Vodafone Rolls Out New Handsets And Music

By Digital Trends Staff September 10, 2007

Vodafone Rolls Out New Handsets And Music

You can deduce two things from yesterday’s announcements of new handsets and services from UK mobile provider Vodafone.

The first is that the glittery new phones means that the Christmas shopping season is just about upon us.

The second is that, in its deal with Omnifone to provide music downloads to phones, Vodafone is almost certainly out of the running to carry the iPhone in the UK.

Under the arrangement, customers will be able to download an unlimited number of tracks to their mobiles for just over $4 per week. Omnifone’s service, called MusicStation, reportedly carries over a million tracks, including all the major labels. Users will be able to download on the move.

Although the service will be available on the new range of phones, the fact that it also works with 2.5G and 3G phones means that the vast majority of Vodafone customers won’t need to upgrade their handsets to use it.

Vodafone already has a pay-per-track service, but claims this new offering is a first for UK mobile customers. Since it positions the company in direct competition with the iPhone and iTunes, it becomes a safe assumption that Vodafone is out of the running to be the company that handles the set in the UK, which confirms recent media rumors.

Editors' Recommendations

Digital Trends Staff

Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…

Mobile

Apple rolls out another promised AirTag safety update

Person holding an Apple AirTag.

Apple has finally rolled out a promised update to its AirTag tracker that allows AirTags to chime with louder tones when separated from their owner's iPhone or other Apple device. The company had promised this as part of a package of updates in February, and the first such feature is rolling out.

"Tuning the unwanted tracking sound to more easily locate an unknown AirTag," Apple notes in the changelog for version 1.0.301. Alongside these changes, Apple has worked on other improvements to make AirTags less attractive as a stalking tool. The company has rolled out a new Tracker Detect app for Android users, as well as promised to increase precision in tracking unknown AirTags.

Mobile

Apple rolls out nudity-scanning feature on Messages to UK, other countries

A woman's iPhone screen displays a pop-up for Apple's new nudity-scanning feature.

Apple last year launched a safety feature in the U.S. that scans for sexually explicit images in the Messages app on iPhones, iPads, and Macs used by children younger than 18, and warns them and their parents when they receive or send them. Now, the company is rolling out that feature to iOS users in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Guardian first reported that Apple users living in the U.K. will see the nudity-scanning feature, called "Communication Safety," in the Messages app relatively soon, although the exact date is unknown. It's already live in Canada as part of the iOS 15.5 beta update, but it's unknown when users in the other aforementioned countries will receive the feature.

Mobile

Tile rolls out anti-stalking tool in wake of AirTags scandal

Tile Pro white on key.

Tile has just announced a new feature coming to its iOS and Android apps called Scan and Secure. It aims to help users keep abreast of attempts to surveil and track them using Tile's trackers. This move comes after Apple has faced criticism over its own AirTags being used in incidents of theft or stalking globally.

Tile's new Scan and Secure feature is available as part of the Tile app with a Tile account not being required. Once installed, you're able to run the tool and let it manually detect if there's a Tile-enabled device on you somewhere. The company notes that tracking people without their knowledge is against its terms of service, adding that it may also be illegal in many regions.