Mobiles2day - Mobile Industry News

T-Mobile is now offering bundles for international calls for new and existing Flext customers. This announcement follows popular Eastern European Pass for Prepay customers, which I blogged about here. If you call overseas regularly, check them out, you have few options available:

International Pass
There are three options to choose from with the International Pass, each providing a bundle of minutes to a different region of the world:

• USA & Canada - £5 per month for 125 minutes (4p per minute to mobiles and landlines)
• European & Australasia Pass - £5 per month for 50 minutes (10p per minute to mobiles and landlines)
• Caribbean Pass - £7.50 per month for 50 minutes (15p per minute to mobiles and landlines)

International Open Pass
These offers give flat rate pricing to International mobiles and landlines to a selection of countries (see list below). There are two options:

• International Open Pass Light - for £2.50 per month, international calls to both mobiles and landlines cost 20p per minute

• International Open Pass Max - for £5.00 per month, international calls to landlines cost just 4p per minute and calls to mobiles only 15p per minute.

List of countries that you are eligible to call with International Open Pass:

Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Bulgaria
Canada
China
Croatia
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Italy
Israel
Jamaica
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Pakistan
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
Slovak Rep
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Thailand
Trinidad & Tobago
USA
Ireland,
Ghana
Turkey

Please note that calls to premium rate numbers and other non-geographic numbers aren’t included.

If you’re a Max customer, there is a minimum call charge of 15p (to mobiles) and 4p (to landlines and for all calls to the USA and Canada). If you’re a Light customer, there is a minimum call charge of 20p.

You can opt in by calling to Customer Services on 150 from your T-Mobile handset. Terms and Conditions on T-Mobile’s website state that you can opt in by texting shortcode of chosen bundle to 879, but I could’t find shortcodes anywhere on the site.

From today O2 is offering 8GB version of iPhone for £169. This is £100 less than it was previously. You still have to take up 18 months contract with at least £35 per month.

Promotion runs will 1st June, so if you were planning to get hold of this device, you can do it now. Carphone Warehouse sells it at £169 as well. 16GB version stays at the same price: £329.

This price cut follows iPhone price cut by T-Mobile Germany where you can get it now for 99 euros (approx. £79.7). Retailers are clearing their stock before 3G version comes out this summer.

If you are on T-Mobile prepay, there are good news for you! T-Mobile is rewarding it’s prepay customers with free £10 if you top up £10 during the week! Every prepay is eligible for this promotion, existing and new customers.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Opt in by texting ‘Stretch’ to 441

2. Receive a text confirming that you are in

3. Top up £10 anytime between Monday and Friday

4. Promotional £10 will be credited to your account after midnight on Saturday and will be available till midnight Sunday.

Credit can be used to make calls/sms/mms to UK mobiles, landlines and national numbers.

Rules say you can not opt in for more than 2 prepay deals at the same time, for example opt in for TopUp Friday and TopUp & Stretch at the same time. You will only keep the one that you last opted in.

Good move from T-Mobile, people like free stuff, noone will refuse extra £10, eventhough you can only use it on weekend! Anyway, weekend is the time when you use your mobile most isn’t it? So go on opt in and claim your free £10 this coming weekend!

If for some reason you want to opt out of this offer, text ‘STRETCH STOP’ to 441.

Check details here.

NTT DoCoMo in Japan has successfully tested network with downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps over a high-speed wireless 3.9G network also called as Super 3G system for mobile communications.

Results are impressive and step up from current HSDPA/HSUPA which we currently have in Europe. With download speeds like that, we are talking high definition movies streaming to your mobile device, smooth video calling, TV and other media rich applications running with no delays!

DoCoMo says that they will complete development of technologies for Super 3G (aka Long Term Evolution) and launch by end of 2009.

I also found this useful diagram on DoCoMo’s website (click to enlarge):

iPhone continues it’s world expansion, it is now available to buy in Austria and Ireland. T-Mobile Austria offers iPhone for 399 Euros for 8GB version and 499 Euros for 16GB version. On O2 in Ireland you will have to pay exactly same amounts for the device.

In UK iPhone has been on sale for a while now, O2 UK has improved iPhone tariffs since the launch, which I have blogged about here.

Apple is now distributing iPhone SDK for developers to develop apps for iPhone and also trying to capture enterprise market with Microsoft Exchange and Cisco networking support.