What was just a footnote to 2007 has finally come to fruition. Sony Ericsson just went live with details on the August 25th launch of its PlayNow Arena media download site. Initially the site will offer 1 million, DRM-free songs (ramping up to 5 million) from Sony BMG, Warner Music, and EMI. It will also offer games, ringtones, applications, and themes for your mobile downloading pleasures. Other European countries will come on board later this year before it goes global in 2009. Tracks are expected to be "on par" with Apple's iTunes ($0.99 / €0.99) pricing but will cost SEK9 (about $1.43, credit card required) for the Nordic launch. Full press release after the break.

When one music store on your handset just isn't enough, there's Vodafone. Evidently not at all content with just the Omnifone-provided unlimited service, the carrier has just revealed a more traditional outlet for buying music on one's phone. Vodafone Music comes pre-installed on Vodafone live! handsets and can be installed on a plethora of others. Put simply, the application enables users to search for songs right on their mobile and purchase them for playback -- nothing too complicated about that, right? Hit up the read link to see if your current cellie is compatible.

[Via UnwiredView]

Germany wanted $6.2 million in research subsidies back from Nokia, and in addition to the "tens of millions" that the company has already relinquished after the highly-disputed Bochum plant closing, it'll be coughing up another €1.3 million ($2.04 million) to hopefully close the door on the matter. Said payment will be addressed to North Rhine-Westphalia, which was quite angry after the handset maker decided to hack 2,300 jobs from Germany and relocate operations to Romania for "lower labor costs." The sum here is in addition to the €20 million "Growth for Bochum" foundation that the outfit started, but apparently that show of goodwill didn't really change the hearts of those already bitter.

[Via PhoneScoop, image courtesy of Reuters]

What, you didn't realize that LG was shipping its KF300 Wine phone in Europe and Japan today? Just open your eyes -- you can probably see the screen from your current position. This easy-to-see handset, unashamedly aimed at folks 30 years or older, is being paradoxically shown off by a couple of minors (just a hunch, folks) as it makes its official debut in the aforesaid nations. Interested consumers can pick one up now in white / gold / pink (Japan) or pink / dark purple / black (Europe) for an undisclosed amount.

[Via UnwiredView]

If you've had your eye on Samsung's forthcoming Omnia, you've known good and well it was coming to Europe sometime this month. Thankfully, Sammy has removed the mystery by announcing that Italy will get first dibs when it launches in said country on July 22nd. We aren't told who will be second, third or last, but most major European locales should have it before September dawns. Obviously, prices will vary depending on operator and contract terms, but the 8GB edition (along with an Xbox 360 Arcade, as part of some random promotion) will reportedly be €499 ($789) without subsidy. Glean from that what you will.

[Via phoneArena]

Though just over 10 percent of wireless Europeans are allegedly riding the 3G wave, the picture's looking a lot prettier when you compare the adoption rate of mobiles to their tethered equivalents. A survey commissioned by the European Union suggests that roughly 24 percent of households have moved exclusively to cellphones to take care of their telecom needs -- while Finland, Nokia's home turf, came in at a staggering 61 percent. In general, former Eastern Bloc countries are racking up a much higher incidence of mobile-only behavior, apparently because governments have found it easier to concentrate on building out wireless networks rather than a landline infrastructure that could see limited use (in-home broadband excepted, though that's another story altogether).

[Via textually.org]

As much fuss as we make about 3G, the impact it has on the mobile experience, and the death of old-school GSM as a viable technology, deployed WCDMA networks in their various forms are still just a drop in the bucket when compared to the GSM subscriber pool as a whole -- even in 3G-rich Europe. A new report from market research firm Informa Telecoms and Media reveals that European 3G users now number 101.5 million, which works out to about 11.1 percent of the some 910.8 million wireless users in the continent. Norway, Sweden, and Italy all individually broke 25 percent 3G penetration, but even so, that paints a very interesting picture of the overwhelming importance of the legacy infrastructure. With EDGE Evolution on the way, it could continue to play a majority role well into the next decade, too.

Not like we were really suspecting any issues or anything, but the European Commission has just made public its "unconditional approval" of Nokia's "voluntary tender offer for all the shares in Trolltech ASA." In other words, Nokia's acquisition of Trolltech is officially complete, with today being the final day in which the latter company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Such a cute couple, don't you think?

Well well, what have we here? Nary a fortnight after Qualcomm committed $16.3 million in the UK to scoop up about 40MHz worth of nationwide spectrum to test MediaFLO there, along comes word that two huge across-the-pond players may be interested. If you'll recall, Qualcomm noted that it wouldn't be launching commercially in the UK sans a partner, but according to the Financial Times, O2 has expressed interest in the chipmaker's plans, specifically noting that "MediaFLO is a technology well suited to providing TV to mobiles." Beyond that, Auntie Beeb proclaimed that she was "watching the current situation with interest." We know, this could all boil down to nothing in a matter of seconds, but it's certainly worth keeping an eye on until that does / doesn't happen.

[Via IntoMobile]

Remember that U800 we peeked in the middle of last month? Turns out, that very mobile is the one pictured above, though it now has an official moniker to round things off. In an attempt to migrate the Spirit of Soul (Samsung's words, not ours) to the candybar design, the Soulb was born. The handset checks in at 9.9-millimeters thick and features a 3-megapixel camera (with Power LED flash), document viewer / editor, web browser, multimedia player, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio (with RDS support), 1GB of internal memory and a microSD slot just in case. It's also noted that the Soulb will be available in Soul Grey, Platinum Silver, Metallic Black, Soul Pink and Amethyst Violet for an undisclosed price, but things aren't looking too swell for North Americans. Germans will get first dibs when it lands in "early June," while just about every region save for NA gets it shortly thereafter.

[Via phoneArena]

Mmm hmm. That F400 dual slider we originally got wind of in February is the real deal, as confirmed by Samsung today. Designed with music aficionados in mind, the handset is equipped with ICEpower from Bang & Olufsen, which gets complemented with a 3-megapixel camera (with AF and a LED flash), 2.2-inch display, 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, twin stereo speakers, music hot key, FM tuner, Bluetooth 2.0, a 1GB microSD card and USB 2.0 connectivity. The unit itself is built on HSDPA tri-band technology, and while we know you US'ers would love to wraps your paws around it, Sammy would rather dish it out to the French in black / white motifs later this month, while sending it to other regions of Europe, Asia and the Middle East shortly thereafter. Tough noogies.

Not long after spinning off from former corporate parent O2, Windows Mobile purveyor MWg is moving out of its Asian comfort zone to attempt to sell its wares over in Europe with a splashy press conference to kick things off -- and if the aggressive roadmap they're pursuing for the next year or so holds true, they might just have a fighting chance at making a splash up there. First up are the official European intros of the Atom V and Zinc II, HSDPA-equipped handsets that have been kicking around for a while now, but that's not even close to the interesting part. Looking deeper into '08 reveals a handful of HTC Diamond competitors, devices that are sporting a respectable 7.2Mbps down and 5.2Mbps up, and looking still deeper into the fourth quarter suggests that MWg intends to release its first Windows Mobile 7-powered device -- the Flame II -- with GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and "multimedia features" on board. That seems a little far-fetched considering that 7 hasn't been officially shown off and 6.1 isn't even in broad distribution to users yet, but we appreciate MWg's motivation here. We also see a Shift killer in the wings with Vista and a 3G data connection toward the end of the year, so all told, the future's looking bright for these cats if they can actually execute.

Britain's top fixed-line carrier is apparently aiming to get back in the handset game, as Times Online is reporting that said company will reveal a "BlackBerry-styled" device that does everything your typical smartphone can along with one extra inclusion. According to the writeup, the forthcoming device will "switch from BT's wireless Home Hub indoors to Vodafone's network on the move," and it's expected to be sold with a broadband package. Of course, those familiar with BT will recall that this isn't the outfit's first foray in the sector, but it's hoping the new handset will fare a good bit better than the poorly received BT Fusion. So, how's about a picture of this thing?

[Via Pocket-lint]

Update: The BT ToGo is official.

It looks like Asian handset outfit MWg is getting ready to bust out the family tree and make an homage back to the lands of its ancestors for a triumphant (it'd hope, anyway) new beginning. The company rose from the ashes of what was once O2's Asian outpost -- but now that it's been acquired by mega-retailer Expansys, it's looking to make a splash all the way back in O2's proper European backyard with the official launch of its Zinc II and Atom V smartphones in a press conference early next month. With the Windows Mobile market as crowded with worthy entrants as it ever has been, it's not entirely clear how MWg intends to stand out here -- but hey, wireless charging might just be a good start if they can pull it off.