TOKYO-As handset vendors and network operators worldwide spend untold resources to provide advanced functionalities and services to capture end users’ imagination with 3G services, NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it will sell a new line of basic, compact handsets for customers who do not need or desire highly sophisticated functions.
The announcement echoes a similar move by Vodafone Group plc, which in January released its V502T model, a slim, 2G handset offering with a “Simple Mode 3” user interface that provides simplified functions and large fonts, for the neophyte and “mature” users.
Both developments appear to reflect recognition by carriers and handset vendors that the market is not uniformly enthusiastic about gadgetry, particularly as multi-functional devices get larger, and that achieving uptake on advanced services means providing a less intimidating user experience. The simplified handsets’ large fonts and displays clearly are designed for middle-aged, elderly or simply far-sighted users who might otherwise find small displays and tiny fonts unusable and, thus, a barrier to the uptake of profitable, advanced service offerings.
NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA series now offers two models, SIMPURE L, made by LG Electronics Co. Ltd., and SIMPURE N, supplied by NEC Corp. The latter model is the smallest in the carrier’s line of 3G FOMA handsets.
