Omio News Blog

Apple iPhone 4 16GB Now FREE On Orange £45 Per Month Plans

UPDATE: Turns out that this is just a weekend long offer, so fill your boots with some cheap iPhone deals before they’re gone on Monday!

Apple’s iPhone 4  now available absolutely free on Orange £45 and above plans, courtesy of Mobiles.co.uk.  This brings the handset cost, or lack thereof, in line with similar existing deals on Vodafone, but consumers can be comforted by the fact that they are joining a provider touted as having the widest network coverage in the UK.

£45 a month on Orange will get you a shiny new completely free handset, 1200 anytime cross-network minutes, unlimited texts and a generous 750MB data allowance for all your mobile media demands.  Those looking for a cheaper tariff can also rejoice in the fact that handset prices have been dropped competitively across the other price plans.  The table below shows the previous ‘standard’ rates with the new ‘promotional’ rates below.  Go to Omio’s deals page for further details.

The merger last year between Orange and T-Mobile under the company  ‘Everything Everywhere’ created the UK’s largest mobile network with over 40% of the market.  ‘Everything Everywhere’ also encapsulates Three’s expansive 3G network, meaning customers will have the widest voice and data coverage in the country.

The Apple iPhone 4 itself needs little in the way of introduction, this sleek shiny touchscreen handset incorporates exceptional design, courtesy of Apple’s British design guru Jonathan Ives, and it’s widely praised, intuitive and downright swooshy IOS software continues to gain fans, including, (as you may have seen in the news this week), none other than Nokia’s head honcho CEO, Stephen Elop!

The 5 megapixel camera with built in flash also handles HD video recording at 720p.  On-the-fly editing is a doddle with iMovie, and everything looks incredible on the 3.5” 960×640 pixel ‘Retina Display’.  Users can make video calls to other iPhone 4’s via Apple’s own Facetime, or also via the popular free Skype app.  And speaking of apps, Apple is still king of the castle.  The App Store has currently over 400,000 apps available, and this year hit the 10 billion sold mark.  The handset is the proud receiver of T3 Magazine’s ‘Commuter Gadget of the Year 2010’ having provided hours of relief from the daily commute via its many many fun games and the familiar iPod music player.

We’ll continue to keep you informed about the latest mobile phone bargains, feel free to browse the other offers available for iPhone on Omio’s mobile deals page.

Twitter For iPhone Upgraded To Support iOS4 Multitasking

Twitter for iPhone has a new version out, one that now supports iOS4′s multitasking capabilities as well as iPhone 4′s new Retina Display.

You’d expect most apps to get an update to stay in line with the new iPhone features, but due to the nature of Twitter, it’s doubly important for users to have the app running in the background while you perform other tasks.

In addition to these new features, the new version of Twitter for iPhone also packs a fix for the “stuck top tweet” bug and promises more secure tweeting for photo/video posts, making this a sure fire hit for any Apple Twit.

Source: Mashable

Windows Live Messenger App Arrives On iPhone

Finally putting an end to pricey almost-but-not-quite-there third party solutions, Microsoft has released an official Windows Live Messenger app for the Apple iPhone.

Send instant messages to all of your Windows-toting mates, view or update Facebook and MySpace updates, photos and videos and access Hotmail directly from the application, with all important push alerts to notify you even when the app is closed.

Available for free from the App Store, Windows Live Messenger is the perfect IM accompaniment to the new multi-tasking enabled iOS 4 update, due today for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Download it here.

No iPhones For UK Government Workers But Blackberry OK, Says Minister.

U.K. government ministers have been issued with Blackberries after Apple’s iPhone was deemed a security risk, according to Health Secretary Simon Burns.

The news arose after Burns was questioned in Parliament by MP Tom Watson, who is known for being particularly active in technology issues, who wanted to know what devices the government were issuing it’s employees with. Burns explains that the iPhone had been ruled a security risk by CESG (the information assurance arm of GCHQ) while RIM’s Blackberry models had a proven track record in security and stability, which is essential when dealing with sensitive or confidential business. Minutes from the parliamentary exchange can be found here.

Other customer of RIM include the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.K.’s Defense Ministry and more than half of the U.K.’s Police force.

Apple’s iPhone has been adopted by a number of banks, however security services are reluctant to follow after a number of flaws have been found since it’s launch in 2007. In 2009 security researchers found a flaw in the iPhone’s SMS function that could be exploited by a malicious attack. Although this was quickly patched up by Apple, this has clearly done little to assure the UK’s government departments.

Smartphones in general are less susceptible to malware than PC’s running Windows, however, as they become more complex, connected and advanced, they represent an ever increasing concern for agencies like CESG who’s responsibility it is to maintain government department’s information security.

Via PC World

Official iPhone OS 4.0 Preview Due 8th April

Apple will be giving a sneak peak of their new iPhone operating system, 4.0, on Thursday 8^th April.

The actual update isn’t likely to appear until much later in the year, however, Apple promise a full run-through of additional features which iPhone users can expect.

Rumoured new features include the enabling of multitasking with third-party apps, plus enhanced battery life. So for instance, you’ll be able to email people without interrupting your latest Spotify playlist.

We’ll let you know more details as they become available on Thursday from Apple’s HQ in Cupertino California!

Android vs. iPhone: Homerun Battle 3D Brings Cross Platform Multiplayer!

The Motorola DROID actually seems like an impressive gaming machine judging by this vid, taking the iPhone title Homerun Battle 3D and running it more than a little nicely.

Not only that, but the iPhone and DROID can in fact talk to each other, enabling cross-platform multiplayer between Android fans and Apple gamers for the first time!

Another example of phones leading the way when you might have expected fuly-fledged consoles or handhelds to work together first.

Imagine bringing PC, PS3 and XBox players together and shooting one another in the face in perfect harmony…

Infographic: iPhone Kickstarts Touchscreen Revolution

Arguably the most noticeable trend in mobile phones over the last two years has been the rise of the touchscreen interface.

Ever since Apple released iPhone in November 2007, other manufacturers have sought to compete by producing more and more touchphones of their own.

Even masters of the QWERTY keypad, Research In Motion have started making touchscreen phones with their Blackberry Storm series (which incidentally spreads its wings and becomes available on one more network, T-Mobile, next month)

We decided to conduct a study of our own records and in doing so unearthed some interesting stats, which we then illustrated in a War of the Worlds style.

(A few too many sci-fi b-movies this January, perhaps?)

Now, we know that LG were the first to pioneer the touchscreen with the Viewty and Prada models, but the influence of Apple’s iPhone is hard to deny: just take one look at LG’s S-class interface and you can deny that it’s a dead ringer for the iconic device.

Apple profits up 50% thanks to iPhone

Apple report a record 50% increase in profits after a hugely successful Christmas period, in which sales of iPhone doubled from a year ago.

Apple made $3.28bn (£2.08bn) in the 3 months leading up to Christmas, up from £2.26bn it made during the same period the previous year.

Apple have played hard-to-get with the networks and the strategy has clearly paid dividends, firing up demand just at a time of huge economic downturn.

Apple iPhone sales got an extra boost after it was rolled out in South Korea and China last Autumn.

The company said that it sold 8.7million iPhones worldwide in Q4 with sales of Macs rising a third, while iPod sales dropped 8%.

Everyone is now poised for Apple’s new tablet device, which drops this Wednesday.

[Source: BBC]

Sky Launches Showbiz iPhone App, Sponsored By Skinny Cow

BSkyB are bringing hot gossip and fashion tips directly to your pocket with a new free Showbiz iPhone app, inking an exclusive sponsorship deal with Nestle in the process.

Part of a £2.5 marketing push for low-fat beverage brand Skinny Cow, the app contains banner ads at the bottom of each page, enabling weight-conscious foodies to sign up to a Facebook fan page.

Building on from the success of the Sky+ Remote Record, Sky News and Sky Football Scores iPhone applications, the Showbiz app contains pictorials as well as the latest hot stars and fashion faux pas on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sky Digital Media director Giles Ivey says: “Sky Showbiz is a popular destination for young affluent female audiences, offering advertisers the opportunity to target this key audience both on screen and online.”

Source: Sky

Ace Combat Xi: Skies Of Incursion Flies Into Danger Zone On iPhone

It’s fitting that on the 15th anniversary of the Sony PlayStation, one of the console’s earliest titles — all-action fighter sim Ace Combat — sees its latest installment arrive…on the Apple iPhone.

In Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion, players are asked to suit and strap in as part of fictional country Aurelia’s revered Falco squadron, locked in battle against a phalanx of airborne enemies from neighbouring (and equally fictional) Leasath.

A pseudo-sequel to the PSP-exclusive Ace Combat X (hence the crazy ‘i’ suffix), the iPhone title carries over the impressive 3D visuals almost intact and takes advantage of the in-built accelerometer to bring motion controls and a new level of accuracy to the dogfighting franchise.

Complete with the licensed aircraft, satellite-generated imagery from Japan’s Space Image Corporation and emotional (well, for a Saturday morning cartoon) storyline that the series is famous for, this installment manages to make it easy for new recruits to sign up with simplified controls, three difficulty levels and in-flight assistance.

An expert control mode is also available for those who know their aileron from their fuselage and are ready to take the training wheels off their F-14 Tomcat, having cut their teeth on similar iPhone titles like F.A.S.T.

We’re still kicking the tyres and lighting the fires on Ace Combat Xi, which is currently for sale on the App Store for £2.99. But once we’ve finished our topless volleyball game, given each other ridiculous handles (I only answer to ‘Black Rain’…) and exhausted our limited Top Gun references, we should be back with a more thorough review!