Granite Consulting » Gadgets

iPhone on Vodafone in Ireland just months away

seamus.white — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:49:56 +0000

Apple and Vodafone have announced this morning that they have signed a deal that will see the iPhone available to Vodafone customers in the UK & Ireland from early 2010. The announcement follows a deal agreed earlier this week for Orange to sell the iPhone in the UK including Northern Ireland.
The move could see a significant price war between the operators as O2 attempts to hold onto the market share it has gained during the period since 2007 that it has had exclusive iPhone distribution.

In the UK, Vodafone, the second largest operator, admits O2’s exclusive iPhone deal hurt its British business. It was the largest UK operator until 2006 and many analysts attribute O2′s gains to the iPhone deal.

Crucially, Vodafone will not have the iPhone available until early next year, missing an opportunity to capitalise on the lucrative Christmas market. In Northern Ireland, Orange customers will be able to get their hands on the iPhone in their Christmas stockings.

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Vodafone to Launch Google Phone?

seamus.white — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:38:12 +0000

Reports this morning say that Vodafone is close to finalising a deal with mobile phone manufacturer HTC of Taiwan for the next version of the so-called Google phone.

Vodafone and HTC are understood to be in discussions about the next generation of a device based on Google’s Android operating system – dubbed the G2.

Both Vodafone and HTC hope to have a deal signed in time for an announcement at Mobile World Congress, the mobile phone industry’s annual tradeshow in Barcelona which opened on today.

HTC also manufactured the first Gphone, the G1, which rival T-Mobile launched last autumn under an exclusive deal. While that device has done well in the US, recent numbers from T-Mobile in the UK suggest it has struggled to compete with Apple’s iPhone, available exclusively on O2. As T-Mobile don’t operate in Ireland, the original Gphone was not available here. A tie-up with Vodafone would most likely result in the phone becoming available on the Irish market also.

A Race for supremacy in mobile apps.

Google’s entry into the mobile cellular phone market follows the success of Apple’s iPhone. Google is hoping that its operating system will help persuade more mobile phone users to access the internet on their devices and become the platform of choice for developers of mobile phone applications.

While Apple’s iTunes currently dominates the so-called mobile “apps” space, Android already has about 800 applications available even though there is only one device in the market. It hopes that its share of the market will increase as more mobile device manufacturers release products.

Rivals Google and Microsoft agree rare pact

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:45:25 +0000

Search giant, Google, has licensed Microsoft‘s ActiveSync protocol for sharing information between a server and mobile phone to power Google Sync that was launched on Monday.

Google Sync allows users to synchronize their contacts, and other information, with Google’s Web-based services such as Gmail. Google Sync works with a vast range of phones including Apple’s iPhone, Windows Mobile phones, BlackBerry, and also phones from Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Nokia.