Before I talk about my experience, I shall first introduce my very first 3G-enabled phone.
WARNING - LONG LONG LONG POST AHEAD
The phone
Drums roll... "Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the bold... the beautiful Sony Ericsson K600i!"
If you ask me, the phone resembles the looks of an iPod mini - albeit souped up with a 260K colour screen, bluetooth support, video streaming support, 2 cameras (one behind, one infront) one of which is a 1.3 Megapixel camera and more.
The Experience
I've been traveling quite a bit; back and forth between Malaysia and Singapore lately. It was in Singapore that I first discovered this phone - in a retail store that is. Prior to that, I've seen the phone on various websites reviewing it's features, aesthetics appeal and the like.
Approximately 3 weeks ago I was walking around in one of my favourite shopping complexes in Singapore (Funan IT Mall) when I saw this shiny metallic looking phone prying through a glass window - the K600i in it's shiny metallic case, smoothly curved lines and of course the flat yet distinctive keys which blends into the phone's overall look and feel. It was a beauty.
In my hand was the Sony Ericsson K750i - beautiful 2.0 megapixel camera phone complete with autofocus with a black matte finish but sadly, it was not 3G enabled.
The question then was, to upgrade or not to upgrade? Or a more refined question would be should I lose the 2.0 Megapixel camera feature on my current phone for an opportunity to enter the world of 3G?
3 weeks later... (3 days ago)
I was in Singapore once again, this time with my dad. My dad asked me to suggest a phone in which he could use as a backup. You see, my dad is another gadget centric person. Recently, I believe; due to my influence, he has gone a little gadget crazed. :) I suggested the K600i, described it's features and moments later, we found ourselves at my favourite - Funan IT Mall.
The purchase
At Funan, we went to a number of phone shops. We took a look at Sony Ericsson's latest Walkman-styled mobile phone - the W800i, Motorola's latest super slim Razr V3 (don't like Motorola's interface - never did - no offence to Motorola users ;P) and a number of other Nokia phones.
We finally came to a conclusion that the K600i was the best phone for his needs - an opportunity to enter the world of 3G, a 1.3 Megapixel camera and a host of other features. As with most of our 'large' purchases, we would usually go for a cup of tea / coffee at the nearby coffee chain to relax, regather our thoughts and revisit some of the features of the product we were going to purchase just to make sure we won't make a rash decision.
During that time, I too went into thoughts of upgrading my phone. In the end, I thought to myself; what the heck, I mean, I'll lose the 2.0 Megapixel camera but I'll be getting a phone with twice the number of cameras - two is better than one right? Plus, the 3G feature would bring in a host of other possibilities I have dreamed to do - for one, it's video calls. So good bye K750i and hello K600i.
After the decision, another thought came to mind. To make video calls, I would need another person to have a 3G phone. Sure, my dad will have one but with his busy schedule I'm sure he would be more interested in finishing up his work at the office than to look at my face all day long. The solution? My girlfriend! If she gets a 3G enabled phone, we would be able to talk / view all day long while harnessing the power of 3G! I'm sure she wouldn't mind looking at my face all day long and so wouldn't I - they call this love. :)
Anyway, enough of the lovey-dovey thing, the solution was to get her a 3G phone. Moreover, Stella's been bugging me about the phone since it's debut on Sony Ericsson's website. With her birthday around a corner, buying her this phone would allow me to strike 3 birds - first, to get myself a 3G partner, her birthday gift and the to eliminate the bugging - hahahahahahahah!
What started of as a purchase of just one mobile phone became 3 - 3G enabled mobile phones - boy was the sales person happy!
The 3G experience (Singapore)
I'm known as a person who want things done quickly. The moment I got the phone, I couldn't wait to make a video call. To my dismay, I found that I will have to get my Sim Card upgraded to a 3G enabled sim card for me to begin using 3G services. It was a little depressing, but it was a good thing that I was returning to Kuala Lumpur that very day.
The experience - continued (Malaysia)
After returning from Singapore, it was rather late, so there wasn't really much hype on the phones - all I cared was sleep. So sleep it was until the next morning.
It was 10am. I jumped out of bed, all set to get all 3 SIM cards upgraded (Stella's, my dad's and mine).
12:30pm - Maxis i-Centre KLCC. I took a number, when the number was called I went to the consultant, informed her of my purpose and all 3 SIM cards were upgraded in about 30 minutes.
3G SIM Card in a 3G-enabled phone
Once I got the card, I pried open the phone, slotted in the SIM card and hit the on switch. 1 minute went by, 2 minutes went by, 5 minutes went by - but still no 3G logo. You see, 3G works a little like GPRS. When a 3G or GPRS network is detected, the phone will reveal a little logo. I went back to the consultant, she took me to a 3G specialist and he started poking about the phone's menu.
According to the 'specialist', the settings were fine. All I needed to do was wait. So wait it was. Approximately 15 minutes later, my phone showed a message saying "3G Configuration updated - please turn off and turn on your phone to begin using 3G services". My dad received a similar message on his phone. It was an ecstatic moment... 3G here we COME!
My first video call
Immediately, I dialled my dad's number, it was pretty simple, really; all I needed to do was to key in the number and instead of pressing the call button, I hit the 'video call' button and that was it!
Seconds later, my dad's phone started ringing, my phone revealed the video call screen. First, the audio came through then it was VIDEO. The feeling was indescribable! We started chatting while talking to our phones. It was rather strange as we were just meters a part and to the people around us, all they see are two people talking and smiling to their phones - but to heck with it, we are using the LATEST if not COOLEST technology around... 3G :)
Watching LIVE TV on my phone...
In my opinion, Maxis has one of the best 3G services available in the market. It had partnered with it's sister company Astro to provide live video content to it's 3G subscribers. For more information, visit Maxis' 3G Website. They've got live video content ranging from hitz.tv (a local MTV styled-channel), news channels ranging from CNN to BBC World, LIVE video feed on the traffic condition of major roads in Kuala Lumpur and loads loads more.
My first pick was CNN... I surfed to a WAP site created by Maxis for their 3G subscribers, hit news channels, clicked CNN and within seconds (almost without buffering) the live feed was shown in all it's glory.
CNN - on my little mobile screen. The stream was smooth without the frequent rebuffering of the video which is common in slow connections. On the overall, the video quality was great, audio was great - albeit on the soft end - i think it's the phone's problem (I'm looking forward to a firmware upgrade). Just to illustrate the quality of the feed, even with the puney screen that I have on my phone, I could actually see the tiny scrolling text at the bottom of the screen - it's THAT SHARP! and SMOOTH!
Cost of maintaining a 3G phone...
When it comes to charges, Maxis has done a pretty good job in that area. The best part about these live video channels is that Maxis doesn't charge you according to the amount of data you download through streaming these channels. All they charge is a fixed monthly fee (according to which channel package you subscribe to) and that's it!
As for the video calls - Maxis' answer? As per normal voice calls! That's 30 cents/minute for those on the pro-talk plan and 15 cents/minute for those on the m-Style 75/138/238/500 plans!
So if you plan to own a 3G phone and you're subscribed to another provider other than Maxis, it's time to SWITCH! - Maxis, you'd better pay me marketing/promotion fees for this :)
What's next?
I've tried streaming live video through 3G and making video calls. The next step would surf through 3G connetion speeds on my notebook and to experiment with the endless possibilities of 3G...
So if you have my mobile number and you've also joined the 3G clan, let's start 3G-ing today! Why stick with the old method of voice-only communication when we can have video calls in full colour!
Just a note, I have yet to sell my K750i. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact me. I'm offering it at a CHEAP and AFFORDABLE RM1,400.
If you don't have my number, do add me to your MSN Messenger list, my ID is registered with the e-mail address benjern@hotmail.com.
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