In the US there has been lots of hype and love for the Motorola Droid which has just been released by Verizon. In Europe the phone will be under a different name ‘Milestone’ and carry a few different features. Unfortunatley the turn by turn Google navigation will not be included due to licensing issues. But the good news is that multi touch is supported which is great news.

In Germany both O2 and Vodafone have confirmed that they will be selling the phone. In the UK O2 said they would not be stocking the handset and 3 have followed suit. T-Mo dont want it either, Orange havent much to say and Vodafone havent commented.

Why? Why oh why dont companies want this handset that is a great alternative to the Iphone and offers a physical keyboard on an android handset which there arent many of in the UK. Vodafone customers have only touch screen Android devices available to them so why Vodafone hasnt snapped up this phone is very strange.

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The Android 1.6 OS update, affectionately called Donut, was due yesterday but many customers are still waiting to receive it. Given that the OS is still in its infancy this update had people waiting with bated breath especially as many techy types use the phone and are often more interested in updates than the average punter.

Firstly there was the confusion around whom, how and when the update would be rolled out. Vodafone were very slow to confirm how Android updates were going to be handled, which is strange given the amount of noise there has been on their forum for months. If they officially confirmed that Google were completely responsible for the update, they wouldn’t have been in this position.. But they were slow, and Vodafone’s eForums were inundated with people passionate about the little green robot, wanting to know what was going on / going to happen. Own goal by Vodafone.

October 19th came and went and I along with many other Magic users I’m annoyed and disappointed that Im still stuck at version 1.5, made worse by various soon to be released handsets (Droid) being pictured with Android 2.0. If you need any evidence on this check out the thread on the Vodafone eForum which has over 24 pages of posts (470+), from frustrated Vodafone customers. At one point there were over 70 people watching the forum, right now there are 60 customers on there. None of this is Vodafone’s fault per say but the company could have seriously helped keep customers a little happier. Another own goal by Vodafone.

Vodafone’s forum tends to place quite highly on Google searches which is useful as the site often contains lots of useful information but this will work against Vodafone as it wouldnt surprise me if a lot of non Vodafone customers have visited and will visit the forum. Any visitor would have to be blind not to pick up on the negativity on Vodafone’s own forum. That negativity that would be associated with the Newbury based communications company and not Google who are barely mentioned even though it’s the US search giants actions causing the issues.

As I sit here waiting for my Android update, I cant help thinking that Google has done Vodafone a disservice and damaged Vodafone’s brand with the poorly managed delivery of Donut. It not an excuse that Vodafone and Google will not have expected the high level of interest in what is in essence a fairly minor update, but I hope they learn for Éclair (2.0), heaven knows what will happen in the forums if not.

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Its a simple question. The first Storm flopped in a very big way. I am still yet to find anyone who likes the phone. There was a lot of hype in the UK fuelled by Vodafone, that this phone was the next big thing, internally labelling the phone as a handset that would help turn the company’s fortunes around. Sales were pretty high, complaints were even higher.

The first version of the Storm looked ok and like all Blackberrys, handled email and messaging better than any other handset out there. Unfortunately thats where the positives stop.

There were two major negatives. The first seemed strange as every smart phone released at the time had wifi as standard the storm didnt. The remaining negative was the screen, the infamous suretype. In theory it was a good idea, in practice it sucked. Highlight and press were the instructions on how to use the screen. The touch screen actually moved in order to give a tactile response to the user. It didnt work. the screen wasnt accurate enough and it left users frustrated, very very frustrated.

There was much discussion around the Storm 2 with rumours everywhere about a pull out keyboard, a more conventional touch screen and the inclusion of wifi. Well its nice to see RIM have listened on the WiFi front but the continued use of the suretype screen means many people will avoid this handset like the plague.

You have to wonder, if a handset flops as much as the first Blackberry Storm, why create a 2nd version which seems to only have minor improvements?

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Historically when someone bought a mobile phone they did so from one of the major mobile operators e.g. Vodafone, O2, Orange etc and the relationship with that customer was owned by the network. If anything went wrong with the phone, regardless of whether it was on prepay or on a monthly contract, it would be the network that would be contacted by the customer in order to resolve the issue. Any firmware updates would be pushed out by the network, after they have received, tested and added to the software update provided to them by the handset manufacturer. Today the situation has changed following the introduction of Google, Apple and HTC.

I own an HTC Magic and there is a buzz of excitement across all Magic owners as we wait for an update to the Android operating system. Speaking to Vodafone they have confirmed that the update comes directly from Google and they are not aware when it will be delivered or what exactly will be included. With the Iphone, the OS updates are provided by Apple so the operators’ role is diminishing.

Apple is keen to stress that it, rather than the operator, owns the relationship with the customer.  Vodafone et al would argue that as they own a billing relationship the customer is theirs. This highlights another change, never before has a handset manufacturer or OS provider had a billing relationship with the ‘operator owned’ customer (the handset owner). Now, Nokia through OVI, Apple through their app store and Google through Market all have direct billing relationships with the customer. However the Mobile operators arent taking this lying down especially T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Vodafone has sold own branded handsets for a good number of years and most of the recent press releases and market announcements reiterate Vodafone’s stance that it does not want to be a dumb pipe rather a rich provider working with others to provide the best services, sharing revenue. The company recently announced the release of Vodafone 360 which includes two exclusive handsets that Vodafone has developed with Samsung, but its the choice of operating system that highlights the company’s intent to stay visible. Instead of taking the easy option by choosing Google’s Android OS, it went for a little used open source LiMo OS. The LiMo foundation formed by a number of large companies but has no large brand i.e. Google, that Vodafone has to compete with. The OS therefore becomes invisible to the customer as its the handset and more importantly the services offered that Vodafone wants the customer to know, see and want.

Vodafone 360 includes handsets, heavily branded navigation, store which will sell apps, music, themes etc and Vodafone People, a social networks meets enhanced address book. 360 has already been referred to as the “Walled Garden 2.0″ which isnt necessarily a bad thing but shows that Vodafone want the user to use as much of their stuff as possible.

T-Mobile and to a lesser extent O2 have produced applications for the Android and Apple handsets respectively. Its quite a clever move by T-mobile as most of the apps are not restricted to T-Mo handsets. Im a Vodafone customer and employee but I have a T-Mobile application on my handset and there isnt anything that Vodafone can do about all customers following suit.

So it remains to be seen whether Vodafone, T-Mobile and other network operators can prevent themselves becoming faceless pipes. If my handset is updated and fixed by someone other than the network, if I am free to buy my apps, music and games from whoever I want then my network automatically becomes a dumb pipe as all I want from them is good coverage and fast internet access.

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Every silver lining has a cloud, well it seems to in Vodafones case. This morning Vodafone announced that it will be selling the latest models of the Iphone, the 3G and 3Gs in both Ireland and the UK. The cloud came later in the announcement when Vodafone stated that it will begin selling the phone in early 2010. Why is that such an issue? Vodafone will not be able to sell the handset over the busiest period of the year, Xmas. Orange on the other hand can.

How the hell did this happen? I think it could be down to one of two reasons:

1. Apple wanted to limit the supply of Iphones in order to ensure prices were kept high over what is the busiest time of the year. As Apple had Vodafone over a barrel, given the important that Vodafone places on the device, Apple could dictate terms.
2. There are further announcements to come. Vodafone are massive, have more clout that any other global operator and have been burnt before. The Newbury based company would not let Apple prevent it from selling the phone over Xmas unless it was getting something else in return. There may be a new handset out next year, exclusive to Vodafone that Apple doesnt want leaked until Orange and O2 have sold lots of their stocks of the current models.

Only time will tell if my guesses / predictions are right but there is a little bit of method behind my madness.

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This morning the Telegraph reported that Vodafone will announce, at 9am that they have also secured the rights to sell the Iphone.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/6241786/Vodafone-will-sell-the-iPhone-in-the-UK.html 

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What do football managers and Vodafone have in common? Nothing and thats the problem.

There are is one golden rule when opperating in the transfer market:

Never announce publicly that you are interested in a player. Why? Because the selling club will take advantage of the situation and put the price up. What does this have to do with the Newbury based company?

Vodafone have bleated on about the Iphone ever since they missed out on getting the rights to sell the Iphone in the UK. Vittorio Colao has said that the company has been penalised by the situation and the Vodafone Finance director stated that the company would like to offer the phone in more of its markets. These were Vodafone’s fatal mistakes which have lead to Orange claiming rights to sell the latest models of the Iphone.

Apple will have no doubt seen the headlines and reports hinting at the importance that the company places on the device and will have raised the bar and increased the number of hoops it asked Vodafone to jump through in order to join O2 in the exclusive club.

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O2 are the biggest mobile operator in the UK and they have the Iphone.

Once T-Mobile and Orange merge they will be the biggest operator and they will also be selling the latest models of the Apple Iphone, the 3G and 3GS.

Vodafone, once the market leader and frequent innovator has on numerous occasions stated how much of a negative impact not selling the Iphone has had on customer numbers. The latest announcement from Orange will be a very painful kick in the teeth to Vodafone.

When O2 secured the Iphone, Vodafone should have learnt its lesson. After publicly stating its regret on the decision not to pursue the Iphone with more than a token gesture approach, the company now finds itself in a very uncomfortable position.

No longer the major player in the market, Vodafone faces increased competition from outside the industry e.g. Google, and has a brand that needs a serious overhaul in order to get across to the younger, cooler, bigger spending customers. It is clear that all Vodafone’s eggs well and truly lie in the basket called Vodafone 360, the recently announced web services offering.

When you consider that the Iconic phone has been named at the top of the coolest brands list for the UK with Apple holding a total of 3 of the top 5 places its mad to see that Vodafone hasnt gone after a major link up with everything it had. Lets not forget, Vodafone is massive. No other mobile telecoms company comes close so why Vodafone hasnt used its size to out muscle the opposition wreaks of stupidity of the highest order.

One question that remains, in other markets where Vodafone has exclusivity on the Iphone, is big red mullering its competitors the same way O2 has been in the UK. The answer is a definite no.

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The Services at a glance

• Vodafone People – Social Network integration, auto sync, the most innovative address book out there.
• My Web – Think customisable Vodafone live with a few extra bells and whistle
• App Store – Mainly web browser based apps that enable them to work on any OS, great news for developers but it remains to be seen what sort of apps will be on offer.
• Music – A couple of different offerings from DRM free downloads to subscription based services. 
• Navigation – Think Satnav merged with Facebook. The ablitity to see where people are which brings its own benefits.

The services link into each other very well and more functionality will no doubt be added as time goes by.

Further insights into the individual services will follow in the next few days.

The handsets

Vodafone announced that there will be two dedicated handsets with far more to follow also pointing out that the new services are compatible on a large number of handsets.

The SamsungH1 is the higher spec’ed of the two phones with the M1 being aimed towards the lower price points with a reduced feature list.

Samsung M1

•  3.2″ TFT touch screen 400×200 resolution
• 3 mega pixel camera with auto focus
• A-GPS, wifi, bluetooth
• HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
• 1gb memory with memory card slot

A solid spec list for the lesser of the two handsets. Pricing this handset right will be very important as it will be in direct competition with the HTCMagic and other Samsung handsets that are all proving very popular.

Sansung H1

• 3.5″ AMOLED Touch Screen 800×400 resolution
• 5 mega pixel camera with auto focus, flash and 8 x digital zoom
• A-GPS, wifi, bluetooth
• HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• 16gb memory with memory card slot

For a handset that is being marketed at the high end the Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 device doesnt really excite even though Vodafone has been working with Samsung for the last year or so. Given that the Sony Ericsson Satio has a 12.1 mega pixel camera, the NokiaN97 has 32gb on board this H1 device struggles to turn me on but the hardware isnt supposed to. Think about the Iphone, its not the hardware that excites its the usability and the fact it works that presses peoples buttons.

These two phones have been built with the Vodafone 360 services in mind. Having seen demo’s of the phones in action Vodafone and Samsung seem to have nailed the usability with dedicated buttons for key features that give quick access to the things that matter.

The services look great but it remains to be seen whether my three concerns will remain:

1. The benefit of Vodafone 360, especially Vodafone People relies on you and your friends using it. There’s no point you having all the capabilities in the world to connect with your friends when they dont use the services and therefore cant connect back.
2. Vodafone 360 provides a suite of services that give the user all they need which is great but it seems a bit ‘all or nothing’ with users activities being boxed in and contained to Vodafone’s chosen services etc. Yes Apple do this to some extent but Apple services were up and running way before the iphone came along.
3. Seeing Vodafone People in action, I fear that the navigation albeit innovative, will confuse comes across cluttered. If I want to ring someone I can do it in one or two taps on my HTC magic, it remains to be seen whether the funky interface allows the same.

Vodafone Live was ground breaking and put Vodafone well out in front. Vodafone 360 looks very good but has alot of competition and it remains to be seen whether people will hand in their HTC Magic, Iphone or Blackberrys in order to trade up to the Samsung H1. Vodafone has been clever in that the services will not only work on the Samsung devices but many current handsets so customers will not need to change. Useful given that many people are on 24 month contracts with the Iphone 3Gs. Secondly you dont even need to be a Vodafone customer to use it. Genius but its complicated to work out how Vodafone will get revenue from O2 customers for example. Oh and will Apple, Google and Blackberry allow the app in their stores.

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Vodafone announced in the press yesterday (a day before telling their staff, unless you read work emails on the weekend that is) that it was about to undertake a big re-branding exercise. Now before you get excited that Vodafone was about to do something big like change its colour or its logo, its not, its changing its tag line. Supposedly this will come with a new, more exciting, more youthful advertising campaign to help Vodafone reposition itself.

The old tag line, ‘Make the most of now’ made alot of sense and people understood what it meant. If you were on a bus, train or just hanging around doing nothing, through use of Vodafones you could make your time more interesting and not waste it. The new tag line, that is predictably being described as far more than just a line that will appear on the end Vodafone’s adverts is a little less meaningful.

‘Power to you’ my first impressions were that it sounded like something a civil rights activist would say during speech to rally their protesters. It sounds fluffy and although you know what Vodafone are getting at, ‘Power to you’ just doesnt fit. It feels like salesman speak and with big announcements planned this week (24th Sept) Vodafone will have to go some to prevent it sounding like the company is flogging some dodgy old motor or the company will be flogging a dead horse.

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