Distorted-Loop.com

Apple’s iPhone is becoming the dominant device in key territories of SouthEast Asia, while in the UK carrier O2 continue to aggressively defend its iPhone franchise as price war breaks out.

O2 is planning to launch a two-year Apple iPhone tariff for £25 per month. The tariff will include 100 minutes and unlimited texts. That follows announcement of a SIM-only deal last week.

O2 has much to fight for. It has sold over 2 million iPhones in the UK, but now faces stiff competition from other carriers who have broken its once exclusive hold on UK iPhone sales. Vodafone and Orange are both seizing share, with the former company confirming 100,000 new iPhone sign-ups in the first week the product went on sale.

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Apple has shipped yet another developer seed of the in-development Mac OS X 10.6.3, and once again this release seems to have few critical issues, at least according to the Seed notes provided by World Of Apple – in a separate report, UK iPad prices may now have been slipped, read on…

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Well our American cousins have been investing in the next, best iteration of OS X since this weekend. Now Amazon UK has opened for business selling the software for pre-order, (price, mysteriously, not avail. on Amazon’s site, or Apple’s – please guys, give Britain a day off from feeling ripped-off, is tough times here, after all..)

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Arts Council England has published findings from two new pieces of digital research. The research is part of the first phase of the organisation’s three year programme to help the arts world seize the digital opportunity.

The first study explores the public’s understanding of and engagement with art in the digital space.

Key findings of this research included:

- arts attendees are likely to explore digital space as a complement to existing arts activity, with the potential for deeper and more fulfilling experiences as a result

- the public feel that digital cannot replace the atmosphere, sociability or immediacy of the live experience

- most people believe that digital can come into its own when providing context for the live experience in areas such as education and information.

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Don’t tell the press, but we hear Apple continues to make major strides in the UK and European education markets, emerging as the leading platform for both.

The most recent Gartner Research data claims Apple continues to maintain itself as the number one computer manufacturer in the Western Europe education market for Q1 2009 with a healthy 26.4 per cent of market share.

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O2′s exclusive deal with Apple for distribution of the iPhone in the UK is reportedly set to end two years early, according to a report published on the ITProPortal website.

The report – which seemingly draws heavily on conjecture – suggests O2′s recent deal with Palm in which it becomes the exclusive provider of the Palm Pre is evidence of an end to the Apple iPhone exclusive.

“O2 currently has an exclusive agreement with Apple that is supposed to last until 2011 but rival networks are likely to push for Apple to rethink its strategy and make the iPhone platform agnostic; and there is no reason why Apple wouldn’t do that,” the report explains.

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Wolfgang’s Vault is the collector’s site for multimedia music memorabilia, offering a vast selection of some of the world’s rarest – and potentially most treasured – music and music-related “stuff”. And now it’s available in the UK, through your iPhone or your iPod touch.

We were in touch with Eric Johnson, President and CEO, Wolfgang’s Vault overnight, he describes his service as, “The only online site dedicated to telling the comprehensive story of the live music experience of the past five decades.”

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While legal beagles flood the ‘net with searches for the New York Bar Exam today, the rest of us are really, really passionate about music, new research explains – and it looks like good news for Apple and others in the sector this Holiday Season, read on…

A pair of reports emanating from Bauer Media and the Consumer Electronics Association show a growing appetite for music among consumers (that’s you and I), and increasing demand for music among US teens.

With such a fury of interest at music, it’s a surprise the label bosses can’t seem to sell the stuff.

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O2 continues in its attempt to position itself as the coolest, most music-focused mobile carrier, with news its London venue, the O2, will host Elton John’s annual New Year’s Eve Party

This Monday 17th November tickets for Elton John’s New Year’s Eve Party go exclusively on sale to O2 customers before going on sale to the general public on Monday 24th November at 9am.

Elton John has been wowing audiences with his Red Piano show in Las Vegas since 2004 and Elton John’s New Year’s Eve Party will see him perform his greatest hits at the biggest party in town.

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We7 today officially launched its ads-supported music service, offering UK music lovers the chance to listen to whatever music they choose for free, and offering a chance to buy their favourite music.

The service’s extensive catalogue includes music from a three million strong catalogue of artists including Kings of Leon, Pink, Nickelback, and Estelle.

We7 is adding up to 30,000 tracks a day to its collection of over 3 million licensed tracks, including many new releases as they become available.
 
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