Vodafone 360 Update

RNS Number : 1215H

Vodafone Group Plc

15 February 2010

 



MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2010 - Vodafone 360 UPDATE

·     Vodafone demonstrates Android app for Vodafone People, a Vodafone 360 service

·     New app allows full access to the Vodafone People service, including wireless syncing of contacts and aggregation of social network feeds, chat and email accounts

·     Nearly 300,000 Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 and M1 phones sold since service launch

·     Downloadable 360 services now available for 100 devices

·     Hyves social networking site now integrated

London, Barcelona, Monday 15 February 2010.   Vodafone today announces the imminent availability of a Vodafone People app for Android phones.  The Vodafone People app for Android, being demonstrated at the Vodafone Stand at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, will soon be available for Android users of any network provider in the 8 initial Vodafone 360 launch countries to download to their phones from Google Marketplace.  Users can then register with Vodafone 360 and begin taking advantage of Vodafone People, one of the suite of Vodafone 360 services, enabling them to automatically and wirelessly sync all their contacts from their phone and aggregate social network feeds, chat and email accounts into one single, connected address book.

Vodafone 360's ultimate goal is to be available as widely as possible, across multiple operating systems and devices and open to all customers, regardless of network operator.  "Introducing an app for Android phones is a significant step forward, and we expect to announce the inclusion of additional platforms and devices in the near future," commented Pieter Knook, Internet Services Director for Vodafone. "Today, the Vodafone People service is available on a hundred phones across five platforms, and to customers of any network.  Registrations to the 360 service are increasing, running at a rate of four thousand a day in January," said Knook.

Nearly 300,000 Vodafone 360 H1 and Vodafone 360 M1 phones have been sold since the new Vodafone 360 service went on sale in November 2009.  In Germany and the UK, the Vodafone 360 H1 and M1 devices were the best selling smartphones in the Christmas quarter. 

Since November, two software upgrades have made improvements to the customer experience, along with the introduction of Hyves - the leading Dutch social networking site.  Twitter and Germany's studiVZ will be integrated this summer.

"We said that the launch of Vodafone 360 was the first step in the next phase of our mobile internet journey, to provide a range of services that give customers a great mobile internet experience," said Knook. "The two Vodafone 360 service software drops have added several enhancements and have made a number of inroads into the specific feedback we have received from our customers.  Further software upgrades in the coming months will continue to add new features and functionality to the service," he added.

In the first three months of service, over 7,000 apps have been made available for download from the Vodafone 360 Apps Shop across the launch markets.  By March 2010 Vodafone expects to have shipped more than two million devices incorporating 50 different handsets capable of accessing the Vodafone 360 Apps Shop.

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For further information:

Vodafone Group

Tel:  [phone]

Notes to Editors

1	Key enhancements from software upgrades 1.1 and 1.2:

·     Ability to send a location nudge to anyone in your address book, not just Vodafone 360
 users

·     New, improved version of the Vodafone Shop and Music Shop

·     Introduction of Google Contacts alongside Google Talk™

·     Introduction of Hyves social networking site, complementing Facebook, Windows Live
 Messenger™, Google Talk

·     Usability enhancements to Vodafone 360 website enabling drag and drop for creation of
 groups.

2	Vodafone 360 service is available in Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK, with the Vodafone People Service - one of the suite of Vodafone 360 services - available on over 100 popular devices.
3	Hyves, VZ networks (which incorporates the schuelerVZ, studiVZ and meinVZ platforms) are leading Dutch and German social network services.  Hyves and the Hyves logos are trademarks of Startphone Limited.
4	Windows Live is either a registered trade mark or a trade market of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
5	Google Talk is a trademark of Google Inc.
6	Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
7	The Vodafone Stand can be found at CY12 at the Fira de Barcelona in the Courtyard area.
8	More information on Vodafone 360 can be found at www.vodafone360.com
9	Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
	This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to, without limitation,  expectations regarding the distribution of devices capable of accessing the Vodafone 360 Apps Shop. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. A review of the reasons why actual results and developments may differ materially from the expectations disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements can be found by referring to the information contained under the heading "Other Information - Forward-Looking Statements" in Vodafone Group Plc's Half-Year Financial Report for the six months ending 30 September 2009, and "Forward-looking statements" and  "Principal risk factors and uncertainties" in Vodafone Group Plc's Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2009.  The Half-Year Financial Report and the Annual Report can be found on the Group's website (www.vodafone.com/investor). All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any member of the Group or any persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements in this press release will be realised. Except as otherwise stated herein and as may be required to comply with applicable law and regulations, Vodafone does not intend to update these forward-looking statements and does not undertake any obligation to do so.

About Vodafone

Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with approximately 333 million proportionate customers as at 31 December 2009. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and around 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com

 

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