It appears to be an attractive package, manufactured for T-Mobile by High Tech Computer. It may provide a consumer grade alternative to Blackberry or other similar devices. The device runs Microsoft Windows Mobile applications, includes a still and video camera and music player.
According to T-Mobile:
Everything you need to stay connected, all in one sleek package. Send, receive, and reply to your personal and business e-mail easily with a full QWERTY keyboard and the convenience of Microsoft® Office Outlook® Mobile. View photos, videos, and large attachments, and share them with others or browse the Web using super fast Wi-Fi connectivity. All of this in a slim Windows Mobile® Smartphone that’s comfortable to hold and provides crystal-clear calling.
Why would T-Mobile introduce such a device and what inhibits the launch of a similar product in Canada?
Clearly, there are different market conditions in the United States. Among them:
- T-Mobile operates an extensive network of WiFi hotspots – claimed to be the world’s largest private WiFi network – and the network is a differentiator. Canada’s wireless carriers agreed to intercarrier WiFi roaming, expanding reach but at a cost of competitive differentiation.
- The US cellular market has more flat rate plans available to consumers – WiFi provides opportunities for network cost reductions for suitably equipped carriers. If consumers are going to consume lots of minutes or bytes for a fixed price, the winning carrier will be the low cost network operator.
T-Mobile can leverage its WiFi network assets to reduce its cost to serve customers and acquire customers with an offering that cannot easily be replicated by its competitors.
Only in America? Hardly. But will combo WiFi / cellular be coming soon to Canada?
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