Most of those affected were said to be in the M4 corridor to the West of London, resulting in a flurry of irate calls (by land line I imagine) to local radio stations and plenty of activity via the social networking sites.

Vodafone were quick to issue a brief statement which said:

“We had a break in last night at one of our technical facilities which resulted in damage done to some of our equipment. We are working quickly to restore these and will be back to normal as soon as we can.”

The company said that the there had been no impact on the security of customer’s private  information.

Vodafone refused to speculate on whether the break-in could be linked to several high-profile controversies involving the company.

It was recently the subject of protests over claims that the firm was let off paying part of an outstanding UK tax bill.

Vodafone was also criticised for shutting down its phone network in Egypt during the recent pro-democracy protests, although the company said it was obliged to comply with local laws.

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!”

The eagerly anticipated launch will see mobiles equipped with Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile 6.5 software, which can play music and open Word and Excel documents.

The new phones will be competing for a share of the market that up until now has been dominated by the Apple iPhone and Research in Motion’s ever popular Blackberry devices.

Microsoft also used the launch to announce the opening of a new online application store, where customers will be able to download and buy 246 applications for their phones.

Samsung Electronics, AT&T Inc and the Vodafone Group will be among the first manufacturers and network providers to offer the Windows driven devices.

Vodafone team up with MySpace to offer The Music Studio

Vodafone has teamed up with MySpace, the world’s premier social portal, to launch an online music studio designed to further strengthen its association with the music industry.

The pan-European campaign, which was launched today and will initially run for eight months, is aimed at bands, artists and music enthusiasts and sees the creation of a new and integrated music solution; showing Vodafone to be a brand immersed in music around the globe.

The venture, available to music lovers in the UK, Germany and Spain will deliver engaging and interactive brand experiences for users while ensuring revenue is driven through Vodafone’s music related products and services. It will provide the perfect platform for Vodafone to communicate and engage with music consumers in a social networking environment.

The Music Studio incorporates four key themes – Create, Discover, Experience and Share – maximising the opportunity for interaction and engagement:

Create:
Users will be given the tools to remix the tracks of established musicians using the new ‘Go Mix’ application, and later in the campaign, easily record tracks and upload them onto their MySpace Profile

Budding musicians will be given Tips and Tricks on how to make the most out of MySpace as well as learn new skills including remix and DJ techniques
Discover:

Bands can put themselves forward for a monthly ‘Ones to Watch’ competition. The chosen bands will be promoted via The Music Studio and also win a session in a recording studio
Experience:

Provides users with the latest news and interviews from Vodafone-sponsored music festivals and events across Europe
Share:
Users can post links to their next events or pose questions to the community in the forum

The Vodafone Music Reporter competition gives users the chance to win reporting opportunities from music events across Europe

Today’s launch builds on the success of last year’s Vodafone Music Reporter campaign which gave users the chance to travel to festivals across Europe and report back to the MySpace community, with the final winner reporting on a gig on MTV. Additionally, the development of The Music Studio to incorporate additional engagement opportunities has built on the Vodafone Music Unlimited offering on MySpace and further strengthens the site’s ongoing relationship with the brand.

Nick Reid, Head of Sales, MySpace UK, commented: “MySpace has worked with Vodafone to develop a bespoke platform to engage with our audience and offer them something we know they want. This deal provides us with a great opportunity to allow users and musicians to express themselves, discover new talent and get closer to bands and their music”.

David Wheldon, Global Brand Director at Vodafone Group said: “The Music Studio offers a unique opportunity to bring a great product to a fully engaged audience. We know that our customers are really passionate about music and we strive to give them new opportunities to experience music on – or off – their mobile. This campaign gives users an innovative, interesting and useful product, while strengthening Vodafone’s association as a key player in the music industry.”

Blackberry Storm 3G Touch Screen Mobile Phone

The Blackberry Storm will be launched in the UK on 11th November

The latest Blackberry mobile phone is about to be launched in the UK.  Latest reports suggest the Blackberry Storm will be available on 11th November.  The newest touch screen 3G mobile phone will be available exclusively from Vodafone.

Reviews have been very favourable and suggest it is the first “serious” competition to the Apple’s iPhone, which was launched in 2007.

The new Blackberry Storm has been given the thumbs up in positive reviews from The Guardian, The Times , Wired and PC Magazine to name a few.

Vodafone Blackberry Storm tariffs may stop it being the #1 mobile to be seen with this Christmas. The Blackberry Storm is FREE with a 24 month, £35 per month contract, which includes 600 minutes of calls and unlimited text messages.

I’m still waiting to get my hands on a Blackberry Storm, but the reviews have certainly whetted my appetite.

Nick Read, the chief executive of Vodafone UK, told The Telegraph:

“Our customers tell us that they want a single phone that can also give them the most secure, reliable email and messaging experience possible combined with all the desirable smartphone features, and they want it at a price that’s affordable” [and] “The BlackBerry Storm delivers all of this and more.”

The Blackberry Storm is the first touch-screen BlackBerry, and as with all previous Blackberry mobile phones it offers a full Qwerty keyboard.

It also has a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3G internet access and satellite navigation.

The mobile phone also has up to 16GB of storage for music or video files.

Since the successful launch of the Apple iPhone, there has been several mobile phone touch screen contenders including the Nokia 5800, Google’s G1 and Samsung’s good looking Tocco.  But none have quite matched the cool ‘must-have’ and exceptional functionality of the iPhone…until now!

Currently Pay Monthly customers pay for additional internet bundle for £7.50 per month. But Vodafone UK will now include mobile internet access.

Vodafone Price plans start at £25 and customers who select a £40 or higher price plan will also for the first time have the choice of unlimited texts, unlimited landline calls or unlimited Vodafone to Vodafone calls.

Ian Shepherd, director of consumer for Vodafone UK said,

“Our customers want simplicity and services that are easy to select, buy and use. Today with our new price plans Vodafone customers have the confidence to browse for as long as they need with no extra costs when checking their e-mail, visiting their favourite social networking sites or making a final bid on eBay.”

What does the Vodafone small business plan include?

Calls 24/7 to an area code of your choice
Calls to all other Vodafone customers on current business price plans
Calls 24/7 to all UK landlines (24 month contracts)
Calls to company mobiles on the same price plan
Calls to up to five nominated company landlines

There are further savings with 50% extra voice minutes free on 24 month contracts, and 25% extra voice minutes free on 18 month contracts; as well as rollover unused minutes and flat rate international calls.

As with all business mobile phone tarifs and services, there is much more complexity to confuse you. But added value is on offer including half-price mobile email at just £5 a month, fixed price text, email and mobile internet services, and the ability to change your business price plan after just six months.

24 month plan costs are:

100 minutes – £18.15
300 minutes – £24.75
800 minutes – £53.62
1200 minutes – £111.37
3000 minutes – £160.87