o2

Remember this, future iPhone 3G users in the UK: turn off the "Data Roaming" setting on your handset when traveling abroad! Why? Because O2 has gone overboard with its insane data-roaming charges. For every single megabyte you download, you'll be paying £3 (about US$6) when roaming around in the EU. Leave EU borders and the charge doubles.

Well, it looks like 3G iPhone is definitely coming in June.

First - no vacations for AT&T store employees until July, second - the "next month" hint on Monday, third - the upcoming 1 year anniversary, and now this: according to O2's CEO, the anticipated handset will be launched in "the coming weeks."

But even after all that we still can't specify the exact launch date.

O2 became the exclusive carrier for the new Motorola RIZR Z10 cell phone.

Luckily, once the limited launch period is finished, other carriers will also be able to pick up this handset.

O2 has picked up the new Palm Treo 500, previously an exclusive to Vodafone.

It is a business-centric smartphone powered by Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard and featuring 900/1800/1900Mhz GSM radio, 2100Mhz UMTS, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, and a microSD card slot. You can get the handset for free if you take the appropriate wireless plan.

Visit O2's website for more info.

Believe it or not, it looks like British carrier O2 decided to cut a whole £100 from the 8GB iPhone bringing the price down to £169 not depending on the wireless plan you choose.

Sadly, the price cut only applies to the 8GB version; the 16GB model will still cost you £329.

Anyway, the deal will expire in June, so hurry up!

The HTC S730, also known as the Xda Atmos is now available in the UK for business customers through O2.

Primarily a business smartphone, the S730 offers the following features:

• Windows Mobile 6 Standard OS;
• Microsoft Push email support;
• Full slide-out QWERTY keyboard;
• HSDPA support;
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.

According to some sources, Apple is apparently planning to release the iPhone in Ireland on March 14.

Irish O2 will be the official carrier and will sell the handset for 399 EUR and 499 EUR for 8GB and 16 GB models respectively. Available calling plans will be as following:

• 175 anytime minutes, 100 texts and 1GB of data - 45 EUR;
• 700 anytime minutes, 150 texts and the same 1GB of data - 100 EUR;

For more info go to Irish O2's website.

Samsung's new M110 "Solid" cell phone will soon be available in the UK.

It has a rugged exterior, which only makes the phone look durable, but besides the design the M110 has nothing special to offer. It is a low-end handset featuring GSM/EDGE/GPRS connectivity, a 240x320 display (a square one!), Bluetooth, VGA camera, FM radio, and support for MMS.

According to O2's CEO Matthew Key, who recently met with Steve Jobs, Apple iPhone turns out to be the best selling device in the carrier's history.

He said that the company plans to sell about 200,000 units by the end of January. And that's not all, data usage has increased tremendously over the previous periods, and now O2 is experiencing solid revenues.

According to recent reports, Apple iPhone has serious connection problems on the British O2 wireless network.

The carrier received complains from its customers that most of the time they see a "No service" sign of the screen. There was a suggestion on Apple’s Support Forums to fully restore the phone's firmware to avoid any more issues, but frankly speaking the problem must be in the network itself, especially when knowing that the indoor reception turns out to be even worse.