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I feel that the discussion about US cell phone technology is getting old. Yes, phones make it to the market faster in Asia and Europe. BUT, having services in both Sweden and the US, I feel that the US customer service and calling plans are far way better than in Sweden. What do I do.....I buy the phones in Sweden and use them in the US. Simple as that!
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Posted: 2004-11-04 19:39:56
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On 2004-11-04 19:39:56, amagab wrote:
I feel that the discussion about US cell phone technology is getting old. Yes, phones make it to the market faster in Asia and Europe. BUT, having services in both Sweden and the US, I feel that the US customer service and calling plans are far way better than in Sweden. What do I do.....I buy the phones in Sweden and use them in the US. Simple as that!
If you think this discussion is getting old, DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION!
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Posted: 2004-11-04 20:37:01
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@amagab
I think it is rather interesting to find out what the state of mobile technology is in other areas of the world. Most of the members of Esato seem to be European, so it is interesting to find out what Americans are using in terms of mobile technology and services. I have learned quite a lot through this thread so far and hopefully others have too.
@all
The American service plans do seem to be excellent value for money, we have only recently seen better value service plans in the UK with the introduction of 3G as the only 3G network here tries to woo customers away from the other networks. Apparently Vodafone are set to release better service plans when their 3G service is launched within the next week or so. Orange have apparently said that they won't be offering service plans like those of 3 (the exisitng 3G network).
How would Americans feel if European/Asian networks bought over American networks? Would it be a good idea if it was going to bring new technology and services?
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Posted: 2004-11-04 20:57:44
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Sorry, I was mizundastood. We SHOULD continue discussing world technology and its differences.
I've heard a lot of people bashing the US that they are behind in cell phone tech. They seem to base this on the fact that SE, Nokia, and Siemens phones are first released in Europe and that it takes some time before they are offered in the US market. I agree that that is often the case. However, there are other factors involved than just getting the phone to the market fast.
By the way, you mentioned Asian and European companies taking over US providers. That has already happened. T-Mobile purchased Voicestream and it's now called T-Mobile USA. NTTDoCoMo has a big stake in AT&T (or at least they used to). Vodafone also have big stakes in US providers. I think the only companies that are not partly owned by non-American corp is Nextel and Sprint.
There are different needs in the US regarding technology. The same goes with Wi-Fi, which is much more developed and in demand overe here. There are many cities that have full Wi-Fi coverage and offer it for FREE to everyone in order to save on fiber optics expenses. Therefore, we see more PDAs and smartphones equipped with Wi-Fi chips over here.
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Posted: 2004-11-04 21:16:37
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@amagab
Indeed, the demand for Wi-Fi does seem a lot higher in the U.S., having said that, Wi-Fi is also incredibley popular throughout Europe. Many European towns and cities now have widespread Wi-Fi coverage and almost all new laptops are sold with in-built Wi-Fi cards.
The one thing holding Wi-Fi back in Europe is 3G. Vodafone and other major European networks are now releasing, or already have released, their consumer 3G networks. The possibility of having a broadband connection using one's mobile phone is very appealling indeed and 3G data cards have been selling very well apparently.
I imagine that Europe will probably follow its usualy pragmatic approach and embrace both 3G and Wi-Fi together. It might be surprising to some to see Wi-Fi so popular and developed across Eastern Europe, but there are massive infrastructure problems there with regards to telephone networks, so Wi-Fi would seem a logical solution. The current thinking in much of Europe is for combined 3G/Wi-Fi access; one's mobile would utilise Wi-Fi when in a hot-spot and 3G when not.
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Posted: 2004-11-04 21:25:29
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That seems to be the most common approach, as both 3G and Wi-Fi have pros and cons. I'd like to see the two technologies work hand in hand, if that is possible. Bluetooth is another issue that needs to fit in somewhere but maybe Bluetooth will disappear now when Wi-Fi becomes more advanced. I'm sad to say that I don't see any succesful future for BT.
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Posted: 2004-11-04 22:06:19
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@amagab
I don't think Bluetooth will have a long term future, but it is certainly here to stay for the near future.
Wi-Fi is developing ever more quickly here in Europe, with new hotspots appearing all the time. How quickly these can be integrated with 3G remains to be seen. Europe will probably have fully working and developed 3G networks by the end of 2005, which is when I would expect W-Fi to become more of integrated with 3G.
3G does now seem to be catching on in popularity amongst many Europeans; uptake in the UK, for example, has been rising rather sharply over the last few months and this trend will almost certainly increase as more 3G networks become available.
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"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC
[ This Message was edited by: scotsboyuk on 2005-01-10 22:23 ]
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Posted: 2004-11-06 16:27:42
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Are there any members from the U.S. who use a 3G handset and services? If so, what are your opinions on the handsets and networks?
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Posted: 2005-01-10 23:27:34
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