News Forum Phone database

> New Topic
> Reply
< Esato Forum Index > Sony Ericsson / Sony > UMTS / 3G > So I got 3G. It don't impress me much. Bookmark topic

Hi all
I'm looking for a few pointers to get more out of 3G because right now I am slightly underwhelmed by the experience.

First I should say that I am impressed when using the phone as a modem with my Powerbook for great browsing speeds when travelling around. (though the data charges do scare me a lot, all 3g shoudl be charged like broadband access as far as I am concerned. Fixed rate for unlimited access)

What I am not impressed by is the Vodafone Live portal. It is nothign more than a hawking shop for ripping off teenagers for ringtones and pictures as far as I can see. Yes you can find some news stories and the weather buried deep down after clicking through a number of pages but once you find a decent page you can't even bookmark it to return quickly in future. (this could be a phone limitation I guess).
It really is a serious turnoff that the focus is always on selling tat. Sure everyone likes a new ringtone every once in a while but it shouldn't form the basis of a 3G portal such as Vodafone. So much could be done with this technology and yet every time you try to explore the site just as you think you might have found something interesting you find there is a charge attached. This is an enormous turn off and literally has me turning the phone off every time in exasperation.

Can anyone suggest to me some good Wap shaped sites, general news portals, weather, tech gossip etc etc. Live news updates would be good as would be some sports clips. The odd free download wouldn't go amiss either. Basically everything that vodafone Live should be but isn't.

cheers
--
Posted: 2005-03-03 14:46:43
Edit : Quote


Try www.gewappnet.de . It's a german wap-page providing dozens of links to english and german speaking wap-pages. This message was posted from a T610
--
Posted: 2005-03-03 15:01:49
Edit : Quote


I don't have 3G but can understand what you write, especially about the scarce useful or interesting content. It is really disappointing. Plowing through menus to find tiny bit of information.

A few wap-sits deliver valuable content and appear to have engaged the single five nerds that understand how it should look like. Have a look at mobile.yahoo.com and/or mobile.yahoo.com/ or www.bbc.co.uk/mobile for some good examples of what can be done on tiny screens.
--
Posted: 2005-03-03 15:15:35
Edit : Quote


I for a short while had a '3pay' phone, and was also distinctively underwhelmed by it, it didn't live up the the hype. 3's content was ringfenced (not sure if it still is), i.e. you could only access their content, you couldn't get to external sites like Esato, etc.

imo 3G is being mismarketed as a gimmick, as the OP said they all seem to be pushing the stupid and trivial things like ringtones, not the fast browsing speeds and high download rates. I just hope that when O2 launch their 3G service they learn from other's mistakes and don't use their 3G for their own content only or mainly for flogging ringtones. I'm staying put with 2/2.5G for the forseeable future, as there is no real incentive yet for migrating over.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am starting to feel more and more like a big walking wallet for various companies to just come up to and take money off
--
Posted: 2005-03-03 17:52:34
Edit : Quote


quote from the bbc site...

Mobile edition
If you are able to access the internet on your mobile phone or PDA then you can get a mobile edition of bbc.co.uk. The mobile edition is tailored to suit your device and provides you with a selection of information which you may find useful whilst on the move. The address to go to is bbc.co.uk/mobile.

If you have 3G mobile phone you can view selected clips from bbc.co.uk's Video Nation simply by making a video call to 62750. Dial the number and then press the video call button.
--
Posted: 2005-03-03 17:59:33
Edit : Quote


Have tried video calling This message was posted from a T230
--
Posted: 2005-03-03 18:00:10
Edit : Quote


I haven't tried Vid calling yet because I don't know anyone else with a 3g phone. I am considering buying one for my wife however because we both travel a lot and it would be cool to be able to keep in touch that way. It isn't really the killer app for me though because webchat/iChat does this already for a lot cheaper though with less flexibility.

I checked out the BBC site listed above and it is exactly what I was looking for. Simple fast and nothing for sale. thank you for suggesting that. I am suire that there is valuable content out for the mobile medium but it is definitely not easy to find and certainly isn't made any easier by vodafone's terrible offering.
--
Posted: 2005-03-04 11:37:21
Edit : Quote


What also worries me is that (apparently even with 3G) the operators control all the access to content and the content-providers seem happy to step in that scheme. Usually a valuable news source sells its content to only one provider. E.g. CNN on wap in Belgium is only accessible through Vodafone (Proximus) and the same goes for De Standaard, the site of a leading newspaper (Imode only).

Fortunately there's sites like the BBC and yahoo, but if you are looking for local news there's almost nothing for free. Which would be 'acceptable' if it were open to everybody or if the connection itself weren't that expensive already.

By the way the BBC and yahoo sites are also perfect and fast on wap 1 on CSD with any basic wap-fone.
--
Posted: 2005-03-04 12:01:42
Edit : Quote


Those who are waiting for the networks to stop using 3G as a money-making scam, attempting to flog their own (rubbish) ringfenced content, instead of opening up the high data speeds and video capability to be put to real use will be waiting along time IMHO.

This is one of the only areas where they stand a chance of recouping some of the ridiculous money they paid for the licences in the first place, and is therefore unlikely to disappear. 3's voice tariffs are loss leaders and once the mobile equivalent of VoIP is commercialised, that's the end of voice revenue for the networks. The real money is to be made from data services and value added services (push email etc) but, with costs per Mb being forced down by the arrival of 3G, unless the networks "do a 3" and block access to external sites, there's no guarantee that you'll be buying the content from them, when you've got the whole web to surf.

3G is not the answer to our mobile prayers, but it's a step in the right direction where ultimately, 3G and Wi-Fi converge to give the consumer a fully mobile, high-speed, high-res solution - well that's what I think, anyway!

Dave
--
Posted: 2005-03-04 12:10:32
Edit : Quote


the sports section on that bbc site seems pretty cool
--
Posted: 2005-03-04 12:46:09
Edit : Quote

---

New Topic   Reply

Forum Index