[Jon3G]

Nokia 6280
Moto V3x
LG U880
LG8380
Nokia N70

http://www.hughsymons.com/documents/hscm/pdf/10_2005_hscm_pdf_5pric_oct.pdf

[delinquentwoody]

Just found this press release yesterday, titled "Four New 3G Phones for 3UK", don't know if it's been posted on here yet or not!

3, the UK’s first video mobile network, today announced it is adding four new video mobiles to its range for the busy Christmas trading period. The four top-tier handsets come from three different manufactures - LG, Motorola and Nokia - and represent the very best in 3G video mobiles.

LG U880
Available in three colours - black, silver and pink - this new and innovative design is the thinnest 3G clamshell handset to be launched in the UK. The U880 offers all the major features expected of a video mobile on 3. The new slimline design from LG incorporates the full range of features including 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and an expandable internal memory of 80 MB. The U880 is the first handset from LG to feature an integrated antenna.

Nokia 6280
The compact Nokia 6280 is the first mass market 3G Nokia handset to go on sale in the UK. Equipped with a 2 megapixel camera, the compact and technically advanced Nokia 6280 supports 3’s full range of communications and entertainment content and services. The Nokia 6280 will be available across the UK from November.

Motorola RAZR V3x
The Motorola RAZR V3x is the latest addition to Motorola’s best selling RAZR family and brings the design excellence and elegance of the RAZR to 3G for the first time. Designed for performance, style and affordability it is the first Motorola RAZR handset to feature a 2 megapixel camera. The RAZR V3x is available in cosmic blue and liquorice black, which is available exclusively on 3. As with all the top-end handsets available on 3, it supports 3’s full range of video mobile content and services.

Nokia N70
Packed with the latest technologies, the Nokia N70 will be the first 2 megapixel camera phone to be available on 3 when it goes on sale at the end of October. The Nokia N70 builds on the success of the Nokia 6680 - one of the best selling handsets on 3 in the first half of 2005. The Nokia N70 is the smallest Symbian 3G Smartphone on the market.

3 continues to have the widest choice of 3G video mobiles in the UK. 3 will have a range of fifteen handsets available for sale in the UK for Christmas.

Gareth Jones, COO, 3 UK said: "3 understands the important part handsets play in the customer experience and with our Christmas range we’re offering the best video mobiles in the UK. All of these handsets support 3’s full range of video mobile content and services. If you’re on 3 you can enjoy music, video, games, the internet and every kind of messaging, as well as great value voice tariffs, all on state of the art devices that look good and are easy to use. If you want the widest choice of high-quality video mobiles this Christmas, then 3 is the network to choose."

Handset specs

Motorola RAZR V3x

Support of 262k colours for the 2.2" main display, and 1.0" colour sub display
Large colour screen and simple, distinctive, graphics
Very High-resolution 2 megapixel camera to capture the moment instantly - record and send picture and video messages in seconds – Full screen thumbnail viewer – Macro key to optimise near and far focus
Speakerphone for the easiest real-time video calls
Start watching 3’s video content, such as MTV music videos, in seconds with ‘Quick play’ video
Windows Media (audio and video) Player
Ability to take pictures through closed sub LCD
Improved battery with 880mAh capacity
LG U880

Support of 262k colours for the main display, and 65k for sub display.
Large 2.0" colour screen with simple user interface with distinctive graphics.
1.3 megapixel camera to capture the moment instantly - record and send pictures and video messages in seconds – cool new functionalities views your videos in landscape mode.
Speakerphone for the easiest real-time video calls.
Windows Media (audio and video) Player & Supports MP3 playback.
Ability to take pictures and videos through closed sub colour LCD.
External Transflash Memory to store even more content and music.
Bluetooth.
Triband
Battery performance with an 840 and 1100 mAh battery.
Nokia N70

Large 2.1" 262k colour screen with Nokia’s simple User Interface.
Supports video messaging, download video clips and Quickplay video streaming in widescreen.
Face-to-face video calling with speakerphone for the easiest real-time video calls.
External Memory card to store even more content and music.
Quadband: works in the USA, Europe and Asia.
Bluetooth.
3’s first 2 megapixel camera phone with up to 20x digital ‘smooth’ zoom with flash for capturing and sending video and picture messages.
Nokia 6280

Small and compact in a user-friendly slide design
2 megapixel camera with up to 8x digital zoom and integrated flash
High-resolution QVGA 262,144 colour display with Nokia’s simple User Interface
Supports video messaging, download video clips and Quickplay video streaming in widescreen
Face-to-face video calling with speakerphone for the easiest real-time video calls
External Memory card to store even more music and content
Quadband: works in the USA, Europe and Asia
Bluetooth.

from http://www.three.co.uk/news/h3gnews/pressnewsview.omp?collcid=1019745742912&cid=1129202531572&index=1

looks like a good selection of phones! what does everyone think?

[Ben]

It's a good range IMHO, pretty much what the other networks are going with + the LG. I've popped in the original PR source as a link.

As they're on Three a lot of people will be able to get their hands on these phones for free, which can only be a good thing for the consumer!

[3GScottishUser]

Of the handsets announced the most popular will probably be the Nokia models and the super slim LG. The N70 is nice but large smartphones are not everyone's cup of tea. The 3G version of the Razr has one major problem, its very similar to a phone that has been around for over a year now and it's thicker than its GSM counterpart.

The LG U880 is fresh and has good features. The different colour options will make it an attractive proposition and I suspect it will be the key 3 handset this winter. A close runner up will be the 6280 as it also has a fresh look and its size will appeal to many.

A stronger line up for sure but there will still be lots for those to contend with like the brilliant new Samsung D600, SonyEricsson K750i/Walkman handsets and the original Moto V3 Razr.

3G is finally picking up in terms of style etc - not before time!!!

[Hands0n]

Just a thought, and entirely based on my own attitude to Motorola vis a vis the V3x. I held off getting into a V3 purely because it was not a 3G handset. I suspect that in this I am not alone.

However, now with the prospect of a V3x and the Nokia 6280 I have a dilemma on my hands when they are generally available. These are both on my upgrade/contract-replacement plan. I'll need to have hold of each in my hand before I make a final decision.

3 certainly appear to have the lions share of a varied number of 3G handsets in comparison to the other four. That has to change on the run up to Christmas, especially with Orange who [extraordinarily] have a lamentable 3G handset selection today.

[3GScottishUser]

Why does that have to change?

The rest have great handset choices on GSM available and until there are comparable models with 3G (like the SE Walkman phone) all the other networks will continue to promote GSM kit. Customers generally dont care about technical standards and make buying decisons on the basis of price, functions and fashion.

Right now the most sought after handsets in the UK are the SonyEricsson K750i and W800i and the Samsung D600. Whilst we have a tendancy to favour handsets with 3G facilities its important not to loose sight of what else is out there. I have seen quite a few cases lately where 3G handset owners have gone back to GSM because they preferred certain handset models.

3G is taking a larger proportion of the market each month but it will take a while to overtake GSM I suspect.

[Hands0n]

To paraphrase a certain lady Premier, now that I'm on 3G "This man is not for turning" :) Now, I can understand some going back to GSM handsets for the sake of model familiarity - and this where I think that Motorola with the V3x will possibly score well. Pretty much a total clone of the V3 but with 3G networking. Nokia will score well with their 6280 for size and familiarity with the Nokia brand. Thus removing that particular obstacle from those that might go back to 2G because .....

For my part, I see absolutely no reason to go back to 2G/2.5G now that I've [favourably] sampled 3G - although I take the point that there will be the inevitable times when my 3G handset will fall back to the GSM network.

You are right of course, customers do not care about technical standards generally. However, the selling point for 3G is going to be much about "broadband speeds to your handset" and the obvious link with getting those music and video downloads that much quicker than on the "old" networks. And we all like a touch of speed.

No manufacturer is going to turn their back on GSM just because 3G has [finally] got a bit of a grip. I would anticipate the two network technologies running side by side for many a year yet. But I can see the time when there is a degree of parity between GSM and 3G handset model availability. I can see that time being not so far away (4Q/2006 maybe?).