On Vodafone’s new offering with Samsung, Shah stated: “It’s aimed at connecting people through social networking and messaging via the user’s contacts amongst other promised functionality. With it, Vodafone is making a bold strategic move to secure its long-term relationship with subscribers.
“However the ‘360’ approach is also likely to be a part of other big brands’ plans. Apple’s iPod, RIM’s Blackberry and Google’s Android have already changed the dynamics by taking ownership of apps and services on the mobile handset, and it surely won’t be long before Google mobilises its latest tool, Social Search.”
Shah added that if Vodafone 360 is a hit with consumers, we can expect to see similar services emerge quickly. “However, while Vodafone has spent almost two years developing its service in-house, it may take much less time for others to catch up, using external service providers. At the moment, platforms such as Android are much better placed to innovate and deploy new services. Unless managed in the right way, operators will struggle to cope with this pace of innovation,” he continued.