Vodafone to Offer Mass Market 3G Handsets

InfoWorld Nederland reports that Vodafone will be offering up to 15 new 3G handsets for the Christmas season across many of the European markets it serves. According to the article, six of the new phones will be geared toward the entry level mass market and ten of the 15 will be exclusive to Vodafone.

Ben Wood at Gartner noted that Vodafone last year had "rolled out some expensive and large phones that weren't particularly attractive across the market" because "it was more about placating the investors."

"Vodafone have got serious about 3G now. They're using their size and purchasing power to put together the best portfolio of 3G phones and services," he said.

The new handsets will allow Vodafone to better compete in the market, especially with Hutchison , which offers a low-price 3G service. "The other network operators are starting to get their story together so they can take the fight back to Hutchison and try to take the mindshare on 3G back from them. The gloves are off. We're going to see aggressive competition for 3G," Wood added.