Vodafone 4G plans revealed: Free Spotify, anyone?

 

O2 has already revealed its 4G plans and is set to launch its crazy fast LTE network later this month, but what about Vodafone? The big red network’s just announced its 4G plans, and they’re coming in fast – fancy some free Spotify Premium with your mobile contract?

Vodafone’s getting ready for the launch of its super speedy 4G network on 29 August in London, with 12 more cities on the way before the end of the year, and you’ll be able to jump onto the company’s Vodafone Red 4G-ready plans from 12 August. And to make things sweeter, Vodafone’s giving you the choice of grabbing either Spotify Premium – worth £9.99 per month otherwise – or access to all the action from Sky Sports Mobile TV as part of your plan. How’s that sound?

If you’re upgrading from a current Vodafone Red plan, you can grab either streaming service, get double the amount of data you currently have and access 4G for an extra fiver a month on top of your current plan. Vodafone’s main 4G offerings come in three different sizes: Red 4G, Red 4G L and Red 4G XL, each at different price points with double the data caps as the current Red plans (1GB, 2GB and 4GB) and unlimited texts and calls.

Let’s start with the base Red 4G plan, which starts at £34 a month: you can choose from either streaming service for the first six months, which will then cost you £4.99 a month for Sky Sports or £9.99 for Spotify Premium. On the other hand, if you opt for the Red 4G L plan, which starts at £39 a month, or the Red 4G XL plan, which starts at £44 a month and arms you with 8GB of data, you’ll be granted with either streaming service for free for the whole of your two year contract. After two years, you’ll have to fork out for the service yourself, but that’s not bad for two years worth of free Spotify on any device.

Already got a 4G phone and want a SIM-only deal? You’ll find Vodafone’s SIM-only plan start at £26 a month, but just like the base Red 4G plan, you’ll only get Spotify and Sky Sports for the first six months. It’s still a lot better than nothing, and compared to O2’s deal, which will include access to an as yet to be named music service, sounds a lot more exciting, given Spotify’s critical mass and huge suite of apps for every platform under the sun.

www.easyappsbusiness.com

iPhone 5 and iPad 3 tipped to jump on board 4G LTE express

For all its many strengths, one thing that is lacking on the Apple iPhone 4S is 4G networking speeds. But if the latest reports are to be believed, both the iPhone 5 and the next-generation iPad 3 will come with high-speed LTE networking smarts built in.

That’s the gist of reports emanating from Japan’s Nikkei Business publication this week, which claim Apple CEO Tim Cook himself has sat down with leading Japanese network NTT DoCoMo at Apple’s Cupertino HQ to discuss the plans.

The network infrastructure required to handle 4G data speeds is already well established in the Far East, and the iPhone 4S’ lack of 4G connectivity has been probably the number one criticism of the Apple handset in those markets.
However, Nikkei Business claims Apple’s next generation of iDevices will have 4G LTE networking on board – the iPad 3 in the first half of next year, and the iPhone 5 in the autumn.
But while that’s definitely good news for the Far East and the US, the continued delay in getting 4G networks up and running here in the UK means it’s unlikely we’ll be able to take full advantage. High-speed networks continue to be tested on a trial basis, but real progress is only likely to happen on the other side of the planned 4G spectrum auction next year.