Do You Use The 3G Features On Your Mobile?
Last week, the Australian Communications and Media Authority released a report that stated that in Australia, one third of mobile users have a 3G phone, but two thirds of those users didn’t use the available 3G service like internet browsing, video calls and music streaming.
Apparently, some people just aren’t interested in using their mobile for anything other than making calls. Others believed that the price was too high, and others just had no idea how to actually use the services.
The report also found that most people preferred using their mobile phone to a landline, and VoIP is still in its infancy here in Australia.
But with all the noise about getting a 3G iPhone and NextG services, I ask you, dear reader, whether or not you actually use the 3G services on your phone? Or is it too cost prohibitive, an unpleasant experience or just too confusing? Let us know in the comments…
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Comments
Devices like the iPhone bring the kind of interface that make internet usage workable, however prices in Australia are still too high for it to be viable for most people.
I have many customers that hooked up their 3G service and without understanding the usage charges, were billed massive amounts because their phone was checking email every 2 minutes over the billing period.
It reminds me of the early days of broadband where customers are being gouged by ISP’s because they were on low data plans and were unaware how their internet usage translated to data usage.
I currently don’t know how to use the 3g services becuase I can’t get them. Funny thing is, im inner north Canberra and everyone in my area is having the same problem. No Internet and No 3g. Thanks Telstra!
If Telstra slashed the price of their data plan (I mean make it ubercheap) it might actually be worth the cost.
ATM its just too high to use on a daily, even weekly basis. It’s not worth it when you’re only an hour wait away from your pc.
I only use it as a last resort maybe 2-3 times a month if i cant get to my pc and i need to google, ebay or check my email asap.
I live outside 3G coverage (even though I live in Ballarat about an hour from Melbourne and home to nearly 100,000 people…) so I can’t use 3G except when I’m in Melbourne…
You got it in one, I cant justify the expense…
I download weather, news, games etc to my pda for free overnight for the day ahead.. As for streaming media.. too busy reading news / pod/vod casts..
So many people I talk to are unaware of how data services are charged on their plan, so they just avoid them altogether. They have this vague idea that ‘internet on phone = expensive’ so most people just ignore it so they aren’t stung with a nasty bill at the end of the month.
I think Australian carriers have hurt themselves in the long run by initially overcharging for a data services (charge by the kB? great idea!). Now the idea that mobile data is expensive is entrenched, it’s really difficult to get people to adopt it.
I don’t have a 3G phone yet, but am thinking of upgrading soon.
I think a lot of the reasons why people don’t use 3G features is the cost – none of the providers offer a decent plan for people who make few calls/sms but want to use a fair bit of data – this is the sort of plan I’m looking for.
I rarely make more than about $10 worth of calls/sms per month, but I think with a 3G phone I’d be using the data component a bit more frequently. So I’d be looking for a plan which had data included in the monthly cap (together with calls/sms/etc) but haven’t found anything like that with any provider yet… they all have PAYG data on top of the normal monthly costs, or you buy a data pack EXTRA.
My current phone is only 2G, and old Nokia 6670, it’s still chugging along fine.
My next phone will of course be 3G, likely the N82, but despite this, I really can’t see myself using many of the 3G features… the cost is still too high..
X-series on 3 is tempting, but their coverage isn’t, the others don’t have anything close to X-Series value!!
The cost of 3G is a bit silly when compared to other data transfer methods and the (non-mobile optimised) browsing experience is really quite sad.
My N81 has one of the better screens out there and there is so much scrolling around to do.
Since I live in a major urban area I am seldom without a free Wi-Fi hotspot, most of my net-needs usually can wait until I find one. Then there are all the unsecured Wi-Fi modems out there, if I wished to use them….
When I came to Australia in December I considered a 3G phone, but the cost was too high and the usability of the devices is extremely poor.
I would probably buy an iPhone having used one for a couple of weeks in the UK, but this would have to be coupled with ‘unlimited’ data plans as in the US and UK, otherwise the cost is impossible to justify.
I have a 3G phone and live in a 3G area (Inner North Canberra) But I rarely use 3G services. I actually avoid using them and when I do I cringe knowing that bill at the end of the month will be much higher. It simply costs way too much in Aus. I even have my phone setup to not download any graphics and only download email headers and it still stings when the bill arrives.
Data cost is too high so I don’t use it. I could do video calling, but don’t see the value when the image resolution is so poor.
Will be getting a USB 3G device ($39/month,5GB) to use with an 9″ Eee PC at the end of June though.
I pay $5 a month for web services, don’t use it for email unless I’m away from my desk, and then only for checking webmail headers.
I do use google maps and occasionally opera for web browsing when I need to know something on the fly… but it’s way too expensive for high volume use.
Its too freaking expensive to browse the internet or sit on MSN. I racked up a 300 dollar phone bill in one month, just because i spent a day browsing.
Thats why i dont use “3g” features: its cost prohibitive.
Alternatievly i bought a 3g plan with vodaphone and can sit and download 5gb worth or data for 39 dollars a month. I probably only used maybe 500MB when i got charged nearly 200 worth of data on my normal mobile plan.
I have an unlocked iPhone from the US. Have had Nokia E61i previously. There is no way I could justify the expense and contracts to use 3G, period. Not on the phone or laptop. If there were short, like over the weekend, contracts and good coverage in rural areas where I need it, I might consider it.
I only use it for Telstra’s Free Zone. I can’t afford the stupid prices they throw on external sites.
A friend of mine has a Windows Mobile phone and uses the 3G for a lot of emailing but not for browsing. I think he’s on a $29/80Mb plan. Absolute joke of a price. That’s 1/2 the amount I pay for broadband with 20Gb!
If Telstra just dropped their prices, I think they’d make more $ by the increase in subscribers.
Telstra is the only carrier that has 3G coverage where I live and I won’t be using any 3G features until the cost goes down.
Data account is way too expensive….
I will definitely use it if it was cheaper to do so.
I joined 3 with a 3G phone for years, made couple of Video calls to overseas, but the quality is poor and cost is far too expensive, can’t be justified for the use. So since then never use the Video calls and Internet browsing, that just too expensive…
I live in Townsville where population is somewhere around 200,000, but this is the city where most of the time I even dont get a decent 2G coverage (except when I am in the city). I have optus plan.
I would like to use 3G provided the price is affordable.
It’s far too expensive on my phone. I paid about $10 for about 10 minutes of phone surfing. Screw that! I pay $50/month for unlimited surfing on my home connection
Mobile data is a rip off, it’s as simple as that.
I’m shopping for a new mobile at the moment and I’ve told salespeople not to bother telling me about the internet features. It’s utterly pointless because they are too expensive to use.
Like most of the commenters here, i don’t utilize the 3G services due to price. if offered a simple plan for gmail/google maps/gawker blogs, i would probably switch in a second.
if they ever put wifi on the trains, ill prob get a ipod touch.
Ridiculous prices for “data Plans” they deem to think 500MB is a lot and should charge you $80 etc. Bah
I had to buy a pre-paid phone from Telstra to tide me over till the iPhone comes out.
I’ve used the map functions on it a couple of times and I probably would have had better luck just randomly walking around Brisbane city. The interface is terrible! It took me far too long to type in the various details. I had to perceive because I was hopeless lost.
The other killer at the moment is price. I just can’t afford it. Rather than go for a business plan which customer volume recoups investment costs, Telstra has gone for premium pricing for the few that can afford it. I get 3 gigabytes for $114 on Telstra’s wireless 3G card which I would have avoided if I didn’t have to go outside metropolitan areas.
Bring on the iPhone and hopefully the multiple carrier business model will help drive down data plans.