CeBIT 2008
Vodafone Showcases mobi+, the Mobile Portal Goes ‘A La Carte’
| March 5, 2008 | Wireless Services - Europe | Show Update
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune
Current Perspective: Positive/Neutral
Vendor Importance: Moderate
Market Impact: High |
|
Event Summary
March 3, 2008 -- Vodafone showcased a new mobile portal for the first time at CeBIT: mobi+. The portal can be individually adapted to the personal preferences of single users. For example, customers can put their favourite Web sites on the mobi+ entry page to see their top content at a glance. Freely configurable widgets and RSS feeds can also be easily integrated. mobi+ launch dates have yet to be confirmed.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on mobi+, as this represents a step in the right direction of mobile portal self-customization, putting consumers in control. The service promises to allow users to build their own mobile portal experience, choosing from a catalogue of widgets online, for a fully personalized portal that can be changed as required. However, mobi+ is still rooted in WAP portal technology, which lacks immediacy, content update dynamism, and ease of access. We believe that this service could be best delivered as an on-device portal (ODP).
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to the Vodafone Group, as mobi+ is just another strain of the operator’s evolving strategy to offer consumers a broader choice in mobile Internet services. Going forward, we’ll see Vodafone’s mobile Internet portfolio proliferate beyond Vodafone live! to mobi+, Vodafone live! services via Nokia’s Ovi and other new channel arrangements, including a pilot Vodafone live! ODP currently showcasing at CeBIT. This is all in a bid to appeal to the widest possible audience.
• Market Impact: High on the European mobile media market, as this is one of the best demonstrations to date of where service provider mobile Internet strategies are headed in 2008. All stakeholders should anticipate a seismic shift in mobile Internet strategies this year, and a sudden flowering of multiple services from operators that had, hitherto, attempted to target consumers with a one-size-fits-all WAP portal.
CLIENTS ONLY
Current Perspective
Competitive Positives and Concerns
| Client access - Full report in Wireless Services - Europe | More information
Top
|
