February 5th, 2008
“I am absolutely loving my Skypephone from 3” begins Eric Ong from the oddly monikered ‘fifty-one banana blog’ – and proceeds to talk on, extolling the virtues of a number of the phones features that have so impressed him. First in his ‘positive’ list is the price, “it’s a great gadget and definitely worth the £45” and thus, full of praise, he goes on to talk about the unlimited internet access for £5, TV channels available to buy and A2DP profile which by all accounts “delivers stereo to your bluetooth handset effortlessly”.
Of course there are a few niggles here and there – “the most annoying being having to turn it off/on again after losing the dialup connection when using as it a modem” – but overall, an extremely positive review.
Thanks Eric!
February 4th, 2008
From the happy moment Jonathan of Crashed Pips was proffered an extra penny upon purchasing his 3 Skypephone, to the second he finished penning his insightful critique of the device – it has been something of a rollercoaster ride for his relationship with the phone. He expressed initial delight at the service, packaging and aesthetic appeal of the phone, stating that it was “very nice-looking” and that the box was “very easy to open, and well-thought out.”
His experience was offset by a number of small issues however, from the ‘minor, and pointless, irritation” of the USB port cover, to the clicking sound that the keys make on default setting that can give the impression that “there’s a Geiger counter going off in your pocket.” An interesting reference indeed. He also makes the point that video calling is rendered pretty useless, by the fact that there is no forward-facing camera – and indeed, one would have to “carry out the call in front of a mirror.”
However, as Confucius himself once said - “better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without” - and it seems that Jonathan concurs with this sentiment. Summing up his article with this sage recommendation, he finishes “Overall, the phone is quite good. It does get the feeling of being slightly unfinished, but I’m sure these will be sorted out with software updates. I highly recommend it as a general-purpose phone with plenty of functions: and at £49.99 (or £49.98 in my case) it is excellent value.”
February 1st, 2008
When it came to choosing a new mobile Malcolm Owen of Blatantly Random found himself in a ‘decisions, decisions, decisions’ type of moment.
Considering himself to not be an excessive user of mobile communication, he decided that the iPhone wasn’t really for him and that most smartphones didn’t fit the criteria he was seeking. He does, however, use Skype, “a phone company would usually throw a hissy fit at the suggestion, and then throw on a heap of data charges. Then, I stumbled upon 3…”
The rest they say is history, but the integration of Skype onto a mobile is certainly right for Malcolm. He does mention some problems he has with the device, including the lack of SkypeIN/OUT, however he concludes, “Despite these problems, I’m not unhappy with my decision to get the 3 Skypephone. In fact I’m quite pleased with it. It does something new that other mobiles can’t do, but more importantly, this new thing is something I actually wanted.”
As he continues to discuss the pleasure in phoning the other side of the world from a mobile for free, it is safe to say, Malcolm appears to have made the right decision.
February 1st, 2008
It has already happened once, and now the phantom arrival of significant amounts of SMSs arriving on an account balance has happened again. This time to Nathan at Fit for Public Consumption.
After topping up his device, so as to continue utilising the Skype calls, Nathan noticed an anomaly. When logging in to check his balance, rather than the 240 SMS’s that should of been there, they had been joined by another 239,760. For those who struggle with numbers that is a total of 240,000.
Obviously this incident holds remarkable similarities to Scott Yang’s experience, notably both occurring down under. Maybe Nathan and Scott could text one another indefinitely, for the rest of time. That said, with Nathan working out that his random accreditation of 240,000 texts is worth a cool $60,000, lets just hope 3 Australia don’t ask for the monetary value back…
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