Vodafone UK launches mysterious iPhone portal (Updated)

Apr 25 2009

Posted by Martin as Mobile Phones

vodafone_portal_web

UPDATED: See below.

Vodafone, the biggest mobile network in the UK, yesterday launched what appears to be a ginormous hint that they’ll be carrying the new version of the iPhone this summer. http://portal.beta.vodafone.com/ points to a Vodafone-branded RSS reader service perfectly formatted for the iPhone.

At first I was skeptical. Looking at the portal on the iPhone (screenshot below) there’s no specific mention of the iPhone at all, but view it on a computer and there’s no doubt this is aimed specifically at iPhone users. There’s even a flash-based demo that explicitly mentions the iPhone.

vodafone_portal_iphone

One of two things is happening here. Either:-

- O2’s exclusivity agreement for the iPhone in the UK is about to expire and Vodafone are gearing up to be either the new exclusive carrier, or one of a number of non-exclusive carriers. It’s possible, but with Apple’s love of secrecy would Vodafone let such a huge hint leak out and risk the rage of the boys in Cupertino?

Or:-

- Vodafone are actually launching a portal aimed at touchscreen devices in general. They already have a number of touchscreen phones on sale and the HTC Magic and Nokia N97 are both set to be big summer releases for the network. What’s the best way to get people excited about something as dull as an RSS reader? Launching a beta version geared towards iPhone users (and excitable bloggers who’ll talk about it) could be just the ticket.

So, it’s probably a little soon to get excited but there’s no denying that the iPhone on Vodafone would be a wonderful thing. Their network coverage is far superior to O2’s meaning more people would be able to enjoy the phone’s HSDPA goodness. At present my iPhone is often stuck on a weak GPRS signal – shocking when you consider I live in a huge conurbation.

UPDATE: Terence Eden from Vodafone has clarified the whole matter on Twitter. It turns out this is a portal aimed at all Vodafone territories, including those such as Portugal and Greece where they are the exclusive iPhone carrier. The portal automatically shows localised content (so the BBC, Top Gear and The Register are among the UK defaults). It works on a number of phones currently supported by Vodafone, including Nokia’s N95 8GB.

So this is a portal aimed at a wide range of phones and it doesn’t necessarily mean Vodafone will be getting the next iPhone. My hunch is that it will remain an O2 exclusive for at least one more year. Still, congratulations on a nifty RSS utility, Vodafone!

UPDATE 2: Terence has commented on this post below with more details.

(Thanks to Ricky Chotai).

Danny Mcfarlane

How is this a wonderful thing!? Vodafone is expensive and a terrible network to be with, its probably just a touchscreen portal. I cannot see them being the exclusive carrier, for the reason that apple will most likely keep people tied into the existing contracts on 02 like they did with the iPhone 3G, and letting customers upgrade early if they sign back into the 18 month contract from the time of getting the handset. I will be gutted if this happens everyone i know is on 02.

Ricky Chotai

I think that Apple will be going multi carrier in the UK. If they were launching a touchscreen portal then why have it so I phone centric.

Martin Bryant

They might make it iPhone-centric when it's in beta so that bloggers get excited and talk about Vodafone in posts like this. It would be a cheeky way of engineering hype without actually lying. After all you don't have to be a Vodafone customer to use it. Then when it goes live officially they could remove the iPhone-specific mentions and make it work with everything.

I'm keeping an open mind but it just seems odd that this would go live before any official announcement of Vodafone carrying the iPhone, and any such announcement isn't likely until WWDC in June.

Ricky Chotai

Reading their Get Satisfaction Page http://getsatisfaction.com/vodafonehomepage/top...
This is across the whole voda brand and is not UK only. :(

Martin Bryant

But why the UK-centric content like the BBC, Top Gear and The Register? Unless they're just catering for Vodafone users with unlocked iPhones...

Ricky Chotai

I asked @edent on twitter. He works for voda. He said Voda sell the iPhone in a number of countries (PT, GR, EG etc). It also works on N95 8GB & f490. More coming soon.

Phelim

Hmmm... there were some rumours about Vodafone getting the iPhone here at some point but I suspect this is just them trying to cater to the thousands of iPhone-users who have unlocked and are using the Vodafone network.

I have a friend who's in this situation and had some trouble with data a while ago. Instead of being told 'no can do' he was passed onto a Vodafone iPhone 'expert' when he rang them. They clearly realise that people want to use their network and are just making it more appealing to unlock and go with them.

If this is Vodafone getting the iPhone though... I'm seriously pissed that my contract goes through 'til January!

Martin Bryant

I'm in the same position as you. Not sure I could hold on til January! :)

TerenceEden

Hi Guys,

Just to clarify a few things....

Vodafone sells the iPhone in a number of markets - O2 have the exclusive rights for the UK though.

While the portal originally started out for the iPhone, we've recently extended it to the N95, N95 8GB & Samsung F490. We'll be rolling it out to more phones - both touch & non-touch. We'll also be rolling it out to more of our markets.

However! You *don't* need to be a Vodafone customer to use the portal. If you've got an iPhone and are on O2, you can still use it. You can register on your PC or your phone at http://portal.beta.vodafone.com/ . The PC and phone portals are synchronised - if you add content on your PC, it will appear on your phone straight away.

As for it being just an RSS reader. Check out the Flickr & Twitter widgets - they should give you a taste of the interactivity we have planned for this service.

The service should geo-locate you. Which is why you saw UK content. If you register on the website, you can change your location so you can see content from Greece, Portugal, Egypt, Turkey, UK South Africa etc.

I don't work for Vodafone UK or for the handsets team - so I really can't comment on whether the UK will be getting the iPhone now or in the future. A quick look at http://forums.vodafone.co.uk/ shows a number of people with unlocked iPhones using the Vodafone UK network, though.

Glad you like the service - you can follow us on twitter - http://twitter.com/HomepageBeta

Terence Eden
(I work for Vodafone Group as a Product Manager for this portal. However, it's a Saturday & I'm at home. Is this an official comment? Your guess is as good as mine :-)

Martin Bryant

Thanks for the clarification Terence - and when you're 'off duty', too! Batman never sleeps! :)

Addam Hassan

I spoke to a Vodafone representative and she said that Vodafone are in discussions in taking the iPhone to the market with their tariffs. This would coincide with the Launch of the new iPhone.

rob

Spoke to Vodafone today.

O2 exlusive deal for iphone is coming to an end and they hope to have the latest handset for July!

Axe

I have had this verified from a good Vodafone internal source that Iphone is coming to vodafone and this was also confirmed with a quick call to customer services as i am an exisiting customer.

pha

o2 has lost the Apple iPhone contact as of next month... what a shame... All networks will now have the ability to sell it.

greg

I just called Vodafone and no such confirmation, I am an existing customer of 13 years. I just applied for my PAC to go over to O2 for the iphone, so if it's true, I'll just hang on. There's lots of rumours and no facts as of yet....

Shaun M

I'm getting an i-phone, my wife went to vodafone yesterday to get the PUC code and thay said that the iphone is coming to them next month, I will wait till July to see not sute how the price plans will compare, Also will they have the new 3GS version announced yesterday?

Anna

I just had Vodafone on the phone as I've requested a PAC code so I too can get an iPhone. I questioned him about the rumours that Vodafone will be taking the iPhone from the end of September but he was very non-commital and said he couldn't possibly comment. He did mention that Vodafone have lost an awful lot of business due to the iPhone being exclusive to O2 and that he only saw it as a good thing if Vodafone could offer it too.
Think I might wait it out too...

CK

I will never get an iPhone until I can get it on a network that provides decent reception in my house - that means Vodafone. No carrier provides 3G where I live and O2 coverage is very poor to nonexistant.

Apple must surely realise that they are limiting their commercial success by restricting their phone to a single carrier. [I suspect Apple probably can't make enough iphones right now but as soon as demand starts to drop off I would expect a change in policy.]

It actually works in my favor because I am forced to hold off getting on the iphone upgrade treadmill until this gets fixed. This train of thought used to work until the TomTom announcement. As soon as TomTom start shipping for iPhone, I am going to want one really badly.

ellie

i was in a vodaphone store in dublin yesterday and the staff told me that vodafone would be selling iphones in september! i hope this is true as they have the best coverage in the country not to mention their customer service..a little bit pricey but sure with coverage like that who cares? not me anyway :)

lee

I heard T-mob was infront of voda for the i phone :D

chrisgibson1985

girlfriends mother is a manager at t mobile, they're not getting it until mid 2010, HOWEVER, if your with t mob and your upgrade is due, there is a forum on the t mobile site (google and you shall find) saying that people have been getting some as an upgrade for complaining about the lack of "decent" handsets avaiable to them.

venkat2009

Fnatastic information nice..I am using the Vodafone Network in my Nokia N95 8GB mobile before that i used the T-Mobile US network i was unlocked from the network i used the site for the Unlocking Instructions.

guylaughton

I was thinking of buying an unlocked iPhone and using it on Vodafone, any comments?

t rets

Yes, unlock that iPhone! Free it up to watch tramps getting bummed by George Michael in bushes. And spunk drinking contests.

JamesNK

I find the reception on O2 very poor indeed. For such a sophisticated phone/software it beggars belief that they would let it loose on such a shit carrier.. `can't WAIT for iphone to kick O2 off and give a decent network a go, Not renewing my contract so I can immediately change the moment another network comes along. The other issue is it is very difficult to liaise with O2 staff as they all seem completely demotivated and retarded.

james K

chrisgibson1985

i am with Vodafone at the moment, and i have spoke to many a rep on the phone about the iphone, it states on their site that it is COMING SOON, soon to them being in January 2010.

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