[Ben]

As this is, afaik, Nokia's first Series 40 3G handset, what do you think the implications will be for 3G?

Series 40 handsets like the 6230 are now known to be incredibly easy to use, even moreso than Nokia's much more basic and older phones like the 8310, and continue to hammer handset sales charts. Is a 3G variant what is needed to make 3G phones a mainstream product in the UK?

A smartphone is undoubtedly the best device if you want to milk 3G for everything it has to offer, but will the stability and lightening performance of Nokia's Series 40 ultimately be the key that unlocks 3G's potential?

http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,76555,00.html

[davidlove]

As I understand it, 3G has two benefits for the operators; higher bandwidth and lower cost.

As they're unlikely to get a return on their famous £22bn from folk like me streaming newsclips, they're hoping that eventually they can switch off 2G and deliver voice calls at - apparently - one tenth of the cost.

So we can expect the operators to push lower end 3G handsets like mad. And because models like the 6230 are so popular (and for good reason, it's an excellent phone), this can only accelerate the move towards 100% 3G.

[Jon3G]

I think it will bring 3G to the people that dont see the benenfits of a smartphone with the must have gadgets, Surprisling more people are using wap than ever before and if this would be over 3G with the speeds and quality then the average user would enjoy the 3G world and embrace it better

[gorilla]

I have to agree, the quicker 2g gets switched off the better for the prospects of 3g. Unlike the problem we have with digital TV and radio, the mobile companies are in a position to dictate at what pace they change their provision of services. I can't remember how long it took them to convert the analogue mobile service into digital, but we need something similar again. Let's face it, how many handsets are going to be sold in a years time that wont be 3g compatible?

[@NickyColman]

I think both the manufacturers and the mobile operators are scared to "jump in" fully into 3G and it seems as if they are slowly, but surely, dipping their toes into the water!

Either the manufacturers need to stop the production and switch to only 3G, or the network operators have to demand more 3G handsets. Decreasing the appeal of 2G could also work by only offering 3G handsets when contracts are up for renewal and charging more for data and picture messages. (Altho price hikes on 2G could possibly start a fullscale war)


I think the catalyst for full 3G adoption could lie in the simple handsets of the Nokia 6230 or the Sony Ericsson T610 or Samsung D500. All handsets have 3 important factors - Small, sexy, and sophisticated.

Now if the networks could get a Nokia 6230 shaped phone with a slightly bigger screen and a vga camera on the front I would have no doubt that this would appeal to the masses!

The public arent simply gonna buy a big bulky phone simply because its 3G! Afterall most people have no idea what 3G is. And why exactly should they care? The public will only buy handsets that look and feel good and until the manufacturers/networks get this then 3G wont take off!

[whatleydude]

Wow.

A Nokia phone with Mini SD Card Support?!

*faints*

[Ben]

Yeah, this is really one for the masses in that respect! It's a very unoffensive 'come back to Nokia' phone if ever I saw one. I'm extremely optimistic about Series 40's chances in the 3G world.

[whatleydude]

Pop Quiz:

N70 or 6280 ?

[Ben]

6280... I can see it being as popular as the 6230 and 6230i but with 3G. Just watched the video on the Nokia site and the interface looks very very smooth - and what a screen!

The N70, being Series 60, is slightly more specialist and while I'm sure it'll sell like hotcakes I think the (hopefully cheaper) little brother will steal the show.

[Hands0n]

I'm with Ben on this one, which is surprising [me even] as I am a diehard techno junkie of the first order.

What really spins my wheels, floats my boat, and any number of other such sayings is the high practicality and functionality of the Series 40 6280. Not compromising on any of the currently expected 3G functions the 6280 handset eschews the high end Series 60 functions without compromising itself in any apparent way.

Size with Function is truly important to the buying public who have been spoiled to date by 2G handsets like the Samsung D500 which was a runaway success for the mobile ops that had it in their portfolio. Everyone of my associates and friends whom I've ever shown a 3G handset to has exclaimed negatively about the ungainly size (even the LG 81xx series!). So with the manufacturers catching on and reducing the size of the devices it can only be good for 3G.

I must admit that I could see myself with a Series 40 6280 to accompany the Series 60 6680 - assuming that I persist with dual contracts. If I only had to settle for one? Well it is a hard choice [really] but I think the 6680 would be it. But thats just me.

4Q2005 is going to be a very interesting quater, and the Christmas period mobile phone offerings are going to draw a lot of interest.

[davidlove]

Size with Function is truly important to the buying public who have been spoiled to date by 2G handsets like the Samsung D500 which was a runaway success for the mobile ops that had it in their portfolio. Everyone of my associates and friends whom I've ever shown a 3G handset to has exclaimed negatively about the ungainly size (even the LG 81xx series!). So with the manufacturers catching on and reducing the size of the devices it can only be good for 3G.

HandsOn is SpotOn. I use a 6230i as a second phone and can readily see why these devices sell in vast quantities. Most folk just want to make/receive voice calls, SMS and - just maybe - check their email and read news headlines. The 6230i does all this in a neat form factor with a simple UI (and a better keypad than the 6680). Oh, and another thing, unlike the Series 60 phones the email client on the 6230i supports resizeable fonts, a boon to ancient techies who have lost their glasses.

The problem with 3G is that, so far, there is no killer app. You don't need the higher bandwidth to check your mail and most of the other stuff 3G brings to the party - streaming video etc - is discretionary and can be better and more cheaply viewed later on a PC.

That said, it makes sense for the operators to push 3G as their unit costs are lower, and they may yet discover that killer app. So Series 40 phones with UMTS support are bound to proliferate and that's fine by me.