carrier

EE, the only UK carrier to launch 4G LTE services thus far, has unleashed its SIM-only plans. Pricing starts at £21 a month with a 500MB data allowance, and tops at £36 for a 5GB upgrade to further increase the capabilities of the 4G speeds. So are these prices any better than what's already available at the carrier?

UK carrier Three has today sent out a press release detailing the launch of the HTC 8X Windows Phone, which is stated to be available from today on the Three website as well as in-store. So just how much will we be expecting to pay for the flagship Windows Phone? The network has also launched the handset in Ireland.

Rogers has published a blog post detailing what hardware the carrier will be sporting from Microsoft for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, as well as any exclusivities Rogers will hold on said devices. We're already aware of which Windows Phones the carrier will be taking, but the blog post also touches on carrier apps that will be pre-loaded.

UK carrier EE (Everything Everywhere) has already begun to migrate existing customers with Orange and T-Mobile UK across to the new brand. Those who own Windows Phones and make use of said networks will see "EE" on the phone Live Tile once the switch has been carried out. The company is also in the process of launching the UK's first 4G LTE network on October 30th.

Taking on the mammoth task of moving both Orange and T-Mobile under the single brand (while forming three separate carriers), as well as firing up LTE, EE is certainly one of the major players in the mobile industry for consumers who reside within the UK. While customers will be seeing a change in branding on mobile devices, their contracts with both Orange and T-Mobile will remain. It's more aesthetics than anything that will affect service provided.

Welcome to yet another From the Forums, where we bring you the latest and most popular threads from the Windows Phone Central forums. Should you find yourself lost with all the ongoing discussions that are taking place on our forum, be sure to check up on our quick selection in this roundup to get you started.

It was only a few hours when we looked at the UK retailer Carphone Warehouse busting Windows Phone myths that many moan and groan about, but now we can safely at Orange UK to the fan club. The carrier's business section of their website is recommending the Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 in favour of a Blackberry (or iPhone) for business use.

Orange is also offering some neat benefits with purchasing the Nokia handsets with a Business Solo contract. The carrier will provide double flexible extras on plans worth £30/mo or higher, as well as free unlimited WiFi access with BT Openzone. It's good to see some real positive support from one of the major players here in the UK.

With Microsoft Office, Lync, Skype, and more, it makes sense to offer Windows Phone as a valid solution to business needs and requirements.

Source: Orange, thanks Jamil for the heads up!

Yves Maitre, senior vice president of devices and mobile multimedia at Orange, has told CNET in an interview this week that Windows Phone is the worst-selling platform in Orange's market (behind Android, iOS and Blackberry) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"Honestly, it hasn't been as successful as we expected."

I'm not sure if every Windows Phone owner shares the same view as Maitre, since we've already covered problems with carriers not displaying working demo units in stores and promoting the platform in the media. Do you see Orange adverts for Windows Phone on TV, online, on billboards, in newspapers or in stores? If the overall response is "no", then how can Orange expect the platform to sell well against competitors that get more reach to their customer base?

"By Barcelona [the site of February's Mobile World Congress conference], we'll know for sure if Microsoft is in the game or not. If Nokia/Microsoft is not successful in Europe then it will be tough in other countries"

He does remain cautiously optimistic that the Nokia brand will push forward the platform and will force other OEMs to compete with one another through advertising. Maitre views Nokia as an expensive vehicle, "it's like you're driving a Mercedes Benz". With smartphones counting for 50% of sales for Orange, the carrier is going to have to work hard, as well as Microsoft, if they want the OS to compete with Android, Blackberry and the iPhone.

Nokia is set to unveil a "bunch" of handsets at Nokia World next week. Microsoft is banking big on this event and top names will be present as speakers. We'll be there too, so be sure to say hello should you be attending.

Source: CNET

We've had IPv6 support in Windows for years, but Windows Phone 7 seems to be lacking the successor of IPv4 (one of the Mango features?). v6 has been in talks for a while and Google and other big websites adopting the protocol with network administrators and testers preparing their infrastructure accordingly. 

While it's not actually needed at the moment (since networks and ISPs still support IPv4), there will be a point where hardware such as routers will need to be updated (or replaced to increase profit for vendors). With your device, we should see Microsoft adding support for the protocol when networks and carriers start to look at making the change.

Could Nokia be bringing an IPv6 push to WP7 when their devices hit the shelves? Could well be, but for now consumers shouldn't really be thinking about IPv6 since we have a long way to go until the change over from v4 is full steam ahead.

Update: See this post for follow up information

Via: Smartphone France

Here's an interesting quote from an AT&T spokeswoman to PC World:

"We'll be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7"

Like the "AT&T is getting 8 million Windows Phone 7 devices" rumor, we're not exactly sure what this means in reality, all we know is we like the sound of it.

Sprint and Verizon had no comment in regards to their Windows Phone 7 plans, outside of being named "partners" which as the article points out, means they could be more committed or less when the actual launch happens.  T-Mobile didn't reply.

The fact that the nation's largest carrier (love 'em or hate 'em) is standing firmly behind Microsoft is a great sign. Probably a good idea for AT&T too since it gets them away from the Apple-collusion controversy, just a tad.