Tag Archives: UnitedKingdom

New Nexus 7 reportedly coming to the UK August 28th

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New Nexus 7 coming to the UK August 28th

We were pleasantly surprised by the latest version of the Nexus 7, which landed in the US at the end of July. A little more patience has been required of Nexus fans on the other side of the pond, however, but the wait will soon be coming to an end. According to Pocket-Lint, ASUS has confirmed that the device will launch at midnight on August 28th, and will offer an asking price of £199.99 for the 16GB WiFi model and £239.99 for the 32GB WiFi-only version. There's no word on an LTE unit hitting British shores, but we'll keep you posted if we hear more.

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Source: Pocket-Lint

Report: Verizon, Vodafone and BT gave UK government unlimited access to undersea network cables

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PRISM isn't just for US agencies -- last month it was revealed that the UK's Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) has been using the program to collect emails, photos and video content from an assortment of internet providers. Now, a German newspaper claims to know what companies collaborated with the security agency. According to The Gaurdian, Süddeutsche identified Verizon, Vodafone, Global Crossing, Level 3, BT, Interoute and Viatel as firms that participated in Tempora, a program that gave the GCHQ widespread access to the undersea fiber optic cables. The operation was all quite hush-hush, with documents referring to participating outfits by obscure code names: "Dacron" for Verizon, for instance, and "Little" for Level 3.

Parliament has already dismissed the agency's snooping as legal, but documents seen by The Guardian suggest that some telecoms may have illegally given the GCHQ access to other companies' cables without permission. Naturally, the firms involved were quick to dismiss foul play, with representatives from Verizon, Interoute and Vodaphone each assuring The Guardian that it was merely complying with UK law. True enough, probably, but we can't help but wonder if the operators weren't coaxed into cooperation with the promise of cool code-names.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: The Guardian

UK government issues ultimatum on Google’s troublesome privacy policy

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A year and a half after Google introduced its new, "simpler" privacy policy, UK regulators have come to a verdict: Mountain View must now change that policy by September 20th or face the possibility of "formal enforcement action." In a statement, the Information Commissioner's Office said:

"We believe that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google's services to understand how their data will be used across all the company's products."

German and Italian governments have reached much the same conclusion, while France and Spain also wrote strongly-worded letters to Google last month. For its part, Google has the following response:

"Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the authorities involved throughout this process, and we'll continue to do so going forward."

As The Guardian points out however, Google's statement doesn't really explain how its privacy policy can "respect" EU law and yet be considered objectionable by five major EU governments.

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Source: The Inquirer (1), The Guardian

Sony Entertainment Network introduces carrier billing in the UK

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Sony Entertainment Network introduces carrier billing in the UK

Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment are teaming up with payments processor Boku to support carrier billing in the United Kingdom. The new feature, which is reportedly compatible with all UK-based carriers, will enable consumers to top up their account wallets by charging the addition directly to cellular accounts. You'll be able to add funds through Sony's account management website and the PlayStation Store on PS3 by choosing "mobile" as the payment option, typing in your phone number and authorizing the transaction by responding to an SMS. You'll be on your way to charging games, themes, Music Unlimited subscriptions, video content and add-ons in no time.

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Amazon optimizes MP3 store for iOS devices in the UK, makes it easier to access tunes

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Amazon optimizes MP3 store for iOS devices in the UK, makes it easier to access tunes

Just as it did earlier this year here in the States, Amazon has now quietly announced that it's brought some HTML5 tweaks to its UK-based MP3 store in order to make it more friendly with iDevices. Thanks to these under-the-hood enhancements, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in the United Kingdom can now have access to more options within the web version of Amazon's music shop -- you know, things like downloading and streaming songs. Naturally, once you've purchased some tunes, they'll automatically be added to the Cloud Player, where they can then be played from any other compatible device (e.g. Sonos systems or an Android tablet / smartphone). You can check out the optimized Amazon MP3 hub over at the source below.

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Via: Trusted Reviews

Source: Amazon UK

Report: UK security agency also gathering secrets through PRISM

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The United Kingdom's main security agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), is apparently working with the United States' Prism intelligence program to gather data on various internet companies, The Guardian reports. Documents given to the UK news outlet indicate that GCHQ was able to retrieve "personal material such as emails, photos and videos" from internet companies operating outside the UK, and the GCHQ employed 197 intelligence reports in 2012 alone. This allows the UK government to circumvent red tape that would otherwise tie up the process of acquiring information from companies located outside of its own region.

Apparently the GCHQ's been working with the US Prism service since "at least June 2010," and it's unknown how that's impacted UK citizens in the past several years -- a GCHQ representative wouldn't comment on how long the two agencies have been working together. Though the GCHQ didn't directly confirm the collaboration, the agency issued a statement to The Guardian stating it, "takes its obligations under the law very seriously."

The PRISM system is said to enable access to records held by the nine largest internet companies, from Apple and Google to Skype and even Engadget's parent company, AOL.

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Source: The Guardian

Microsoft Surface Pro coming to the UK on May 23rd starting at £719

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Microsoft Surface Pro coming to the UK on May 23rd starting at 719

Microsoft has a good excuse for the Surface Pro's late arrival in the UK: the company claims that demand in the US stripped its cupboards bare, leaving nothing but RT crumbs to sell on this side of the Atlantic. In any case, Redmond tells us that a date has now been set, with the Core i5-powered tablet due to be available from Microsoft's online store from May 23rd. For once, Brits can look forward to dollar-equivalent pricing, with the 64GB version going for £719 and the 128GB model fetching £799 inclusive of VAT. (That may not be cheap, but at least it's fair.) Meanwhile, the bendy Touch Cover will continue to cost £99, and the more traditional key action of the Type Cover will add another tenner on top of that. So, there it is. Just in time for Haswell to make us wonder when a more power-efficient sequel might be coming out.

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ASUS FonePad ships April 26th in the UK, up for pre-order now

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ASUS FonePad ships April 26th in the UK, up for preorder now

Back when ASUS first introduced that unorthodox FonePad to the masses at MWC, the Taiwanese company said the 7-inch device would be arriving in the European market at some point in March. Fast forward to today -- a couple of weeks late, no less -- and ASUS has announced that those in the United Kingdom can now start making pre-orders, with the Jelly Bean-loaded phone / tablet hybrid expected to ship on April 26th. Just as we'd heard in Barcelona, the FonePad's set to come with a £179.99 price tag, which, in return, gives folks a decent 1,280 x 800 IPS screen, an Atom Z2420 1.2GHz chip with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage and a 4,270mAh battery -- plus, of course, the HSPA+ radio to boot. Online stores like Carphone Warehouse and Amazon are all set to take your money, just make sure you also buy some jeans with big pockets, because you'll certainly need a pair if you plan to use the PadFone FonePad to make calls in grandiose fashion.

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Source: ASUS

Surface RT coming to six more countries in late March, Pro in the ‘coming months’

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Surface RT coming to six more countries in late march

Microsoft's Surface is continuing its global retail rollout, expanding its reach well beyond the western hemisphere. In late March the RT model of Redmond's in-house tablet effort will begin popping up in Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan, (though, not necessarily at the same time) adding to the pile of European nations where it's already launched. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro will finally be leaving the Americas and heading for Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the UK sometime in the coming months. Unfortunately Microsoft isn't getting any more specific about when its full-blown Windows 8 machine will appear in countries other than the US and Canada. All we can do now is await the promised follow up post on the Surface blog for more details about availability. If you're a fan of press materials (even those that don't provide a ton of information) you'll find some after the break.

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Source: Surface Blog

UK investigating passive radar system to detect aircraft location, free up 5G spectrum

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Ready for a new radar system? The UK could be, if a new study is deemed a success. Thales, a French aerospace company which manufactures traditional radar systems, has received funding from the UK's Technology Strategy Board to study the feasibility of using TV signals to locate planes and choppers through a technology called "passive radar." According to the BBC, the system would monitor the timing of TV signals reflected from aircraft, which would enable equipment to display an exact location, while measuring the Doppler effect would provide speed and direction information.

Though it's not based on GPS, the new system would reportedly be more accurate and efficient than what's in use today, while also serving to free up spectrum that could be used for an upcoming 5G network. Unconvinced frequent fliers need not worry, however -- the country's existing radar infrastructure would remain intact throughout the test period, and air traffic control officials won't be switching to the new system unless it's sanctioned, which, considering the significance of such a move, could take some time.

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Via: TechWeekEurope

Source: BBC