Most of us know the giant mobile network operator, Vodafone to be all about sim cards. Well, on Tuesday, after a big announcement, it launched a new line of home gadgets, thus breaking into the internet of things (IoT) market. This effectively shows that Vodafone is expanding into the hardware frontier and is going beyond just sim cards.
The newly launched brand identified as ‘V by Vodafone’ is described as a “new, simple system” for IoT users to connect and control devices related to their cars, pets, security cameras and bags.
Vodafone intends to build customer loyalty by letting its years of developing smart technology products convince users to trust them. This probably accounts for their proud claim to over 59 million IoT connections, including an international platforms where business oriented IoT products are developed. Moreover, the telecoms giant developed this new brand products based on insights and analytics from comprehensive research gotten from data provided by over 15000 users in Europe.
Growth in the IoT market is expected to skyrocket just as Vittorio Colao, chief executive of the Vodafone Group has said that “Over the next decade, the expansion of internet of things into consumer markets will bring about an equally dramatic shift in how people manage their daily lives, at home and in their leisure time.”
All products in the ‘V by Vodafone’ brand will have a dedicated IoT ‘V-Sim’ which is to be available to only products of the brand and sold directly by Vodafone. By next year, third-party retailers would be able to get their hands on the magic sim.
The four products that make up the ‘V by Vodafone’ brand are:
- V-Auto; a car dongle that can be plugged into the OBD port on most cars, so far it was built after 2002. It’s functions include emergency calls in event of an accident, GPS tracker in event of car loss and a safety score feature that tells you how safe you drive.
- V-Camera uses a 3G or 4G network to provide constant recording using a mobile security camera.
- V-Pet is a location and activity tracker that lets you track your pets. You can set boundaries and get notifications on your smartphone when your dog or cat goes outside the boundaries. You can also monitor sleeping patterns using this device.
- V-Bag is also a location tracker which you can attach to your bags and luggage. You’ll get a notification if someone takes it outside the boundaries you have set.
Each of these products can only work with a dedicated V-Sim. But the app makes it easy to setup and connect the hardware.
