Vodafone 3G Speculation

flywheel

has anyone got a confirmed date when Vodafone will launch consumer 3G handsets/service here?

spongebob

They have committed to shipping certain handsets to Carphone Warehouse and Dixons by end October 2004 and issued a press release about the Handsets (not the date) last week promising :

Full details of these services and handset availability will follow in November.

http://www.vodafone.ie/aboutus/company/press/2004/release220904.jsp

and if they miss the deadline to populate the chain shops and train the sales droids in there there will be NO announcement in November as the Christmas dosh will have been spent or allocated .

M

flywheel

yup - saw the release alright suppose will have to wait and see what exactally will be on offer here...

BigMoose

Vodafone will definetly be launching the services before Christmas with a date before the 1st of November being the most likely..

I would be amazed if it is _before_ the 1st of November.

jesus_thats_gre

BigMoose wrote:

I would be amazed if it is _before_ the 1st of November.

ah well

BigMoose

Without wanting to get sacked - there's a clue in my last post as to when I think it will be But things change by the hour so I could well be very wrong

jesus_thats_gre

BigMoose wrote:

Without wanting to get sacked - there's a clue in my last post as to when I think it will be But things change by the hour so I could well be very wrong

The wonders of the fear!!

spongebob

3G is complex and cannot be sold 'off the shelf' without training.....no matter how pernicious the advertising is. So far the only advertised 3G product in Ireland is the Vodafone Data only cards. The number of units activated is in the mid to high hundreds at present or so I am told.

Apart from that there are no 3G services in Ireland at present.....pending these putative launces nearer christmas and next year.

M

BigMoose

Your figures are probably reasonable for numbers of non staff 3G cards. At least a month or so ago that was about right. Things here are certainly ramped up for 3G but some ironing out is being done pre launch. What interests me (and I dont know the offical answer) is how many of these handsets are going to be available in any quantity. I've not seen sight nor sound of any of them. The one we do have is not on the list!

jesus_thats_gre

I have a feeling they wont go with all 8 here is this country.. I mean, if you look at their current range, there is just about number of Live phones available at the moment and Live is already about 2 years.. So I would doubt they will release them all, at launch anyway.

Looking at the range, I would think between 3 and 5 handsets will only be available. If I had to say what makes, a Sharp, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and possibly a Motorola/Samsung/NEC will be about it.. I think the new Sharp 2mpx handset will definetly be launched here and it wll probably be priced slightly higer than the Gx30 when it first came out.. I have seen quite alot of stuff on the SE on sites such a mobileburn so I think that should be available. The Nokia will be too purely because people will want a Nokia. Those three phones would be high enough spec so you would also get one or two entry level models.. What ones these are is anyones guess..

Also, the fact the 7 of the 10 will only be launched in Japan, there is no way we will get them all:

http://www.vodafone.com/mc_section_teaser/0,3225,CATEGORY_ID%253D205%2526LANGUAGE_ID%253D0%2526CONTENT_ID%253D218512,00.html

What sort of numbers is any guess too..

BigMoose

I have heard that the entry level will be a moto, but that was before the 10 were announced and I dont think people knew of their existance at that time, so again that might have changed! With a bit of luck we might see some of them for testing before they appear in the shops. But then again the realist in me.....

I'd say your guess is spot on - those 3 aimed at postpaid, higher spending prepaid and the moto as the entry level.

jesus_thats_gre

What the craic with prepaid? Is that going to happen straight away or will it be introduced after? Cant remember any press releases..

BigMoose

Will be after - but should be first quarter next year. It was considered for the same release but decided it was too much work to get it done propperly in that time.