Snatched from the jaws of victory

Last week I found myself needing a taxi in the West End of London and I walked for about 15 minutes (or a dozen blocks in US money) before I was finally able to hail one down. Frustratingly, I could see available taxis in the distance, but only long enough to tease me with their yellow lights before they melted round a corner. I had an "Ah ha!" moment, realising the market for an app which could broadcast my geotagged need for a taxi pronto and drivers in the area could swoop to my location. My mind raced with the thrill of seizing upon the opportunity- from writing the business plan through to a glitzy launch.
So, you can imagine my annoyance this week when I found that someone had beaten me to it. Still, perhaps they've executed the idea badly? Perhaps there'll be flaws in their offering? Sadly not. I have to hand it to Hailo, they've done a great job. The "first time use" experience is slick, the app is intuitive, the marketing is simple but effective (it was the sight of a Hailo emblazoned taxi which drew my attention to the app) and it works. Available on the iPhone and Android, I highly recommend Hailo- even if they did beat me to it.

How Will the Apple iPhone get to market in the UK?

Today at MacWorld Expo, Steve Jobs made the much anticipated announcement that the iPhone will be launched this year. The story is being covered thoroughly across the blogosphere with particularly good coverage at Engadget. In short, a very exciting looking product.

The phone will be launched in the US mid year, then Europe before the end of 2007 and Asia in 2008. The prices being announced in the US are based on a Cingular exclusive 2 year contract from $499 for the entry level phone.

My question is- how will this play out in the UK? The networks are very powerful and their model of subsidising at the point of sale is particularly aggressive. Phones that would otherwise retail at around £500 can actually cost the user only a hundred pounds up front if they are on a sufficiently high usage contract. I've never paid for any of my phones because of my business usage, despite opting for the high end business phones each year [Note that it is not unknown for a monthly bill to exceed £1,000 so I don't feel especially priviledged about the situation].

Watch out for announcements.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, technology, telephony, mobile, phone, contract, tariff, network, 3, Vodafone, Orange, O2, mobile