[Ben]

Despite recent hype about problems with the LG U8120, it is still Three's biggest seller. In terms of handset sales, the LG comes in fourth across the UK for last week, it's only close 3G competitor the Nokia 6630 - mostly due to sales on Vodafone 3G - at number 10.

Three are most certainly still king of 3G - getting such a tarnished handset to the number 4 slot when it's only them selling it is a good achievement!

Unsurprisingly the top selling handsets are the D500, 6230 and V3 in that order. However, these sales are on any network - the LG (4th) is only being sold by Three.

These are contract sales only and more information can be found below:
http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-test/publish/article_259.shtml

[miffed]

There is a lesson there IMO

This (among other things ) proves that the u8120 was not removed from sale as some have claimed

But how come an "old" superceeded handset is Three's Best seller ? what about the new ones ? (e1000 , a1000 , c975 , e338 , LGu8138

And what does this tell us about the LGu8138 ? is it priced too far ahead of the 8120 ? (not sure of the deals available myself ) I am guessing that perhaps the new LG doesn't carry the same line rental discounts as its "predecessor" does (allbeit subsidised by the Dealers , now Three have dicontinued the 3 month half price thing

But , the lesson , as mentioned earlier , is PEOPLE WANT NORMAL LOOKING PHONES !!! the fact that the LG is ranked 4th behind three handsets that are available on multiple networks , plus the bad publicity it has recently received and it is still selling strong has to say something !

[Ben]

I think it indicates that there's a huge gap in the 3G market for handsets with fewer features.

For a start, it'd be nice to see something along the lines of the Nokia 6230 produced for 3G. It doesn't need forward facing video calling, as the 6630 has proven, just the ability to be used as a 3G modem and to be able to view and download the lucrative network 3G content. Such phones, which bridge the gap between 2.5G and 3G, would probably increase 3G uptake considerably.

[miffed]

yeah , when i mention 3G to people they immediately say "I'm not really after Video calling "
I think that making 3G synonymous with Videocalling (as H3G have seemingly done ) has been counter productive
When I first ordered my e808y , the last thing on my mind was videocalling - I thought I was getting a state of the art , high speed data enabled PDA to replace my Communicator (yeah , OK , I know !! )
While I appreciate that spearheading the campaign with a "revolutionay" feature such as videocalling SHOULD have been a good move, in reality it hasn't turned out that way
I'd love to see some figures that give us an idea of how many video calls are being made

[3GScottishUser]

I doubt if many are made. the Internet and IM services allow you to do video in private and at much lower cost. For now (even with reduced prices) video-calls cost 4 times the norm and you still need to use a headset and you look pretty silly doing video in public places.

Whoever thought videocalling was a killer application for mobiles should have asked why that facility has never taken off on landlines. I think Amstrad launched a video version of their e-mailer last year and it went doen like a lead balloon! Games, Music and open Internet look like the way forward!

[Jon3G]

The reason I beleive is because its a flip and not much choice of 3 currently. The average user does not need the Smartphones, so they go for simple phones and that is a U8120

[Hands0n]

You don't need a headset for Videocalling on all the phones - the Nec E338 and Motorola A835 and E1000 are three that I can speak with practical experience of. I do recall the old NEC E606 had to use headset only (grrrrrrrr). Not tried a "public" videocall yet ..... must try that when I get my next set of inclusive mins :) Best not do it from the lapdance club though!! (only joking, I'd never make a call from there!) ...... (errr, I mean, I never go to such places).

I have not had much of a Hands On play with the LG, save for a few moments trying to sort out a menu for a friend. I think that the flipphone design of the LG is its big selling point, that and its size being somewhere near what we are mostly used to in 2G-Land.

I might have bought into the LG81xx series when I was shopping for a 3G phone if it had Bluetooth, a serious omission in my opinion. For that alone it was discounted entirely - I see too many people handling/using mobile phones in cars daily. Given our recent legislation I'd have thought that any non-BT phone would be batting on a sticky wicket, medium to long term.

[Jon3G]

Yes thats true about the flip design. The flip design was one of the biggest reasons for people buying phones last year appeartly