News 2002
Virgin Mobile – the future’s bright colour
14/06/2002
Virgin Mobile announces new range of colour phones
with the launch of SonyEricsson T68i
13.06.02: Virgin Mobile, the UK’s fifth network, today unveiled a new range of state-of-the-art phones, each with full-colour screens.
The Colour Collection heralds a new generation of mobile services – from visual ring alerts, to digital photo and picture messaging.
Virgin Mobile predicts the introduction of full-colour screens will transform the mobile market in the UK, in terms of sales, how people use their phones, and the types of services offered by operators.
The first phone in Virgin Mobile’s Colour Collection, the SonyEricsson T68i goes on sale today for £349.99. Virgin Mobile is the only UK network to offer the phone with no strings attached, with no contract nor line rental.
The Colour Collection is personal: customise your mobile with wallpaper, screensavers, cheeky graphics or even photos of loved ones. Some phones provide for the ultimate in creativity with snap-on or built-in digital cameras.
“This is a seismic shift in mobile. It’s as radical as the introduction of colour TV. And once you’ve switched to colour from black and white, would you go back?” said Andy Mallinson, Head of Product Marketing at Virgin Mobile.
“There’s no doubt that colour phones are simply appealing. They are easy to use, easier to read, and offer the chance for consumers to make their phone as personal as they wish. There has not been a more compelling reason for customers to upgrade their phone in years!”
Multi-media services
The introduction of colour also paves the way for a new generation of services: Virgin Mobile aims to introduce picture messaging later this year. As well as allowing the magic of friend-to-friend photo messaging, it means the operator is able to enhance its suite of VirginXtras services with new visual media.
For example, a Virgin Mobile customer who currently receives a text message goal alert will be able to see images of their team actually scoring the goal. Music fans, who get 15% off CDs through their Virgin Mobile, will be able to see images of their pop idol singing – and actually hear a clip of their latest soundtrack.
Nick White, head of VirginXtras at Virgin Mobile, said: “Colour means entertainment. It’s eye-catching, engaging, and elegant. It opens up huge possibilities for us as a mobile media services company, and we aim to offer our customers the most stunning media entertainment and information services. The art of the possible is only just beginning.”
The Colour Collection phones
Virgin Mobile has unveiled five phones with colour screens for launch in the coming months – the SonyEricsson T68i and P800; the stylish Samsung T100; the fully-featured Nokia 7650 and the tiny, value-for money Sagem XY-M5.
The Sony Ericsson T68i allows customers to use images and photos as wallpaper for the screen or even as a caller ID function when taking in coming calls, allowing a personal “face” to identify the caller, rather than a written name or number. A snap-on camera lets you become a mobile David Bailey.
The Samsung T100 is a beautiful phone with stunning sound and high-quality colour screen. A large range of pictures and wallpapers are available for download to the phone, allowing for customer personalisation. It is set to become the high fashion item of this summer.
The Nokia 7650 has an integrated digital camera, with 4MB of dynamic memory for images, allowing the owner to send images and store them in the in-built photo album. It also has joystick navigation, is Java-enabled, comes complete with a PC suite and an integrated hands-free speaker.
The Sagem XY-M5 is a great value phone, and is set to be Virgin Mobile’s most competitively priced colour phone. It has a tiny stylish design, with its sleek and silver fascia. Change the front and back fascias, enjoy the polyphonic ringtones and download animated colour screensavers.
The SonyEricsson P800 is a stunning phone, with just about every function going. With an in-built camera, bluetooth functionality, Java support and a Symbian open operating system, to allow third party downloads via both Java and C++, this phone is the crème de la crème. Guaranteed to become one of the most desirable phones ever to hit the market.
Virgin Mobile has always prided itself on leading the way with innovations. Colour is the new revolution. At the end of 2001, Virgin Mobile became the first British operator to launch a voice portal. The service, simply controlled by speech commands, gives all Virgin Mobile customers access to a menu of audio-on-demand content, including on-the-hour news bulletins, sport and celebrity interviews, as well as TV soap updates, and much more. The introduction of colour will enhance Virgin Mobile’s capabilities and provide ground-breaking services through VirginXtras.
