Samsung has created two new handsets for the launch of Vodafone 360.

Vodafone has launched its new suite of services – Vodafone 360 – which it says will give customers a “truly integrated mobile internet experience”. 

Vodafone 360 will replace Vodafone Live! and will unite customer contacts with information from social networks and address books. It will work across a range of mobile phones – including those specially commissioned by Samsung – and synchs automatically with a PC.

The address book, Vodafone People, will automatically synch all contacts from a customer’s phone, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk, and will soon also include Twitter, Hyves and studiVZ. 

The hotly-anticipated suite of internet services will aim to raise the bar in mobile technology and hope to provide a solid competitor to Apple’s iPhone. A wide range of apps, games, music and mapping services will be accessible.

However, the services will be launched in just eight European countries initially, in time for Christmas, including Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK. Vodafone will then expand the offering in 2010 to a number of other countries including France, New Zealand and South Africa.

Pieter Knook, Director of Internet Services at Vodafone Group, commented on the ease of its latest innovation: “The beauty of Vodafone 360 is that all the services work together and they are easy to use. Vodafone 360 enables customers’ digital lives.

“Customers can stay in touch and share experiences through social networks, instant messaging, email, apps, maps, music and buying digital content on their mobile bill, with the personalised address book at its heart.”

Ian Fogg of Forrester Research, blogging on The Forrester Blog, commented that this latest move for Vodafone is part of a major strategic play. He said: “This is such a major initiative with wide ranging scope.”

At the end of June 2009, Vodafone estimated a customer base of more than 315 million people.