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Hutchison's 3 has the edge despite teething problems

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On a recent trip to London, the geek in me could not resist getting a taste of 3G services, something we have written so much about but never actually had a go at.

My expectations were not high to begin with. I've been a long-time mobile data user and, having suffered the days of 9.6 kilobits per second speed over GSM networks, I am a lot more forgiving when it comes to data transfer speeds than most.

The key offering that sets Hutchison's 3 mobile service apart from other providers in Britain is video, such as making real-time video phone calls, a service possible only with the higher bandwidth on 3G networks.

If you have a webcam at home, you are probably already doing video chats with friends and family overseas using an instant-messaging programme such as Yahoo! or MSN. 3's VideoTalk is basically the same thing, but over a mobile terminal such as the NEC e606. It's also expensive, so 3 is trying to lure users by throwing a few free video calls into the package.

EDGE networks allow for video playback and live video, such as broadcasting images from a webcam down to handsets. In theory, making video calls is possible but the experience will not be smooth, delivering about three to five frames per second, making the image jerky. With 3G, the promise is for a much more satisfactory video experience.

Hutchison's network in Britain operates at a speed of about 386 kilobits and is expected to improve over time, just as we've seen GPRS speeds in Hong Kong improve.

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