O2
O2 Ice

When the O2 Ice was launched it was described as “a chic 3G handset, perfect for those who wanted a feature-rich device wrapped in a sophisticated design.” It was the first in a series of “innovative, insight-led handsets specifically designed with the user in mind” offered by the UK mobile network operator. The handset was the result of a change in strategy for own-branded devices by UK network operator O2. Prior to this device, O2 had used hardware designs from ODMs such as BenQ (who manufactured the O2 X3) and then made a number of light changes to the software and user interface. For the Ice, O2 approached an agency called Streative to identify a designer who could work on the product. Once this was completed, the design was then passed to Korean manufacturer Pantech & Curitel who developed the hardware. Qualcomm, through its recent acquisition of Trigenix (a mobile user interface company), developed the home screen using uiOne. The phone had an inbuilt MP3 player and a 1.3-megapixel camera. Content could be stored on its 32MB internal memory and microSD card slot. It also supported 3G video calling. O2 offered access to its O2 Active portal so users could access a variety of content such as the latest news, sport and even “celebrity gossip”. The O2 Ice was primarily sold in white, although O2 did make and sell a limited number of blue and black variants. At launch it cost £99 ($130) on a prepaid tariff.