Perhaps the best thing that can be said about 3G is that it is getting better - but how quickly depends on where you are.
In Hong Kong, where four 3G operators have launched services, the W-CDMA technology remains the preserve of niche early adopters.
Japan can offer some comfort, however, as 3G handsets are finally flying off the shelves. NTT DoCoMo is adding 1 million Foma customers a month and forecasts that its users will double to 24 million by March next year.
At home, the most aggressive operator and first to launch, Hutchison Telecommunications, has gained 25,000 subscribers since the end of April for a total of 325,000.
NTT DoCoMo also had an inauspicious 3G start, taking two years to get its first million customers after launching in October 2001.
The question is whether 3G will quickly become mainstream elsewhere, too, or whether Japan - the home of i-mode and mobile gadgetry - is offering something different.