Posts Tagged ‘orange’
Author: sarah Published: April 10th, 2013
High-end smartphone such as the iPhone 5 are threatened by budget handsets, since consumers are looking more for bargains than they are for premium blowers. This is according to a report from Bloomberg.
The business news site reports, “France Telecom SA (FTE) Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard, head of one of Europe’s largest wireless carriers, said the increasing frugality of customers is threatening sales of pricey phones such as Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone.”
Speaking to Bloomberg, Richard said, “We are in a period of changing consumer behavior.”
He adds, “There are fewer early adopters, and probably with the next release of the iPhone this will be evident. Selling a phone for $600 is getting more and more difficult.”
Bloomberg says, “In February, the one-time French phone monopoly offered a dim outlook for 2013. It said operating cash flow will be about 7 billion euros this year, down from 8 billion euros in 2012.”
The site adds, “In France, the company cut its mobile-service plan prices 10 percent last year and expects an additional decline this year of between 10 percent and 12 percent, Richard said. Most of the price pressure is coming from Iliad SA (ILD), a low-cost carrier that sells service under the Free brand, he said.
“To bring its prices down and keep subscribers from defecting to Iliad, France Telecom started a low-cost brand called Sosh in 2011. With Sosh, customers bring their own phone and get more limited customer support. Sosh’s standard package is more than 40 percent cheaper than the comparable subscription under the Orange brand.”
Richard says, “Customers are more focused on price. Except for a few hundred thousand people who will buy the latest iPhone — except for that category of people — the majority of the market will be difficult.”
Would you rather get your hands on a budget handset rather than a high-end smartphone such as the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S4? Let us know through a comment on our Facebook page.
Tags: budget, entry level, France Telecom, high-end, orange, Stéphane Richard
Category Phone News |
Author: geoff Published: February 4th, 2013
Have you been waiting for EE to extend their 4GEE coverage to your town? If this is the case, we have good news for you. EE has spread its 4G coverage to nine more towns.
These nine towns include Wolverhampton, Sutton Coldfield, Sunderland, Stockport, Southend-on-Sea, Hemel Hempstead, Chelmsford, Bolton, and Amersham.
With the inclusion of these nine new towns, the merging of Orange and T-Mobile now offers 4G LTE data to a total of twenty-seven towns and cities. EE also promises that it will be providing 4G coverage for the towns of West Bromwich, Watford, Rotherham, Conventry, and Bradford towards the end of March.
To make sure EE provides 4G coverage in your area, you can enter postcode on EE’s coverage checker. Do this before you sign up with the network operator.
4G devices on EE’s lineup include the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, the Nokia Lumia 920, and the iPhone 5. The Blackberry Z10 has been recently added to this lineup. The best choice among these smartphones is the Galaxy S3 LTE since it can be used on other 4G networks, unlike the iPhone 5, which can only be used on EE’s 4GEE network. Rival network operators are expected to launch their 4G services later during the year.
Happy EE’s 4GEE coverage has spread to your town? Let us know through a comment on our Facebook page.
Tags: 4G, 4G coverage, 4GEE, Amersham, Bolton, Chelmsford, EE, Hemel Hempstead, LTE, orange, Southend-on-Sea, Stockport, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, t-mobile, Wolverhampton
Category Network News |
Author: geoff Published: December 11th, 2012
Are you dying to get your hands on the Nokia Lumia 920, but don’t want to sign up with the expensive monthly contracts offered by EE. Don’t want to settle for the Lumia 820, which is not exclusive to the first 4G network in the UK? If this is the case, we have good news for you. According to Nokia, their flagship powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 will be offered by other networks aside from EE in 2013.
On Nokia’s Facebook page, the Finnish answers questions fans by saying, “We have been listening to what our loyal consumers want and we have been working to make the Lumia 920 available from other retailers from January onwards.
“Keep an eye on our page for more details about the deals.”
Currently, EE (the result of the merger between Orange and T-Mobile) has exclusive rights to offer the handset, which is disappointing if you don’t want to switch networks just to get your hands on the handset. On the Finnish firm’s Facebook page, one fan said, “If Nokia survives to produce another high-end phone, please don’t sign exclusivity to EE. They are useless.”
Another says, “I will never ever sign anything with EE.”
The Lumia 920 is one of the first 4G-enabled handsets to land in the UK. However, since the EE is for now the only 4G network in the UK, you’ll have little choice but to sign up with the double-capped network if you’re looking to get your hands on the smartphone. EE also offers a 3G version. However, it all but forces you to go 4G.
Would you be willing to switch to EE just to get your hands on the 4G-enabled Nokia Lumia 920, or would you rather wait until next year to for the handset to be offered by other network operators? Tell us what you plan to do through a comment on our Facebook page.
Tags: 4G, EE, LTE, Lumia 920, Nokia, Nokia Lumia 920, orange, t-mobile, windows phone, windows phone 8
Category Network News |
