netimperative.com | By Staff | 27-09-2005 10:55 AM
Mobile operator O2 has announced it will launch its i-mode mobile Internet service in the UK from October 1.
The service, originally developed six years ago by Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo, will be available in O2 stores on both its GPRS and UMTS networks to pay-as-you-go and contract subscribers.
The new service aims to offer an alternative to existing mobile Web platforms such as Vodafone Live! and O2 Active.
Sites available at launch include Egg, Rightmove.co.uk, Channel 4, BAA, Financial Times, Interflora, Sky Sports and News, Norwich Union, the National Lottery, FHM, F1-Live.com, The Times Online, Maxim, Sony BMG, GMTV, India FM, Streetmap, Konami, Sega and Real Networks.
Browsing and downloading is priced at £3 per megabyte with each megabyte equal to approximately 100 pages This is unlike current mobile portals where customers pay for each download individually.
Matthew Key, chief executive of O2 UK, said: 'The i-mode experience in other countries shows that this new depth and breadth of content, combined with the speed and simplicity of use, leads to far higher customer usage.
“For example, research has shown that seven out of 10 people who buy i-mode handsets use the service, compared to just three who use the available WAP services on their handset, and those users access four times more content,” Key added.
At launch, the service will be supported by four i-mode enabled handsets and an introductory offer of free content browsing until year-end and free MMS and email usage until April 2006.
The i-mode handsets include the Samsung S500i for £249,the NEC 411i for £99, the NEC 343i for £79, and the Samsung Z320i UMTS phone for £279.
To access I-mode, users push the i button on the handset to navigate straight to O2's i-mode browser, giving instant 'always-on' access.
The handsets also provide dedicated buttons that enable users to quickly navigate back and forth between i-mode pages without delays.
O2 UK will sell the i-mode service and handsets at its 300 retail stores in the UK, the O2 online shop (www.o2.co.uk) and through retailers like P4U, Carphone Warehouse, The Link, Argos, Woolworths and other channels.
To promote the service, from 10 October mysterious yellow ‘i-mode’ posters will feature in high profile locations around the UK.
The launch will be followed by the introduction of i-mode by O2 Ireland next week, while the German operation will launch in the first half of next year.
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