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28th January 2005 - O2 today announced that it will
introduce a range of attractive new handsets and an
enhanced O2 Active portal over its 3G network. The move
builds on O2's leadership in non-voice services and
unique O2-branded handsets. 3G services will be available
for Pay Monthly ("postpay") customers from
1 February and Pay & Go ("prepay") customers
shortly thereafter.
Consumers who purchase 3G devices from O2 will enjoy
a wider range of new and original content, including;
film from Warner Bros Online (previews, behind the scenes
and interviews); lifestyle from titles such as GQ, FHM
and Glamour; the latest music videos and tracks from
major recording artists and MTV; news from ITN; and
sports, including England Rugby and Arsenal Football.
They will also benefit from faster download speeds and
video calling. The launch also marks the arrival of
a new and improved version of the innovative O2 Active
portal, which has been re-designed to take advantage
of richer, faster, more capable 3G-based features.
To mark the introduction of its 3G service for consumers,
O2 is launching the only own-branded 3G handset in the
UK market to date - the competitively priced O2 X4.
Based on the highly successful design principles of
its existing X-range of handsets, which includes the
popular O2 Xda II®, the O2 X4TM sports a sleek clamshell
design with a high-quality 262,000-colour main screen
display. The O2 X4 is equipped with a 1.3 mega pixel
camera with an 8x zoom lens and advanced 'flash mechanic'.
It also includes an MP3 music player, video downloading
and streaming capabilities, 10Mbytes of phone memory
and 64Mbytes of additional capacity via a removable
memory card.
"Matthew Key, the new CEO of O2 UK, said: "Our
3G launch is the perfect evolution of our successful
non-voice services strategy into a world of richer information
and entertainment content, faster speeds and new interactive
services. With an industry leading 25% of our revenue
from non-voice services, we've developed a successful
"data" formula that we bring to the 3G world
-- compelling devices, great customer experience, ease
of use, personalisation and value for money. We believe
the service will initially appeal to a core group of
pioneering customers, building towards mass market adoption
in the latter part of 2005."
Comprehensive Handset Range
In addition to the O2 X4, O2 will offer 3G customers
a range of handsets from leading manufacturers, including
the Nokia 6630, Samsung Z107, Motorola V975 and the
Sony Ericcson V800. This will be expanded going forward
through existing handset procurement channels and the
NTT DoCoMo Inc., partnership.
O2 Active
The new O2 Active 3G service offers intelligent, personalised
and faster access to a wide range of unique and innovative
content. A new customisable home page automatically
updates to reflect individual and personal preferences.
This includes interactive gaming, music videos and
full track music downloads, featured artists and bands,
sports highlights and new custom mobile micro-sites
from O2's content partners such as Ministry of Sound,
Ents 24, Time Out, Emap, and MTV, all of which have
been identified as having a strong appeal to O2 target
customer groups.
O2 Video Calling
Owners of specific handsets will also be able to make
video calls across the O2 and all other UK 3G networks,
allowing them to see as well as hear each other.
Tariffs
The new 3G services will be priced at identical rates
as existing GPRS (2.5G) tariffs. O2 video calls will
be priced the same as voice calls for a promotional
period*. Content will continue to be a combination of
free, pay per use and subscription based pricing.
Network
O2's 3G services are now available in the key conurbations
throughout the UK including over 20 major cities and
towns from Aberdeen to Southampton. O2 is continuing
to rollout its service and is aiming to achieve 50%
coverage by June 2005.
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