3G Phones, what's the point?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ExigeEvan
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ExigeEvan

ExigeEvan

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Does anyone here actually own a 3G or video-phone? Do you actually use it for video-calls?

A few years back there was this big publicity drive that video calls would be the future except well, it isn't. Very few people I know actually have video-call capable phones and even fewer would consider making a video call.

Most people seem perfectley happy having a phone that does the "standard" phone stuff but has loads of non-call related gizmos added aswell.

So, anyone?
 
3G = fast internet. My dad used to stream movies and stuff on his HTC Tytn.
 
I've had two 3G phones, and I've never videocalled anyone. Ever. What I do enjoy is the video streaming, particularly when it's cheap. 50p to watch ITV all day long? Awesome. Admittedly that was on my last phone which was on 3 - now I'm on O2 it's impossible to get a signal, and when you do find one there's nobody to video call and nothing to stream. Like I said, on 3, 50p gets you 24 hours video streaming of any channel they have. On O2, twice that gets you a bad quality scene from Family Guy for 1 viewing. Great value...

There are a whole host of problems with video calling, which is why nobody really does it. For a start you've got to find somewhere with good 3G reception (which is surprisingly hard to do), then you've got to make sure you've got your hands free kit on you (because phone speakerphones are dreadful), and then you've got to physically stop what you were doing so that you can concentrate on the screen in front of you. And, when you've done that, you've got to hope that the person at the other end is sitting around doing absolutely nothing, has their handsfree kit and has adequete reception.

So yeah, it's good for a variety of things, none of which are particularly useful on a phone with a 1.7 inch screen. It's a nice feature to have when you're on the right network, though.
 
I couldn't care less about the video call feature but the fast internet access is definitely a big plus. It's good to know that the capabilities are there, even if they're not used every single day.
 
Yeah I realise that the 3G stuff is being used for TV now, including football (soccer) highlights where the ball is too small to be seen.

I've only ever known one person do a video call and that was in school about 2-3 years ago.
 
Almost all of the Nseries phones from Nokia have a secondary camera for video calls. I never once (or can) use the feature. However, it is useful for taking pictures of yourself and using it as a mirror.
 
I have a 3G phone - I've never used it for video calls, bar for "test purposes". I do use the streaming video feature though. I love taking a dump at work and getting a 5 minute update on the world...
 

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