Alcatel has its eyes on the UK market again. This time, lift off comes in the form of the OT-E801 music phone-- and its destination is the low-end prepay sector.
Alcatel, which is now owned by Hong Kong-based TCL Communications, reckons mobile music is most popular in the youth market. It claims that the OT-E801 is one of the few affordable devices with an in-built MP3 player available on prepay.
According to recent research carried out by leading UK digital music research company Music Ally, prepay handset users outnumber monthly contract users by a factor of four to one among teenage music fans in the UK. MusicAlly’s Steve Mayall said: “This audience typically downloads and shares digital music from a range of sources. The introduction of low cost music handsets into the market will open up music on mobiles to an even bigger audience.”
The rubberised OT-E801 includes dedicated music control keys on the left side of the phone so users can play, pause and search music with a single hand.
The handset will be available from Argos and Woolies in white and black for £39.99, without expandable memory. Orange and T-Mobile will also range the product.
Expect more pre-pay devices from Alcatel as it tries to carve itself a niche in the marketplace.
According to recent research carried out by leading UK digital music research company Music Ally, prepay handset users outnumber monthly contract users by a factor of four to one among teenage music fans in the UK. MusicAlly’s Steve Mayall said: “This audience typically downloads and shares digital music from a range of sources. The introduction of low cost music handsets into the market will open up music on mobiles to an even bigger audience.”
The rubberised OT-E801 includes dedicated music control keys on the left side of the phone so users can play, pause and search music with a single hand.
The handset will be available from Argos and Woolies in white and black for £39.99, without expandable memory. Orange and T-Mobile will also range the product.
Expect more pre-pay devices from Alcatel as it tries to carve itself a niche in the marketplace.