The numerical network will be launching a 4G network later this year but, unlike EE, it won't cost any more to use.
Three bought the necessary spectrum to provide 4G (LTE) in 2012 from EE and will provide superfast connection speeds on the 1800MHz spectrum band 'in the second half of 2013'.
While EE has already launched its 4G network onto the UK public, it's faced criticism from consumers about the high price to get the speedy connectivity, costing over £60 per month in some cases.
In contrast, Three has pledged to add the 4G speeds, which will bring a speed boost to consumers – although it won't be a massive increase thanks to already bringing (theoretical) speeds of up to 40Mbps through its DC-HSPA network.
That technology is actually the key: Three has been touting its 'Ultrafast' network as bringing nearly 85% of the speeds offered by EE's 4G to stop consumers leaving in droves to get the next-generation connectivity.
Upping the stakes
And it will simply be adding 4G speeds to that network, which already covers 55% of the UK through over 50 towns and cities. By the time Three brings 4G to consumers later this year it has pledged to be able to give LTE speeds to at least 80% of the population.
There's no word on whether the network will bring data caps, or whether it will continue with its offer of unlimited data on certain plans at 4G speeds with for no extra cash.
""As we add the next wave of technology to our Ultrafast network, we've listened to our customers and thought long and hard about the right way to do it," said Three's UK CEO, Dave Dyson.
"We don't want to limit Ultrafast services to a select few based on a premium price and we've decided our customers will get this service as standard."
Three has already got a number of handsets that will be able to use the new speeds when switched on, including the iPhone 5 and forthcoming Sony Xperia Z. It will also be bringing LTE-ready versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, as well as the BlackBerry Z10.
The numerical network will be launching a 4G network later this year but, unlike EE, it won't cost any more to use.
Three bought the necessary spectrum to provide 4G (LTE) in 2012 from EE and will provide superfast connection speeds on the 1800MHz spectrum band 'in the second half of 2013'.
While EE has already launched its 4G network onto the UK public, it's faced criticism from consumers about the high price to get the speedy connectivity, costing over £60 per month in some cases.
In contrast, Three has pledged to add the 4G speeds, which will bring a speed boost to consumers – although it won't be a massive increase thanks to already bringing (theoretical) speeds of up to 40Mbps through its DC-HSPA network.
That technology is actually the key: Three has been touting its 'Ultrafast' network as bringing nearly 85% of the speeds offered by EE's 4G to stop consumers leaving in droves to get the next-generation connectivity.
Upping the stakes
And it will simply be adding 4G speeds to that network, which already covers 55% of the UK through over 50 towns and cities. By the time Three brings 4G to consumers later this year it has pledged to be able to give LTE speeds to at least 80% of the population.
There's no word on whether the network will bring data caps, or whether it will continue with its offer of unlimited data on certain plans at 4G speeds with for no extra cash.
""As we add the next wave of technology to our Ultrafast network, we've listened to our customers and thought long and hard about the right way to do it," said Three's UK CEO, Dave Dyson.
"We don't want to limit Ultrafast services to a select few based on a premium price and we've decided our customers will get this service as standard."
Three has already got a number of handsets that will be able to use the new speeds when switched on, including the iPhone 5 and forthcoming Sony Xperia Z. It will also be bringing LTE-ready versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, as well as the BlackBerry Z10.
A few months ago I wrote a piece asking: 'Can EE make 4G a success in Britain?' – the idea being that by being first to market, the brand created by fusing Orange and T-Mobile would gain the key association with next-generation speeds.
It's certainly made a strong fist of that through a huge marketing campaign; from lighting up Battersea Power Station to myriad adverts throughout Britain's cities the message was certainly prevalent, although some consumers still are only vaguely aware of new thing that offers faster mobile speeds, then baulk when they hear how much it will cost.
When EE announced its 4G prices, hearts collectively sank. Paying £56 a month for 8GB of data? Sure, you can pay the carrier less and have fewer bytes to play with, but if you're not going to do data-sapping activities like streaming movies and playing games on the go, what's the point in having 4G at all?
Consumers still aren't bothered about waiting 4 seconds rather than 2 to load a webpage. They're not going around playing online games yet, and the likes of NetFlix are still services mostly viewed in the home - so paying a huge amount extra at this early stage can be a hard sell. Make it cheap enough to use and people will find use cases.
Cheap at half the price
In the same piece, I also noted that "While we can't expect to pay rock-bottom rates for the faster speeds (it's not free to deploy 4G, obviously);" thankfully, that appears to have been incorrect according to the announcement from Three today.
While it hasn't elaborated on its plans exactly, the news that it won't be charging a premium to use 4G is a massive boost to consumers that wanted to be on next-generation speeds but had that pesky issue of wanting to eat each month as well.
We're not proclaiming that Three's deal is going to be wonderful just yet – there's no mention of what data caps it might impose on 4G connections, where it's currently unlimited on a number of schemes – but it's certainly given prospective 4G users something huge to think about.
Will anyone wander into an EE shop to pick up a 4G phone when it can get the same at Three at a much lower cost, safe in the knowledge they will get the same speeds in a few months without a price hike?
Apples and Oranges/T-Mobiles
It's only fair to point out that we're not comparing like for like here: EE is offering something different to Three with its package. Yes, it is much more expensive as it stands, but users do get things like 'Clone Phone' to save their key data and free movies to stream on the go, as well as cinema tickets and the like from EE. The brand will likely push harder at these 'value add services' in the coming months too to help separate itself further.
But ask most consumers which they'd rather have: a cheaper tariff or loads of freebies, and they'll probably opt for the former each time. They might ask about coverage as Three still struggles with the impression among a section of the public that it only serves a shed in the centre of London, but the network is promising to have 80% of the country covered by the time it spits out the new speeds, which should placate most.
From a consumer perspective, it's almost unbelievable that a move like this has been made – most of us were conditioned to believe that we were just going to have to suck up the high prices for the improved connections, as that was the way it happened a decade ago with 3G, after all.
But given some networks are already offering speeds of up to 85% that of 4G in some cases for '3G prices' it makes sense that it needn't cost more to go up to LTE speeds – so we're glad that someone came out and did it.
A few months ago I wrote a piece asking: 'Can EE make 4G a success in Britain?' – the idea being that by being first to market, the brand created by fusing Orange and T-Mobile would gain the key association with next-generation speeds.
It's certainly made a strong fist of that through a huge marketing campaign; from lighting up Battersea Power Station to myriad adverts throughout Britain's cities the message was certainly prevalent, although some consumers still are only vaguely aware of new thing that offers faster mobile speeds, then baulk when they hear how much it will cost.
When EE announced its 4G prices, hearts collectively sank. Paying £56 a month for 8GB of data? Sure, you can pay the carrier less and have fewer bytes to play with, but if you're not going to do data-sapping activities like streaming movies and playing games on the go, what's the point in having 4G at all?
Consumers still aren't bothered about waiting 4 seconds rather than 2 to load a webpage. They're not going around playing online games yet, and the likes of NetFlix are still services mostly viewed in the home - so paying a huge amount extra at this early stage can be a hard sell. Make it cheap enough to use and people will find use cases.
Cheap at half the price
In the same piece, I also noted that "While we can't expect to pay rock-bottom rates for the faster speeds (it's not free to deploy 4G, obviously);" thankfully, that appears to have been incorrect according to the announcement from Three today.
While it hasn't elaborated on its plans exactly, the news that it won't be charging a premium to use 4G is a massive boost to consumers that wanted to be on next-generation speeds but had that pesky issue of wanting to eat each month as well.
We're not proclaiming that Three's deal is going to be wonderful just yet – there's no mention of what data caps it might impose on 4G connections, where it's currently unlimited on a number of schemes – but it's certainly given prospective 4G users something huge to think about.
Will anyone wander into an EE shop to pick up a 4G phone when it can get the same at Three at a much lower cost, safe in the knowledge they will get the same speeds in a few months without a price hike?
Apples and Oranges/T-Mobiles
It's only fair to point out that we're not comparing like for like here: EE is offering something different to Three with its package. Yes, it is much more expensive as it stands, but users do get things like 'Clone Phone' to save their key data and free movies to stream on the go, as well as cinema tickets and the like from EE. The brand will likely push harder at these 'value add services' in the coming months too to help separate itself further.
But ask most consumers which they'd rather have: a cheaper tariff or loads of freebies, and they'll probably opt for the former each time. They might ask about coverage as Three still struggles with the impression among a section of the public that it only serves a shed in the centre of London, but the network is promising to have 80% of the country covered by the time it spits out the new speeds, which should placate most.
From a consumer perspective, it's almost unbelievable that a move like this has been made – most of us were conditioned to believe that we were just going to have to suck up the high prices for the improved connections, as that was the way it happened a decade ago with 3G, after all.
But given some networks are already offering speeds of up to 85% that of 4G in some cases for '3G prices' it makes sense that it needn't cost more to go up to LTE speeds – so we're glad that someone came out and did it.
Samsung's latest The Next Big Thing commercial will air during the Super Bowl, but the Apple fanboy-bashing we've seen in the past appears to have run its course.
Instead, the two-minute spot, which will go out to US audiences during the most expensive advertising slot of the year, features Hollywood jokesters Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen and an Apple-free experience.
The pair are hired by a marketeer, played by Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad's brilliant "Better Call Saul" Goodman), to brainstorm ideas for commercials promoting Samsung Galaxy products.
Rogen and Judd are eventually gazumped by Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James, who has recently featured in ads for the Samsung Galaxy Note phablets Stateside.
Is the war won?
The advertisement, which was released on Saturday ahead of its TV spot, is a marked departure from Samsung's previous attempts to shame those buying Apple devices.
Previous 'Next Big Thing' commercials have made fun of Apple loyalists lining up outside of the company's stores waiting for new iOS devices, excited by the headphone jack moving from the top to the bottom of the iPhone 5 and spouting nonsense like "I could never get a Samsung, I'm creative."
It was a phenomenally successful campaign in which Samsung somehow succeeded in making Apple seem uncool.
However, perhaps the company's US marketeers believe that war is now won, with Samsung sitting pretty on top of the sales charts around the world?
However, while the A-List-infused spot that'll air during the big game made no mention of Apple, the teaser released on Friday did appear to make a few subtle references to the company's legal struggles with Cupertino over the last couple of years.
It's about time someone had a sense of humour over this...
Ofcom is expected to approve proposals from Vodafone and Three in the UK, which would allow them to use existing spectrum to offer 4G LTE services.
The networks want to follow EE's lead and convert some of the airwaves it is licensed to use for 2G and 3G services into super-fast 4G mobile internet.
The government's communications regulator is now holding a public consultation on the proposals until March 29, with a decision expected shortly thereafter.
A positive outcome would be a massive boost for the networks, who're desperately attempting to minimise the damage done by EE's lengthy headstart on the competition.
Mobile liberation
"This will meet a long-standing objective to liberalize all mobile licenses so that there are no regulatory barriers to the deployment of the latest available mobile technology," Ofcom said in a stamtent on Friday, indicating that a positive outcome is on the cards.
If Ofcom does indeed approve the plans, it would enable Vodafone and Three to launch 4G contracts, perhaps before spectrum becomes available before the long-running auction saga comes to a close.
Seven companies are currently vying for the radio airwaves required to run 4G services in the UK. The bidding process is expected to continue for the next couple of weeks.
A quick resolution is vital for EE's rivals, given that the network was able to roll-out 4G connectivity to nine more UK cities, last week, bringing the total to 27.
Apple's iPhone 5 handset was only the seventh best-selling handset in the UK last month, according to new data from price comparison website uSwitch.
The Mobile Tracker Polls for January show that the Samsung Galaxy S3, the mid-range Samsung Galaxy Ace and the Samsung Galaxy S2 took the top spots, all outselling Apple's flagship handset.
In another surprising turn Nokia's Symbian-based Nokia 100 and C2-01 were in fourth and fifth place, ahead of the Windows Phone-running Lumia 800 and 610 which were eighth and ninth respectively.
LG's Google Nexus 4 phone also topped the iPhone by taking finishing sixth in overall sales, according to uSwitch.
Apple on the slide?
Although it's no surprise that the iPhone 5, third in the list when it launched in October, was apparently outsold by the all-conquering Galaxy S3 in January.
However, seeing the iOS device so far down the list and being outsold by the 2-year-old Galaxy S2 and budget Nokia Symbian devices does come as a little bit of a shot.
According to the data, the iPhone 4S has also experienced a big drop off in the last couple of months. Back in October, the handset was the second best seller in the UK and even in December it finished fifth. In January, it had fallen to tenth spot.
"The UK's loyalty to brand Samsung is unwavering, but beyond that we've seen customers shaking-up the rankings, leaving Apple's 4S for dust in favour of offerings from LG and Nokia," said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.
Despite dating back to the 1980s, adventure games were practically invented for the iPad (and iPhone, though the larger screen is better). Even with a mouse, games such as Monkey Island and Sam and Max were about poking and prodding your way through jokes, puzzles and brilliant dialogue. Now, you can do it with your finger.
As a very quick primer, adventure games are primarily about puzzles, exploration and solving problems with a mix of random junk in your pocket and the power of twisted, but hopefully logical, lateral thinking. To get past a guard, for instance, a true adventurer wouldn't pull a gun, but find a way to make the phone behind him ring as a distraction, or possibly put a cuckoo clock in front of the nearest fire alarm trigger to create an impromptu timer.
This is probably why you never see news reports about adventure gamers going crazy, though there are probably a few carefully protected behind padded walls even now.
Moneky Island is one of the best adventure games ever made
The Secret of Monkey Island (£1.99, iPhone; £2.99, iPad) and its sequel, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (£1.99, iPhone; £2.99, iPad) are the most famous of all time, and not a bad place to jump in. They're the story of Guybrush Threepwood, a would-be pirate seeking his fortune in an oddly modern version of the Caribbean, with the second especially a classic of the genre. It's a world where swordfights are based on duelling insults, a good salesman can sell second-hand coffins, and a squirt of root beer can get rid of even the toughest ghost pirate.
These iOS versions feature beautiful updated art - though if you want the original pixels back, just swipe two fingers from right to left. Both games also now have full voice acting, and a built in hint system… which you will likely need. The first game isn't too tough, but the sequel has some tricky bits.
From a different developer, but the humour still remains
From there, it's worth checking out Monkey Island Tales (£1.99 per episode, iPhone; £2.99 per episode, iPad), made a couple of years ago by a different developer. Guybrush is now married to his love Elaine, and the world is three-dimensional. The comedy is just as good as before, though, with much more attention to characterisation, and a wonderful new addition in the shape of Morgan LeFlay - a pirate hunter with a not-so-secret crush on Guybrush. Until she actually meets him…
Another great adventure game, Broken Sword should not be missed
Broken Sword: Director's Cut (£1.99, iPhone; £1.99, iPad) is a more epic kind of adventure, but still with a sense of humour, that's also seen new life on iPad. You're George Stobbart, an American tourist who almost gets killed when a clown blows up the café you're sitting outside - yes, really - and you find yourself getting sucked into one of those classic historical mysteries involving the Knights Templar and European mythology. The funnier, but scrappier sequel, Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror (£1.99, Universal) is also available on iOS.
No fancy animated graphics here. Just lovingly drawn artwork to keep you entertained
From a slightly more obscure corner of the genre, King of Dragon Pass (£6.99, Universal) makes for an interesting change of pace. It's a mix of simulation and 'Choose Your Own Adventure', with your goal as King being to keep your people safe, well-fed and, if possible, happy. It's not for adventure purists, perhaps, but the heavy focus on storytelling over raw statistics makes it as close as any strategy game has ever gotten.
Stay alive until the train reaches Constantinople. If you can
Finally, as far as the nostalgia side goes, you mustn't miss The Last Express (£2.99, Universal). Set on the Orient Express on the eve of World War I, you're a fugitive doctor who boards the train and immediately gets caught in a murderous mix of mistaken identities. It's a great - if slow-paced - game, notable primarily for running in real time. Much of the game is spent simply overhearing conversations in a variety of languages (not all of them subtitled) and figuring out their secrets before anyone manages to stop the train reaching Constantinople.
Adult humour aplenty in HECTOR: Badge of Carnage
The genre didn't end in the mid-'90s, though - despite a few claims otherwise - and some of the best iOS adventures are much more recent. HECTOR: Badge of Carnage (£2.99 per episode, iPhone; £4.99 per episode, iPad) isn't for the squeamish, the prudish, the under 18s (translation: under 18s whose parents see the iPad) or the easily offended, but it's still superb. It's like Bottom as an adventure game, or if a British Peter Griffin ever became a cop. Staggeringly cruel but blisteringly funny, it's just a shame each episode is pricey compared to other episodic games.
Use your Ghost powers to figure out who murdered you and why
HECTOR still relies on old-school design though, and there's more to the genre than that. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Free, Universal) is a superb mix of adventure and puzzle game, in which you are a disembodied spirit with a single night to figure out the reason for your death. Quirky, and very, very Japanese in style, it'd be worth taking a gamble on… but you don't have to. The first two chapters are free, and offer a great introduction. The rest of the game is unlockable for £6.99.
Machinarium is a beautiful mix of adventure and puzzle games
For a more arty kind of adventure, Machinarium (£2.99, iPad) is tough to beat. It's another point-and-click conversion, but entirely focussed on in-world logic puzzles and experimentation. There's no dialogue at all, just gorgeous 2D animation that breathes incredible life into the all-robot cast, and tasks you with learning the rules of their mechanical city as you go along.
The Walking Dead is the spin-off game from the hit TV series
Finally, it's absolutely worth trying an episodic series that was still underway at the time of writing, but has already established itself as one of the best adventures in recent memory - Walking Dead: The Game (£2.99 per episode, Universal). Based on the hit zombie comic books and TV show of the same name, but with its own story, it's a tough game to describe. There are puzzles, and action sections that demand quick events (though little actual dexterity), but it's primarily a series about character and making decisions.
Who among your band of starving survivors most deserves your last scraps of food? Should you keep it a secret that your character is a convicted murderer? Do you avoid swearing in front of the little girl you've become a father figure to? It's a game that forces you to make hard choices, with those decisions being carried between episodes to savour the delicious regret over the whole tale.
After it's time in the mobile wilderness BlackBerry is back with a new operating system, but how does BlackBerry 10 stack up against Windows Phone 8 and the dominant forces of Android Jelly Bean and iOS 6?
Our smartphones are becoming more and more powerful as we demand greater flexibility, better features and faster performance which means the software they are running has its work cut out.
It's a highly competitive market and one the likes of Google, Apple and Samsung seem to be doing pretty well out of, but for others it's a hard slog as firms such as Nokia, LG and BlackBerry try to keep pace.
With four operating systems sitting on a myriad devices it can be hard to work out which one is best for you, so we've compared all of them to make that choice a little easier.
Interface
The interface is core to any mobile platform as this is what you'll be greeted with day in, day out and makes the most difference to how you use your smartphone.
Apple's user interface (right) is famously known for its locked-down approach with iOS 6 giving you very little control over what can be changed and customised, with just basic functions such as changing the wallpaper and moving app icons available.
There is an advantage to this walled garden approach though, as it makes iOS 6 an easy system to navigate as options are limited which benefits users who are less tech savvy, or new to smartphones.
iOS hasn't changed a great deal since its inception back in 2007 and it is starting to feel its age, especially as we're seeing rivals making significant advancements on their platforms.
At the other end of the scale to iOS is the open source Android platform, built by Google, allowing users far more freedom on their handsets.
Instead of just an app list, Android (left) gives you homescreens which you can place apps, widgets and shortcuts to provide a handset which is more tailored to your needs instead of the one-size fits all approach of its Cupertino-based rival.
While technology lovers generally love the openness provided by Android, the experience can be a difficult one for anyone who isn't so technically minded with seemingly endless options and settings littering every app.
That said, the latest incarnation of Android, known as Jelly Bean, is definitely the best iteration from Google and goes some way to overcoming the complexities found on previous versions.
Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 fall in between the two leaders of the smartphone OS war in terms of openness, and are caught in a battle for the spot of 'third most popular mobile OS'.
At the moment Windows Phone 8 (right) has the upper hand simply because it's been on the market for several months with BlackBerry 10 only just launched.
Microsoft has chosen to go down the more insular Apple route with Windows Phone 8, offering an almost identical user interface on every device, with a very different layout to anything else on the market.
The homescreen itself consists of a mash up between apps and widgets in the form of Live Tiles, which update automatically to show you the latest information be it a new email or the latest scores.
With large, clear Live Tiles and an unfussy, uncomplicated app list and menu system Windows Phone 8 is great for first time users as it makes for an easy ride into the smartphone world, albeit a little limited in places.
BlackBerry 10 (left) goes back towards the general style of iOS 6 and Jelly Bean, but with its own twist.
Instead of various navigational tools below the display or at the top of the screen BB 10 opts for a gesture-based interface, encouraging users to slide their way around the system.
It's a radically different way of doing things and feels very alien to anyone who has previously used any other OS in the past, requiring the user to dedicate a decent amount of time to learn its ways.
BlackBerry talks about how BB10 "just flows", but unless they're prepared to put the hours in and trust a brand new platform users may get confused just looking for simple things like the settings option in an app.
