Bala does a fine job in an article, “Why we need 3G.” We hope that once the new government is seated, 3G auctions become a priority for the government. Entire article is here http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Why+we+need+3G&artid=gnCH6wboEEE=&SectionID=OZOHptMGSLk=&MainSectionID=n35v%7C01wo4w=&SectionName=ISMkFl5pu7Up3nyx63OZTQ==&SEO=
We are convinced that the Apple iPhone 3G along with the Blackberry Bold will cause network congestion in HSDPA and EvDo networks. We believe the situation is going to be similar to the mid-nineties when dial-up networks where congested.
I have been fortunate to buy and also get demo unites of the following 3G phones, here are my brief comments:
Apple 3G iPhone
We believe the simple and intuitive user experience that was available on the first generation iPhone along with 3G and the App Store make the 3G iPhone among the best cell phones ever made.
We were tempted to call the “user experience” to be the best ever, however after the first week of usage the 3G speeds reminded me of EDGE speeds when EDGE was initially launched. We urge AT&T to make the expansion of their HSDPA network a number one priority and deploy more HSDPA channels on the 850 MHz channel. This engineering effort on AT&T’s part should improve the user experience.
HTC Touch (Sprint)
Fastest 3G phone on the market today. Uses the Sprint, EVDO Rev A network, among the fastest in the world. This was perhaps the most reliable Windows mobile device that we tested. For folks that prefer to use a keypad, HTC does offer the HTC Touch Dual with a slider keyboard.
HTC Touch Diamond
Bought one from a family owned retailer. I was truly impressed with the video recording and playback of this device. Windows mobile was reasonably reliable.
The Touch diamond will also be offered with a slider QWERTY keyboard.
We believe this phone when launched with either Sprint or T-Mobile will be very successful as HTC has a history of delivering phones that are reliable and provide industry leading data speeds.
LG Voyager
This Voyager was perhaps the first touch and keyboard phones to hit the US market last year. The Voyager is extremely popular with teens and college going kids. The phone was until a couple of weeks ago selling for $299 with a two year contract. Yesterday, the local Verizon store was selling the Voyager for $99 with a two-year contract.
I am surprised that Verizon is still selling the phone for $99 and not $49 given that it was launched almost a year ago and has competition from the 3GI-Phone. This Voyager is especially appealing as the data option on the phone is an extra $15 compared to approximately $29.99 for the I-Phone.
Samsung Blackjack
I must confess I have a soft spot for Samsung and the Blackjack family.
In 2006, while visiting the local Cingular store I was enamored by the Samsung Blackjack - among the first 3G HSDPA smart phones in the United States. I bought the phone with the 3G plan - $39.99 a month at that time. The store personnel informed me that I was the first person to purchase the phone and the service not only at the store but also perhaps among the first in the Bay Area. Occasionally, I would receive 1 Mbps download speeds.
The speeds got lower as more individuals signed up for AT&T’s 3G service. Again, I was among the first to purchase the Samsung Blackjack II, windows mobile is lot more reliable on the current device compared to the original.
The local AT&T store was selling the Blackjack II for $69 with a two-year contract. We believe this may be the lowest price for a 3G PDA based cell phone. I was told that the data plan for this device is $29 a month.
We believe the Blackjack family has the largest installed base on Windows based mobile devices and the second largest 3G installed base after the 3G iPhone. For the last week most web sites seem to load faster on the Samsung Blackjack II than the 3G Apple iPhone.
Samsung also offers the Ace, a dual mode phone available on the Sprint network. The Ace’s form factor is very similar to the original blackjack. The phone is ideal for Sprint’s customers who travel internationally and need to use the more prevalent GSM networks. 3G speeds on this phone came close to matching the speeds of the HTC Touch.
We were the first to report on India’s upcoming 3G Auction. Om Malik of Gigaom used our report to file this post http://gigaom.com/2008/07/29/india-getting-ready-for-3g-wireless-broadband/