• MOST READ

• LATEST NEWS

Continued ...

Despite this, most observers expect Nokia to do better out of the deal because it has put more effort into making its services rich and user friendly. Richard Windsor of Nomura commented in an interview: "By offering its services through Ovi, Vodafone is likely to see better take up than going it alone, but we remain convinced that the lion's share of the value will accrue to Nokia. This is because mobile operators have really struggled to create services that are compelling to users whereas Nokia seems to have a much [better] idea of what to do and how to do it."

Nokia made a similar deal with Telefonica last fall, even though the Spanish operator's O2 unit is the exclusive launch partner for the iPhone in the UK - a good example of how European operators are rapidly adopting to the need to have a wide range of flexible and sometimes apparently contradictory partnerships, rather than having the luxury of the relatively black and white nature of the US market. This flexibility will be key to maximizing real revenues from mobile web services, and makes Orange and T-Mobile look rather old fashioned.

The new approach will encourage Vodafone subscribers to choose high value handsets and data plans, since Ovi is only available with the N Series 'multimedia computers', for now at least, in effect presenting this as a premium service and Live! as something more mass market, available on most Vodafone phones (some Nokia handsets will have an exclusivity period with Vodafone when run ning Ovi). This two-tiered approach has a certain logic for cellcos and is reflected in the AT&T/ Apple deal - keeping the bulk of the user base brand loyal, but for those that actively want a more high end service, making them pay for that through top end devices and plans. In time, Nokia will want to gain the mass market for itself, and is likely to move Ovi to non-Nokia devices, but for now, the two sparring partners seem to have found a workable and logical accommodation and a strong response to the European iPhone/iTunes proposition.

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3

COMMENTS

No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment!

Carrier Broadband Performance: Africa & Middle East
Carriers are using mobile broadband as their weapon of choice in the fight against the commoditization of voice and falling ARPU. This...

Voice over LTE: Market Analysis and Forecasts
VoLTE offer unique advantages in lowering a carrier's voice infrastructure economics and promises to improve voice quality, device...