O2, one of the U.K.’s largest cellular operators, has announced the launch of its free London Underground Wi-Fi connectivity for its mobile subscribers. Like both EE and Vodafone, O2 has entered into a partnership with Virgin Media – which has Wi-Fi hotspots at more than 120 tube stations across central London – to provide the new service to its customers.
EE has today announced that its 4G network is now available in another 12 towns across the United Kingdom, bringing the total number of 4G connected towns and cities to 62 in just six months following its launch. That’s 50% of the U.K. now covered by 4G, and EE is aiming to increase that to 70% by the end of the year.
Remember that one time that a U.K. judge told Apple that they have to publish a public apology to Samsung on their homepage? It was a really weird punishment that made a lot of us scratch our heads, but Apple handled it pretty well.
Well it turns out that that same U.K. judge who was pro-Samsung now has a really good reason for wanting Samsung to win against Apple – he just got a new job with Samsung!
As Apple continues to expand its presence internationally, the company has reportedly created a new executive position for handling business affairs in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. An unverified report claims that Josh Rosenstock, former Director of External Communications for luxury car maker Rolls Royce, has been hired to fill the spot.
The United Kingdom is a little late to 4G — just a few months ago, 4G networks didn’t exist. Now it has one, EE, which is quickly trying to expand its 4G coverage across the country. It began its rollout in 11 major cities, and the company has announced today that it will be reaching an additional 17 by March 2013.
Looking to get an iPad mini with super-speedy LTE access ridiculously cheap? If you’re in the United Kingdom, then you’re in luck. EE, the U.K.’s first and only 4G network, is now offering Apple’s new tablet subsidized for just £50 (approx. $81) — providing you’re happy to sign up for a new two-year agreement at £36 (approx. $58) per month.
As part of a court ruling in the U.K. Apple has been forced to publish a public apology to Samsung on the U.K. Apple website. When Apple originally published the apology on the U.K. homepage, some clever coding pushed the apology statement below the browser window.
This morning an update to the Apple U.K. homepage has removed the coding that was hiding the apology unless a user’s browser window was extremely tall.
Having lost its appeal against the Samsung Galaxy Tab in a High Court ruling in the United Kingdom earlier this month, Apple was ordered to publish advertisements in British newspapers and magazines, and on its website, which must say that Samsung did not copy the iPad.
The Cupertino company has now published a statement on its website, and it makes for a very humorous read. Basically, Apple quotes the judge, who said that Samsung’s tablets “are not as cool” as Apple’s, then says that despite the decision, Samsung did copy the iPad really.
Earlier today, U.K. communications regulator Ofcom gave Everything Everywhere — the parent company of Orange and T-Mobile — approval to rollout out the country’s first 4G network from September 11. Within hours of that announcement comes a new report that claims Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 will be one of the first smartphones to take advantage of it, possibly handing Everything Everything an “exclusive” as the U.K.’s only 4G carrier compatible with the iPhone.
Being a Brit, one of the most disappointing things about Siri is that it doesn’t support location services in the United Kingdom. Unlike iPhone 4S users in the United States, I can’t ask Siri to find me a nice restaurant nearby, or for the nearest gas station. However, that’s no longer the case in iOS 6, because Siri now supports location services internationally.
