Following on from yesterdays post about the mobile Internet, it is interesting to read on Reuters this morning that Vodafone is to supply the UK market with own-branded low cost 3G handsets.
The company has struck the deal with a Chinese manufacturer to supply the handsets, which will be customised to provide access to Vodafone’s 3G offering.
It’s an interesting solution to the problem of increasing the penetration of 3G phones in the UK and will no doubt be accompanied by a raft of cheap tariffs to get people to adopt 3G services.
I wonder if they will get them to market before Christmas?
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Will .Mobi Make Any Difference?
Brands have until 3pm today to register their own .mobi domain names before the cyber-squatters move in.
The new domain name is being touted as one of the drivers for the mobile Internet in the UK, but to be honest I think there are a few more serious issues that need to be overcome first.
Pricing and confidence are the main two.
It is simply too expensive to browse the mobile Internet at present and many consumers are wary of using data services as the charging models are unclear. Operators need to address this problem if the mobile Internet is to take off and if you speak to them they will tell you that they are, because their future business models will require the success of the mobile Internet – but I am not so sure. At the very least the operators seem to be dragging their feet as a move to off-portal services will hit their revenues. Only T-Mobile has a pricing model that seems to fit the bill at the moment – ‘Web ‘n’ Walk’.
Confidence in data services also has to be built up before the mobile Internet will be a big success. WAP has provided a wholly unexciting experience so far for the majority of users and the mobile Internet needs to deliver just what it says – the Internet on a mobile.
That is no mean feat, but until phone data services reach a level where they become useful, relevant and easy to access as well as instilling consumer confidence, the mobile Internet will not flourish whether it has its own domain name or not.
The new domain name is being touted as one of the drivers for the mobile Internet in the UK, but to be honest I think there are a few more serious issues that need to be overcome first.
Pricing and confidence are the main two.
It is simply too expensive to browse the mobile Internet at present and many consumers are wary of using data services as the charging models are unclear. Operators need to address this problem if the mobile Internet is to take off and if you speak to them they will tell you that they are, because their future business models will require the success of the mobile Internet – but I am not so sure. At the very least the operators seem to be dragging their feet as a move to off-portal services will hit their revenues. Only T-Mobile has a pricing model that seems to fit the bill at the moment – ‘Web ‘n’ Walk’.
Confidence in data services also has to be built up before the mobile Internet will be a big success. WAP has provided a wholly unexciting experience so far for the majority of users and the mobile Internet needs to deliver just what it says – the Internet on a mobile.
That is no mean feat, but until phone data services reach a level where they become useful, relevant and easy to access as well as instilling consumer confidence, the mobile Internet will not flourish whether it has its own domain name or not.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Is the End Nigh for MSN?
Microsoft’s new Web 2.0 play – Soapbox – is yet another example of how the software giant is changing its model.
There has been a realisation at Microsoft over the last couple of years that Web services will be the powerful tools in people’s lives for the next decade, just as the PC has been for the previous ten years.
What Microsoft now has to prove is that it is as capable at building market share for services such as Soapbox, as it is in designing PC-based tools. It will also be interesting to see how the software giant manoeuvres its brand in an age when it is becoming more connected with its customers.
The Soapbox service is being launched under the MSN Video brand but increasingly Microsoft is launching Web services under its own brand, bringing into question what will become of MSN.
MSN Search is powered by Windows Live on the MSN.co.uk homepage and a Google search for MSN search brings up the Live Search homepage first. The new search advertising service being offered across MSN Search is part of Microsoft adCenter –which encompasses ad opportunities across the whole of Microsoft.
Soapbox is a purely consumer play and it will be interesting to see what if any Microsoft branding it carries. If Microsoft continues to pursue its new strategy of launching Web services for consumers under its own or the Windows brand it will only be a question of time before the MSN brand comes under serious pressure.
There has been a realisation at Microsoft over the last couple of years that Web services will be the powerful tools in people’s lives for the next decade, just as the PC has been for the previous ten years.
What Microsoft now has to prove is that it is as capable at building market share for services such as Soapbox, as it is in designing PC-based tools. It will also be interesting to see how the software giant manoeuvres its brand in an age when it is becoming more connected with its customers.
The Soapbox service is being launched under the MSN Video brand but increasingly Microsoft is launching Web services under its own brand, bringing into question what will become of MSN.
MSN Search is powered by Windows Live on the MSN.co.uk homepage and a Google search for MSN search brings up the Live Search homepage first. The new search advertising service being offered across MSN Search is part of Microsoft adCenter –which encompasses ad opportunities across the whole of Microsoft.
Soapbox is a purely consumer play and it will be interesting to see what if any Microsoft branding it carries. If Microsoft continues to pursue its new strategy of launching Web services for consumers under its own or the Windows brand it will only be a question of time before the MSN brand comes under serious pressure.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Mystery Solved?
It's been ages since my last post, so apologies, but I have been unbelievably busy with work and have not had the time to empty my mind onto my blog for a while.
Just a quick thought on the MySpace announcement that it will allow unsigned bands to sell their music as downloads. A nice PR story for the social network, and followed by the Arctic Monkey's winning the Mercury Prize I am sure there will be a rush for the service. However, without any kind of DRM, which I am not sure is being added in, and with the record industry finally getting it together with DRM and pay for downloads for more reasonable prices, a deal like this seems a little like a step back.
Yes it may be initially a good source of revenue for unsigned bands, but it will not make the big-boys happy to see such a big site not using DRM and they certainly won't get involved. Still, it might finally put to bed all the questions over whether bands that are 'discovered' on MySpace are already backed by record companies or not.
Just a quick thought on the MySpace announcement that it will allow unsigned bands to sell their music as downloads. A nice PR story for the social network, and followed by the Arctic Monkey's winning the Mercury Prize I am sure there will be a rush for the service. However, without any kind of DRM, which I am not sure is being added in, and with the record industry finally getting it together with DRM and pay for downloads for more reasonable prices, a deal like this seems a little like a step back.
Yes it may be initially a good source of revenue for unsigned bands, but it will not make the big-boys happy to see such a big site not using DRM and they certainly won't get involved. Still, it might finally put to bed all the questions over whether bands that are 'discovered' on MySpace are already backed by record companies or not.
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