For the first time ever, a music video has been created especially for the 3G mobile platform.

3 mobile today announced an exciting music initiative in the Australian 3G market – a music video made especially for the mobile platform.

Electro House group VANDALISM, who shot to the top of the ARIA charts earlier this year with their debut hit, �Never Say Never’, have produced a unique version of their latest video �Twisted’, exclusively for 3 mobile.

Scott Taylor, General Manager of Content and Services at 3, said: “It is a huge turning point to see artists creating specific material for mobile phone customers. The mobile platform is increasingly important for artists and here at 3 we’re seeing our customers download more music direct to their phones than ever before. We’re very excited to have launched this initiative and we expect to see continued growth in this area in the future.”

The mainstream music video for �Twisted’ – which is available now on 3 and will be released commercially on CD September 30– features VANDALISM lead singer Cassie watching herself perform on a TV screen. It is the video playing on this screen (the video within the video!) that has been created for and will be available exclusively to 3.

�Twisted’ is VANDALISM’s second single and is expected to follow the success of their first single, �Never Say Never’ which has held a steady position in �3 mobile’s most downloaded’ weekly Music Videos, Audio Tracks, and Real Tones chart since its launch. Andy Van is also the DJ behind VANDALISM TV, the mobile dance channel available to 3. The mobile dance TV channel launched late 2005 and is hosted by Andy Van with the latest dance music videos streamed to 3 customers 24/7.

3 customers can download both versions of the �Twisted’ video for $3, the real tone for $5. Fans can also download exclusive interviews with the artists when visiting other Music Features like 50 Cent, Living End, James Blunt, Nick Lachey and more.

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa hinted at performance problems Thursday, when it delayed the break even target for its 3G operations from this year to the first half of 2007.

At the company’s first half financials announcement, billionaire Li Ka-shing said he expects that expects that the 3 Group will continue to report improved financial performance and narrowing losses in the second half. “However, management does not expect the 3 Group as a whole to achieve breakeven at the level of EBITDA after deducting all customer acquisition costs (CACs) for the full year this year.

“It is now expected that the 3 Group will achieve positive monthly EBITDA after deducting all CACs on a sustainable basis during the first half of 2007 and positive monthly EBIT on a sustainable basis during the first half of 2008.”

During the first six months of the year, revenues for the 3 Group increased 36 per cent on 2005 to HK$23.5bn (ВЈ1.6bn), while losses shrank 40 per cent from HK$20bn in 2005 to HK$11.9bn.

With the exception of 3 Italia, growth in the 3G operation’s customer base was mostly in the higher value postpaid segment. Although the cost of acquiring postpaid customers is typically higher than for prepaid customers, 3′s average cost of acquiring a customer declined from Eur293 (ВЈ198) as of the end of 2005 to Eur262 in June.

Average revenues per user (ARPU) increased for the 3 Group overall from Eur42.20 at the end of last year to Eur44.66 at the end of June, driven mostly by the postpaid customer base.

Thomas Husson, analyst with Jupiter Research commented: “On the prepaid segment, the company even acknowledged that it will rather try to increase ARPU than market share. A proof for this is the decrease of Subscriber Acquisition Costs.It means less phone subsidies and less commercial aggressiveness.

“Does that mean the main telcos are capturing a larger share of the 3G market? Yes, indeed but not to the extent many expected. Vodafone recently announced it will not continue to subsidise massively 3G for prepaid users.”

Perfect for the fashion conscious, the new Sony Ericsson K610i is now available in hot evening red from 3 mobile.

The Sony Ericsson K610i has everything a fashionista needs in her phone:

- Take pics with the 2 megapixel camera with up to 4x Digital Zoom
- Video Calling
- MP3 Player with Mega Bass (supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA)
- Music on demand key for instant access to your favourite tracks via 3’s Music Club
- Large screen perfect for viewing 3’s Mobile TV options – including E! Entertainment, MTV, Fox Sports, Sky News, Rage and more
- Video image and sound DJ capabilities to create and personalise media files
- 19MB internal memory
- Expandable Memory
- Stereo Bluetoothв„ў compatible

Where to buy:

Available from 3 shops, authorised dealers.

How much:

Free on the $49 Cap with a $49 minimum monthly spend over 24 months or $449 outright