O2 blueroom

James Cherkoff writes:

Considering that my last post was called Why Free Sells, it’s timely that O2 have given me one of their new Cocoon phones to do a little test run. (It’s also timely because I smashed my Sony-Ericsson in car door a few weeks ago under pressure from the anti-terrorist squad at Euston station, but that’s another story). Unlike some bloggers I am more than happy to be showered with free stuff on the understanding that I can do whatever I want with the goodies in question. On this occasion I decided to conduct a little experiment…

…and count how many people I naturally (ie without meaning to) introduced to the phone last week. The Cocoon is very nice and compact and does everything you’d expect well. But it has one particular feature that gives it a little show-off-ability aka social objectness. Rather neatly, the outside casing has a hidden pink, neon-scrolling display that presents messages about who is calling, as well as the time and other such stuff, and it’s quite big so you can read it from the other side of the room while the phone sits on a shelf in its little nest. I have been playing with friends and associates by getting them to call me and then watching their names scroll across the side of the phone. Quite groovy. The results were that last week…

…I did this with five people, including a journalist on a national newspaper, all of whom have been pleasantly entertained for a couple of minutes and then asked to have a little play around with it themselves.And now I am writing about it on a highly Google-juiced blog. What’s that worth to O2? A darn sight more than the cost of getting in contact and popping the phone in the post to me. And if the phone had been problematic they would have got an early heads-up about the issue. As Neville says here, it helps that they did it well.

Of course, there’s nothing new here. Ironically, in fact, it’s the terrifyingly straight-forwardness of this approach that has big brands scratching their organ-o-grams. It’s just becoming more relevant and do-able. That said, innovations in measuring the effectiveness of such networked media campaigns are new and potential gold dust.

For more on the subject of products as conversations as markets, listen to David Weinberger here discussing his latest thoughts on The Cluetrain - one of which is that he hasn’t read it for about six years!

(you can view James’ original post here)

Written by Laurence Borel

I am so in love with my ipod that I would not usually consider a music phone therefore I am the wrong target market for this phone – well that was until I was contacted to blog about it!

I have had the phone since last Saturday so I won’t be reviewing the music features yet as I haven’t had the chance to upload any songs on my Cocoon. My ideal music phone would be a music phone with at least 6GB capacity that would be as easy to use as an ipod as well as aesthetically pleasing!

I am into small phones and the Cocoon is slightly longer and thicker than my Samsung E900 but considering it is packed with exciting features, I am quite happy to compromise on size.

The Cocoon is a great looking phone – no doubt the designers at O2 put a lot of effort into it. My friends (male and female) all think that the phone is very eye-catching and different – probably because of the white outer shell and blue LED display. One of my friends actually compared the Cocoon to an ipod – that can’t be bad! The Cocoon is very easy to use and it only took me a couple of minutes to feel comfortable with the menu.

Overall I think this phone is fab but I’ll be talking about a couple of things that O2 could improve in the future:
• Being able to use the phone as an alarm clock is a fantastic idea, however the alarm clock needs to be every day and it would be better to have an option to pick weekdays etc (for e.g. Samsung phones)
• Is there overcharge protection for the battery when the Cocoon is in the nest? Is the battery not going to get damaged if I leave my Cocoon in its nest even if the battery does not need charging?
• The manual looks good but could have more instructions – the phone is very easy to use however I am still not quite sure what certain buttons are for – it would be nice to have more of a balance between the graphics and instructions

I’ll review the music player as soon as I manage to find enough time to upload the songs. I promise not to cheat and will leave my ipod at home!

Neville Hobson has written a great post highlighting the different approaches of how agencies “reach out to people to pitch their clients’ wares.” His views on the Cocoon Blog are very positive and constructive, see them here.We look forward to hearing his views on what he likes and dislikes about the phone.

Thanks again Neville.

 Written by Ron Logan

Unable to sync with computer which runs Windows Vista Business edition. Window keeps appearing saying Windows unable to install O2 Diagnostic Serial Port and also the driver. Recommends I contact you. Please help

 Written by Ali

I’ve had my phone a day so far and love it. Work mates love it and boyfriend makes out he doesn’t like it, but i find him sneaking a look and playing the music i’ve downloaded, his jealous really. I’ve been with O2 for nearly 10 years and this is the first time i’ve upgraded to an O2 phone, rather than Nokia etc. And must stay, i’m pleased with my choice. I went in my local O2 shop and had a play with the demo and thought that was a great idea so i could master the texting manouvre! Well my thoughts are that this phone is great and would advice anyone to get one. Thanks O2!!