iPhone News Updated

Smart mum on iPhone, has plans for ‘specialized’ phones

Smart mum on iPhone, has plans for ‘specialized’ phones

MAKATI City, Philippines — Smart Communications has its own plans for the rollout of “specialized phones” in the Philippines, a spokesperson told INQUIRER.net Friday.

Asked about the company’s reaction to rival Globe Telecom’s Apple iPhone offering, Smart public affairs head Ramon Isberto replied: “We have our own plans for specialized handsets like the iPhone. We will disclose when we’re ready.”

Isberto kept mum on the company’s plans on whether or not it was going to match Globe’s offering.

“Please bear in mind we are not just talking of bringing in a cool new handset. The iPhone brings with it a new business model wherein Apple gets a bite of revenues. Operators need to consider that carefully,” Isberto told INQUIRER.net via SMS.

He added that Smart was more focused on creating an ecosystem for mobile Internet in the Philippines. He said that in the next two months, the company will be announcing several initiatives related to its mobile Internet-focused services.

“We want to create an ecosystem and not just introduce handsets,” he stressed, adding that the Philippine market is no longer just about releasing new handsets to the consumers.

Asked whether mobile operators would need to build a new infrastructure to offer iPhone services, Isberto pointed out that “bootleg” iPhones have already been proliferating in the country prior to the Globe announcement.

“It’s a question of whether you’ll sign up with the business model,” he said.

Specialized handsets are mobile devices that run on faster mobile networks and feature more Internet-like services.

Globe Telecom announced early this week that it was among the first telecom operators in Asia to officially carry Apple’s popular iPhone handset. Globe said that it had signed an agreement with Apple along with Singapore’s Singtel, India’s Bharti Airtel and Australia’s Optus.

[Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080516-136989/Smart-mum-on-iPhone-has-plans-for-specialized-phones]