O2

O2 to debut Litmus developer community

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:15:40 -0500

British operator O2 announced plans to launch Litmus, an online developer community promising virtual access to over 40 handsets from the company's device portfolio, enabling developers to trial, monitor and even market new applications and content. During an appearance at last week's Mobile 2.0 conference in San Francisco, O2's head of product development James Parton told The Guardian that Litmus will also offer developers the tools to work collaboratively with selected customers in a live virtual laboratory, enabling community members to build on each other's ideas and capitalize complementary skills and relevant experience--in addition, Litmus will afford developers the opportunity to trial infrastructure elements like messaging or billing systems.

For more on Litmus:
- read this Guardian article

On the Hot Seat with BREW's Andrew Gilbert

Wed, 21 May 2008 16:32:05 -0400

BREW's Andrew Gilbert

On the eve of the annual BREW confab in San Diego, Sue Marek, editor in chief of FierceDeveloper talked to Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president and president of QIS/MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe about the latest developments in the BREW platform.

FierceDeveloper: You recently transitioned into the role of executive vice president of QIS and MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe. How has the change been so far?

Gilbert: It is a new role. I've been at Qualcomm for a few years through the acquisition of Flarion. I spent the past few years running the European division. I had a huge exposure to QIS and MediaFLO because I was leading the operations of those two groups as they tried to develop out into Europe. I had a lot to do with Telecom Italia selecting the BREW gaming solution and O2 with their use of the BREW interface. Recently, I worked with Hutchison the BREW platform. So I have been groomed on the BREW way. The opportunity to take over running the entire organization was a fantastic opportunity and an honor.

Since then, I have spent a lot of time in San Diego. I'm based and live in the U.K. In the early stages, as I started to reach out and meet with customers and the vendors and developers, the first question was why have someone run this from the U.K.? But in reality the business has been global. The U.S. is a huge part of the business and a great success, but the appeal of BREW has spread globally.

FierceDeveloper: Verizon is one of your biggest BREW customers and they have been talking about their Open Development Initiative. How does BREW fit into that?

Gilbert: Open is such an open word. What does it really mean? I think BREW is a very successful model and others are trying to recreate that model, like Apple. That is a very similar model to BREW but they even own and run the device. In that sense BREW is much more open. BREW is applicable across any air interface, across any BREW-enabled device and with any operator that wants to be a BREW operator. It's developing now to create opportunities for a more open approach to how content is being delivered on BREW. BREW Zones is the opportunity for us to create an environment where developers can deliver content into a safe zone through a willing operator to a subscriber. A subscriber could go onto a BREW developer site or a BREW developer partner site, choose a game they like and download it across BREW Zones, across a BREW operator and onto their phone even though it may not be a standard BREW on catalog game. For those operators that want a more open environment, BREW Zones enables them to do that. It opens them up to a wider community. That is one illustration of how BREW is becoming more open.

Another would be how we are trying to add new features and functionality to BREW. These are features that can be deployed standalone or they can be deployed as part of BREW. Our recent acquisition of Xiam in Ireland is one example. Xiam has a product that is a profile and recommendation engine that allows an operator to add value to the subscriber experience by using the history of what they look at as a guide to recommending other content that is relevant. How does that tie into BREW? This will be an integrated part of the BREW solution and it will not only recommend content as part of the BREW content and BREW portal but also other content. It's designed to support recommendations from other portals that the operator might have. This is another piece of openness.

FierceDeveloper: How is BrandXtend -the off-portal part of BREW--progressing?

Gilbert: With BrandXtend we have announced Major League Baseball as a customer and we have been focused on making that a success. We are not in a position to announce any other clients at this stage.

BrandXtend is an ideal example of my over-arching strategy: any content across any network delivered to any device. We are doing that today with Major League Baseball.

FierceDeveloper: Tell me about the hosted services business. This was publicly announced earlier this year. Do you see a lot of growth potential from this model?

Gilbert: I do see this as having growth potential. There are different requirements for different operators. We saw an opportunity when Midwest Wireless was acquired by Alltel so we purchased the managed services business. I've met with the BREW managed service customers and they are happy that we offer this service. We have scaled down the power of BREW to these smaller operators and that is valuable to the operators and the subscribers who might not otherwise get access to this service.

I think there is an opportunity to take this to other operators that are emerging so they can deliver this type of service.

I will bring on stage one of the managed service operators to talk about their experience.

FierceDeveloper: Can you give me any hints at what Qualcomm will be talking about at BREW?

Gilbert: We will talk about BREW Zones and Xiam. We will also talk about a package of improvements that we are putting together for our developers to help improve the economics and the time to market for getting their products out. We will announce a number of improvements so developers have an even better experience with the BREW ecosystem.

FierceDeveloper: How is the BREW conference evolving?

Gilbert: I don't want to disenfranchise anyone. We have core and loyal group of operators and developers. We have seen great support from these companies. But we also see a broader world out there. We are bringing new people to Qualcomm like Xiam and we are bringing in new technologies such as widgets and new speakers such as Telefonica. There are more countries represented here than ever before. It's much bigger than just games and content.

Recapping Apple's European iPhone deals

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Apple continued toward its presumed goal of global domination, announcing iPhone carrier partnerships in the U.K., France and Germany while also making moves to enter the Scandinavian market. Last week Apple named O2 its exclusive U.K. carrier partner for the iPhone, which will make its formal debut across the pond on Nov. 9. The iPhone will make its international debut in its 8GB incarnation, which Apple will sell for £269/$536 (including VAT)--O2 will make available three iPhone tariffs starting at £35/$70, all of them including unlimited anytime, anywhere mobile data usage and free unlimited use of its public WiFi network, which spans 7,500 cafés, restaurants, airport lounges, pubs and other locations. Apple will sell the iPhone through its own British retail and online stores as well as O2 and independent mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse's brick-and-mortar and online stores.

A day after announcing the O2 deal, Apple continued its march through Europe, naming T-Mobile its iPhone carrier partner for the German market. The iPhone will make its German debut on Nov. 9 as well--the 8GB model will arrive at a retail price of €399/$557 including VAT, and will require a new two-year T-Mobile tariff. Subscribers will also have access to the T-Mobile WiFi hotspot network, which includes 8,600 sites across Germany. The T-Mobile network will also support iPhone's Visual Voicemail feature. In addition, Orange is poised to announce an exclusive partnership to distribute the device in the French market, according to Didier Lombard, CEO of parent firm France Telecom. Thomson Financial reports that Didier did not offer pricing details, confirming only that Orange will not subsidize the device. Didier added that the iPhone will hit retail prior to the holiday season. French dailies Le Figaro, Les Echos and La Tribune previously reported that the terms of the contract call for Orange to pay Apple more than 10 percent of iPhone-derived service revenues.

Finally, Nordic operators TeliaSonera and Telenor are the latest European carriers to enter negotiations with Apple for exclusive iPhone rights. Spokespeople from both companies confirm they are "very interested in the iPhone," but declined to reveal additional details with discussions still ongoing. "We have seen immense interest in the iPhone from our customers," Telenor spokesman Anders Krokan told Dow Jones Newswires. "We are still in talks, but I doubt we would be able to offer the iPhone this year."

For more on Apple's European wheeling and dealing:
- read this release as well as this release

Related articles:
Apple slashes iPhone price, offers mea culpa
Rumor: iPhone upgrades imminent
iPhone battery life questioned
Hacking your iPhone: Windows users

Apple takes a bite out of O2

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

How much is too much? That's the question facing O2 after The Guardian reported the British operator has agreed to give Apple as much as 40 percent of all revenues from calls and services originated via the iPhone in exchange for exclusive U.K. rights to the device. Yes, 40 percent--one rival called the deal "madly money-losing," which is a dramatic way of saying O2 got screwed. Especially given that the operator must also hand over a commission and future revenue share to Carphone Warehouse, which is reported to be the sole independent U.K. iPhone retailer--The Guardian says the Carphone deal is due to Apple's concerns that O2 lacks a sufficient retail presence to properly support the iPhone. And with the economics of the iPhone deal affording O2 no realistic hope of seeing any return on its investment, that retail profile is unlikely to expand in the future.

Never before has the balance of mobile power shifted so far away from operators--according to The Guardian report, Apple played O2 against rivals Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone throughout the negotiation process, and at various points each carrier believed it was The One, with an iPhone exclusive as good as signed. O2 won out because its last-minute offer transcended all boundaries of financial logic. In an interview with the Times UK last week, O2 CEO Peter Erskine defended Apple's hardball tactics: "If sharing revenue brings a bigger pie to the table, then we'll be happy to share that pie," Erskine said. "The revenue-sharing model will play an increasingly important role in the future of converged communications."

Revenue-sharing may represent the future, but Apple doesn't share--it just takes what it wants. Perhaps the most remarkable detail about the British operator negotiations is that none of the four U.K. carriers had even the slightest idea Apple was poised to debut the new iPod Touch, essentially an iPhone sans voice services but with twice the capacity and Apple's Safari web browser. No less intriguing, BusinessWeek reports that Apple is mulling an entrance into the FCC's January 16 wireless spectrum auction: While I don't believe Apple truly wishes to tackle the network operations business--consider the fates of MVNOs like ESPN Mobile and Amp'd, as well as the struggles of Helio--even the remote chance the company could offer both mobile devices and services should be enough to send chills down the spines of carriers, hardware makers and developers alike. If it's Apple's world, can you still live in it? -Jason

Rumor: T-Mobile to pick up iPhone in U.K.

Tue, 15 May 2007 06:59:57 -0400

A report out yesterday suggests that T-Mobile currently has the leading bid leading bid for iPhone distribution rights in the U.K. This contradicts an earlier rumor that Telefonica/O2 would distribute the iPhone. FierceWireless has more.

QUICKLINKS: Smartphones continue to erode PDA market share; Mobile marketing to bring in $2.9B in 2011; and Much more...

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Smartphones continue to erode PDA market share. Blog

Christian MVNO FaithFone offers mobile banking. FierceWireless

Will the smartphone kill the PC? Blog

Report: Mobile marketing $2.9B by 2011. FierceMobileContent

O2 to give away EA Mobile games. Blog

Celebrating 50 years of mobile phones. Blog

Review: O2's XDA Atom

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:01:34 -0500

O2's XDA Atom was released back in November 2005 to somewhat mixed reviews. However, it seems that a firmware upgrade has addressed most users' complaints, and the Atom now stands as a solid Windows Mobile 5 device. Review

O2 launches XDA Mini S

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:01:35 -0500

O2 is now offering the XDA Mini S, a smaller version of its Windows Mobile 2005 smartphone. It's got a 1.3-MP camera, Bluetooth, mini SD card slot and 802.11b wireless and only weighs 160 g. The smartphone is available now for about €450 with a service plan. Blog

Telefonica bids $32B for O2

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:01:38 -0500

Telefonica has made a bid to acquire UK operator O2 for about $31.6 billion in cash. Some analysts believe the deal could spark a bidding war with other rivals like Germany's Deutsche Telekom. O2 operates in the UK, Ireland and Germany, while Telefonica operates in Spain and Latin America. Telefonica said it plans to retain the O2 board and the company's branding. Article