Vodafone will be unleashing the HTC Legend shortly and several websites have begun pricing it. Whilst there are no official details on the Vodafone website Pocketlint are reporting that Vodafone will be pushing the tough little handset on some, quite frankly, attractive deals. Whilst most are 24 months there are a number of fairly good value 18 month contracts bragging a free handset. I will say that it seems a little tight for Vodafone to charge £1.99 on some contacts for the phone.

A Sim free version can be picked up for the modest sum of £399.99 here.

[Source Pocketlint]

The Telegraph is reporting that the Nexus One will launch on Vodafone in April for a non-disclosed price, though it’s "likely to be priced very similarly to comparable smartphones such as the iPhone." It’s no secret that Vodafone’s picking up Google’s Snapdragon-powered beast. Coincidentally, this is going to collide head-to-head with the European release of the Desire, HTC’s remix of the Nexus One with Sense and an optical pad thrown in, so it’ll be fascinating to see which of these monsters comes out on top at retail.

Vodafone is looking into a ’severe breach of rules’ by staff after an offensive ‘tweet’ was posted on its official Twitter account, Vodafone UK.

The offensive ‘tweet’ was posted at 15:47 and deleted shortly afterwards. Since then, the operator has sent out numerous apologies to its followers on the social networking site. Vodafone reacted quickly to the breach and posted an apology, just under an hour after the original post, which said: ‘We’re really sorry. A severe breach of rules by staff in out building, dealing with that internally. Please keep your faith in us.’

Only this week the operator was used as an example of a company using Twitter for good customer services by BBC programme Working Lunch. Followers of Vodafone UK on Twitter started ‘re-tweeting’ and asking Vodafone what had happened and have speculated that a disgruntled employee created the post.

One follower said: ‘Have I missed something???’

A Vodafone spokesman said: ‘This afternoon an employee posted an obscene message from the official Vodafone UK Twitter profile. The employee has been suspended immediately and we have started an internal investigation. This was not a hack and we apologise for any offence the tweet may have caused.’

Source

A consumer watchdog has called for more customer choice, after news that T-Mobile will stop offering 12 month contracts from February.

Government watchdog, Consumer Focus telecommunications expert, Nick Hutton said: ‘We need to see mobile-phone companies offering a range of contract-lengths, which suit consumers’ needs, rather than the existing trend towards longer contracts. Longer contracts may limit consumer choice and could potentially lead to higher prices for consumers.

He added: ‘Longer contracts suit some customers and allow providers to offer discounts on handsets. However customers who find they need to leave their contract may face high termination charges. If consumers are tied into such contracts and rarely switch it may also give less incentive for suppliers to offer the best price deal.’

There are now a limited number of 12 month contracts available, with one of the remaining being through offered through MVNO Tesco Mobile, for the iPhone.Others are available through Orange and Vodafone.

One industry source said: ‘Operators are concerned about churn and one of the ways to diminish opportunities for customers to move is if they are tied in. There is a definite trend towards longer contracts.’

Vodafone sold its 100,000th iPhone [yesterday], just eight days after it went on sale

Vodafone today sold its 100,000 Apple iPhone, just over a week after the operator launched it.
The iPhone went on sale at Vodafone last Thursday (January 14). Vodafone followed Tesco Mobile and Orange in selling the iPhone, breaking O2’s two-year exclusivity on it.
Vodafone UK CEO Guy Laurence said: "The demand from both consumer and business customers has been phenomenal. They want an outstanding phone on an outstanding network and we’re delivering that."

[Source mobilenews]

What do you do if you have tried every mobile network where you live and discover that they are all pretty poor and you suffer random loss of service, missed calls and frustration, well Vodafone think they have the answer with their Access Gateway or as their starting to call it Sure Signal.

This is basically a femtocell that connects to your home broadband connection and provides a full 3G signal to your phone for calls and data.

Does it work, read on for the full review:-

Read More…

Via Vodafone’s official Twitter account they claim to have delivered over 50,000 iPhones to customers today, my wife’s unfortunately is stuck with Parcel Force as they claim the weather was too bad to deliver it, going to collect it tomorrow just in case we get any more snow.

Anyway it still amazes me how popular this device is when you compare it to the recent Google Nexus One figures just out.

Terry O’Brien talks about the launch day for the iPhone on Vodafone UK from the Oxford Street store below:-

Vodafone today announced its Vodafone Navigation App is now available from the App Store. The app provides turn-by-turn navigation, with voice instructions and speed camera alerts, for any location in the UK meaning Vodafone customers now have the option to never be lost again.

The Vodafone Navigation App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

At the end of April 2010 customers can decide to keep the app for the length of their contract for just £3 a month, or choose to take it month by month for £5 a month.

Customers can also access Western European maps for an additional £5 for each month they are used.

via Press Release

Vodafone today announced the availability of its free Vodafone 360 People Sync App on the App Store. The app was developed to help customers easily move mobile contacts from one phone to iPhone by backing up and syncing all contacts regardless of network provider.

The 360 People Sync App removes the hassle of having to manually transfer numbers to a new iPhone. Customers can sync contacts from almost 500 phones to iPhone so no one need ever lose a contact again. Customers can check whether a phone is supported by registering for an account at 360.com.

The 360 People Sync App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Vodafone now offers the iPhone in the UK with a range of contract price plans tailored to let customers make the most of the UK’s outstanding network. Available from as little as £30 a month, customers will be able to buy their iPhone in-store, through their account manager or online at vodafone.co.uk/iphone

via Press Release

It seems Vodafone has pulled the Sony Ericsson X2 from it’s UK Launch due to conflicts with Vodafone’s network specific applications. Doesn’t sound like the tragic Satio but this is probably another headache Sony Ericsson could do without.

Similarly, Orange have kicked the N97 Mini out the door for unspecified reasons however if you were *lucky* enough to get one Orange will still support the device. Rumour has it that the returns rate was too high.

Looks like the iPhone will reign supreme in the wake of any phones that might pose a threat in this quarter. HD2, X2 and N97 Mini were modest adversaries that never made it into the ring.