Vodafone Live, launched on Tuesday, is likely to be a success in Australia, according to one analyst.

"In Europe I think it's been relatively successful, and I see no reason why it shouldn't be the same here," Jason Ross, senior analyst at AMR Interactive told ZDNet Australia  . He added a large factor that would contribute to the success would be the level of advertising spend Vodafone has run with.

The launch of Vodafone Live brings the final mobile telecommunications player into the "next gen" arena, where the 3G networks of Hutchison--and soon Optus--are battling it out with the 2.5G networks of Telstra and Vodafone.

Vodafone managing director Grahame Maher told ZDNet Australia   the big difference between Vodafone Live, Telstra's Mobile Loop and Hutchison's 3 was the user interface, which is a WAP page--the mobile version of a Web page--containing icons for easy navigation.

"It's really easy," said Maher. "Live is the mobile equivalent of Word in Windows, it's the Windows approach to mobiles."

He said the services offered through Live, and other high-speed mobile networks, have been around for a long time. He said Live made PXT (Vodafone's version of MMS), downloading polymorphic ringtones (AU$3.30 - AU$4.50), and receiving news, sports, business, finance and weather information, as well as purchasing games (AU$3-7) to download and play on mobile phones easier.

Despite Hutchison's aggressive pricing with the launch of 3, Vodafone decided to stick with the traditional pricing currently offered by the established carriers.

"It's a disruptive move around pricing," said Maher. "I suspect there'll be a rational settlement, it's launch pricing not long term pricing."

"We like the focus on landline replacement with the voice pricing," added Maher. "We have been doing similar things, making pricing simple so it can replace landlines."

Mobile telecommunications analysts were as surprised as everyone else at the aggressive pricing Hutchison entered the market with, and remain uncertain as to whether it will have to raise prices for its 3G service.

"It depends on how many people will go on their network as to whether they will need to increase prices," said AMR Interactive's Ross. He expects to see pricing strategies become as "innovative and creative" as the reasons put forward by the established carriers as to why 3G was no better than 2.5G.

Businesses usually slash rates to gain clients when they enter a new market but in Hutchison's case, it's caught between a rock and a hard place--prices have to be just right to meet return on investment requirements but low enough to attract customers.

Peter Lemon, mobile telecommunications analyst at IDC Australia, told ZDNet Australia   he doesn't think Hutchison would raise prices anytime soon as it has to protect its substantial investment.

"I think we will see lower prices [from all carriers]," said Lemon. "It'll be because they've been prompted by what they regard as an unusually fast take-up of 3."

Lemon said that the technical advantage of Hutchison's wCDMA network over the GSM and CDMA2000 1x networks of other carriers would not be used for some time, as the networks still had "capacity coming out of their ears".

Vodafone Live uses the 'walled garden' approach that is also utilised by Telstra Mobile Loop and 3. This approach has the mobile preprogrammed with the information needed to access the carriers Web site, which contains as many applications and services the carrier can stuff in there.

The only carrier to avoid this approach is Optus, which has opted to offer the technology instead of a defined service. "For Optus, 3G is a technology extension--rather than a separate business in itself," Melissa Favero, manager Optus corporate affairs told ZDNet Australia  . "Our approach to mobile data is to provide consumers with whatever access technology best suits their needs, comfort level and budget from SMS to WAP, GPRS to MMS and later 3G."

Although camera and video mobile phones are currently less than one percent of those being used in Australia, AMR Interactive's Ross said internal research revealed 24 percent of current phone users were interested in camera phones, and 30 percent were interested in video phones.

What's interesting is the differences between the two groups--those interested in camera phones tended to be under 35, technology savvy and heavy users of SMS. People interested in video phones tended to be slightly older and more family oriented--the kind of person who would want a video camera. This group are not heavy users of SMS, which means they may help avoid the carrier's fear of having SMS revenues cannibalised by the newer technology, rather than have additional revenue.

"It's a good one to watch," said Ross.

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, a CBS Company. All Rights Reserved.
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive.