Posted by julioinocencio
Have been thinking about buying a new phone. I need to be connected as often as I can to a fast ISP. my dilemma is that, wi-fi can only be accessed in hotspots or at least when there is a router available. to all 3g users out there, 3g will be coming out in the philippines by next year. I just want to know, how much are they charging you with 3g connection? is it a gprs connection as well only faster?? How do they charge you with video calling and internet browsing? what are your comments regarding the service of 3g providers when they started out? (Europeans, help.) Im eyeing on the mpx for wifi but if 3g is more practical, then i'd go with a 3g phone.
thanx
Posted by scotsboyuk
@julioinocencio
The first 3G network in the UK, 3, has experienced some problems. The main problems were coverage and poor handset performance. The handset problems have largely been solved due to new products being releases.
Coverage problems will decrease as the 3G network expands, it is already at an acceptable level in major towns and cities.
3G is reasonably fast in comparison to GPRS, although not as fast as Wi-Fi. Pricing levels for data usage are not too bad, although video calling rates are a little more expensive than standard phone calls.
On the whole I am rather impressed with 3G in the UK and I imagine that the problems it currently faces will decrease as time moves on. This thread may be of interest to you.
Posted by rraz9228
julioinocencio
Personally, I prefer 3G because wi-fi can only be access on hot spots while 3G will have wider coverage. But I dont think that you will see any 3G soon in the Philippines since Smart just invested so much money with EDGE and I dont think that the roll out of Edge is even finish. Unless your other carrier like Globe will go for 3G.
[ This Message was edited by: rraz9228 on 2004-11-28 06:36 ]
Posted by Residentevil
For now I would choose a GPRS with Wifi. 3G is maximum three times faster than GPRS and until 3G really is implemented and has good coverage I would bridge that time with wifi/GPRS, which has good speed and coverage.
Posted by julioinocencio
@rraz9228
Thanx a lot guys. SMART according to INQ7 will release 3g next year and Nokia to provide the first UMTS handheld , the 6630. That is why that certain model is coming out. Globe as of now has no plans of getting 3g though...
Posted by namal
Because wifi consumes more power and can only be used in hotspots or at homes, id choose 3g.
Posted by arnoldmarlo
3G Phones: SAnyo V801SA
Hi guys!
Anyone of u folks know how to unlock this particular phone unit?. m from the PI and the phone was given to me by a friend who was from Japan, under contract with Vodafone.
Any information will be appreciated.. thanks!
[ This Message was edited by: arnoldmarlo on 2004-11-30 05:40 ]
Posted by senninha
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where did you read that? all the articles i've read have been quoting the telcos as asking the NTC to push the licensing auctions out for 2 more years since they don't believe that 3G is viable yet in the country.
with the very high costs of setting up the network, i'd have to say that i fully agree with them. in fact, if i had to guess, i'd say that i don't think that their GPRS networks are even being fully exploited yet.
Posted by julioinocencio
If i remember it correctly, i think it was 3 weeks to a month ago. I'll try to search it in the archives just to make sure.
BTW, is the states releasing 3g networks soon? though i do know that they are focusing on EDGE as of the moment.
Posted by scotsboyuk
@julioiocencio
3G is currently available in a limited number of American cities, but I doubt that it will be expanded to any great extent anytime soon. For more information you might want to have a look at this thread.
_________________
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[ This Message was edited by: scotsboyuk on 2004-12-05 03:19 ]
Posted by jplacson
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I totally agree with you. Considering that 95% of Globe and Smart's income comes from the C & D markets, with SMS being their primary source of income... 3G isn't exactly a smart choice. IMO 3G is already dead. With the incompatibility between networks, high handset prices, limited handset models, short battery life, limited features in 3G handsets, and no real advantage to the masses... a lot of people are banking on 4G (or whatever they'll call it) instead.
I'm personally not too excited about 3G since it doesn't seem to offer anything more than fast internet... gee... wow... I mean, I know I'd be considered as having an internet addiction and all.. but even then. 3G isn't all they TRIED to market it to be.
Julio, one thing is for sure... WiFi will ALWAYS be a lot cheaper than GPRS/EDGE/3G. Mobile networks will always charge per KB... so think of it this way... the faster the access... the more you pay per second. If all you do it surf regular websites...and download email w/ no attachments... GPRS/EDGE is practical enough. GPRS is fast enough to use the Yahoo webcam (yes I've tried it).
Even if Smart rolls out 3G next year... I can guarantee you that their coverage will be worse than Sun Cellular's for the first year or two... so getting a 3G handset next year would be kinda impractical.
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sure about the former"
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[ This Message was edited by: jplacson on 2004-12-05 04:23 ]
Posted by OluYom
I agree with ResidentEvil & Jplacson. My recommendation is, go WiFi/GPRS. The GPRS networks are tested & more matured, & WiFi can always serve as ur preffered connection where hotspots are available.
Posted by Jake Blues
so what will 4g offer?
Posted by scotsboyuk
@Nature
Take a look at this site, they have a 4G section.
Posted by soichiro
in the end, it all comes down to value. and in terms of getting your money's worth, its definitely wi-fi.
Posted by jplacson
The down fall of 3G is that EVERYONE is trying to say "We've got the best 3G standard" ... they totally missed the core essence of why GSM was such a HUGE success over the 'technically superior' CDMA.
To a certain extent, consumers want all the bells and whistles... within reasonable prices that is. Not to mention everyday convenience.
3G requires end users to buy new handsets... now, that's fine for tech geeks like us here at Esato... the top 1% of the handset buying market... but what about the rest of the world? Most people are happy with the functions of the T68i, and T610. MOST people don't need anything more... and more importantly, most people don't want to be FORCED into buying a new handset... that's the feeling that 3G gives consumers... that they HAVE to buy a new handset. Instead of making them WANT to buy a new one. There's a VERY big difference in consumer psychology there.
And the prices they are charging telcos for the license... and in the end, us consumers... is just way too high. And for what? Faster internet? But not as fast as wifi? Video calls that only work if the other party has a video phone as well? So that adds up to about 5 people? I'm sure in the future it will become more widespread... but not in the next 5 years. By then... better handsets will be out... as well as the next generation wireless network.
Right now, 3G networks are just trying to recover their losses... 3G is dead and they know it. Just like the Iridium network, and the other "Holy Grail" satellite networks that promised "One World, One number"... it's good technology... it's just not needed.
Posted by scotsboyuk
@jplacson
I disagree. 3G has undeniably had its share of problems in being launched, but I think we are on the cusp of 3G's time. The most crucial factor in making 3G a success is the massive cost of it all. The networks have spent so much money on 3G that thye have to make it a success.
Not everyone needs Wi-Fi speeds, most business users simply need to be able to send and receive e-mail whilst on the move, 3G speeds are perfectly acceptable for that. Wi-Fi usage is also dependent upon hotspots, which limit its overall appeal.
The ideal solution, in my opinion, is a mixture of the two, Wi-Fi and 3G. 3G is progressing very quickly indeed, if one compares the implementation of 2G and 3G, one would no doubt find that 3G is now moving at a faster pace. Handset troubles are being solved and the latets models are far superior to the initial handsets we saw when 3G was first launched. As handsets improve, customers will buy them because they will be just the same as the 2G handsets they use now, except for the fact that they will have more features.
I don't see such a process being five years, rather I see it happening within the next two years. 3G services are already starting to make a big impact in the UK, not to mention other countries. I don't think we should be so quick to write off 3G.
Posted by julioinocencio
ooo. mixed reactions i see. well, im eyeing on five phones. xda IIi, mpx, 9500, hp 6300, 6630. Prices are (if i can remember correctly) 58k, 43k, 39k, ??? respectively. All have wi fi 'cept for 6630...i really need the connection and the PDA functions and might scrap out 6630...anyway, i really appreciate all your replies. I dont have much knowledge on 3g to start with. maybe wifi/gprs/edge would be best as of now....thanx guys
Posted by Aivar
I'm sure, there are lot's of countries in the world who will not launch 3G at all. There are also many other countries who are just starting to discover GSM in nowadays.
I guess GSM have ahead a long life to live - despite of WiFi, 3G, 4G or whatever.
Posted by masseur
I'm a big advocate for wifi and 90% of my normal daily life is now covered by either my home wifi setup or street hotspots etc and its MUCH cheaper than GPRS or 3G data
I'll always keep GPRS or 3G data as a backup but as more hot spots go up and wi-max becomes more readily available I won't be using data-through-phone anywhere near as much as I have in the past
Posted by scotsboyuk
@masseur
I use a mixture of GPRS and Wi-Fi. Admittedly Wi-Fi is better when I am able to use it, but until we have city wide Wi-Fi coverage I don't see myself giving up GPRS.
I think a single, global standard would be the ideal solution, one that allows both data and phonecalls. I wonder how long we will be waiting for that?
_________________
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[ This Message was edited by: scotsboyuk on 2004-12-08 15:50 ]
Posted by masseur
I have seen technology sometime this year that supposedly lets you auto switch from gprs to wifi and back but I haven't heard anything recently about it actually being available.
when I get some time, now that I have all this wifi coverage, I really want to check out VOIP (voice over IP) and see if I can't save a bit more money using that. worth a go anyway
Posted by Aivar
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Good comment! But maybe it will never happen, because industrial (technical) enterprises wants make money. More products (solutions) give more chance to earn...
Posted by scotsboyuk
@masseur
That sounds rather interesting, the GPRS/Wi-Fi switching I mean.
Posted by Leks
Just a noobish Q:
What is WiFi
Posted by scotsboyuk
@Leks
Wirleless broadband internet.
Posted by lazn
too bad that the 4G will only start developing at 2010
my fried works for a new company in russia ....they are suppling the networks in japan the info & stuff about the 4th G .....
the equipment for the antanas & for the networks server will be avilable to other suppliers & companies only in one year .....
i expirinced the 4G in japan ( when i went with my friend too japan .. )
& they succeeded to reach 123 Mb's ( downloading ... ) .i think that the way for a trully 4G is still far away in it will be "OK" only at 2011 ...
Posted by sranjanm2002
See i think Mobile Internet or 3G here is better then wifi as far as coverage is concerned. You can surf Internet while travelling but in case of wifi you have to be at one place. Wifi is also not free inmost of the cases and free wifi is always comes with the stream of viruses etc.
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[ This Message was edited by: sranjanm2002 on 2008-01-05 08:20 ]
Posted by carkitter
Wifi or 3G? I'd say both!
I have a 3G phone (V630i) and make video calls only to people within my Account plan. These calls are free within my plan.
I also have a 1GB/month 3G data plan to provide HSDPA to my laptop but not to the V630i
I intend to get a Vodafone 3G Wifi Router and Wifi compatible phone one day so that I can take advantage of internet on mutiple devices at home plus publicly accessable Wifi which is slowly arriving here in NZ.
Basically, find a good Network provider and keep in regular contact with them through Customer Services and thier Website.
Posted by Dogmann
Hi all,
Wow this was s seriously old thread and as we know 3G is now rolled out by many Networks in fact we are now seeing HSDPA being rolled out by most Networks and in the UK we already have 3.6mbps and 7.2mbps is being rolled out now which really is starting to offer us Broadband speeds on our Mobile devcies.
Marc
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[ This Message was edited by: Dogmann on 2008-01-06 02:42 ]
Posted by *Jojo*
This thread is ON it's 4th year NOW . . . and at my end, 3G is NOT that widely accepted (yet
), but wi-fi . . . YES, as you can easily SPOT one even in burger-chain-stores !
As for the charging price (3G), it's the same as that of making a live-call
!