there are two fundamental flaws in most of the posts that I read:
a) people compare 3G to GSM
GSM is mature and tested. 3G is new untested and not widely deployed. Yes I accept the fact that many companies spent a lot of money on buying bandwidth and now they will take them forever to actually setup a network with decent coverage but it's early! That was the case with GSM too when it first took off wasn't it?
Handsets look ugly and bulky but this is not a serius argument anyway. Look at an early analog handset!
Battery life is crap, but this is also hardly an argument because whenever there is need for more power companies tend to release a new form of battery or energy saving chip to overcome this problem, again I refer you to early GSM phones.
b) (and most important) 3G is NOT really about any of the above!
3G is supposed to be an ideal platform for new services! To name a couple:
- location specific services i.e. you step into a museum. Your mobile phone automatically detects that and it presents you with a multimedia guide to the musem etc. (this service requires a suitable access point installed in the museum)
- seamless international roaming and integration with your home telephone.
By seamless I mean that, the services you subscribe and the way you access them is _exactly_ the same wherever you are. As far as I know at the moment you only have that if the GSM provider that you subscribe to happens to have a network in the country you are visiting. Not to mention the language issues.
I know that some companies (ericsson and
panasonic I think) support the latter point, that is to use your mobile as a handset for your home wireless basestation but these are proprietary standards.
- the number follows _you_ (similar to divert)
Again this is something that I've seen on the net (companies that let you have a unique contact number that follows you by "registering" the respective fixed tel. number that you can be reached) but in 3G this is supposed to happen automatically e.g. as soon as you walk in your office you phone detects where you are and all the calls are redirected to your office phone.
On top of that keep in mind that with 3G you have more bandwidth available which is always a pro.
I would name a few more nice things about it but this post is long enough already. I agree that at the moment 3G sucks but in my oppinion... be patient!
forgive me if someone made the same points earlier on but I did not read all the posts.
Slashdot Mirror
subwoofer underpants... which doubles as a bluetooth enabled vibrating alert for your mobile... imagine the possibilities!
there are two fundamental flaws in most of the posts that I read: a) people compare 3G to GSM GSM is mature and tested. 3G is new untested and not widely deployed. Yes I accept the fact that many companies spent a lot of money on buying bandwidth and now they will take them forever to actually setup a network with decent coverage but it's early! That was the case with GSM too when it first took off wasn't it? Handsets look ugly and bulky but this is not a serius argument anyway. Look at an early analog handset! Battery life is crap, but this is also hardly an argument because whenever there is need for more power companies tend to release a new form of battery or energy saving chip to overcome this problem, again I refer you to early GSM phones. b) (and most important) 3G is NOT really about any of the above! 3G is supposed to be an ideal platform for new services! To name a couple: - location specific services i.e. you step into a museum. Your mobile phone automatically detects that and it presents you with a multimedia guide to the musem etc. (this service requires a suitable access point installed in the museum) - seamless international roaming and integration with your home telephone. By seamless I mean that, the services you subscribe and the way you access them is _exactly_ the same wherever you are. As far as I know at the moment you only have that if the GSM provider that you subscribe to happens to have a network in the country you are visiting. Not to mention the language issues. I know that some companies (ericsson and panasonic I think) support the latter point, that is to use your mobile as a handset for your home wireless basestation but these are proprietary standards. - the number follows _you_ (similar to divert) Again this is something that I've seen on the net (companies that let you have a unique contact number that follows you by "registering" the respective fixed tel. number that you can be reached) but in 3G this is supposed to happen automatically e.g. as soon as you walk in your office you phone detects where you are and all the calls are redirected to your office phone. On top of that keep in mind that with 3G you have more bandwidth available which is always a pro. I would name a few more nice things about it but this post is long enough already. I agree that at the moment 3G sucks but in my oppinion... be patient! forgive me if someone made the same points earlier on but I did not read all the posts.