Vodafone launches own-brand low-cost 3G mobile handsets
October 1st, 2006 - Posted in Other
British mobile phone giant Vodafone has launched its first self-branded low-cost third generation (3G) mobile handsets which will be rolled out in Europe from October.
Huawei Technologies, China’s largest telecoms equipment maker, will supply the company the new clamshell handsets, called Vodafone 710, under a strategic alliance agreement signed by both sides early this year.
“The move will assist the uptake of 3G services due to the lower cost per handset and the fact that the Vodafone 710 will be offered on pre-pay as well as contract and will provide wide market access to 3G,” the company said Thursday in a statement.
The handset, which includes an MP3 music player, 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth connectivity, will offer easy access to Vodafone’s core services such as mobile TV, music downloads and video telephony.
At the launch in Hong Kong, Jens Schulte-Bockum, Vodafone’s global director of terminals, said the handset will cost a third less than top tier devices that usually sell for around 200 US dollars.
The handset will be launched in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Netherlands, Romania and Portugal from early October. A minimum of 200,000 handsets will be rolled out initially.
Schulte-Bockum also said the company has no plans to increase its two percent stake in China Mobile, mainland’s largest mobile phone operator, but it will closely monitor plans of the Chinese government to roll out 3G services on the mainland.
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