3G For All - Operators Call For Low-Cost Handset Designs

Having got my hands on a 3G cellphone the other week (the Nokia N80, actually), I excitedly prepared to make my first video call... only to remember that I'm the only person amongst my friends, as far as I know, to have a 3G phone.  So I'm very pleased to hear that the GSM Association is calling for manufacturers to design a new breed of lower-cost 3G handsets that would put them on a price level comparable to 2G phones.  Apparently the number of people considering the high-speed capable units has, much to the chagrin of operators, decreased, with mobile data costs highlighted as particularly to blame.

The "3G for All" handset would enable users to surf the net at high-speed, watch mobile TV and use instant messaging, at a cost greatly reduced from even the low-end 3G phones available today.  Personally, I think operators need to look at their own charges rather than the initial cost of the cellphone – until the size of the basic componentry needing to be stuffed inside each handset is reduced to something as attractively small as, say, a RAZR or a t519, 3G phones will always be seen as the plump relation.  Here in the UK it's possible to pick them up pretty cheaply (from free on a contract); it's the exorbitant data costs that are painful.  All-you-can-eat packages are less common and far more expensive over here than they are in the US, sadly.

Still, the carriers believe that economy of scale will play its part in driving down costs and making 3G the automatic choice for people considering a new phone.  We'll have to wait and see whether manufacturers rise to their challenge.

Operators want 3G handset for the masses [ZDNet UK]