And the mobile world tips a little further away from the operator and towards the OS.
One the one hand this is an admirable example of an operator 'getting real' and going where the traffic is, rather than attempting to set up yet another unsuccessful portal of its own.
But on the other, wow, here's the company that owns the network reduced to competing for its own subscribers attention with squillions of other farting apps and currency converters.
Actually, it's not quite as ignominious as that. Google lets operators run their own branded channels within Android Market on devices they sell to their customers, and this is what Voda has done here.
It's already live in the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, with Greece, Ireland and Portugal to come.
The channel will showcase news, sport, information and gaming, with a promise of regular exclusives and price discounts to come all sourced from Vodafone’s global and local partnerships, often on an exclusive, free or discounted basis.
Article continues belowAdvertisement
Lee Epting, Vodafone Group’s content services director, said: “Together with Google, Vodafone has made it really simple for customers to get to the essential apps they can trust.
"More than 75 million Vodafone customers around the world are regularly using the mobile internet, and we are committed to giving them the best possible experience. This focus on quality over quantity helps deliver on that commitment.”
All a long way from the Vodafone 360 dream, which aggregated content, location-based services, rich address book and more in a single branded device...
Add a new comment
You need to be logged in to post comments. If you do not have an account then please register.
Comments
0 comments
There are no comments yet, be the first to add one!