Dow Jones Try Out 3G Phones
5th February 2003
MILAN (Dow Jones Newswires by Federica G. Bianchi ) - I stroll across the Piazza Duomo gazing at a cellphone I'm holding at arm's length in front of my face.
Pedestrians step aside as I stride zombie-like across the plaza where Milan's majestic cathedral presides.
On the phone's tiny screen: the moving, chatting image of the person I'm speaking with. Amazingly, he can see me, too.
At long last, third-generation, or 3G, mobile phones are about to become a reality.
The futuristic gizmos that nearly bankrupted some of the world's biggest phone companies are poised to hit European store shelves in the next few weeks, offering technology that allows users to see each other while they chat.
Question is: will 3G sell?
In an effort to find out, Dow Jones Newswires reporters in Milan and London recently road- and piazza-tested 3G phones from the new mobile operators controlled by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (H.HUW) that will use the brand name "3". Our conclusion: a resounding maybe.
The company plans to introduce its new phones in Italy and the U.K. in a few weeks, followed by a broader European roll-out.
At launch 3 will be pushing the clam-shaped e606 from NEC Corp.(NIPNY), which looks pretty similar to an ordinary mobile. But it's a bit bulkier - perfect for a handbag but suitable only for the baggiest trouser pockets. With a screen and keypad illuminated by an electric-blue light, it has a cool, space-age look.
Push a button with a little swirl on it and the phone's hooks up to the 3G network, or "grid," as it's called. Up pops an icon-filled menu. Want to view highlights of last night's soccer match? Piece of cake. Want a map showing how to get to the nearest cash machine? No problem (in theory - it's not quite working yet).
When we tried downloading, it took about 40 seconds for a 90-second clip to download. (Note to techno-minded folks: Video downloads on the network at a demonstration center in London were clocked at about 100 kilobits per second.) The company believes people will store their favorite clips of football or classic comedy scenes and replay them during long commutes.
The images are pretty sharp for a phone, though not TV quality.
With headphones the sound comes close to stereo quality - perfect for MP3 music downloads.
One caveat: Our tests were in locations chosen by Hutchison, with perfect connection to the 3G network.
Mobile operators hope video calling will be 3G's main selling point. Based on Dow Jones Newswires's experience, it'll take users some time to figure out how to walk and talk using third-generation phones.
My London-based colleague narrowly missed a number of small children while trying the e606 on busy Oxford Street. He recommends not using it in areas with lots of dogs and minimal pavement sweeping.
Also be aware that an hour of video-calling will sap a full battery.
The e606 stumbled a bit when performing tasks existing mobiles take in stride, such as text messaging. Whoever designed the e606's software has never watched a "thumb- generation" text-expert at work.
In Italy, where 3 is now giving 333 phones away to VIPs, company representatives say they will solve the problem before the 130,000 people who reserved the phones will receive them.
Taking photographs was easy and fun. The handset is equipped with two cameras front and back. That means that when I held the phone in front of me I could either show my face, or by switching to the camera on the back of the phone, I could show the world as I was seeing it.
Plenty of existing phones take and transmit photos, but the NEC can actually shoot and send short video messages. The e606 can record a short video and sent it to another 3 phone or an e-mail account. But forget about simultaneously shooting and sending footage: the technology's not ready yet.
My attempts at video mail hit problems at first. When I sent a video to my colleague's e- mail box, he thought the odd-looking message was a virus and deleted it. When another one finally got through, it took two days to find the right software to play it.
The e606 is not cheap, at GBP399 in the U.K. and EUR780 in Italy. And this doesn't include monthly fees. In Italy, users will pay EUR85 a month for service, including 40 hours of domestic voice calls, 40 hours of video calls, 600 text and 200 video messages, 400 connections to 3's 3G Internet portal and 400 e-mails. In the U.K., the monthly rate will start at GBP59.99 a month but 3 has given no detail on what that includes.
The company is still wrestling with two big unresolved technological challenges: connection times and high-speed web surfing.
Right now it can take several minutes and several tries to get video on your e606. And it's impossible to browse the World Wide Web. But 3 is providing access to a wide array of online services including games, sports scores, news and e-mail access, betting this will be enough to keep users happy.
Sounds good? The European mobile industry has spent EUR150 billion betting that after reading this, you're reaching for your credit card.
3g.co.uk
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ROTFLMAO!
Choreographed test locations.
100kbs on an empty network in near lab-perfect "demonstration center" conditions.
Internet access --- not working.
Mapping --- not working.
"Unresolved technological challenges."
Video bugs and limitations.
And the reporter didn't even try roaming from his restricted trial zone into GSM (handsets don't offer GPRS) coverage.
What's that smell? |
