Prices look high at present and tariff selection is limited, but both will improve after the initial launch buzz. All the major UK networks - except Virgin - will carry the Q10 but no pricing is available for Three yet.

New contracts with free handsets

T-Mobile and Orange are offering a free device at £36 per month for 24 months. T-Mobile's tariff is more generous, including unlimited calls and data, but is subject to fair-use that's been problematic before.

O2 and Vodafone are offering a free device for £37 per month for 24 months. Both tariffs offers unlimited calling / texting and 1GB data monthly. Vodafone additionally include 2GB WiFi hotspot use.

New contracts with up-front cost

Orange are offering the device for £49 up-front and £36 for 18 months. The tariff offers 600mins calling, unlimited texts and 1GB data monthly.

O2 are offering the device for £50 up-front and £32 for 24 months. The tariff offers unlimited calling / texts and 1GB data monthly.

Incentives

Carphone Warehouse is offering free bluetooth speakers (£79 value) to early pre-orderers. Phones4U are offering a free BlackBerry 64GB Playbook to early pre-orderers.

SIM-free

Handtec have the both the black and white Q10 expected to ship on the 26th April available for £528 including tax.

The 'Curve-like' BlackBerry 10 device claimed to be the 'R-series' (Credit: BlackberryOS)

However, new images have appeared of an apparent 'R-Series' described as an equivalent to the current low-cost Curve range:

It is being reported that the device will be sporting an 1800mAh battery (same as Z10) and expected to be an “entry-level” device at an affordable price. – Think popular Curve line! Its availability should be sometime during late summer or early fall between the Q3 and Q4 periods. Expect a low MSRP at around $300-$400 without contract.

This would offer an option for messaging-heavy mid-tier users in established markets whilst the current BlackBerry 7 moves into devices for emerging markets at even lower price-points. It might also offer some short-term relief to QWERTY fans who lack much in the way of choice at present.

The Blackberry R-Series hidden in plain sight in this image from December 2012 (Credit: MobileSyrup)

The hardware keyboard may become a rarer sight but it doesn't look like it will be vanishing completely for a little while.

Sources: MobileSyrup / BlackBerry Empire / BlackberryOS

Everything worked well testing in the office - and I even saw a bill for a few cents to cover the test data I used  - but in the US, nothing. The phone found AT&T (the only US carrier Abroadband has a relationship with currently) but the data connection to the Abroadband access point stubbornly failed to connect. Without time to get to an AT&T or T-Mobile store I opted to head to the local Starbucks for free WiFi.

I've fired a note to the firm via their Facebook page (emails are rarely answered) but it's dented my confidence in a product I've rated very highly 'til now - it isn't the cheapest and doesn't offer the most coverage, but - for the occasional traveller - simplicity and reliability won-out.

I'll have a back-up next time...

We covered a range of topics:

• What is the biggest challenge in the coming 12 months for enterprise mobility?
• How should enterprises prepare for the mobile security challenges ahead? Is managing devices, apps, and information enough?
• What is the most effective way to support the relentless pace of mobile devices infiltrating the enterprise?
• How should organisations approach mobile enabling legacy apps and services?
• How does the approach to BYOD and corporate issued devices evolving over the next several years?
• What role will third party apps will play in the enterprise mobile ecosystem of the future?

A recording of the session (60 minutes) is now available via Brighttalk:

Update 1: A mid-tier R-Series QWERTY has also been spotted.

Update 2: Q10 launch dates and pricing for the UK are now available.

First-Look

The Q10 is BlackBerry's first device with a hardware keyboard running the new Blackberry 10 operating system. It's due to be released 'later this year', a decision which surprised many as the firm prioritised the full-touch Z10 despite the their heritage with keyboards.

Despite BlackBerry being absent from Mobile World Congress this year as an exhibitor, their staff are here and I got to spend some time hands-on with some prototype Q10 devices. 

The devices are unfinished - I was shown but asked not to photograph the software load - but initial impressions were mostly positive:

• Hardware build quality feels excellent - noticeably better than previous devices especially around the keyboard which has a new method of fixing to the hardware to secure the keys at the edges.
• The keyboard feels larger (it is - by going edge-to-edge the keys are 3% bigger, a small number but a noticeable change) and retains the shaped design familiar with previous models.
• The screen is bright and crisp and operates the same touch interactions as the Z10 for navigating the interface.
• The interface works well - the software is already familiar from the Z10 launch and  the Q10 has the same screen width so most apps simply require a little more scrolling.
• When entering text keyboard entry was easy but the experience of moving the cursor or switching screens using touch input felt odd - there is no hardware 'back' or 'menu' buttons. The process worked well enough but requires the existing users to 'unlearn' some actions which have become almost instinctive over the years.

BlackBerry staff said they expected many customers to switch to full-touch quickly - they're clearly very confident in the firm's new soft keyboard. It was suggested that - for many - the Q10 may be a transition step. That may be the case, but for those (myself included) who prefer a hardware keyboard for messaging this looks promising.

Official BlackBerry Q10 video

The 361 team are recording daily updates throughout Mobile World Congress 2013 and you can hear them all here via SoundCloud. Alternatively you can subscribe to listen via a mobile device and leave comments on SoundCloud.

• Apps: Start-ups, Innovation & Building a Successful Business
  Mon 25th Feb 14:00 - 15:30 - Hall 4, Auditorium 2
• Panel: The Future of Enterprise Mobility
  Feb 27th 2013 15:30 - 16:30 - SAP Booth, Hall 7, 7C70
  

I'll be mentioning some of the innovation work around mobile learning (especially an excellent project to support humanitarian relief efforts in disaster areas) and - more than likely - describing my efforts to 'work wirelessly'. The enterprise mobility session is chaired by Benjamin Robbins who's spending a year working exclusively on his smartphone - I'll be swapping notes with him from my year exclusively on 3G data.

It's the last show in season 4 but don't worry we have a very special guest in the shape of The Voicemail Podcast's own James Whatley (hear more Whatley at The Voicemail) and we're talking about Blackberry (again).

Could Ewan be even a little right about a come-back? Is there anything possibly left to announce after all the leaks?

We're not sure but the 'mood in the room' is warming to them (a bit).

Don't worry - you won't have to wait long for more 361-goodness. We'll be reporting daily from Mobile World Congress - the world's biggest mobile event thing (in Barcelona) - with daily updates in a special mini-series.

Download, stream, listen, comment and subscribe on SoundCloud.

We're back and - after re-capping some of the big news whilst we've been gone - this week we talk about Ubuntu Mobile.

Ewan's enthused, perhaps even keen. Rafe is dubious the small firm can make a dent in the world of mobile ecosystems and Ben is - well - flat out confused why they're bothering.

Download, stream, listen, comment and subscribe on SoundCloud.

However, the announcement suggests their focus is firmly on reducing device costs for pre-pay customers:

It makes it more affordable for customers to get their hands on a smartphone, helping to increase take-up of the mobile internet among the mass-market (rather than being aimed at early adopters or people who already have a smartphone). We’re particularly targeting pay as you go users who have yet to make the leap to a smartphone.

Interestingly it also offers some numbers for smartphone adoption:

smartphone take-up among new pay monthly customers is over 90%

I'd previously seen figures of around 75% for the whole of the UK (and globally it's much lower - around 40%) so this suggests operators will need to be increasingly creative for those who can't subsidise their hardware with a contract.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical - the firm behind Ubuntu - has announced the Linux distribution is to move into mobile, shipping on handsets by late 2013. Tablets will follow.

Ubuntu running on Shuttleworth's own Google Nexus

Speaking in London at the launch event, Shuttleworth emphasised Ubuntu's place as the world's 3rd largest operating system highlighting the distribution by some of the world's largest PC vendors, Ubuntu's dominance of cloud platforms and recent moves to the platform by big-name game developers such as EA.

In April the firm refreshed Ubuntu's user interface, adding support for smart TVs. Today that new interface has been shown off scaling to smartphone and tablet devices. The OS was demonstrated running on Google Nexus devices, but these are just in-use for testing - the firm plans to partner with network operators and well-known hardware manufacturers (similar to Android's model) although they admitted none have signed-up 'yet'.

Shuttleworth acknowledged the firm faced "a challenge" in the competitive world of mobile and outlined two propositions:

• A 'lean' smartphone for 'starter' users or 'low-end' hardware. 30% of smartphones are only used for their basic built-in functions. Ubuntu will be faster, more elegant and more efficient he claimed (it doesn't use a Java 'virtual machine' as  Android does).
• A 'superphone'. A new category of device that has the power to drive more than just a mobile experience. Superphones will appeal to power-users and enterprise users where they can be docked as 'thin clients'.

Competing platforms, Shuttleworth claimed, don't scale as well across such a diversity of hardware. They are, however, using a kernel drivers from Android that will allow them to access much existing hardware.

Ububtu's 'high' and 'low' mobile hardware requirements.

Addressing the issue of developers, Ubuntu will support a full range of HTML5 applications. However, native apps are also given equal billing and a development environment will be launched this week. Native Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, Gmail and Spotify will ship as native apps form day one.

Taking questions, Shuttleworth commented that users will be able to install Ubuntu on existing handsets they own (a build for Google Nexus is coming in 'about' 3 weeks), but emphasised Canonical's desire to ship with the OS pre-installed.

It's worth noting that Ubuntu have previously announced 'Ubuntu for Android' which offers an Ubuntu desktop from a docked Android handset - this is an interim step for 'converged devices' but not the same as the pure OS announced today.

Wireless working isn't just for the nomads - my mobile is still the best way for customers to reach me even when I am in my home office. The problem is my new home is in a Vodafone blackspot.

£100 later and Vodafone's new Sure Signal 3 is - apparently - what I need. A device that provides a mobile network connection in my own home via my broadband (it needs 1Mbps down and 0.3Mbps up, which even my rural connection can comfortably manage) - a 'femtocell' in mobile-geek parlance.

I'll be giving it the full 'long term test' treatment over the next few months.

They've been in short supply recently as Vodafone have updated the hardware to its 3rd version - a new, smaller and more convenient, form-factor built into a plug with a 'pass through' power socket. However, mine's finally arrived and it's an attractive thing.

Ethernet connection to your broadband router and a 'spare' port labelled 'PC'

The new SureSignal 3 has a 'pass-through' plug on the front

It can support up to 32 registered devices and 4 simultaneous calls, but for now it's just me and my Nexus S using it. The registration process was painless - I entered the serial number and the address I'll be using it. However, alarmingly, 24hrs in and I've not actually managed to make it work. It sits, gleaming, beside my desk flashing an error light at me. I'm heading to Vodafone's dedicated help forum.

Although Vodafone have been offering Sure Signal devices to customers for almost 2 years now, Three also has one (although it's reserved for people wanting to leave the network due to coverage issues), O2 have been testing them for business users and EE is rumoured to be working on them.

Vodafone appear to have thought about the user experience of buying more data. Image credit: Ewan MacLeod

Bravo Vodafone. Now, if only we could get billing in a unit consumers can understand...

Worse, consumers are locked into tariffs of these incomprehensible units and what follows is the customer experience provided by the UK's 2nd largest network - my operator - O2.

This happened this month when my usage changed (probably[1. Actually, I'm not sure if my usage has changed - this seems to have coincided suspiciously with the latest iOS update and rumours of data-munching bugs, but regardless I'll have to pick up the bill.]). I start this month - like every month - with 1 Gigabyte of data.

The Warning

An alert... I have consumed an unspecified (but high) proportion of my data allowance since my last bill, an unspecified number of days ago. I can buy more data but how much and to last how long? The tools to discover this are hidden behind long-forgotten passwords. I later look it up, but it simply shows me percentage used - I still have no idea when or why my usage increased.

I don't feelmy usage has changed. I take no action - it's an anomaly.

The Limit

5 days have passed and I have now used all of my allowance. In 20 days I have used more data than I have ever used in a month before.

I have no idea how.

No Problem

I have used all my data, but I don't need to worry. My data will work until I buy some more, just a bit slower.

O2 may have confused 'slowed' with 'stopped'.

They weren't kidding about slow. Loading O2's mobile home page takes 2 minutes. Apps - including O2's own - time out while logging in. iMessages fail and revert to SMS.

It's unusable and I discover this as I leave the house to be without WiFi access for the day... I'd better buy that top-up.

I can't. Whether on 2G or 3G I can't convince O2's system I'm not on WiFi. You can't buy a top-up on WiFi...

I give up. Fortunately I have another connected device with me... 'Real' people probably don't carry several smartphones.

The Top-Up

I find some WiFi and login to O2's account management page. I purchase a top-up. It costs £6. This email arrives:

Dear Ben,

Thank you for your request. We're adding the One-off 750MB UK Data, you asked for. && (false)) There's no charge.

One-off 750MB UK Data Bolt On: Allows an additional 750MB of UK data usage, for a one-off cost, to use until your next bill date. You'll be able to start using this Bolt On from today.

Really?

It's 2012. I have a high-end smartphone. I spend double the average consumer with my operator. They have my bank details. Yet they can't explain the mystery data use, warn me with numbers, get me re-connected again without a laptop or complete that transaction without error.

Why is this so hard?

"Desktop Internet is Dead: Long Live Mobile Internet"

Bring your opinions. A panel of guest experts will debate and take questions and the event will be recorded for a future podcast.

Where:

LBi, Brick Lane, London E1

When:

Friday, 16th November 2012

Doors: 6:30pm

Panel starts: 7:00pm

Networking until: 10:00pm

Social:

Event hashtag: #361live

Tickets:

Register here for free tickets via Eventbrite

This event is generously supported by LBi.