The Choice Is Yours
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday July 5, 2008
Phone users have been slow to embrace the advantages of 3G, writes Lia Timson.
Scanning QR codes is yet another clever trick that today's accessory of choice, the 3G phone, can perform. But carriers, manufacturers and advertisers will be hoping consumers make better use of the newest function than they have to date with the handset's other functions. Phone companies and manufacturers would have consumers believe an internet-enabled 3G phone is the epitome of a connected lifestyle. A way to watch sport, download music, share videos, trade emails, get news updates, find restaurants, and even stay in touch on Facebook and MySpace. Some phone users are doing just that but the latest research shows they tend to be a small group of young technology embracers. The rest are using their phones just to make calls and send text messages - the basic services provided by the old 2G phones. One of them is Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, mathematician, physicist and broadcaster. He's ditched his internet-enabled phone for a "bare-bones" one. "In most cases, I don't need a fancy phone; therefore I don't bother with it. I went back to a phone that just makes calls but it's getting harder to get one of those."Australia now has more than one mobile phone for every man, woman and child. Last June, there were 21.1 million official subscribers, with a third of users having more than one service or SIM card to their name.This represented mobile phone ownership of 81 per cent, according to research conducted for the Australian Communications and Media Authority. One in three subscribers had a 3G phone. Annual sales now exceed 10 million handsets, mostly 3G. For the moment, however, nearly 70 per cent of 3G phone users indicated they are not interested, think it's too expensive or don't know how to surf the internet or access any of the new services available on their headsets.The research also highlighted how "confusing, complex and difficult" it is for many people to make informed decisions about phones, services and plans. Often they are confronted by jargon and incomparable phone packages.Dr Marisa Maio Mackay, director of research for m.Net Corporation, responsible for the Australian share of the worldwide annual Wireless Data Services Study with the University of Adelaide, says that's all about to change. "By now we would've expected (mobile internet use) to have transferred to the masses, but in the last 12 months we've started to see that moving. People are more comfortable using it," she says.Bundled voice and data packages and capped plans have convinced some consumers to try the services. Jana Kotatko, head of communications and internet at 3 Mobile, says 64 per cent of the company's personal and business subscribers are using their phone for data services. Telstra says access to internet content on its 3G phones is growing at 45 per cent a month. Better browsers, Qwerty keyboards, the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously and a defined cost are key factors. "Being able to confidently use the service and know you won't get a nasty shock at the end of the month is essential," Kotatko says.But telecoms analyst Paul Budde says consumers are not yet convinced. ''There are still too many problems with far too high charges for any mass-market development." top 10 mobile internet sitesGoogle searchFacebookHotmailYouTubeYahoo!7 MailGmailGmapsFox SportsNewsQantasSource: 3 MobileMost popular 3g servicesHave 3G phone but don't use 3G services 68%Use mobile internet 18%Video calling 14%Music streaming/download 7%Mobile TV 3%Gaming 3%Sports/news/weather 1%Other 3%SOURCE: Woolcott Research 2007/ACMA (Telecommunications Today, Report 5, 2008). SOURCE: 3 Mobile
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
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