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Telecom companies Hutchison 3G  UK Limited (a.k.a. 3 Group) and Hutchison Telecommunications International ( News - Alert) Limited, both subsidiaries of Hutchison Whampoa, this week announced a deal with nine mobile and online providers, manufacturers, to offer a mobile Internet service bundle.
The service, dubbed X-Series, includes applications from Skype, Yahoo, Google, eBay, Microsoft ( News - Alert), Sling Media, Nokia, Orb Networks, and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
In its announcement Thursday, 3 Group said that, using X-Series, “customers will be able to make unlimited calls from their mobile using Skype ( News - Alert), watch their home television via their mobile using Sling, access their home PC remotely using Orb and have access to the best of internet and messaging services from Yahoo!, Windows Live Messenger and Google ( News - Alert).”
The list below summarizes the various elements of X-Series, and contributions of companies involved.
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Voice – make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype call
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TV – use Slingbox to access programs (including those stored on a PVR) from anywhere using a mobile phone
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PC – use Orb to access digital content from a PC
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Messaging – instant messaging to and from Window Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, other X-Series handsets, and PCs
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Internet Access – access the Internet on a mobile phone using Google or Yahoo search engine
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Shopping – shop on eBay in real-time
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Handset Support – the first two handsets supporting X-Series are Nokia’s N73 and Sony Ericsson’s ( News - Alert) W950i
Subscribers will get all that for a flat monthly fee, on top of basic subscription charges. Initially, customers also will pay an additional fee for higher-bandwidth services like Sling and Orb.
“The X-Series heralds important changes in the business model for mobile media and internet,” said Hutchison Whampoa Group Finance Director Frank Sixt, in a statement. “Moving away from unit charges will set mobile users free to enjoy broadband services without fear of ‘bill-shock’.”
Hutchison Whampoa Group Managing Director Canning Fok added: “This is the internet as it was meant to be and what people have been waiting for. Mobile broadband is the natural next step for mobile services, extending the full power of the internet to mobile handsets.”
An InfoWorld report Thursday pointed out, though, that despite 3 Group’s promotion of X-Series as an unlimited usage plan—allowing subscribers to access online applications without worrying about charges piling up—the services do come with “fair usage” limits that have not yet been defined.
“Some operators in the U.S. have been criticized for such limits, which typically bar users from accessing high-bandwidth services they may want to use, such as online video,” the InfoWorld report said.
The X-Series services will launch in the U.K. December 1, and in other markets around the world early next year.
Third Generation (3G) | X | | A variety of cellular phone specifications collectively known as Third Generation mobile technology. 3G networks do not operate in the same frequency spectrum as 2G. Examples of 3G wireless specs incl...more |
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