14 DAY TRIAL // Leading wireless carrier Vodafone reportedly plans discontinuing the development of bespoke 360 handsets. It seems that the operator is set to focus much more on the 360 services it offers to its users, and that there will be no more 360 devices brought to the marker. The Vodafone 360 Samsung H2, one of the latest such device set to arrive on the carrier's airwaves, has already been canceled, it seems, and the same applies to the rest of the 360 series.
According to a recent article on Mobile Industry Review, the Vodafone 360 team was the one to announce the move: “Vodafone’s core strategy remains to offer the best range of smartphones in all markets in which we compete. We have decided to accelerate our Vodafone 360 services strategy, making 360 services available on as many devices as we can as soon as we can. From now we will be focusing all efforts on expanding the range of handsets and platforms that support Vodafone 360 and in developing and enhancing the suite of Vodafone 360 services. Consequently there will be no further development of bespoke Vodafone 360 handsets, and activity on the H2 ceases with immediate effect,”
For what it's worth, the 360 devices were somehow unique. Through them, Vodafone offered almost everything to its users, including the hardware, the services, and the connectivity. These phones were powered by the LiMo Platform, and represented vehicles for delivering the open source operating system to a wide range of mobile phone users around the world. However, the fact that Vodafone discontinues the 360 devices should not affect that availability of Vodafone 360 services, it seems.
“We have always been clear that Vodafone 360 is about a suite of services, not just about bespoke devices. Our intent was always to provide services across as many handsets as possible on as many platforms. Today Vodafone 360 is available across a wide range of over 100 handsets and on 5 platforms and this will continue to expand going forward,” the 360 team reportedly stated.
A few weeks ago, the wireless carrier announced the launch of 360 services for handsets running under Google's Android operating system, as well as support for the distribution of Android applications via its 360 software portal. It seems that future mobile phones put on sale on the operator's airwaves would be packed with these services too, including devices powered by Android or Symbian, and even feature phones.
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