3 Mobile News

Thought to be one of the most powerful smartphones on the market, consumers have now been handed a superb incentive to buy the HTC Sensation after Vodafone’s exclusivity period to sell the phone expired.

The first to capitalize on this opportunity is 3 Mobile, with the HTC Sensation now available at the 3 Store. The network are offering a number of deals for the phone although it’s thought that the most popular will be “The One Plan” – which will offer consumers 2000 minutes, 5000 texts and unlimited data for £37 a month.

The variation that is to become available could spark a rise in sales, with the HTC sensation currently one of the most powerful smartphones in the world. Running on the latest Android operating system, it also boasts the latest version of HTC Sense.

In terms of hardware, the phone runs on a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor which is complimented further by 768MB of RAM and 1GB of on-board memory that can be expanded even more by microSD cards.

In less technical terminology, users will also benefit from a 4.3 inch touch-screen that runs at 540 x 960 pixels. The connections for the device are also impressive as they support both 3G and WiFi, while photographers out there will be keen to utilize the 8 mega-pixel camera with dual-LED flash.

There have been reports through the past year suggesting that supermarkets could soon accept payment by an iPhone application, although a trial this week has taken the concept to a completely different industry. Restaurant chain Pizza Express have started a trial that allows customers to pay for their food on their iPhone, which will therefore bypass the aggravation that goes when settling the bill for a meal.

The concept has been initiated through a partnership with payment company Paypal and restaurant Pizza Express. The idea is that iPhone users can download an application that allows them to pay for their meal straight from their seat. The hope is that due to the number of smartphone users, this is a practice that could gain in popularity and spread over the country.

To utilize the service, customers at Pizza Express not only have to download the special app but also inform the waiting staff of their method of payment. Once this has been done, they are then provided with a code that is entered into the application during payment. At the moment, the iPhone is the only handset which is allowing the practice.

Speaking about the trial, a Pizza Express representative said:

Many families with young children have experienced that melt-down moment at the end of a meal, when the children are playing up and they just want to pay and go. This, we hope, will take that stress away.

It remains to be seen how the trial will result, but if successful, those long waits for the final bill could soon be coming to an end.

Ever wondered what handsets customers are buying from 3 Mobile?

Here is a list of the best selling handsets and tariffs of June (week commencing 6/6/20011):

1. 16GB iPhone 4 Black > The One Plan
2. 16GB iPhone 4 White > The One Plan
3. Nokia N8 Refurb > Text 500
4. BlackBerry Curve 3G Grey > Text 500
5. Samsung Galaxy S II > The One Plan
6. BlackBerry Curve 3G Blue > The One Plan
7. HTC Wildfire > Text 500
8. HTC Wildfire S > Text 500
9. BlackBerry Torch > The One Plan
10. HTC Desire Refurb > The One Plan
11. HTC Desire S > The One Plan
12. Samsung Galaxy Portal Refurb (White) > Text 500

Mobile network Three has been rated the UK’s top mobile broadband supplier for the second year running.

According to the YouGov DongleTracker survey, the Three network achieved top marks in more than half of the 15 categories. 4,000 mobile internet users were surveyed for the study, and placed Three as the best provider in terms of value for money, connection speed, reliability and ease of use.

Joe Parker, director of mobile broadband at Three, commented: “We’re thrilled that our customers have rated us the number one mobile broadband provider in the UK for the second time running, but also that smartphone users, including iPhone customers, are seeing the value of our strong 3G network. It’s a huge accolade and we can’t thank our customers enough.”

Mr Parker was referring to a separate survey in which Three was rated as providing the fastest and best-value network by iPhone owners. Rivals Orange did not fare well in either survey, with YouGov reporting that 60 per cent of Orange iPhone users believe they could get better network coverage with a different provider. 58 per cent of Orange iPhone users were disappointed with the network and 29 per cent thought that the network was too expensive.

Orange will be hoping its recent merger with T-Mobile, which also performed poorly in the studies, will boost customer satisfaction. T-Mobile achieved the lowest recommendation rating in the iPhone study, while Vodafone was the network favoured the most by users planning to switch.

Orange and T-Mobile’s Everything Everywhere now sees customers roaming freely between the two networks. However, the current deal does not cover 3G, so it may be some time before users see significant improvements.

Three have announced the launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.  These products are an exciting addition to the current range of Smartphones and are now available on the Three Store site.

Key features are as follows:-

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

• Sony Bravia Mobile Engine
• Android (2.3) Gingerbread
• 320mb Memory with 8GB Micro SD included
• 8.1 MP Camera
• GPS & FM Radio
• 7hr Talk time
• Pre-Loaded Apps

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

• Fully certified Playstation Android Smartphone
• 400mb Memory with 16BG Micro SD included
• Stereo speakers
• X7 Pre-Loaded Apps
• 7 hrs Talk Time
• 5 MP Camera

Massive savings on the Apple iPad on 3 Mobile.  These price changes will be effective from today and details for this are on the Three store site.

• iPad 16Gb: 15GB Data Plan 24 months is now £20pm and £99 upfront.
• iPad 32Gb: 15GB Data Plan 24 months is now £20pm and £149 upfront.
• iPad 64Gb: 15GB Data Plan 24 months is now £20pm and £249 upfront.