Why Go 3G?

3G is a completely packet-based network, in fact voice should be carried as voice over IP (VoIP) but initially most networks are actually carrying it as voice circuits, but that will change.

Data rates have the prospective to reach current ADSL speeds, though as yet they're still limited to about 300Kb/s to end-users.

Network upgrades such as High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) will eventually allow the magic 2Mb/s download speeds, but it is not there yet.

Many people are currently using BlackBerry devices and 10d to have a love/hate relationship with them because:

They are connected 24 hours a day and are therefore tied to email all the time. The devices aren't that great in terms of ergonomics or as phones. However they are great business tools and once someone gets one, they 10d not to want to give it back. BlackBerrys are limited in functionality though; they are email (and calendaring) particular devices and some other applications can be run on them.

As the market develops, you will see many more smartphones appear which are general purpose computers that support BlackBerry functionality.

Microsoft has announced that later this year there will be an enhancement to Windows Mobile (5) and Exchange to support push-email.

That's likely to really change the market as companies can just upgrade their existing systems to get the new functionality (BlackBerry users have to install additional servers and so on).

Why will 3G help? Download speeds for a start. The new smartphones will not just have simple viewers on them but complete pocket applications. So as well as receiving an email with the latest PowerPoint presentation, it'll be possible to review and edit it on the move.