The new HTC Dream phone uses the Google operating system Android. -- PHOTO: HTC
LESS than a year after iPhone madness gripped Singapore, Google's own handset is set to shake up the mobile phone market.
The much touted Google phone, also known as the HTC Dream, will be sold here by SingTel exclusively. Singapore will be the first in Asia to get the phone. The telecom company currently holds exclusive local rights to Apple's iPhone 3G, which debuted here last August. Its strategy of bringing in exclusive phones may be paying off for the provider.
RIVALS' OFFERINGS
Following the exclusive trend, rival StarHub said although it would not be selling the HTC Dream, it was working with HTC to bring in a 'next-generation' phone, the G2, that would have 'wow factors' similar to the HTC Touch HD, which it already offers exclusively.
Mr Chua Swee Kiat, a spokesman for MobileOne, Singapore's third mobile provider, said it was in discussions with phone manufacturer HTC as well other manufacturers of similar-styled phones.
SingTel's iPhone deal was a major drawcard, and contributed significantly to its increase in postpaid customers in the third quarter of last year. SingTel brought in 45,000 new postpaid mobile customers - more than twice as many as its two rivals, which brought in about 21,000 customers in total.
iPhone users also spend more than regular users on their monthly bills, about 11/2 times as much, or about $130 compared to $86.
Since mobile number portability - where users can switch carriers and still keep the same phone number - was introduced last June, the heat has been on telecom companies to find ways, such as exclusive tie-ups, to retain and attract customers.
But this strategy of exclusive tie-ups 'depends heavily on the phone', said MrFoong King Yew, research director for carrier operations and strategies at market research firm Gartner.
He told The Straits Times that the cellphone on offer had to be 'really desirable in order to entice customers away from a competitor. If your phone is not so spectacular, the effectiveness of your strategy will be questionable,' he said.
The Apple iPhone 'set the benchmark', and pulled people, who got tired of waiting for the cellphone to be sold by other carriers, to SingTel.
Unlike the iPhone, Google's phone runs on an open-source operating system known as Android. This means manufacturers do not have to pay Google for using the software, resulting in cheaper handsets for consumers. Also, developers can build applications, like games, more easily.
Though the HTC Dream cellphone sold out quickly when it was pre-launched in the United States last year, it still garnered much criticism for not offering a video-recording function and only having a few applications available. SingTel had no further details of when the HTC Dream would start selling here, nor how much it would cost.
