By David Ponce
Holy Pumpernickel! European mobile operator 3 has done the unthinkable. They’ve announced the launch of what very well may be the most drool-inducing, God-dammit why-don’t-I-live-In-Europe mobile service… ever. They call it: X-Series. It’s a flat fee bundle that includes pre-installed software on one of two eligible phones (the Nokia N73 and Sony Ericsson W950i), and unlimited, well, everything:
– Skype internet telephony
– Microsoft Messenger
– Ebay
– Unlimited internet access
– Google search
– Yahoo Go services
– Sling television access
– Orb access to home PC
– Podcast downloads on the move
And, yes, we do realize that all the technologies we’ve listed aren’t exactly new, nor groundbreaking on their own. But it’s their bundling, and the apparent ease of use that comes from the seamless integration that we like. That, and the “flat rate” business, though there seems to be fair use limitations.
It’ll be interesting to see pricing, as the service rolls out over 3’s markets, which include Italy, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Ireland and Sweden. And, we’re also curious as to how much data is “fair” in their eyes.
[ BBC Article ] VIA [ R/W Web ]
In germany you can get a UMTS flatrate for 40-50 ?. It’s a start, but we hope it becomes cheaper soon.
Ofcourse, this had to be ‘invented’ not even a year after leaving europe… sigh… I agree with harry, the UMTS flatrate are pretty tempting (Holland has one too from vodaphone) though coverage is still far from ideal. I remember reading in 2004 articles in newspapers about how worldwide coverage of UMTS was expected in end 2006… and here we are, as far from that coverage as we are from the paperless office.