This week's newsletter: More about Vodafone 360

I think we’ll give over quite a bit of this week’s newsletter to Vodafone 360. If you got the newsletter last week, you’ll have seen my diatribe about the company and it’s new service.

It’s elicited strong responses from you.

So strong, that many of you have been moved to write to me with your perspectives. They make absolutely stonking reading — the main thrust of the comments being agreement (and enhancement) with last week’s newsletter and total disappointment at the mess that Vodafone have made of 360.

Yesterday’s post (where I reported that 80% of mobile developers Vodafone 360 is sub-standard and in need of work) also served as a prompt to many to send in their thoughts.

Thank you to the well-placed industry source (that’s how he wished to be referred to — and I tell you, he *is* well placed) who claims that 360 is a “T-R-A-I-N-W-R-E-C-K” (his hyphens).

My source further claims that there was a grand total of 50 pre-orders for the Samsung (H1, I imagine — he didn’t specify) and that returns are ‘massive’. Again, he didn’t specify numbers.

I should point out that I’ve no way to verify this beyond clinging to the good reputation, position and industry standing of my source.

My source finished by claiming that the atmosphere in Vodafone is simply shocking — and that finger-pointing and ducking is the policy in force right now.

So if you’re in the middle of that right now, not good.

We’ll be exploring your reactions to 360 in a lot more depth in this week’s newsletter (sign-up here if you’re not on the list) through the eyes of some MIR readers. Some are former (or current) mobile operator executives. Others are former employees with direct insight on 360.

If you’d also like to contribute an opinion or viewpoint on 360 and Vodafone’s challenges with it, I’d very much welcome it — ewan@mobileindustryreview.com.