Product: Smart phone
Prics: €109
The potential of 3G has been opened up through the services of 3 Ireland. Using its latest 3G phone, the LG U8138, I made my first video call, downloaded music videos and got up to date through video news reports. 3 Ireland is on to something special and its approach to content and 3G overall ensures it is brash and colourful with a diverse range of services to suit everyone.
Starting with news services, users can access RTÉ news and weather services as well as watch video reports from ITN. First and foremost, what impressed me most was the rapid download and streaming speeds for video content. Within five seconds of selecting a video — bear in mind certain content such as music videos and Premiership highlights cost around €2 a download — it was playing on the phone. Secondly, for sheer quality on the small screen I was wowed by the resolution and quality of the images.
Within 10 minutes I had watched news from around the world, watched extreme supports, GAA highlights, Sky Sports and downloaded the latest ]italics[Tarantula video from music band Faithless.
3 Ireland’s approach to 3G content is refreshing and exciting, and I look forward to seeing how the products develop in the months and years ahead. If anything, the notion of TV on your mobile is somehow more real. Watch this space.
On to video calling — it’s damn cool and I can see this being a hit as increasingly more Irish people adopt the service. Video calls are similar to a normal phone call, until you realise that you are talking at the phone and staring at the screen. Within seconds you’ve relaxed into a normal conversation as initial awkwardness about being on the small screen vanishes. Apparently another journalist got the fright of his life when 3 Ireland’s local public relations lady (you know who you are) suddenly loomed on to the screen of the phone!
The LG U8138 clamshell device is a perfect example of the type of phone Irish, indeed European, mobile users have been deprived of for years as their Asian counterparts enjoyed brash and colourful phones with perfect multimedia capabilities. Everything about this device is different to the normal humdrum phone experience. Menus, for example, are extremely graphical and it makes full use of the screen technology. For example, during video calls a split screen allows you to see yourself at the corner of the screen while having a full view of the person you are talking to. This feature is eons ahead of what’s been available until now.
The LG U8138 3G phone is available from 3 Ireland through its website for €109 on bill. The sleek device boasts 214 hours talktime (141 minutes for video calls), has two screens and a rotating VGA camera for taking still and recording videos.
By John Kennedy
