The new Orange Barcelona handset springed up on Orange’s website this morning and looks like it will compliment the Orange San Francisco by offering a QWERTY keyboard Android alternative. The San Francisco was one of the most affordable Android handsets to be made available in the UK and Orange are looking to capitalise on the budget market.

It’s curvy design splashes Android 2.2 Froyo onto a 2.6inch touchscreen with a 3.2 megapixel camera. It also features Orange Maps, 3.5mm headphone socket, HSDPA, GPS, HD Voice and an FM Radio.

The Orange Barcelona will be available for free on contract but PAYG pricing hasn’t been announced yet, personally I would expect to see it around the £120 mark but don’t quote me on that! There’s also no word on official release so keep your eye’s peeled and we will be posting more information about the handset as it becomes available.

Orange Announce Exclusive Android Based QWERTY Handset was originally posted on the Sim-Mobile.co.uk Mobile Phone blog.

The UK is currently undergoing the digital switchover as the nation’s TV signals are moved from analogue to digital. As each part of the country is switched over, this free’s up space on the 800mhz spectrum which mobile phone networks are hoping to jump on to provide super fast wireless 4G LTE broadband.

The Trial is taking place in Newquay, Cornwall and hopes to provide fast internet access to those currently in blackspots unable to get any form of broadband. The trial is supported by Nokia, Huawei, Siemens and the Cornwall Development Company who hope to kick it off in September this year.

If everything goes well and the networks win auctions for the 800mhz spectrum we could see a fully established LTE 4G network across the UK around 2014. We are already playing catch up with the likes of Germany, Sweden and Japan who all have public 4G networks.

Trial participants will be provided a modified 4G router or 4G dongles for laptops etc.

You can sign up to the trial via this website. If you get accepted please get in touch and let us know how it goes!

4G LTE Wireless Broadband Trials Begin In The UK was originally posted on the Sim-Mobile.co.uk Mobile Phone blog.

If you’re not familiar with what contactless payments/NFC technology is then let me explain. Essentially your phone will become its own debit card which you can load funds onto. When you want to buy something, you simply scan your phone at the payment point and the payment takes place instantly. A similar system is used with the London based Oyster cards which allow people to scan their card when getting on and off public transport to automatically deduct the right payment instantly.

To get the ball rolling, Barclaycard, Barclays debit or Orange credit card users can load up to £100 into the Quick Tap app. Once that’s complete you can then use your phone to make payments with an upper limit of £15 per transaction. If you’re worried about someone stealing your phone and buying things with it then don’t worry, you can protect payments with a pin!

The only problem at the moment is there is only one handset that supports the Quick Tap app which is the Samsung Tocco Lite. Over time though, Orange plan to roll out support to other NFC enabled handsets.

This is a great step in the right direction as more retailers take NFC payments on board. Currently places such as EAT, Little Chef, Subway, Wembley Arena, McDonalds and Wilkinson’s are able to accept payments.

In places like Japan, NFC payments are a standard part of life, whether buying a drink from a vending machine or paying for a meal. In fact, some services ONLY accept NFC payments.

Looks like we are playing catch up!

Contactless NFC Payments Come To The UK was originally posted on the Sim-Mobile.co.uk Mobile Phone blog.

The Atrix is a breath of fresh air in the already crowded smartphone marketplace and Orange have the UK exclusive on the handset.

Well Orange have made good on their promise and the Atrix is now available to buy with next day delivery thrown in! You can get the handset free of charge on a £35 tariff which gives you 600 minutes, unlimited text and data allowances.

If your an existing Orange customer and upgrade to the Atrix this month they will also throw in a £130 worth of goodies which include a remote control, mouse, HD multimedia dock and keyboard!

Spec’s wise the Atrix rocks a 4 inch display, 1GHZ dual core Tegra 2 processor, 5 megapixel camera and 16GB of memory. The only drawback is the fact it runs Android 2.2 but Motorola assure us an update is on the way!

What do you think of the Motorola Atrix? Personally I think its a glimpse into the future of mobile computing!

Motorola Atrix Now Available In The UK was originally posted on the Sim-Mobile.co.uk Mobile Phone blog.

The deal is currently under review by the regulatory authorities which should be completed in the first half of 2010

Orange & T-Mobile Joint Venture

Timotheus Höttges, Deutsche Telekom CFO said:

‘This joint venture is based on the full commitment of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom to a long-term partnership.

‘The negotiations were conducted in a fair way on both sides and I am certain that this spirit of professionalism and partnership will shape the future of our joint venture. It will set new standards as the number one in the UK mobile market.’

It will be interesting to see how this pans out for current customers of both Orange and T-Mobile. And what will the knock on effect be for general consumers? Is this going to reduce competition and encourage industry wide price rises?

Orange And T-Mobile Finalise Merger was originally posted on the Sim-Mobile.co.uk Mobile Phone blog.