Mobile phone network Vodafone have confirmed that music is at the heart of their 3G strategy. Launching their first 3G mobile phones yesterday (use of Vodafone's broadband mobile service has been restructured to data cards used in laptops up until now), the telephone company announced it had done deals with SonyBMG, EMI and Warner Music in order to offer its 3G customers access to a mobile download service, enabling consumers to download digital tracks directly to their mobile phone, initially choosing from a catalogue of 3000 tracks.
Vodafone bosses wouldn't be drawn on whether they see 3G phones as a competitor for Apple's iPod, presumably aware that telephone handset technology is some way off having the kind of in-built memory to compete with stand alone digital music players. However, one spokesman did say that they hoped 3G phones would become "the only device" that people needed to carry with them.
The other main content component Vodafone plan to offer 3G customers are so called 'mobisodes' - edited highlights of forthcoming TV shows that sound not altogether unlike trailers - though mobi-trailers presumably.
When asked by some pesky journalists as to whether porn featured in Vodafone's 3G plans (it being the one kind of content insiders reckon punters would actually pay to watch on their mobile), execs for the tel co just started talking about developing content programmes that were suitable for each territory - "What was acceptable in Egypt is very different from Holland," a spokesman said, "We work out the benchmark level of what's acceptable in each country, and then go more conservative". I'm guessing that means yes.