vodafone

According to Vodafone's latest announcement, the carrier intends to bring the Apple iPhone to ten new markets by the end of the year, thanks to an exclusive deal with Apple.

These markets include Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, and Turkey.

Currently we have no info on possible pricing and availability.

Vodafone UK announced several new plans, which are supposed to include unlimited data.

The the starting package costs £25, and those over £40 can also choose unlimited texts, unlimited landline calls, or unlimited Vodafone-to-Vodafone calls to be included in the bundle.

However, there's a fine print saying that data is actually limited to 500MB. Wonder why they used the word "unlimited" in that case.

As expected, Samsung F490 was launched on Vodafone's network.

This is a full-featured smartphone introduced last year; it has a large 3.2" touch-sensitive display with Croix interface, a 5Mpix camera, HSDPA support, stereo Bluetooth, microSD slot, and much more.

The official price is unknown as of yet.

Vodafone has recently presented a new search service called Otello.

In order to perform a search it needs an image. For instance, you send a photo of a celebrity via MMS to a specified number, and Otello gives you the corresponding information, that is if it recognizes the image. This happened at the presentation at CeBIT when German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her own photo and received a negative response.

Today Nokia unveiled its two new handsets for two European carriers, the 6650 model for T-Mobile and the 6124 Classic for Vodafone.

• The first is a 3G HSDPA, GPS-capable flip phone with a 2.2" TFT QVGA 16M color display, 2Mpix camera, microSD slot, FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity, and support for the carrier's plans and services.

Vodafone UK in a partnership with Telmap started offering a new mobile navigation service to its subscribers, called Sat Nav.

It delivers full GPS experience on your mobile handset, renders maps in 3D, and provides instant live traffic alerts and POIs. Currently the service is compatible with three GPS-enabled handsets from the carrier: Nokia N95 (including 8GB version), Nokia 6110, and the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, which comes with 1-year subscription for Sat Nav.

Vodafone has recently added Samsung SGH-i640v to its smartphone lineup.

This WM6-based device was announced back in September 2007, and features a 2Mpix camera, full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA support, but lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, which is a major downside unless you're on an unlimited data plan. Depending on the contract, the i640v could be yours from free to £150.

Vodafone is in the process of removing from stock its branded Nokia 6110 Navigator handsets.

The company received a lot of complaints from its UK subscribers about a glitch in the phone's GPS application, which freezes the device. The officials claim that most of the faulty 6110's have already been recalled, and the rest will disappear from shells in the nearest future.

Vodafone 227 and 228 are two new low-end handsets designed for those looking for a cheap, yet stylish cell phone.

The first model has a clamshell form-factor, while the other is a slider. Both feature colored displays, text and voice services, vibrating alert, and matching headsets.

No word on pricing or availability as of yet.

Don't miss this chance!

Vodafone and 3 offer a free Nokia N95 8GB if you agree to sign an 18-month contract.

Sounds cool, doesn't it?

Vodafone offers a deal of £35.00 (~$70) per month for 500 anytime minutes and 500 SMS, while with 3 you'll get 300 minutes or texts (or any mix of the two) a little cheaper, for £30.