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Free is always good: Vodafone releases free Widget Manager for Nokia phones

Henry — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:45:07 +0000

A new custom-made application is providing Vodafone customers with a bunch of widgets, giving them access to the web at a glance. The Vodafone Widget Manager BETA is downloadable free of charge from the Vodafone Live! portal and will provide users with direct access to all their widgets through the applications folder found on the phone. However, the application has been built on Opera run-time for the S60 platform and will initially only be available on the Nokia N96, N95 8GB model, N78 and 6210 handsets, which is those that can use the Opera runtime.

It would have been better to make the app self-running, but then again, they probably couldn’t have released it for free.

Launched today, some of the widgets available include Live Scores, Fresh Games, RSS Reader, Weatherbug, Egg Timer, Train Times, Lottery, Sccope, Currency Converter and FHM Hot Babes. Both BBC News, BBC Sport along with Vue Cinema widgets are expected in the near future.

Both Vodafone Widget Manager BETA and individual widgets are available for free, though data charges may apply in some situation. This is considered a real victory for Vodafone, as its now one of the only carriers to offer free truly useful apps to their users directly.

Stores openings booming for Vodafone and Orange

Henry — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:35:55 +0000

Vodafone claimed that its store expansion plans are gathering pace with several leases already signed. The first 18 of 50 shops have already been completed and are set to open before Christmas, and the remainder will open before March 2009. It seems the global economic downturn hasn’t deterred Vodafone.

Vodafone is looking to add more stores to build share in certain cities where stores are not plentiful. The operator will open its third store in Newcastle and its second in Plymouth.

It is also focussing heavily on south-east England with five new stores, as well as pushing into smaller market towns without a store currently, which should help with exposure and bottom line sales.

Orange is another seemingly prosperous operator with store openings in the pipeline, with 100 new stores in the works. The first 20 will open between October and the end of 2008.

Orange’s store count will rise to 400, while Vodafone’s will jump to 365. Vodafone’s new stores are 60 square meters on average and will have up to 5 full-time people on duty on staff. The companies are also looking to retool their stores with new formats and dedicated displays.

Hopefully, the boom lasts and the companies will keep the stores running with a healthy profit margin.