Vodafone looks east for new handsets


Mobile phone giant Vodafone is to heavily promote handsets labelled with the Vodafone brand name, and not those of handset manufacturers, as part of its Vodafone Live! campaign.

It is reported that the operator has turned to Far Eastern developers for a new range of colour terminals as it has become increasingly frustrated by the arrogant attitude demonstrated by traditional mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Siemens and Sony Ericsson. The operator says that, along with only its brand appearing on the device, it would also have control of the user interface.

Written by GlobalWirelessNews for PMN Mobile Industry Intelligence.

Insight

Does this finally mark the arrival of the tidal wave from the East the industry has been expecting for so long? Unlikely. Vodafone, like any canny operator with significant purchasing power, is rattling its sabre. It has the clout to negotiate substantial discounts, especially with smaller Far Eastern manufacturers desperate for a foothold in Western Europe. This doesn’t mean that demand for Nokia’s unique brand of Scandanavian cool is going to dissappear overnight.

The consumer will be the real winner here. If Vodafone does source a significant number of handsets from Far Eastern manufacturers, it will widen choice for consumers and keep the handset majors on their toes.


Originally published by PMN Mobile Industry Intelligence, the subscription-based analysis and insight platform founded by Marek Pawlowski.
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