|
| Press releases |  | |
| | 26 September 2013 |
| 3 Hong Kong partners exclusively with
LINE Corporation and NTT DOCOMO
to launch trendy Japanese-flavoured mobile services
| - Partnership with LINE Corporation, the world’s leading platform innovator, results in launch of LINE Data Pack to provide customers with exclusive instant-messaging enjoyment
- LINE service has reached a total of 230 countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania, with 63,000 new users added every hour. A total of 7 billion messages and 1 billion stickers are sent out daily
- 3 Hong Kong is the first local telecoms operator to provide Menu Translator, in partnership with NTT DOCOMO. This exclusive, free smartphone app instantly translates menu wordings in Japanese, Korean and English into Chinese, enabling users to explore cuisines more adventurously
- Menu translator has already exceeded 450,000 downloads since launch last October
- A glittering array of smartphones includes the soon-to-be-released SONY Xperia Z1 4G LTE CAT 4 model
| Hong Kong, 26 September 2013 – 3 Hong Kong, the mobile telecommunications division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (HTHKH; stock code: 215), today announced an exclusive tie-up with LINE Corporation (LINE), the world’s leading platform innovator, and NTT DOCOMO, INC. (DOCOMO), Japan’s largest mobile service provider. By offering LINE Data Pack services and the Menu Translator smartphone app, we hope to introduce customers to modern Japanese trends, thereby enriching their day-to-day lifestyles.
Get exclusive “Furry” expression stickers by subscribing to LINE Data Pack
Starting today, customers subscribing to the LINE Data Pack for a monthly fee as little as $181 can access all LINE’s instant messaging functions on a local unlimited data basis. The new service enables flexible use of mobile data, while having no impact on an existing monthly plan’s data usage entitlement. What’s more, LINE Data Pack subscribers can get an exclusive set of 16 “Furry” expression stickers portraying different personalities and quirky moods in order to share their “emotion of the moment” among LINE users.
LINE Data Pack subscribers purchasing any SONY smartphone model will be given a fluffy LINE character doll and a set of printed LINE stickers2 as a novelty gift from 3 Hong Kong.
LINE Data Pack offers convenient monthly payment method
Android users can purchase LINE Coins directly from Google Play and make LINE Data Pack payments via a direct carrier billing service. Fees are then charged directly to a 3 Hong Kong customer’s mobile bill. This eliminates the hassle and security worries of passing round credit card information, thereby providing customers with the utmost convenience and peace of mind when buying LINE in-app services. In addition, a HK$500 monthly service cap protects customers from bill shocks and prevents them from going over budget.
Menu Translator is free and exclusive to 3 Hong Kong customers – an essential app for overseas travel
3 Hong Kong is the first local telecoms operator to introduce Menu Translator3, in partnership with its developer, DOCOMO. Using a handset camera, customers need only scan the name of a dish offered by a restaurant menu and the app will translate words into the preset language in simple and convenient fashion. Menu Translator provides translations for dish-related words in Japanese, Korean and English – all into traditional Chinese. 3 Hong Kong customers can download the app exclusively and for free from Google Play anytime.
This tasty app is applicable to Android smartphones and will enable 3 Hong Kong customers to explore restaurants in countries such as Japan and Korea with a greater sense of adventure, but no language barrier hassles. More good news is that using Menu Translator will not impact on a customer’s data usage, so no roaming charge is incurred. This will become an essential app for overseas trips.
Enjoy the new 3Roam Data Roaming Pass for just $38 a day
3 Hong Kong has introduced the new 3Roam Data Roaming Pass to meet rising demand for data roaming service. For a daily charge of just $38, customers can enjoy 5MB of data roaming at more than 113 destinations via 150 networks the world over, as well as unlimited Wi-Fi roaming at designated hotspots overseas. This amounts to a truly barrier-free communications experience that includes email, website browsing and sharing of photos/video clips with friends and family. Even in the case of a customer requiring more data usage when traveling, this new plan’s thereafter charge is just HK$10/MB, offering greater flexibility on a pay-as-you-go basis. A daily roaming cap of $268 prevents bill shocks and provides customers with even more peace of mind.
Collaboration with two top-notch corporations reinforces 3 Hong Kong’s reputation for providing innovative services
Ms Amy Lung, Managing Director, HTHKH – Mobile, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with two top-notch corporations – LINE Corporation and NTT DOCOMO – in order to provide exclusive and modern mobile services that will enrich the lifestyles of 3 Hong Kong customers. At the same time, LINE and DOCOMO are expanding their overseas business footprints by gaining access to 3 Hong Kong’s huge customer base. The result is a ‘win’ for all concerned – our subscribers, 3 Hong Kong, LINE and DOCOMO.”
VP, Head of LINE Business Office, Mr HyunBin Kang, said: “LINE, our global mobile instant messaging app and social networking platform, continues to experience exponential growth. Recently, LINE users have been increasing rapidly in South American countries including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Peru. LINE has also strived to expand into new Asian markets, including India and the Philippines, as well as Spain in Europe. Since our launch of LINE in June 2011, this mobile messaging app, available for multiple platforms, has been supplemented with a lot more apps ranging from games to anti-virus softwares. Today, LINE becomes a pop culture indicator for 250 million users in 230 countries. Our highest priority now is to strengthen our global business operation model in order to cope with the ever-changing instant messaging market. With this in mind, we will continue to join forces with key local players in the hope that we can deliver, and continue to roll out, more localized content and services with the best quality to Hong Kong and beyond. We firmly believe our collaboration with 3 Hong Kong today reflects our commitment and dedication towards such a belief.”
Mr Takagi Katsuyuki, Executive Director, Strategic Alliance Global Business Division of NTT DOCOMO said: “3 Hong Kong has long been striving for innovations and continuously delivering new services in order to serve customers with more distinct services for a better communications experience. Riding on 3 Hong Kong’s huge smartphone population, DOCOMO is very pleased to collaborate with 3 Hong Kong to introduce the Menu Translator, one of our most popular app services in Japan. The Menu Translator is designed with food lovers’ and travelers’ needs in mind and has already achieved more than 450,000 downloads since last October when it was first launched. From today onwards, 3 Hong Kong subscribers can exclusively download the app for free from Google Play. 3 Hong Kong and DOCOMO have developed a strong partnership since 1999. In future, we still look forward to collaborating for further partnerships in various telecoms areas.”
Glittering array of trendy handsets to choose from
3 Hong Kong always strives to provide customers with the latest and most popular smart devices. The recently-introduced star handset series offers the Apple iPhone 5c, Apple iPhone 5s, Samsung GALAXY Note3, HTC Butterfly s, The new HTC One, Nokia Lumia 1020, LG G2, SONY Xperia Z Ultra 4G LTE+ and SONY Xperia M – with the stunning SONY Xperia Z1 4G LTE CAT 44 smartphone coming soon.
The watersafe SONY Xperia Z1 4G LTE CAT 4 sports a delicate and charming appearance that comes complete with a 5-inch HD TRILUMINOSTM screen plus the X-Reality picture engine. The 20-megapixel camera and 1/2.3 inch imperial image sensor, together with F2.0 aperture, amounts to a flawless photography function that makes every snap look like a masterpiece. SONY SmartARTM augmented reality technology allows users to overlay fun animations to create funny pictures. What’s more, the Info-eyeTM feature provides a visual search function that serves up instant information on landmarks, book covers or wine labels as they are photographed.
Customers now only need to subscribe to the HK$298 or more monthly plan to utilise the SONY Xperia Z1 4G LTE CAT 4 model at HK$0 handset offer.
New 3Shop in Causeway Bay offers a stylish yet relaxing retail experience
Now open for business, the new 3Shop on the second floor of the Macau Yat Yuen Centre at the heart of Causeway Bay covers more than 1,000 square feet and boasts a full-view window display. A stylish yet comfortable environment offers an enjoyable and relaxing shopping experience for customers wanting to browse a variety of hot handsets and try out lifestyle-enhancing mobile services. Two VIP rooms provide 3Supreme customers with a quiet and exclusive enclave in which to enjoy caring customer service. The new shop also has a 3Smart Service Station, offering customers a 3 Super Switch data transfer service.
For further details on the above products and services, please call our sales hotline on 3166 2222, visit any 3Shop or go to www.three.com.hk.
-Ends-
About 3 Hong Kong
3 Hong Kong is a leading mobile service provider in Hong Kong offering advanced voice, data and roaming services under the “3” brand via its 4G LTE, 3G and GSM dual-band networks. 3 Hong Kong is the mobile division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (HTHKH; stock code: 215), which is a group member of Hutchison Whampoa Limited (stock code: 13). For more information on 3 Hong Kong, please visit www.three.com.hk. For more information on HTHKH, visit www.hthkh.com.
Note:
- Customers subscribing to a $368, or more, monthly plan can get LINE Data Pack service for a monthly fee of $18, while customers subscribing to a monthly plan under $368 can get LINE Data Pack service for a monthly fee of $28. Waiver of data charge applies only to local LINE service data usage. Pro-rata charging will apply if the service period is less than a month.
- LINE Data Pack subscribers purchasing any SONY smartphone model during the promotion period will be given a fluffy LINE character doll and a set of printed LINE stickers (while stocks last).
- Menu Translator Service is available only on handsets running the Android 2.3, or newer, operating system.
- This is the 4G LTE CAT 4 network’s download network specification (upload specification of 50Mbps) and will not correspond to the speed experienced by an individual customer. The speed experienced by a customer will be less than the specification of the relevant mobile device and will be affected by the network setting, network specification, user’s device, transmission technology, individual network and software used.
- Customers are required to subscribe to a monthly Smartphone Super Plan of $298, or more, sign a designated contract and make a prepayment. Customers are also required to pay an administration fee of $12/month and no less than $36 a month for designated VAS services within the contract period.
| | |
| |
|
