Rumors on the Web have been rife of a 3G iPhone for Europe at the "Mum is no longer the word" press conference in London today. We suppose our UK colleagues are already rubbing their hands in glee and probably having a sleepless night right now. We're happy for them (really!) because if the announcement is indeed on a 3G or HSDPA-enabled iPhone, it means those of us in Asia would probably get the same version and not the ancient EDGE handset. That's if and when it comes. Or would His Jobness pull another stunt revealing a 12-inch MacBook Pro? Gah.
There have been a bunch of busy little bees at Samsung's luxury phone division of late. Not only are they coyly working on the release of the "Serenata" handset, the successor to Bang & Olufsen's controversial "Serene," but they're also hard at work on the anticipated Armani phone that has stirred a bit of buzz as well.
Apple will take its keynote show on the road to London next week, with speculation mostly centered on the carriers for a European iPhone.
The company sent out invitations to a Tuesday press conference, but didn't specify the topic. "Mum is no longer the word" was the tagline attached to this invitation, stirring up talk across the pond that Apple is ready to announce its plans for European iPhone sales. The company has previously said that it wants to start selling iPhones in Europe by the end of the year.
The Times Online reported that Peter Erskine, CEO of wireless carrier O2, didn't quite confirm that his company was about to start carrying the iPhone. However, he told reporters that Apple's insistence on receiving a share of the carrier revenue from calls made with the iPhone--as Apple does with AT&T--is actually a good thing for the wireless industry, apparently practicing for calls with his shareholders later this year.
Previous reports had indicated that O2 would be the UK carrier of the iPhone, but O2 representatives would not comment on Thursday to The Times Online. The Financial Times had also reported that Apple had chosen T-Mobile's network in Germany and Orange's network in France, but it's not clear whether Tuesday's event will be just about the Brits.
Apple's forays into Europe will be very interesting, given the quality and quantity of mobile phones in that market. It's likely to produce the first 3G-based iPhone, and it's likely to be a much tougher go for Apple amid stronger competition and choosy shoppers. The company plans to enter the Asian market--also way ahead of the US mobile phone industry--in 2008.
This story first appeared on CNET News.com.
It's no secret the HTC TyTN II will come to Asia Pacific soon--it's just a question of when. So today, about two weeks after its European debut, we finally received information about its availability. This successor to the Dopod 838 Pro will go on sale in October at a retail price of S$1,348.
Specific launch dates in individual countries will vary, so you may see it in stores anytime from early to late October. The company also revealed that additional software like BlackBerry Connect, a business card scanner and MapKing R12 for navigation will be included out of the box.
The HTC TyTN II is a Windows Mobile 6 PDA-phone with a slide-out keyboard. It comes with features like HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi and GPS navigation. To find out more about the TyTN II, check out our video and first take here.
Alarm bells ring and our inhouse Nabaztag's ears swirl whenever we come across words like "free" and "unlimited". That's the good thing about having a tech pet in the office. It prevents us from succumbing to the treachery of the pay-without-knowing syndrome.
