London Tech City: Vodafone unveils incubator developer office.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

London Tech City: Vodafone unveils incubator  developer office.

Vodafone is establishing an office in London's Tech City to help developers design new products and services.

 

The centre will open toward the end of this year to provide logistical support and potential funding to mobile and creative media firms, together with access its 400 million subscribers.

The decision to open a London-based technology incubator follows Vodafone's "xone" initiative, which opened in Silicon Valley a year ago. The xone centre offers U.S.-based startups assistance with business development, network and device architecture, consumer electronics, payment and billing mechanisms, data analytics and content delivery.

George Osborne, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the Vodafone investment alongside investments in London from Barclays and Gree, the Japanese gaming company, at a business summit meant to capitalise on the London Olympics.

"Taken together, these investment represent a triple whammy for Tech City," he said, according to the Financial Times. "You will not find a country anywhere in the world that is more open to technology, more open to investment and more open to business."

The Vodafone announcement coincided with Barclays Bank saying it would be providing office space and financing to startups in Tech City over the next five years, while Gree, is planning a relocate its development studio to the fast-growing London district.

Commenting on the move, Siavash Alamouti, Vodafone's group R&D director  said that he was pleased to confirm the company's intention to set up a new R&D and incubation centre in East London's Tech City. "We believe that the great talent, entrepreneurial spirit and wealth of start-up companies, in both the mobile internet and creative media industries, that are to be found in East London, make Tech City a great location for this centre," he said.

Vodafone's decision to open a focus on London's Tech City for new technology developments follows a recent move by O2 which has already opened its Wayra academy in the same location, and comes just days after Amazon and Facebook announced similar investment in technology centres bordering Tech City.

Press Release:

VODAFONE LOOKING FOR THE TECHNOLOGY STARS OF TOMORROW IN EAST LONDON.

New incubation centre in Tech City will build on the success of Vodafone xone in Silicon Valley.

Vodafone is bringing its expertise in helping innovative start-up businesses to Tech City, Europe's fastest growing digital hub. Britain's biggest ICT company will open a new technology and incubation centre in the East London area as it looks to nurture the next generation of British start-up talent.

The new centre will provide innovative businesses in the mobile internet and creative media industries with technical expertise, potential financial assistance, logistical support and access to more than 400 million Vodafone customers across more than 30 countries worldwide. It will draw on the expertise of Vodafone Ventures, the company's corporate venture capital arm, which has been successfully investing in innovative new businesses for over a decade.

The decision to locate a new technology and incubation centre in Tech City builds on the success of Vodafone xone, which opened in Silicon Valley a year ago. Vodafone xone identifies innovative US start-ups and helps them move quickly to market. It offers companies support from a team of professionals whose expertise spans business development, network and device architecture, consumer electronics, payment and billing mechanisms, data analytics and content delivery.

Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green said: "I warmly welcome Vodafone's plans to open a technology lab and incubation centre in London's Tech City. This announcement is an excellent reflection of Tech City's success as a thriving hub of innovative technology companies, combined with ready access to Europe's largest venture capital community."

"With the world's spotlight on the UK this summer, we are working hard through the British Business Embassy programme to help technology companies capitalise on the unique opportunity we have in 2012 to secure new trade and investment."

Siavash Alamouti, Vodafone Group Research and Development Director said: "Vodafone is delighted to confirm its intention to set up a new R&D and incubation centre in Tech City. This exciting new centre will build on our existing Vodafone xone facility in Silicon Valley, giving cutting-edge British high tech start-ups access to the expertise and global reach of Britain's largest ICT company."

"We believe that the great talent, entrepreneurial spirit and wealth of start-up companies, in both the mobile internet and creative media industries, that are to be found in East London, make Tech City a great location for this centre."

Vodafone intends to have its centre in Tech City up and running towards the end of the year.

For more information on Vodafone xone please visit http://vodafone.com/xone

For further information:

Vodafone UK Media Relations
Telephone: 01635 666777
http://mediacentre.vodafone.co.uk/

3 Australia migrating customers to Vodafone network.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

3 Australia migrating customers to Vodafone network.

3 Australia said that from this month, customers using its services will begin to connect using the network of partner Vodafone.

 The Vodafone Hutchison Australia joint venture, which includes 3 and Vodafone’s assets in the country, has previously been hit significantly by network quality issues.

UK: Huawei Ascend P1 coming with Vodafone.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

UK: Huawei Ascend P1 coming with Vodafone.

Huawei is launching its “super-slim” Ascend P1 smartphone in the UK in early August on Vodafone and via various independent retailers. 

The 7.69mm-thick smartphone has a 4.3-inch screen, runs on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS and features a dual-core processor and 8MP camera. 

The Ascend P1 will be available on Vodafone price plans from £26 per month.

LTE: SK Telecom in talks with Vodafone for LTE.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

LTE: SK Telecom in talks with Vodafone for LTE.

SK Telecom, the south korea nation’s top mobile carrier, said Tuesday that it is in negotiations with U.K. firm Vodafone to export its in-house advanced telecommunications technology. The firm said the move is part of efforts to strengthen alliances to enable a global presence.

The so-called Smart Push technology is the primary target for the United Kingdom-based telecom group. ``Collaboration with Vodafone will be strengthened as it has keen interest in using the SK technology amid the migration into data-intensive long-term evolution (LTE),’’ said an SK executive, Tuesday.

In February, senior Vodafone executives, who manage the corporate network-related strategies, met with SK Telecom officials in Seoul and tentatively agreed to forge a close tie-up in LTE services.

The Smart Push tech, which is one of SK Telecom’s ``PETA’’-dubbed solutions, enables the smooth usage of social networking services or messengers and also facilitates the large amount of data traffic on Web-connected smartphones and tablets.

Vodafone isn’t the only firm that wants to boost a strategic partnership with the Korean mobile carrier. France’s No. 2 carrier SFR has also approached SK Telecom to check out the development phase of SK’s LTE solutions before entering into a comprehensive partnership, SK said.

SK Telecom is partnering with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for the Smart Push technology. Under the pact, the Korean firm is providing the solution, while NSN will be in charge of overseas sales.

``We have signed various non-binding memorandum of understanding with top overseas carriers. One inspiring signal is that they want to learn from our experiences and know-how in managing LTE services,’’ said a company spokesman.

SK Telecom is Korea’s top LTE service provider with the number of its customers exceeding 3.6 million as of last Friday, followed by LG Uplus and KT with 2.9 million and 1.5 million, respectively. 

Currently, the flagship of SK Group is the world’s second-biggest LTE service provider beating Japan’s NTT DOCOMO but behind Verizon Wireless of the United States. 

To offset the stalling local growth, all Korea’s three carriers are heavily investing in LTE networks, though huge costs for promotional campaigns in the nascent but growing market are causing them to suffer from a steep decline in profit.

Although SK Telecom was late in LTE solutions, the carrier has begun stealing share from rivals by offering high-end LTE solutions including Multi-Carrier, Advanced-SCAN and Hybrid Network Integration System as well as PETA.

In a statement, SK said Taiwan Mobile Chief Technology Officer Tom Koh also recently visited the firm’s headquarters to discuss several pending issues with SK management. ``Taiwan Mobile has requested the meeting,’’ he said, adding the partnership has been expanded to education, healthcare and security.

UK: Vodafone shipping pebble blue Samsung Galaxy SIII 16GB to customers.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

UK: Vodafone  shipping pebble blue Samsung Galaxy SIII 16GB to customers.

Vodafone has said it’s now received stock of the 16GB version of the blue-tinted phone from Samsung, which should be arriving today for those who optimistically ordered it in May.

 The 32GB blue model’s still missing, though, with Vodafone saying it’s “continuing to work closely with Samsung to secure stock” of the blue S III with the larger onboard storage.

Vodafone would appear to have grabbed most of the stock from Samsung, as the blue version of the S III is not yet for sale at any of the usual SIM-free retailers.

Australia: Vodafone will rollout on May 22 Android 4.0.3 ICS for HTC Sensation, XE and XL.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Australia: Vodafone will rollout on May 22 Android 4.0.3 ICS for HTC Sensation, XE and XL

According to Vodafone Australia, the rollout of Android 4.0.3 ICS for all three HTC Sensation models is scheduled for 12:00PM, 22 May 2012.

Customers who choose Vodafone’s 3G network instead of a reliable Wi-Fi connection should know that the operator won’t charge them a dime and data will not be deducted from their monthly allowance.

Given the fact that this is a major update, it is expected to change the way users experience and interact with their phone, as some menu items will be changed, while the UI has been redesigned.

Aside from the changes mentioned above, the update will also upgrade the HTC Sense UI to version 3.6.

The update includes:

- System bar enhancements to easily view recent apps;

- Re-sizeable widgets;

- Lock screen actions including pull down notifications and adjust volume while device is locked;

- Data usage controls;

- Face Unlock;

- Home screen folders;

- Improved battery life;

- Improved text input and spell-checking;

- Improved menu structure.

Users should back up their personal data before flashing the new ROM and make sure their phone’s battery is at least 50% charged. To check for the update, simply go to Settings / About phone / HTC software updates / Check now, and follow the on-screen prompts.

USA: Vodafone invests in Finsphere Corp. mobile money firm.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Vodafone has led an US$11.3 million investment round in Finsphere Corporation, a US vendor of identity analytics technology that is used to secure transactions including mobile payments. The investment was made by Vodafone Ventures, the venture capital arm of the mobile operator. Finsphere will use the additional backing to expand its current platform and grow its relationships with mobile operators and other key industry players. The vendor provides an analytics platform for the development of identity services that boost privacy and information protection for mobile operators.

Tobin Ireland, Vodafone’s group director of commercial development, is to join the Finsphere board of directors. In addition to the mobile operator, other participants in the round were Mohr Davidow Ventures, Shasta Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures.  Finsphere’s solutions are used to secure a range of transactions including mobile payments as well as credit and debit card transactions, new account applications, online banking, enterprise access events and personal online identities.