Windows Phone 8 handset UK availability and pricing detailed: free starting from £21 per month

We've heard how Windows Phone 8 is all about you, and seen all the devices bearing the new OS at launch. What's left, however, is where you can get one on the other side of the pond and, more importantly, how much it's going to cost you. Nokia has separately announced that both the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 will be launching in the UK (and France) later this week. More specifically, though, it looks like every UK carrier will be getting at least three handsets, with the almost-ready-to-launch EE getting both of HTC and Nokia's handset pairs. We've got all the (current) pricing details and availability dates after the break.

[Source: Engadget - Click here to read the full story]

AUO builds cellphone display with 'world's thinnest border'

Is that 3mm bezel getting you down? AUO says it has created the "world's narrowest" smartphone border on a new 4.46-inch 720P touch display -- just a single millimeter in width. That would put it in the same league as LG's Cinema Screen TVs, but in a smaller form factor, allowing manufacturers to reduce handset sizes without losing screen area. In related news, AUO also says it's developing Advanced Hyper-Viewing Angle (AHVA) tech, along with small form-factor IGZO displays, and that it's started shipping 4.97-inch 1920 x 1080, 443ppi screens. If all that means we have to squint less at our display, let the pixel density wars rage on.

[Source: Engadget]

Steve Ballmer returns triumphantly to Microsoft ads for Windows Phone 8, now with less Crazy Eddie

The last time we saw Steve Ballmer star in a commercial for Microsoft, he was extolling the virtues of a 286-based PC running the glory that was Windows 1.0 -- in 1986. You can imagine the surprise we got 26 years later when Microsoft premiered an ad featuring the now-CEO during its Windows Phone 8 event. If you were expecting that same kind of unbridled enthusiasm Crazy Eddie once used to hawk underpriced TVs, you may be either pleased or disappointed. It's a very level-headed and well-spoken Ballmer this time around, with the executive calmly highlighting the advice he gets through his HTC Windows Phone 8X from people like his wife and a certain Billy G. Besides evoking nostalgia, the pitch is an illustration of what Windows Phone's live tiles can do as well as a reflection of Microsoft coming full circle -- as it was two decades ago, Redmond is fighting for market attention at a time when new interface concepts are challenging its main business. We're just glad there's fewer plaid business suits in 2012.

[Source: Engadget]

Vodafone UK making their '4G promise,' offering deals for early upgrades to 4G contracts

Despite not having a licence at present, or any firm plans for a 4G LTE network, UK carrier Vodafone has come out fighting with their "4G Promise." Rival carrier, EE, is set to launch the UK's first 4G LTE network within days. Eager not to lose out too much to the new service, Vodafone is offering some pretty impressive deals for customers who upgrade to their 4G network when it eventually arrives. 

The meat of the offer is pretty straight forward: 

So if you’ve bought an iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy SIII (purchased after October 26th 2012) or Galaxy Note II, simply bring it back to one of our stores. Even if you’re still in contract, we’ll knock off 70% of your remaining contract charges, letting you upgrade your phone early and start a fresh contract.

70% is a huge amount to reduce an outstanding contract fee by, and shows that Vodafone is keen to not only retain their current customers who may think about switching, but attract those who are unable to get EE 4G LTE at the services launch. The deal only applies when taking out a new 4G contract in the future, and for devices bought between September 12 2012 and March 31 2013.

[Source: Android Central]

Microsoft adds WP8 app to Windows Store just in time for launch

If you're aiming to get your hands on one of the many Windows Phone 8 devices launching later today, it would be nice to be able to sync it with your Windows 8 PC, no? Redmond has you covered in the nick of time, as it's just released the free Windows Phone app to its Windows Store. That'll let you get music, photos, or video over to your computer and back, use Windows 8 apps to share things like searches, automatically save photos or videos taken with your phone to your PC and check your phone's storage to see how it's being used. It'll also let allow you to download phone apps and learn more about your device, while pulling off a trick we've saw first with Apple, then WP7 -- letting you track down your smartphone if it goes missing. You can grab it at the source, then all you'll need is a WP8 (or 7.8) handset -- so stay tuned for our liveblog at 10:00 am PST / 1:00 pm EST to see when that might happen.

[Source: Engadget]

Nexus 4 priced at £390 by purported Carphone Warehouse in-store display placard

Oh, Carphone Warehouse -- it just can't seem to keep what it knows about the LG / Google Nexus 4 under lock and key. Just days after briefly listing the phone on its website, purported in-store displays for the yet unannounced device have leaked out to Android Authority. While essentially of the details are the same as what we saw last (1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 SoC, 8MP cam, 12-hour talk time rating, etc.), the listing reveals that the "sim-free" phone itself will sell for £390 (about $504) -- previously we'd only seen the per-month pricing at 31 euros, which is also found here. There's no mention of that October 30th sale date this time, and it would seem unlikely now given that Google's had to indefinitely postpone its NYC-based Android event for the 29th due to hurricane Sandy.

[Source: Engadget]

LG E960 support manuals confirm Nexus 4 name, 8GB and 16GB configurations

The information leaks ahead Google's Android event next week continue to flow, with the latest thanks to support manuals on LG's Australian and UK websites. While we're already familiar with the phone's hardware thanks to a detailed Belarusian review, the manuals confirm it is going to be called the Nexus 4, and that along with the 8GB version we've seen there will definitely be a 16GB edition available. As you can see above, it also includes an induction coil for wireless charging and excludes any microSD slots for additional storage. This all comes after two separate Nexus 10 leaks earlier today, as well as a report byWired of a lost Nexus 4 recovered in a San Francisco bar (sound familiar?) last month.

[Source: Engadget]

Nexus 4 appears early at Carphone Warehouse, October 30th release date

Whoa there! The next Nexus just got an early reveal over at UK retailer Carphone Warehouse. Delivery is currently pegged for October 30th and apparently it's got brand new Android 4.2 (or Android 4.1.2 -- the listing mixes in both). The preorder screen confirms plenty of details we've already heard, including that 4.7-inch 1,280 x 768 display, Snapdragon S4 processor and 8-megapixel camera. Unfortunately, at least according to the phone seller, there's only 8GB of storage and no microSD card slot. Other curious parts include a "360-degree camera", whatever that is, and an on-screen render that's been previously been identified as a custom ROM. Diving into the supposed feature list, we're intrigued to see whether "gesture typing" will form a part of Google's new Android build -- the Carphone Warehouse compares it to Swype's finger-dragging input method.

Price-wise, it looks like you could get the handset for free on contracts over £31 per month, with both O2 and Vodafone named as prospective networks for the device in the UK -- but no news here on whether the 4G-capable EE will offer an LTE iteration. Excited? Good, because we're going to hear plenty more on this next week.

[Source: Engadget]

BlackBerry 10: RIM To Run Developer Events In 11 Cities To Focus On Building Enterprise Apps

As it ramps up to the launch of devices running its next-gen OS in Q1 next year, RIM has announced a new series of BlackBerry developer events focused on its traditional user-base by helping enterprises and other organizations build apps for BlackBerry 10. The Blackberry 10 Jam World Tour will see day-long BB10 events held in 11 cities around the world, kicking off tomorrow in Toronto and ending on November 28 in Chicago.

[Source: TechCrunch - Click here to read the full story]

UK carriers form alliance to speed up 800MHz LTE rollout, let us enjoy our Freeview TV

Isn't it better when we work together? British carriers think so. EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have officially created a non-exclusive joint venture, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, that should speed up the deployment of 800MHz LTE by keeping Freeview over-the-air TV signals clear of interference while the partners bring their low-frequency 4G online. Previously, the networks were bound to form an equivalent company called MitCo that wouldn't have been active until after the 800MHz auction, preventing companies from getting their wireless houses in order until they'd already made a commitment. There's also a competitive angle involved to go with the cooperative work, as you might imagine: with EE's 1,800MHz LTE poised to go live on October 30th, choosing infighting over assistance would only help widen the frontrunner's lead. Whether DMSL represents altruism or pragmatism, we'll appreciate knowing that the hurdles to a catch-up in UK 4G will be more those of the technical reality than the usual political maneuvering.

[Source: Engadget]

Bring the noise! Sony confirms HD Voice support for Xperia T

In the fast moving world of smartphones, giant HD displays just aren't enough anymore. The new hot commodity in the land of mobile is "HD Voice." Sure, the technology isn't exactly brand new, but using it over post-3G high speed networks is. The selling point here is high quality noise cancellation, which allows a phone's user to be heard clearly in the noisiest of environments. The latest device to hop on the bandwagon is Sony's Xperia T. When describing this feature, the herculean consumer electronics maker got downright emotional saying, "you feel closer to the person you are talking to." While we're not too sure about that, HD Voice did impress during our ears-on session. The major caveat here is that this feature requires that both parties have HD Voice capable handsets. So, until this concept becomes more mainstream, Xperia T owners' phone calls are likely to be close, but no cigar.

[Source: Engadget]

KDDI unveils HTC J Butterfly (HTL21), the first phone with 5-inch 1080p display

We've been hearing about a certain 5-inch HTC phablet for Verizon since July, but it looks like its Japanese counterpart may actually hit the market first. Unveiled by KDDI as the HTC J Butterfly (HTL21), this Android 4.1 device is the first announced phone to feature a 5-inch, 440ppi full-HD"Super LCD 3" panel, and it's fittingly complemented by a 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064 underneath, making this the latest member in the small family of Snapdragon S4 Pro phones. There's an eight-megapixel camera that naturally handles 1080p video at the back, accompanied by a 2.1-megapixel front-facing imager. Other details include 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, microSDHC expansion, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), NFC, LTE and CDMA/GSM/UMTS/GPRS radios -- that's right, it's a global device. Not bad for a 140g package, and it's waterproof as well, rated at IPX5. But the question is how well will the 2,020mAh battery last under that super dense LCD and high-end processor? Only time will tell -- even KDDI has yet to finalize this part of the specs. Folks on the KDDI network can grab hold of this powerful phone in early December, with a choice of red, white or black.

Update: HTC confirmed to us that this phablet will use panels supplied by Sharp and JDI.

[Source: Engadget]