Consumer Watchdog Fears

[SwitchBlade]

Last night on the news was a small section devoted to the release of the latest technologies, i.e. the 7650 and friends. They warned people that while these phones have all these features you don't really need them and that MMS is expensive (40p a throw for a pic on Orange), and only 2 networks here support it already, you also cannot MMS between networks here. The other comment was that the digital camera included is not up to scratch with a normal digital camera.

What the hell do these people expect? They are putting a camera into a phone to run on a 2.5G network, hardly gonna be high quality 3 megapixel is it? They make it sound like everyone is gonna expect these phones to be laptops with a built in camera and a phone rather than being able to use their heads and see what it is, a gimmick. I don't remember anyone putting warnings on the news about WAP and that really was crap.

The release of the 3650 is gonna make this a very busy site indeed, I'm already scared to go in the 7650 section as I think they've already started scent marking in there.

[TANKERx]

My sentiments exactly. When they get people who don't know technology to present issues regarding it, it is a big joke!

If I want to take a high quality picture, I take my Samsung digital camera. If I just want to capture a moment, I use my 7650.

What are they like!?

[Ewan]

In exactly the same way as WAP (which all the IT peeps new was a gash non-starter) was hyped as "themobile internet". Well, it moved packets, so it was. But the modern punter heard internet and assumed Web Browser.

Same when they hear Camera they expect a Koday, and 2.5g grps to be broadband. Grr.

[SwitchBlade]

I didn't expect WAP to be the WEB, but I at least expected it to be better than a BBS

[langdona]

What worries me is that people who control to stock markets also seem to be just as ignorant.

Why did the Internet sites get hyped as Technology stock? The vast majority of them were just retail companies with a different advertising mechanism. If they were viewed as retail in the first place people wouldn't have wasted millions of pounds on them.

Why didn't they realise that the PC and Mobile phone markets were reaching saturation point? I was obvious that the growth figures could not be maintained but they did not seem to realise it.

Anyway going by their record, MMS is going to be a big success

[SwitchBlade]

MMS will be a big success (for the first five minutes these people have the handsets). I can imagine people using the cameras now and then but not using MMS, especially at the current price.

[Zuber]

I suspect MMS will come down in price just like GPRS has. When GPRS came out, we were looking at 2p per k. Seems to have come down now.

On Vodafone it is somewhere between 1/3 to 1/10 of the cost depending on tariff. Still alot, but better. That includes .25p per k with no additional monthly fee if you are on a £25 per month "normal" tariff.

Orange, have similar schemes.

Zuber

[Dazler]

Isn't easier and cheaper if you mail the captured images instead of mms? And then send the dude a sms to tell him to check his mail )

Seriously, wap ... gprs ... mms ... the word popular doesn't come to mind if I look arround(my country). I have to admit that gprs is getting more familiar and more companies seem to give their employees free access to it.
MMS would be fun, but at those prices ... no thanks I would get addicted to quickly to afford it

Finally, you are right when you say people are crazy to expect super quality images from a phone ... you don't expect 3 megapixel from a cheap webcam either would you?