My thoughts on 3G

[Scrumhalf]

I use my phone pretty much exclusively to do what it was originally intended to do - make voice calls. With 3G becoming closer to reality, I have been wondering what exactly I would do with such capability.

I drive 10 min from home where I have a multiple computers and a broadband internet connection with 15MBps download to work where once again I have T1 connectivity.

I have no desire to do TV on my phone - it is painful enough watching at home. And why would I browse on a phone when I am rarely away from a computer?

I am wondering what exactly I am supposed to get out of 3G. And I am guessing that my situation is not unique. I sometimes wonder if the people who would have the best use for this are those who commute long distances by train, coincidentally very common in places like Japan where 3G happens to be more popular.

The only thing I can think of is that if the price is right, I could get a 3G card for my notebook so that I could connect to the net from anywhere.

Am I turning into a neo-Luddite? If anybody has a usage model that makes sense for my situation, I am all ears . I don't want the 3G revolution to pass me by, but where I am today, I can't seem to figure out what I will get out of it.

[Jay2TheRescue]

My experience over the past day is wait until there are some good handsets out there. I went to return the LG CU320 today, but the store was closed for the holiday weekend. I have the LG in the box, and I am back to using the V551 again because I am not able to hold a call without it being dropped, even after numerous tries by CS to "update" the phone.

-Jay

[Steve B]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

My experience over the past day is wait until there are some good handsets out there. I went to return the LG CU320 today, but the store was closed for the holiday weekend. I have the LG in the box, and I am back to using the V551 again because I am not able to hold a call without it being dropped, even after numerous tries by CS to "update" the phone.

-Jay

Hey Jay, here is something interesting. The other day while I was at a corp store, one girl employee there kept saying "i'm glad your exchanging the phone", she kept repeating that over and over but, wouldn't say why. She had that look on her face like she's trying to tell me something...get the hint. So I take that as there is something wrong with that phone, the CU320. I also experienced dropped calls with that phone. I figured it was because of the RF problems I had been having. I am hoping my new Samsung ZX-10 works out in the end for me. I have to contact Cingular about a couple of things on the ZX-10.

As to the original poster's comments, my thoughts on 3G right now is that its just another new toy for cell phones. I am also not to keen on wathing TV on cell phones until we have some bigger screens and more stable phones AND MORE BETTER 3G coverage. So right now, I say to people wondering about 3G, wait until better phones emerge and content and coverage improve as well. I do have a 3G phone right now, the Samsung ZX-10 but, I didn't buy it for the 3G but for some other options and the style of the phone.

[scotsboyuk]

@Scrumhalf

I suppose it comes down to a mixture of personal preference and opportunity. The former is simple enough, some people aren't interested in certain features. The latter is something you touched upon in your first post.

The killer application for 3G was initially supposed to be video calling. I can tell you that in the UK (and Europe as a whole I suspect) it hasn't really taken off to the extent that the networks hoped. What does seem to be popular is content; music, television, etc. But of course you have to actually have the opportunity to use these features.

Europeans, in general, use public transport a fair bit, so I suppose there are a large number of people who have the opportunity at various points in the day to make use of 3G features.

I remember getting a 3G handset not long after 3G launched in the UK and I've pretty much had a 3G handset ever since. I don't need the extra features, but they are nice to have.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by SBacklin

Hey Jay, here is something interesting. The other day while I was at a corp store, one girl employee there kept saying "i'm glad your exchanging the phone", she kept repeating that over and over but, wouldn't say why. She had that look on her face like she's trying to tell me something...get the hint. So I take that as there is something wrong with that phone, the CU320. I also experienced dropped calls with that phone. I figured it was because of the RF problems I had been having. I am hoping my new Samsung ZX-10 works out in the end for me. I have to contact Cingular about a couple of things on the ZX-10.

As to the original poster's comments, my thoughts on 3G right now is that its just another new toy for cell phones. I am also not to keen on wathing TV on cell phones until we have some bigger screens and more stable phones AND MORE BETTER 3G coverage. So right now, I say to people wondering about 3G, wait until better phones emerge and content and coverage improve as well. I do have a 3G phone right now, the Samsung ZX-10 but, I didn't buy it for the 3G but for some other options and the style of the phone.

Could that be why they didn't have one out on display, and they had to track one down for me to buy? When it came in the store they called me to make sure I still wanted it because there was a customer in the store that saw it when it came in and he wanted it.

-Jay

[Steve B]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Could that be why they didn't have one out on display, and they had to track one down for me to buy? When it came in the store they called me to make sure I still wanted it because there was a customer in the store that saw it when it came in and he wanted it.

-Jay

Maybe...... I don't know.

[budney]

I think scotsboyuk sums it up in his post in his first & thrid paragraphs. But also a lot of the problem are the phones. I think my post in another thead fits perfectly in this thread too.

If carriers want these services to blossom, they will need phone makers to produce more handsets that the user can fully customize, and acts like their home computer. Bigger screens, more powerful browsers, & better software are a must. My 6700 has all of these and I cant put it down, it makes Vision a joy to use. I can't see my self using another regular cell phone again.

[Jay2TheRescue]

After dealing with such a crappy LG I think I am ready to wait for the Nokia N80. (I know Charlyee will be thrilled to hear me say I'm looking at a Nokia and liking what I see.)

-Jay

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

After dealing with such a crappy LG I think I am ready to wait for the Nokia N80. (I know Charlyee will be thrilled to hear me say I'm looking at a Nokia and liking what I see.)

-Jay

Yes Jay, I would be specially since I have wanted the N80 as soon as it was first announced. I do need to caution you however, reading HoFo it seems like there are a number of issues with ones that have bought from independent dealers, they are not major but irritating none the less.

I think you maybe looking at getting it from Cingular if/when they start carrying it, I would be a little concerned about this since Cingular's software did royally mess up the 6682.

I think the the best bet would be to get it directly from Nokiausa when they start carrying it, this way you would get an unlocked, unbranded, and possibly Cingular ready device with a 30 day return policy.

Just my 2 cents....

[scotsboyuk]

Handsets are soemthing that can improve quite quickly. When 3G was first introduce din the UK the choice of handsets was rather limited and compared to 2.5G handset they were bulky and performed relatively poorly. Now we have a large selection of 3G handsets, many of which are largely indistinguishable from 2.5G handsets in terms of both size and performance e.g. battery life.

I'm sure it will be much the same in the U.S. so just hang on a little longer and you should start to see a better range to choose from.

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by Scrumhalf

I use my phone pretty much exclusively to do what it was originally intended to do - make voice calls. With 3G becoming closer to reality, I have been wondering what exactly I would do with such capability. I drive 10 min from home where I have a multiple computers and a broadband internet connection with 15MBps download to work where once again I have T1 connectivity.

So your house has better Intenet connectivity than your work? Me too ! Using the internal servers and applications, is of course, faster at work.

Originally Posted by Scrumhalf

I have no desire to do TV on my phone - it is painful enough watching at home. And why would I browse on a phone when I am rarely away from a computer? I am wondering what exactly I am supposed to get out of 3G. And I am guessing that my situation is not unique. I sometimes wonder if the people who would have the best use for this are those who commute long distances by train, coincidentally very common in places like Japan where 3G happens to be more popular.

Agree that video on a phone is likely to be both expensive and pretty pointless. I understand that your question is - What would an adult use 3G for, as opposed to what a teenager might do?

I travel quite a bit and I do use the browser on my phone, though not to browse in the typical sense. I've bookmarked a few useful and interesting sites that I want to go to while traveling. To me, 3G just means I'll be able to do this faster.

Sabre, to see if a flight is delayed, is often useful although its information is not always as timely as you need it to be (must be a conspiracy there ). When in an airport or if I'm eating alone, CNN on my phone is diverting and even informative (I turn images off for better performance). TheRegister.com mobile site is good for computer industry news. I'd love to be able to use Google Maps for Mobile (my Nokia 6200 doesn't have enough memory for it!) and I think this is just the beginning of services for travelers that will be very useful to have on the phone. Incidentally, they are also good while waiting for an oil change or while my DW is shopping .

Sure, if you always have your laptop or handheld, and you are always near a Starbucks/TMobile hotspot , you could argue that the Internet experience is better on a computer. But that's not cheap either, and I'm betting that a few simple things like this on a phone browser will be much more convenient once the kinks are worked out of 3G.

[scotsboyuk]

3G is perhaps one of those things that you don't 'need' until you have it. Whilst I don't make many video calls, it is a nice feature if one is abroad for a length of time and wants to see one's family and friends. Music downloads are rather nice too; one can be sitting at a cafe listening to some music and suddenly get a hankering for a song, which can then be downloaded straight to one's handsets.

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by scotsboyuk

3G is perhaps one of those things that you don't 'need' until you have it. Whilst I don't make many video calls, it is a nice feature if one is abroad for a length of time and wants to see one's family and friends. Music downloads are rather nice too; one can be sitting at a cafe listening to some music and suddenly get a hankering for a song, which can then be downloaded straight to one's handsets.

As someone who has not had these features, I guess my question is, what is the advantage of having them on a phone, and is it worth paying for? I can make a video call on my computer with Skype or iChat. I can download a song to my computer (legally) with iTunes or Napster. And in all of those cases I am not paying extra for the bandwidth. As you say, I can get immediate gratification, wherever I am, by downloading the song to my phone. To extend the idea, I don't have to make an appointment or be at home for my video call, if my friend/family member also has a 3G phone. But the convenience has a price. Is it worth it in practice? What do such things cost in the UK?

[scotsboyuk]

Originally Posted by SteveW

As someone who has not had these features, I guess my question is, what is the advantage of having them on a phone, and is it worth paying for? I can make a video call on my computer with Skype or iChat. I can download a song to my computer (legally) with iTunes or Napster. And in all of those cases I am not paying extra for the bandwidth. As you say, I can get immediate gratification, wherever I am, by downloading the song to my phone. To extend the idea, I don't have to make an appointment or be at home for my video call, if my friend/family member also has a 3G phone. But the convenience has a price. Is it worth it in practice? What do such things cost in the UK?

It's a matter of convenience, that's the major benefit. If I'm out and about and I hear a piece of music that I like, but I don't recognise it, I can use my handset to find out what it is and then download it to listen to. I like that sort of thing.

Convenience is something that people increasingly prize, especially as people's lives become ever more digitised. A typical morning bus or train journey will find many if not most people doing something with their mobile; listening to music, playing a game; reading the news; watching telly, etc. It's those sort of times when people use their mobiles for more than calls.

Because there is that demand for extras the services that go along with them become more popular too. So people who might have read the news on their mobile might switch to watching it on a 3G handset; someone who listenes to music might start downloading the odd new song every couple of mornings on the way to work, etc.

As you say though, convenience comes at a price. Video calling is typically around 50p/min once one has used up one's free minutes. A song costs around £1 to download. Those prices would include VAT at 17.5%.

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by scotsboyuk

It's a matter of convenience, that's the major benefit. If I'm out and about and I hear a piece of music that I like, but I don't recognise it, I can use my handset to find out what it is and then download it to listen to. I like that sort of thing. ... A typical morning bus or train journey will find many if not most people doing something with their mobile; listening to music, playing a game; reading the news; watching telly, etc. It's those sort of times when people use their mobiles for more than calls.

scotsboyuk - Scrumhalf and I thank you for your notes from the future.

[scotsboyuk]

@SteveW

Your welcome. I just hope the future isn't quite so expensive for you!