No 3G for HP Until 2007

An anonymous reader writes to tell us CNet is reporting that HP will not be bringing 3G support to any of their new 'smart phones' until at least 2007. From the article: "[HP] cites the costs associated with the service, coupled with the fact that 3G's killer app -- TV and video streaming -- isn't yet viable on mobile phones as the primary reasons for its decision. '3G is still only occupying 3% of the world pie,' HP's Vice-President for Consumer Products and Mobile Business Group in the Asia-Pacific region, Chin-Teik SEE, told CNET.com.au at the company's 'magical mobility launch' event in Hong Kong last week."

Comments

HP makes phones??

[SecureTheNet]

That's news to me!

Wireless Internet

[Eightyford]

Will 3G bring us cheaper and faster wireless internet access, or is the bandwidth not high enough?

Re:What I want to know

[ttroutma]

No doubt it should be cheaper, I've taken a 3G card and ran 4 extensions off it @ 59/month and not even used all the bandwidth. So why's one line still costing $60 and up, b/c the consumers will pay it...

They think it's all over

[Kangburra]

you won't be watching a full football or cricket match," Chin-Teik told CNET.com.au.

Maybe he should take a look at the competition first http://planet3.three.com.au/mobileTV/sport_cricket .asp seems like 3 is already there

Re:If all parties

[gjh]

Well... except that I have a 3G phone and use it all the time. It downgrades nicely to lower 2G stuff when I travel. It's a fantastic phone, I totally recommend it.

It's not that 3G might not happen - it's whether *some markets* will end up preferring WLAN before 3G gets a good foothold. Because either way, it's going to be IP that ties it all together before long. It all depends on good phones and good flat-rate data plans.

Re:The logical application of 3G bandwidth

[Anonymous Coward]

Beside news and maybe a few sitcoms, TV on your phone is not worth it. Ads all show how you'll never miss a sports game; but it's better to turn on the radio, close your eyes, and imagine the game described over the radio.

Australia seems to be going backwards

[Freaky Spook]

Australia's biggest carrier Telstra have written off WiMax and are killing their CDMA network to replace it with a 3G HSDPA service running on the back of its GSM network.

Although the network has a much larger range then WiMax, the bandwidth won't be cheap and it looks like Australia is going to go through the same crap it has gone through Wired Broadband, suffering poor bandwidth at high prices and a very slow adoption rate.

Hopefully startup's like Unwired who are investing in WiMax infrastructure manage to get enough business before thier costs send them broke, its hard competing with monopolies like Telstra, but if Australian communications are to have any decent competitive future it has to be done.

What? They already have a 3G laptop.

[Anonymous Coward]

The hp nc6140 already has a 3G ev-do verizon cell modem in it.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/3219 57-64295-89315-321838-f33-1809460.html

Killer App ?

[Pop69]

I have a normal GPRS mobile, the internet stuff is useful but not a killer.

For me the useful things my current phone (Sony Ericsson K750i) does are the camera (2 megapixel) and the MP3 player (1 gig capacity). Means I carry one thing in my pockeet instead of three.

The real killer app for me is the ability to control my PC with it over bluetooth, handy for presentations and stuff, and for the look on peoples face when the PC suddenly gets a mind of its own.

The most I've ever used the internet access for is to check football (soccer) results on a Saturday afternoon when I wasn't near a TV.

"Old" HP vs "New"

[ratboy666]

The old HP brought us the HP 65. What was the market for that? 3%? No, it was 0%, since the product had never been made or marketed. It new and exciting.

The new HP is worried about "nascent markets", and is delaying enabling products.

The old HP brought us RPN, and some fine diagnostic kit, that was new and exciting.

The new HP brings us reasonable office printers. I guess it isn't nascent; I like my HP 3015.

They are sure boring now, which is sad because HP is a melange of companies that sure were not boring. HP: first in micro tech, diagnostics, DEC: first in minis, COMPAQ: first in PC cloners.

It looks like first becomes last after two mergers.

Ratboy

Re:ugh

[ttsalo]

Do these morons really think I want to pay them to watch 160x120 videos of the black eyed peas on my phone? This is not the killer app you are looking for!

They just have not accepted that people just want reasonably priced IP connectivity. They want to lock people to their own services and charge money for something else than just transmitted bytes.

The operators in my country (.fi) have been complaining that there is too much competition to allow them to develop new services. I say: your new services suck. Let's split the operators into base providers that provice just the bandwidth (and maybe plain call routing), and separate content producers. The content producers can waste their money in their crap services that no-one wants and I can get my mobile bandwidth for a reasonable price. Last time I checked, the price of 3G data transfer was 6e/MB, which is utterly ridiculous.