Pinch, punch, fourth of the month

Hello all!

I trust you have managed to take a bit of time out to relax during the recent festivities. I made the mistake of living with the Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 for a few days last week in the run up to New Year. Whilst it’s a good looking functional handset, the number of gotchas that I kept on experiencing during normal use wound me up quite dramatically.

I was so annoyed that I didn’t send out the newsletter last week. I had intended delivering one on New Year’s Eve — just for symmetry since I sent one on Christmas Eve too. But when I sat down to reflect on the mobile industry’s developments and achievements over 2009, I couldn’t help but keep on coming back to Vodafone 360.

It’s not good. I got a little way through my editorial summarising the year before I kept on referring to Vodafone 360 as an allegory for the total lack of marketplace innovation (beyond the usual suspects). Indeed, before long, I found myself bashing away at a wailing rant at why — in the UK at least — we’re still charged 35 pence per minute (out of bundle) to call someone on another mobile network. And why we’re still charged 12p per text.

Oh, there are various bundle options. Some price plans now include 100 text messages per day (“unlimited” — i.e. 3,000 texts per month). But given the fact that the first commercial text message was sent in 1995 — almost FIFTEEN years ago — that innovation would have reduced the cost to the consumer of transmitting 160 characters to virtually nothing.

You’d think.

So I got quite annoyed with myself. I didn’t want to end the year on yet another diatribe built upon the failings of Vodafone 360. Before 360, I used to have to illustrate the near total ignorance of senior mobile operator executives with general examples and stories from unnamed sources. Now I just have a slideshow of Vodafone 360 screenshots that I show alongside big Steve Jobs style statements such as ‘Yes, they did — seriously — go live with this’.

Anyway, I reviewed the text, decided ‘no’, hit delete and promptly ordered a curry. Sensible policies for a happier Britain.

There are, by the way, some things I do like about Vodafone 360 and the Samsung H1. So I’m going to do a post on that soon.

Meanwhile it’ll be interesting seeing just how much Google’s Nexus One moves the marketplace this week. We’ve also got the spectre of Apple looming in the distance as well. Bring it on.

Are you ready for a year of change? I’ve been observing a slow burning yet massive set of ‘corrections’ rippling across the mobile planet during 2009 and I can really see that beginning to speed up. Change is coming! Finally.

Happy New Year!