3G Mobile: Condemned to Succeed
This opinion piece that was originally published in the Wall Street Journal seems to take 3's marketing message to heart, by claiming that 3G technology will succeed much faster and in a much bigger way than anyone expects. While we have no doubt that 3G technology will eventually take over, we're a little more skeptical about some of the super hyped up aspects. For example, this article claims that people are clamoring for the video-phone feature found on 3G phones - saying that "In a bar, a train station, or at a dinner party, [video phone calls] will generate an unstoppable trail of word of mouth". In the history of the (landline) telephone there have been many attempts at offering video-phones - all of which failed, when people remembered that they don't like being stared at when they're on the phone. Yes, there are other applications for video cameras on the phone - and they will catch on. However, the initial hype still seems to be a bit too much.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: 3g
