LONDON-Following what it termed extensive customer research and feedback, Vodafone Group plc launched its Vodafone Simply service, which the carrier said provides customers with basic voice and text messaging services along with a simplified pricing scheme.
Vodafone said the service would use a pair of handsets developed by Sagem that include a trio of dedicated buttons for accessing the handset’s main screen, contacts and messages; a button on the side to control ringer volume; and a switch to lock the keypad. Vodafone added that the handsets include large screens with legible text and symbols and on-screen instructions in “plain language” to help customers “master the phone quickly and easily.”
The handsets will sell for $146 in the United Kingdom or be available free with monthly price plans.
Vodafone noted the service’s new Stop the Clock pricing structure will allow customers to talk for up to an hour in the evenings and during the weekends, but only pay for the first three minutes. Final pricing will be set by each country’s operator.
Vodafone also said it has trained members of its customer service staff to help and advise customers using the new service.
Vodafone said the service is available on its network in Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom; will expand to Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland on June 1; expand to Austria in July; and to other markets “in due course.”
Analysts noted the service should appeal to older users who have been left out of recent service launches highlighting complex data services.
“With many operators focusing on the youth market and some developing phones for children, the older segment has been largely ignored to date,” explained Ovum analyst Carrie Pawsey. “This service cleverly targets one of the few market segments that have never had a mobile phone. For them, as the name suggests, simplicity is key.”
