On Christmas Day, tens of thousands of mobile hand sets were activated by Tesco Mobile with the Apple iPhone proving the most popular gift for customers.

The new products and services offered by the company ensured double digit airtime growth in every quarter of 2010, showing that Tesco are listening to what people want from their mobile and making it available.

It is still the only network to offer the iPhone on a 12 month contract for consumers and now has a comprehensive selection of smartphones in its range including the iPhone 4 and newest Blackberry models.

Customer numbers grew by 25% in 2010 as Tesco Mobile saw the network move into the contract market bringing more choice for consumers with the launch of 12 month contracts as well as market leading 24 month options.

Tesco Mobile continues to innovate in the mobile tariff space, recently launching two new deals aimed at the youth market, offering low cost monthly contracts with a high end handset and unlimited social networking.

The mobile operator is a joint venture between Tesco and O2 which utilises the O2 network and therefore provides first class national coverage for both voice and data, a choice factor for consumers which is becoming increasingly more vital as the uptake of mobile data rapidly increases.

Growth of the Tesco Mobile network has also been fuelled by the roll out of Tesco Phone Shops and there are now almost 200 Phone Shops across the UK providing Tesco shoppers with convenient access to a comprehensive range of Tesco Mobile phones, mobiles for other major networks, accessories, broadband services, landlines, top up and Tesco international calling card.

The retailer has just launched its first standalone Phone Shop in Bristol allowing customers on the high street to benefit from Tesco Phone Shop value and have access to the Tesco Mobile brand.Tesco Phone Shops have also seen growth internationally across the Tesco estate and there are now Phone Shops in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Turkey and South Korea.

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms said;

“Tesco Mobile is well on its way to becoming the number one MVNO in the UK.  It is continuing to grow its Pay as you go and Pay Monthly base in a declining market space which highlights the network’s appeal to our mobile savvy nation.

We have a unique position in the mobile market place because we are able to reward customers in hundreds of ways through Clubcard.  We’re focused on giving consumers real and valuable rewards that encourage their loyalty and help them get the best value from their provider.

The rapid expansion of the network of Tesco Phone Shops in 2010 has enabled us to deliver service and value through telecoms retailing to millions of Tesco Shoppers and has brought Tesco Mobile as a network to the attention of consumers.”

Tesco announced that pre-orders for the new N8 would be taken from October 15th up until midnight on October 21st.

As well as offering market beating prices on Nokia N8 Pay As You Go deals Tesco Telecoms have also announced some killer deals on contract options.

There are savings to be made by pre-ordering the new device through Tesco who are offering a reduced rate of £25 per month on Vodafone or O2, once again with 1,000 clubcard points.

Once the coveted handset has hit the shelves on 22nd October , customers on Tesco Mobile, O2 and Vodafone can grab a free Nokia N8 for just £30 a month at Tesco.  Customers get 1,000 Clubcard points on sign up which no doubt will help with the Christmas shopping. Tesco Mobile’s 24 month N8 tariff includes 750 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Telecoms and Tesco Mobile said;

“The Nokia N8 is one of the most highly anticipated mobile launches of this year, with both the industry and consumers awaiting its arrival with baited breath. We’re thrilled to be once again able to offer consumers the best choice and some of the cheapest deals on the market. The Nokia N8 looks set to be the most popular gift this Christmas and our great range of Pay As You Go and contract deals offer something to suit every budget and need. I’m also sure that hardcore tech fans will be pleased to hear about our pre-order deal, which means they no longer need to camp outside the store in the rain to be the first to get their new phone!”

They can certainly target the younger market in some confidence. The vast percentage of those who embrace new technology tend to come from the younger age range, but there is also a vast market of older users who may have different needs.

They may not be interested that the latest phone can download music, run an app to tell them how to bake a goat’s cheese and lemon terrine or that they can now access the Internet while they are pruning their hedges at the bottom of the garden.

Many of these users, as strange as it may seem to many of the younger folk, would just like a mobile phone that is simple, easy to understand and performs the seemingly forgotten art of actually calling someone to speak to them. Fortunately, this is where a website like www.phones4u.co.uk is so beneficial.

This autumn, many new students will be heading into colleges and universities across the UK. Parents can give them a head start by taking a look at the fantastic ‘student saviour’ deals on offer on the website at present. These are the best mobile phone contract/laptop package deals and the value to be had is truly astonishing.

Take the popular Samsung Tocco Lite, a fantastic little mobile phone using touch screen technology. For just £30 a month with 02, you receive this great little handset on a 24-month contract but for that you get unlimited texts over the two-year period (which will be invaluable when little Jonny forgets the power of speech while at University and decides to communicate only via SMS!), 600 talk time minutes a month (which will no doubt keep him from running up a huge phone bill ordering Chinese takeaway).

A great deal, but it gets even better when you learn that he will also get completely free a fantastic Dell Inspiron 11Z laptop on which to do his vital University work, or more likely, spend the day on YouTube watching videos of skateboarders fall clumsily to the ground.

If you are a techno-lover then you will no doubt want the latest technology and Phones4u once again delivers. They offer the full range of fantastic new smartphone packages, including the superb new Samsung Wave S8500 and the astonishing Samsung Galaxy S.

They also offer a comprehensive range of Blackberry handsets, the stylish new offerings from the likes of HTC, Nokia, LG, Sony Ericsson and of course Apple.

Yes, fans of the iPhone 4 will be understandably feverish with the news that Phones4u have some of the best deals available on this latest Steve Jobs creation.

For instance, the stylish Apple iPhone 4 16GB is available under contract from Vodafone for 24 months. For that you receive 1GB a month mobile Internet browsing and 900 free minutes and 3000 texts messages a month.

All for just £40 a month and a one off initial payment of just £89. Alternatively, if you are going to be using your brand new iPhone 4 online a great deal, you could opt for Orange’s similar deal, which is exactly the same price, £89 initially and £40 a month, with the same number of texts and minutes free each month, but which comes with unlimited browsing and WiFi included!

If you aren’t an Apple fan, then don’t worry. There are still plenty of great contract phones on offer to you, at a vast range of prices and on a suitable tariff to match your budget. Many also come with a fantastic free gift to sweeten the deal further.

This gift is often delivered the same day as your phone, no needlessly sorting vouchers, having to send them off to some obscure address in the remote Orkneys and then waiting three months for delivery with Phones4u! If you order a phone with a free gift then, pending satisfactory credit checks, they should be with you the next day!

For instance, let’s imagine that a customer wants the stylish Blackberry Curve 8520. Once they have logged in, checked the specifications of the phone and read the all-important customer reviews of the phone on the site, they then decide that they want to order the phone.

The choices available to the customer are frankly astonishing. If he wants a cheaper monthly package, he can take the 18-month 02 woo contract, which offers a quality phone free of charge, for just £20 a month. Plus the customer would receive 100 call time minutes and 3000 texts free each month!

However, if the customer wants a little more then they will surely be delighted to find that they receive a lot more for their money! If they opt for the Blackberry Curve 8520 on the Vodafone Blackberry your plan Text £30 contract, for his £30 a month he would get 300 minutes of talk time and 3000 text messages. A great deal, but one made even better when you consider he would get delivered, free of charge usually within 24 hours, a brand new slimline 120GB Playstation 3!

A quick browse of the offers for your choice of phone will highlight the myriad of free gifts, from games consoles, televisions to laptops, cashback and iPods, all of which are offered alongside some of the best deals available anywhere in the UK.

Pay as you go customers are not left behind either. Whether you don’t want to be tied down to a monthly contract and want a stylish, modern feature-laden phone, such as the new Samsung Monte or Sony Ericsson W995, then they are available on fantastic, affordable pay as you go deals.

At the other end of the scale, if you just want an emergency back-up phone to keep in the car, or a phone so simple even your mildly eccentric granny could use it, then you can spend the princely sum of £2.95 to get a rather elegant Nokia 1661 – when you buy £10 airtime with Virgin to credit the account with.

With mobile broadband deals, laptop packages, special offers by the dozen, phone reviews and all the latest mobile technology news, the Phones4u website isn’t just about buying phones, but enhancing your life with them. Best of all, that applies if you are a techno-wizard who wants the most expensive gadget and gizmo money can buy, or whether you are of a more venerable age and want the simplest of phones to contact your family.

The name says Phones4u, but really they have phones, gifts, features and advice that is perfect for everybody.

iPhone 3G

According to reports, Orange along with T-Mobile, will be selling the iPhone 3G handset from September in a bid to boost sales.  However, it is believed that only the older models will be available to other networks, with O2 exclusively holding the newer faster versions.

Coincidentally, this is happening around the same time that Apple’s two-year partnership with 02 ends.  This of course, is still unconfirmed.

Up until now, customers have been forced to go with the over-subscribed network of 02 for their handset preference, but maybe now their is a light at the end of the tunnel, or maybe not!  For those of you who signed up for the 18-month contract, you’re likely to find yourselves stuck with it until the end before you can upgrade.

O2 Mobile Broadband is available to all O2 customers and works like other competitor mobile services by using a plug n play dongle.  The O2 Mobile Broadband service already boasts free Wi-Fi from over 7,500 Cloud hotspots.

Available to all O2 customers, the O2 Mobile Broadband service offers:

3GB worth of UK data usage on the O2 network & unlimited Wi-Fi every month through the 7,500 hotspots with The Cloud wireless broadband network in the UK

Fixed 18-month contract or a rolling monthly contract

24/7 support from a UK call centre

Plug n Play functionality

Fast wireless access to the internet wherever you are

O2 Business Mobile Broadband was launched in the UK on May 1st 2008.

This special offer is a massive discount on the original price of £269. This offer is not available in Apple stores.

O2 state that the cuts “will create additional momentum for what has been O2’s fastest-selling device.”

“The iPhone has also been hugely successful in attracting new high-value customers to O2 who are also more likely to recommend O2 to their friends and family. Sixty percent of iPhone customers are new to O2, while iPhone customers spend on average 30% more than other pay-monthly customers,” O2 said.

The move matches a discount recently initiated by Apple’s German network partner, T-Mobile, from £315 to £78 but the discount isn’t being applied on sales of the 16GB iPhone, which continues to cost £329.

This could be a move to sell stock of the iPhone to make way for competitor phones. There are rumours of a 3G competitor to be released in July.