News 2001
Virgin Mobile first to fly the flag
01/06/2001
The launch of the first ever 'Brit phone'
Virgin Mobile today announced it will be the first operator to work with Sendo, Britain's first ever mobile phone manufacturer. Virgin Mobile will bring Sendo's custom-designed phones to the UK mobile market in mid-June, with the debut of the home-grown S200 model.
The timely announcement is a positive after a depressing month in May for the telecoms industry: with Siemens unveiling plans to cut 2,000 more staff, Ericsson looking at reducing its workforce by 12,000 by the end of the year, BT struggling with a £5.9bn rights issue and Motorola closing its production plant in Bathgate.
Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Mobile, said Sendo's phones would help Virgin Mobile maintain its unique position in the mobile market: "We are proud to be backing the UK's first mobile manufacturer and supporting British industry. Britain has always played a leading part in the development of mobile telephony, and this alliance with Sendo will keep the country right up there."
Just as JK Rowling recently insisted on a British boy playing Harry Potter in the Hollywood movie of the book, and River Café Cook Ruth Rogers encouraging us to 'buy British' in the supermarket, the introduction of the Virgin Mobile S200 reflects the country's increasing determination to stay loyal to all things British.
Birmingham-based Sendo was founded in August 1999 and, like Virgin Mobile, has been instrumental in changing the mobile market in a very short space of time.
Sendo phones are among the lightest and smallest available on the market. The S200 will be marketed as a Virgin Mobile branded phone although the handset will also carry the Sendo logo. The S200 will carry features that have been especially incorporated to Virgin Mobile's specification and other services and products are being developed for the future.
Priced at £79.99 (with no connection fee and £5 free airtime), the Sendo S200 is ergonomically designed and filled with fun features such as downloadable ringtones, ringtones to compose yourself, changeable covers and four different games. The revolutionary animated menu equips the phone with predictive text, a six line display screen and picture messaging. The S200 is also dual band.
Thomas Leliveld, Sendo's commercial director said: "We think it's fantastic that Virgin Mobile is the first to introduce the S200 in the UK - it's an inspiring move. This model is a leading phone in its class and fits perfectly with Virgin Mobile's image."
Both Virgin Mobile and Sendo aim to expand across the globe. Sendo already has operations in the UK, Hong Kong and The Netherlands and sales offices in a number of countries in Europe and Asia, with manufacturing in China. Virgin Mobile has already announced ventures in Australia with Optus and in Singapore with SingTel, which will enable it to launch services throughout Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Philippines.
For more information please contact:
Steven Day, Virgin Mobile, 07931 777777
Sasha Bradbury/Julia Clarke, Consolidated Communications, 020 7287 2087
Marijke van Hooren, Sendo, 0121 766 1937
or 07968 820 701
Notes to Editors:
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is now established as the most successful virtual network operator in the world. Since its launch in November 1999 it has attracted over 900,000 customers making it one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies ever.
Virgin Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture company between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Deutsche Telekom's One 2 One, and is the UK's first mobile virtual operator.
It has scored a number of firsts, including being the first operator to scrap peak rate calls, introduce a daily discounting tariff, introduce a cash back tariff (The Big Bonus), and was the first company in the world to introduce an integrated MP3 mobile phone.
Registered customers using £30-worth of calls or more each month will receive 10% of whatever they spend as an airtime credit the following month. The Big Bonus is available to all Virgin Mobile customers. The more calls made, the more free airtime customers get, whenever they use £30 or more.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virgin.com/mobile; or on the High Street at over 3,500 outlets including Virgin Megastores, Our Price, V Shops and in supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsbury.
Virgin has already taken the brand overseas with Virgin Mobile (Australia), a partnership with Optus, which opened for business at the end of October 2000. A similar joint-venture between Virgin and Singapore Telecom will see the launch of Virgin Mobile (Asia) later in 2001. The global Virgin Mobile brand is also expected to launch in the USA and Europe within two years.
Sendo
Sendo is a new fully-fledged mobile phone company headquartered in Birmingham - the UK's first mobile manufacturer. The company, founded in August 1999, offers high-performance, competitively-priced, reliable products and services to the fast-growing cellular market. Sendo has been established with the needs of the operators in mind. The company offers a complete custom program, from exclusively branded phones, matched fulfilment programs and bespoke software with dedicated services. Sendo plans to roll out two mobile phone platforms, with several variations, in Europe and Asia in the course of this year.
Sendo was founded by mobile industry professionals with over 40 years of combined experience at the edge of mobile phone innovation in the leading mobile phone companies. The management team has been gathering talent to create a unique company, and will have 200 highly-skilled employees by the end of this year. The company employs British, French, American, Finnish, Spanish, German, Chinese and Dutch specialists.
Its headquarters are in Birmingham. Sendo's Asia Pacific Operations Centre is based in Hong Kong and its first phones will be manufactured in a new $35m manufacturing plant in Guangdong in China. The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing technology. Sendo's European distribution centre is based in The Netherlands.
