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.

Not even a week after hearing that Air France was forging ahead with an in-flight calling trial, the European Commission has now voiced its approval of using mobiles on planes in European airspace. After six months of deliberating, the decision was finally made to give airlines the choice of offering up services in order for guests to dial loved ones at 3,000-meters or more. The EU telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, went on to warn operators to "keep the cost of calls made on planes at a reasonable level," and of course, not all is clear just yet. For starters, the European Aviation Safety Agency still needs to green-light the whole ordeal by approving any hardware that would be used, and we won't be seeing any 3G action up high just yet. Still, at least one less hurdle stands in the way of you phoning home from over Europe (and simultaneously making enemies out of all your neighbors trying to get a few decent minutes of shuteye).

As expected, the European Commission just did the obvious and made the EU's de facto DVB-H standard, standard. The move is expected to accelerate the deployment of mobile television services across Europe in the same way that GSM standardization in the early 90s gave Europe a head-start on backwater cellular locations like North America. So get outta Dodge Qualcomm and South Korea with your MediaFLO and DMB mobile television technologies, you aren't welcome around Brussels anymore.

As we expected, Apple just loosed the iPhone into Ireland and Austria. €399 nabs the 8GB model while €499 takes the 16GB unit home. T-Mobile has the honors for Austria as it does in Germany while O2 carries the flag in Ireland as it does in the UK. Interestingly, Irish subscribers are not entitled to Visual Voicemail or free WiFi even though they are offered by O2 UK -- neither country offers an unlimited data plan. Tsk tsk. Regardless, early adopters from those countries already had their unlocked iPhones months ago which makes the launch just a formality at this point.

[Via MacRumors]

Read -- Austria
Read -- Ireland

Palm's GSM Centro has been about the worst-kept secret in the entire smartphone industry for the past few weeks, and indeed, it's now official -- for Europe, anyway. The unlocked handset features a quadband GSM / EDGE radio with nary a trace of UMTS in sight (this is still Garnet, after all), 64MB of user-available storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a 320 x 320 display -- in other words, the same Centro we all know and love (or tolerate, or despise, depending on your point of view) with just a little bit less CDMA and 3G data to its name. It'll hit the British market on the 14th of the month and the remainder of Europe by the end of February for €299 or £199 (roughly $440 or $392); no word on when the official AT&T version will be available yet, but US folks desperate for one of these unlocked versions in the meantime shouldn't have a lot of trouble importing it, we'd imagine.

[Via Treonauts, thanks Andrew]