Monday, December 22, 2003
Vodofone Delays Smartphone Plans
Posted by Robert Levy in "NEWS" @ 11:18 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_504375,00030001.htm
"In an interview with the Financial Times, Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin said of the system: "In our view, it's not quite ready for prime time." The pair already co-operate on mobile standards but have not signed a deal on operating systems, the paper said. The newspaper described the comments as a setback to Microsoft's ambitions in the telecommunications industry."Essentially, Vodafone (the largest mobile operator in the world) is saying that they are not planning to release a phone with Microsoft's Smartphone operating system until unspecified improvements are made. This is not too surprising since T-Mobile has been saying the same thing for a while now. When I asked T-Mobile for an example of what improvements need to be made, a representative cited the long boot-up time of a Smartphone (which is more than 1 minute the first time you turn the device on) as something that will make the current devices unacceptable to their customers and a burden on their staff.
Orange has been the industry leader in terms of adopting Microsoft's Smartphone platform and pushing it forward by launching new devices and services. But by being the first, they've taken a lot of heat for the problems that have been encountered while going through this uncharted territory. On the other hand, they've built up a lot of great PR and a loyal customer base for the same reasons and the fact that early adopters understand that innovation comes with problems.
If you aren't going to be the innovator in a market, your customers will not be so forgiving if you fall for the same problems that the innovators have already uncovered. So the question that each mobile operator must continually ask themselves is whether the Smartphone platform is mature enough to satisfy their users - robust enough for their staff to be able to properly support. Verizon and AT&T Wireless believe that the latest builds of Smartphone 2002 meet these requirements and rumors are going around that T-Mobile will finally launch a Smartphone some time next year with the Smartphone 2003 operating system. Hopefully Vodafone will follow suit.
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