As smartphones have advanced in recent years the focus has mainly been on larger touchscreen displays with their virtual keyboards, but some consumers still like to own a device that features physical keys, and today we can tell you that T-Mobile is set for some QWERTY love via the upcoming Samsung SGH-T699.
There has been some speculation for a while that a handset would be arriving on the T-Mobile network that featured a full QWERTY keyboard, and now the team over at TmoNews has managed to get hold of an image of the upcoming handset. There has been talk of a handset going under the model number before, and there was speculation it could be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which was more based on hopes and dreams more than anything else.
Now following the leak of an image that can be seen above it is now known what the SGH-T699 will look like. As you can see it features a physical QWERTY keyboard but other details of the handsets specifications are rather sketchy. It is known the upcoming Samsung mobile phone will feature a five megapixel camera on the back, and there will be a front facing shooter for video calls along with an LED notification light as well.
Not much else is known except there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor hiding inside, but it is not known if it will be the S3 or S4 unit, and it will be coming with the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system version 4.0.4 straight from the off. It may not be the high end QWERTY handset that many would have hoped for, but it seems those days have long gone.
Do you prefer to have a smartphone with a physical QWERTY keyboard?
Idea Launches 3G Dual SIM Android Handset For Rs 5994; Rs 2300 Content Preloaded - medianama.com
Idea Cellular has launched a 3G capable dual SIM (GSM+GSM) Android handset ID – 918. The device is priced at Rs. 5,994 and is bundled with benefits worth Rs 2300/- in form of free minutes, 6GB data free Idea TV subscription. This is the third Android handset by Idea but the first ever dual SIM Android handset.
The device has been manufactured by Alcatel and post purchase service will be provided by Alcatel and not Idea. It comes with a 1 year warranty from the manufacturer. The launch appears to be in line with Idea’s stated approach to 3G, of encouraging adoption by launching low cost 3G devices.
Features and Specifications
- Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- 3G capable
- 2GB SD card
- 3.2 Megapixel camera on the back end
- 3.2-inch Capacitive (Multi Touch) screen,
- Micro SD support up to 32GB
- Geo-tagging
- GPS Navigator software
- FM radio and MP3 Player
- Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, Social Media Apps
- Changable covers in black and white
Content and social network
The handset comes with data services worth Rs. 2300 with Rs. 259 Idea TV pack. The Idea TV pack offers free subscription to Idea TV for 3 months, 2 GB of data download per month for 3 months, and 10 minutes free every day for 90 days. However, this only a special introductory offer is available for both prepaid and postpaid users.
The device comes pre-loaded with social networking apps such as Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, and content apps such as YouTube apart from the Idea TV feature. Though the device is based on Android operating system the device doesn’t come pre-loaded with Google Play — Android app store from where users can download third party apps. However, users can install Google play separately.
Idea has previously launched two other single SIM android devices — Blade and ID-280. Idea informed us that Idea has sold more than 100,000 devices of Blade and ID-280 as of May 2012. Idea currently has about 9 million 3G subscribers and has more than 25,000 sites setup mostly in tier II and tier III areas.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Vodafone's small, controversial tax bill validated by UK.gov - The Register
The National Audit Office, asked to look into Vodafone's negotiated tax bill of £1.25bn, has decided it was a reasonable deal considering the cost of taking legal action against the company.
Back in 2010 Vodafone was accused of owing £6bn in tax, and the company had reserved £2.2bn to meet it's UK tax obligations, but George Osborne struck a deal to accept £1.25bn. That sparked national protests, and in December last year the Audit Office was asked to take a look at five deals including the one struck with Vodafone. It has now concluded that all were perfectly reasonable.
The report (pdf, surprisingly readable, but still very dull) doesn't name the companies, but Vodafone admits to being "Company D" whose deal is criticised as breaking the Treasury Department's own guidelines though it concludes that this is because the guidelines themselves aren't very good.
"Litigation and Settlement Strategy" lays out how the 'Department negotiates deals, and specifically prohibits "split the difference" deals where the liability party is asked to pay a mid point between the maximum liability and the minimum. In Vodafone's case that minimum was zero, as the company claimed it owed nothing at all:
"The agreed settlement ... was lower than the tax liability that would have been paid if the Department won in litigation. Given the uncertainties and costs of litigation, it was reasonable for the Department to settle at the amount it did" says the report. Later Sir Andrew Park, consultant to the NAO, went further:
"Sir Andrew Park considered that there may have been a sense in which the settlement [with Vodafone] could be characterised as ‘splitting the difference’, but his view is that, if this is the case, it is the strategy that is at fault rather than the settlement."
So if the guidelines were broken then it's because they aren't very good guidelines, obviously.
Vodafone, of course, can barely conceal its glee at the report:
For more than a year, Vodafone has been falsely accused of improper conduct ... the National Audit Office has now concluded that the outcome was good for the UK taxpayer. We welcome this vindication.
Not only that, but Vodafone points out that in addition to paying its legally-mandated tax it also handed £6.7bn to shareholders this year to the benefit of the UK economy - if you're not a shareholder then you only have yourself to blame.
All large companies avoid paying tax, if they didn't then we could have much lower tax rates for ourselves, but the tricks being applied are getting increasingly complicated - to the point where it's almost impossible for tax offices, let alone ordinary citizens, to understand who must pay what. A recent investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, working with Private Eye magazine, found a Vodafone office in Switzerland staffed by one part-time employee who admitted he didn't go into the Vodafone room very often.
None of this is illegal, and neither, it seems, was Vodafone's deal with the Revenue: repugnant as that might all be to those of without barely staffed international offices in tax havens. ®
BBC 3G Sports Coverage Launches On Mobile Devices - Geeky gadgets
The BBC has this week announced that they are now rolling out sports coverage over 3G connections providing by mobile providers in the UK. During the first week of Euro 2012 the BBC has been busy testing new ways to enjoy live football coverage, and has now announced the roll out of the new services to UK customers.
Just in time for the upcoming Olympic 2012 games, the BBC explains
“Euro 2012 is just the start of a unique summer of Sport on the BBC. We’ll be bringing you Wimbledon, F1 (including the British GP from Silverstone), the Open Golf and of course the Olympics, all available live and on demand on your mobile device.”
The new BBC 3G video services are available in the UK via iPhones, iPad and iPod touches with iOS 5.0 and above installed, and on Android devices with OS 2.2 and above installed. Enjoy!
Source: BBC
No comments:
Post a Comment