & Samsung Ordered By Judge to Sit Down And Sort It Out Like Grown Ups

It could be that an end is in sight to the ongoing ugly legal fight between Apple and Samsung, a messy high profile battle that is part of the a wider ‘patent wars’ in the tech industry.  The tech world has resembled something like pub brawl at kicking out time of late, with patent rights being bought and sold as weapons for the courtrooms.  The Apple vs Samsung match up even saw Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab banned for a while in Europe after accusations of similarities with the iPad, and influenced a hardware re-design to the American version of the Samsung Galaxy S2.

Now Samsung and Apple representatives have been ordered to the office of Judge Joseph C Spero, who will no doubt to sit them down and give them a jolly good piece of his mind.  Both Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO will be attending, probably both looking at the floor, shuffling their feet nervously.

Twitter have even waved a white flag, calling for a patent truce and telling everyone to ‘just get along’. The Innovators Patent Agreement is a call for a non aggression pact, that would effectively mean that patents could only be invoked legally for defensive purposes.   

But why the beef? Despite the bitter slug fest in the courts, Apple and Samsung do a remarkable amount of business together.  Samsung not only provide the New Ipad’s high resolution ‘Retina Display’ but also the custom A4 and A5 microprocessors in the iPhone 4S and iPad.  Most see this as being more to do with Steve Job’s vow to destroy Google’s Android mobile operating system. 

Google and Apple used to be quite pally, but Google’s entry into the mobile market was seen as an arch betrayal by Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who had simultaneously sat on the Apple board of directors as Android was being developed in secret.  Jobs afterwards vowed he was ‘willing to go thermonuclear war’ in order to sink Android, and his company since targeted high profile Android devices, such as Samsung’s also exceptionally popular handsets and tablets.

The court meeting, to be held within the next 90 days, should give us an idea about how much this vendetta lives on in the Post-Jobs Apple organisation, and hopefully draw to a close a messy chapter in the patent wars.

Amplifiear: Kickstarter Project Wants To Bring Better Audio To The iPad

One of the black marks on the Apple iPad’s otherwise exemplary record is the disappointing audio output from the sole mono speaker on the rear of the device.

In an effort to bring a better sound to your tablet, a lightweight accessory dubbed ‘Amplifiear’ aims to reflect and amplify audio in an aim to boost the quality of the iPad’s standard speaker.

Another Kickstarter darling that has just broken its goal of $10,000 of funding, Amplifiear uses a simple and elegant design that clips onto the iPad and has already garnered plenty of interest.

Available at a preliminary price of $15 to those pledging funds, the Amplifiear comes in a variety of colours and looks every inch the minimalist iPhone accessory.

Expect to see it in stores before long, and take a look at it in action below.

We attempted to emulate the effect with an iPhone in a cup…which was good, but perhaps not as much as the real deal.

 Source: Kickstarter via LikeCool

Three UK Refreshes iPhone Deals, Pits Pricing Against Other Networks With Comparison Table

Mobile network Three UK has shunted around their selection of new Essential and Ultimate tariffs, offering a narrower range of deals for the Apple iPhone 4 and 16GB model of the iPhone 4S.

In order to ‘give the customer and easier choice and in turn a…simpler journey’, the Essential and Ultimate 100 and 300 tariffs have been dropped in favour of a starting package of £31 per month for the 4S, offering 500 minutes, 5000 texts and 250MB with a £49 upfront cost.

In fact, Three are so confident in their new iPhone pricing that they have constructed a comparison table that sizes themselves up against deals from the other major networks.

Check it out here.

BlackBerry Curve 9220 Launches In India, RIM Takes Aim At Developing World

Nokia is not the only manufacturer tapping into an explosion of smartphone interest in the developing world, with RIM unveiling the BlackBerry Curve 9220 for the Indian market.

An incremental upgrade on the BlackBerry Curve 8520 and powered by OS 7.1, the Curve 9220 is equipped with all of the familiar entry-level features including a 2-megapixel rear camera and 2.4-inch QVGA screen alongside a full QWERTY keyboard, although possessing solely 2G connectivity.

WiFi and a built-in radio are both on board, whilst the 9220 has a unique selling point in having the longest battery life for a Curve smartphone at 7 hours talktime, with 28 hours of music playback.

“The new BlackBerry Curve 9220 offers a unique mobile experience that young Indians will love thanks to its affordable pricing and unmatched messaging and social connectivity features,” said Sunil Dutt, Managing Director for India at RIM.

In an effort to also induce engagement with BlackBerry App World, the Curve 9220 comes with an offer to download 2500 Rupees worth of content (about £30) for free, up until the end of June.

Available from April 19th at a cost of Rs10,990 (£133), the Curve 9220 might seem steep against the current crop of feature-rich Android smartphones, but it may well serve the enduring popularity of BlackBerry as a brand in other parts of the world.

LG Optimus L3 White Now Available On T-Mobile, Free From £10.50 Per Month

Those on the lookout for a stylish entry level handset could do a lot worse than the LG Optimus L3, just landing on T-Mobile in a fetching white hue for free from £10.50 per month.

Tagged for an April arrival, the L3 is the first in the Korean manufacturer’s trio of ‘L-Style’ devices to turn up on shelves. These phones are pegged by LG to offer a design identity which marries feature-phone aesthetics to smartphone sensibilities.

The Optimus L3 is admittedly an attractive device – particularly given the competition – and the boxy blower promises a tasty Android Gingerbread experience, 3.2-inch TFT LCD touchscreen display and a healthy 11 hours of talktime.

An incredibly affordable handset for one boasting WiFi hotspot and quad-band functionality, expect to see its bigger brethren - the L5 and L7 – to arrive later in the month/early May.

Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel Show Off Siri In New Apple iPhone 4S Ads

U.S. mobile networks Sprint and AT&T have garnered some real star power to convince folks of the virtues of Siri, getting Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel to demonstrate the voice-activated service in an amusing pair of Apple iPhone 4S adverts.

With Samuel ready to rock screens as Nick Fury in the forthcoming Avengers movie and Zooey wowing with quirky charm in hit TV show ‘New Girl’, Apple giving the green light to having big names front and centre seems a bit of a change of tack…

Yes, David Fincher did direct the iPhone 3GS ad back in 2009 and Mitchell and Webb were indeed Mac and PC personified for the UK, but it seems as though Apple used to let the hardware speak for itself…

Now, get Sam and Zooey to be optional male and female voices for Siri…then we’d be talking. Check the videos below.

Bit of a shame that many of those features shown off haven’t made it to UK iPhones…

Samsung Announce Windows Phone 8 ‘Apollo’ Handset, Should Nokia Be Nervous?

Samsung have confirmed that a Windows Phone 8 ‘Apollo’ handset is in the pipeline and set for release later in the year.  The Korean manufacturers have previously dallied with Microsoft’s OS.  The Omnia W and Omnia 7 were previously made for Windows Phone 7.

Samsung have had a fruitful relationship with Google’s Android OS, that has brought us the current (still) UK number 1 handset: the Samsung Galaxy S2.  Samsung are clearly married to Google’s OS but they are clearly not afraid to taste a bit of Metro UI on the side.

Recent analysis has shown Samsung eating into Nokia’s sales, so Samsung’s and also HTC’s modest, yet continued support for Microsoft could make the beleaguered Finns uneasy.  Analyst Ian Fogg of IHS highlighted the precarious position that Nokia was in, as Samsung threatened its standing as the world’s number one phone manufacturer.  Nokia meanwhile, are still occupied by the release of the new Nokia Lumia 900 handset, so will probably hold back for a while before lifting the lid on future Windows Phone 8 models.

Nothing other than the mysterious Samsung handset’s existence has been confirmed, but with Windows Phone 8 development keeping Redmond’s UI workers busy until its release in the autumn, the rumor mill is pointing towards a possible launch release in October at the earliest.  We will post with any more details as and when they become available, but on our wishlist is definitely multi-core for premium app support, as well as a vastly improved resolution from the standard 800×480 available to Windows Phone 7.

Could it be that the sharks are circling for Nokia already?  Or will a multi-manufacturer melee spur on healthy competition in the market.  Either way, Microsoft will be happy for Samsung’s continued support of its OS, whose survival will be made or broken on the volume of users.

Everything Everywhere To Combine 31 Orange and T-Mobile Stores, Shed 95 Jobs

In the latest news regarding Orange and T-Mobile’s Grand Unification strategy, 31 stores across the UK are to be transformed into shiny Everything Everywhere retail outlets, with 28 jobs lost in the process.

The cuts are primarily within store manager roles, with one assistant manager also to go. Losses will also be felt in Head Office also, as 67 back office staff are to be made redundant in restructuring proceedings.

A silver lining is that 50 new roles will be created as a consequence, and those made redundant will be given the opportunity to go for these new positions.

An Everything Everywhere spokesperson had a comprehensive final word on the matter:

“This week, we have proposed to staff that we will be consolidating a small number of our Orange and T-Mobile stores in locations where it makes sense to do so.

“These proposals would see the consolidation of Orange and T-Mobile sites into single Everything Everywhere stores in 31 towns. These proposals would have an impact on store manager roles within these stores, but not frontline sales staff.

“We will be looking to redeploy any individuals affected by these changes wherever possible.

“We have also announced proposed organisational changes for our HQ retail department to deliver a new phase in retail which will focus on accelerating the company’s objectives of delivering the best network and service.

“As a result of the proposed new structure, regrettably, 67 retail head office roles are impacted.

“As part of the restructure we are also creating more than 50 new roles and we are hopeful that some of the individuals at risk will re-apply within the business.”

Source: Mobile News