Howard, Art and I had a chance to interview Mark Billington, CEO of O2 Asia in the recent appreciation launch of the XDA II mini.
Being the first to interview him (it pays to be punctual), we shared a few laughs and insights on O2's success and Mark's insights on the smartphone, the death of the PDA and *gasp* the Palm OS platform.
He recalls that there has been an immense success of O2's market penetration here in the Philippines thanks to the XDA II back in 2003 which was then the most powerful Windows Mobile Phone Edition device.
Being a brand that focuses on convergence devices, he still says that the PDA is not dead. However, in an age where you would rather forget to bring your briefcase than your cellphone, a personal digital assistant that comes with a phone equates to a very lucrative business. The XDA II sold not just because it was a phone + PDA. According to Mark, when you buy something with "O2" sprayed onto it, you are guaranteed to have something sweet and sexy. Just look at the XDA II mini - something to reach out to a broader audience which includes non-corporates, the fashion industry and women.
"Form factor always comes first" he says. "You should always look at the form factor in the initial design and then fit in the stuff that you want. You only compromise later on." The Blackberry features for instance which were supposed to be outfitted in the current line of XDA's were scrapped due to the low demand for push email in Asia since everyone here uses text messaging unlike Europe and the US.
Since we got the ball rolling, I just had to ask what he thought of the Microsoft Smartphone platform, which I considered to be an underpowered "in the middle" device. Mark did a bit of enlightening saying that indeed, Windows Mobile 2003 is still more powerful. However, there are those people who want to have a more phone-centric device unlike the XDA II which does not have a keypad. Thus, devices like the O2 XPhone will still have a solid niche.
"So do you think you will have an XDA running on the Palm OS?" asks Howard.
After giving a stern look andd glancing at Art's Palm T3 and Howard's Treo 650, he says "No." Apparently, if you talk about corporate mobile solutions and intereations, Windows Mobile 2003 is the way to go!
Eep. After three sheepish grins (and pocketing the Tungsten and Treo 650), we took a glam shot with the big boss and left for cocktails.
m|ph editors Howard Paw, Art Ilano and Jayvee Fernandez get a breath of fresh air with O2 Asia CEO Mark Billington.
Hmm. A windows fan?
Well, personally I would rather go for a Linux-based mobile solution over a Microsoft or even a PalmOS solution.
(Yes, I know. Jason is going to kill me for that one...)
“Form factor always comes first†he says. “You should always look at the form factor in the initial design and then fit in the stuff that you want. You only compromise later on.â€
I wonder how long this fellow will last in his job????
“So do you think you will have an XDA running on the Palm OS?†asks Howard.
After giving a stern look andd glancing at Art’s Palm T3 and Howard’s Treo 650, he says “No.†Apparently, if you talk about corporate mobile solutions and intereations, Windows Mobile 2003 is the way to go!
Looks like he's had his fill drinking Uncle Bill's Kool-Aid!
But seriously now: The entry of the XDA line in the local market was aptly timed... it was when the market has started "graduating" from mere cellphones and has really acted upon their urge to converge their data and communications need into a single gadget. Back then their choices were the not-so-Smartphones, the less-than-stellar Tungsten|W and the early incarnations of the Treo (which, if memory serves me right was still under Handspring). I have to grudgingly admit that among the mix, the XDA was the most viable at the time. But since it was running Windows Mobile (was it called WinCE back then?), I was less than impressed with its stability and usability if compared with... never mind... hehehehe
Anyway, my point here is that they were able to penetrate the market just when it was starting to mature. People no longer want to lug around multiple gadgets and they offered the best of both worlds.
Honestly, its because of the O2 XDA that made the PDA phone market as lucrative as it is now. People begin to open up to the concept of a phone being able to do lot more things aside from basic calls and SMS (and this paved the way for a smarter phone to come out - which obviously is the Treo 600 and 650).
W
I just want to know if there is still a plan to market XDAIIi here in the Philippines. Ive been trying to hold back on my purchase as I understand the XDAIIi is a bit superior to the currently available XDAIIs (processor, camera, etc.).
Lastly, why can't we anymore find the integrated qwertykeyboard and the 4 short key button in the XDA IIi? This first appeared in XDAIIs. Was it a mistake to have it designed that way?
Being a brand that focuses on convergence devices, he still says that the PDA is not dead. However, in an age where you would rather forget to bring your briefcase than your cellphone, a personal digital assistant that comes with a phone equates to a very lucrative business. The XDA II sold not just because it was a phone + PDA. According to Mark, when you buy something with "O2" sprayed onto it, you are guaranteed to have something sweet and sexy. Just look at the XDA II mini - something to reach out to a broader audience which includes non-corporates, the fashion industry and women.
Best regards, Alex, CEO of youtube to mp3
Looks like he's had his fill drinking Uncle Bill's Kool-Aid!
Best regards, Katya, CEO of multiple cd burner, iscsi initiator rpm