AT&T Offers Unlimited Mobile IM with Ogo
AT&T Wireless has launched Ogo - a first of its kind device and service that changes the economics of real-time communications services. Ogo is targeting the teen and young adult market segment with price plans that offer unlimited instant messaging and e-mail access from AOL, MSN and Yahoo. Rest assured that AT&T hasn't overlooked grown-ups: Parents can rejoice in the possibility that Ogo will 'free up' the home computer.
Ogo's clamshell-like case unfolds to reveal a full QWERTY keypad joypad with "hot keys" that pull up major instant messaging functions, and an 8-way navigational joystick pad. Although the Ogo concept was homegrown and primarily directed by AT&T, IXI Mobile Inc. was tapped to develop the device's hardware and software design; with middleware provided by OZ. The combination of IXI Mobile's Personal Mobile Gateway technology and OZ's device interoperability technology ensures a consistent experience between major service platforms.
AT&T's overall intention is to closely mimic the desktop IM experience so that customers can "log off and head out" rather than plant themselves in front of desktop a computer for hours on end. Users may also send standard SMS messages to wireless phones.
"With Ogo, we are creating an entirely new category and the next 'must have' device in the consumer electronics space," said Andre Dahan, president of AT&T Wireless Mobile Multimedia Services. "Unlike many of today's disappointing multi-purpose wireless devices, we created Ogo to do one thing - mobile messaging - extraordinarily well. Ogo doesn't pretend to be 'all things to all people,' and is not bogged down by hardly-used features or an out-of-reach price tag. Instead, Ogo offers the most desirable mobile applications, on a smartly-designed device that most people can afford."
Monthly pricing plans start as low as $17.99 USD for a single provider after customers have purchased the hardware for $99 USD with a $30 USD rebate; having multiple accounts costs more. Additional information can be found at the Ogo Web site.