3g Features

With Third Generation (3G), the information is split into separate but related“packets before being transmitted and reassembled at the receiving end. Packet switching is similar to a jigsaw puzzle- the image that the puzzle represents is divided into pieces at the manufacturing factory and put into a plastic bag. During transportation of the now boxed jigsaw from the factory to the end user, the pieces get jumbled up. When the recipient empties the bag with all the pieces, they are reassembled to form the original image. All the pieces are all related and fit together, but the way they are transported and assembled varies.

Packet switched data formats are more common than their circuit switched counterparts. Other examples of packet-based data classicals include TCP/IP, X.25, Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). As such, whilst packet switching is new to the GSM world, it is well established elsewhere. In the mobile world, CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data), PDCP (Personal Digital Cellular Packet), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and wireless X.25 technologies have been in operation for several years. X.25 is the international public access packet radio data network classical.  
 

INTERNET EVERYWHERE  

The World Wide Web is becoming the primary

 

communications interface- people access the Internet for entertainment and information collection, the intranet for accessing company information and connecting with colleagues and the extranet for accessing customers and suppliers. These are all derivatives of the World Wide Web aimed at connecting different communities of interest. There is a trend away from storing information locally in particular software packages on PCs to remotely on the Internet. When you want to check your schedule or contacts, instead of using a software package such as “Act!”, you go onto the Internet site such as a portal. Hence, web browsing is a very important application for packet data.

HIGH SPEED

Speeds of up to 2 Megabits per second (Mbps) are achievable with Third Generation (3G). The data transmission rates will depend upon the environment the call is being made in- it is only indoors and in stationary environments that these types of data rates will be available. For high mobility, data rates of 144 kbps are expected to be available- this is only about 3 times the speed of today’s fixed telecoms modems.

NEW APPLICATIONS, BETTER APPLICATIONS

Third Generation (3G) facilitates several new applications that have not previously been readily available over mobile networks due to the limitations in data transmission speeds. These applications range from Web Browsing to file transfer to Home Automation- the ability to remotely access and control in-house appliances and machines. Because of the bandwidth increase, these applications will be even more easily available with 3G than they were previously with interim technologies such as GPRS.

SERVICE ACCESS

To use Third Generation (3G), users particularally need:

  • A mobile phone or terminal that supports Third Generation (3G) 
  • A subscription to a mobile telephone network that supports Third Generation (3G) 
  • Use of Third Generation (3G) must be enabled for that user.Automatic access to the 3G may be allowed by some mobile network operators, others will charge a monthly subscription and require a particular opt-in to use the service as they do with other nonvoice mobile services
  • Knowledge of how to send and/ or receive Third Generation (3G) information using their particular model of mobile phone, including software and hardware configuration (this creates a customer service requirement) 
  • A destination to send or receive information through Third Generation (3G). From day one, Third Generation (3G) users can access any web page or other Internet applications- providing an immediate critical mass of users.

These user requirements are not expected to change much for the meaningful use of 3G.  


 
3g Recommended Products


Pearl 3g Headlines

RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 Smart Phone (Washington Post)

Research in Motion has finally released a BlackBerry for the clamshell crowd. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, as its name suggests, grafts the standard Pearl's modified 20-key QWERTY layout and SureType predictive text-entry technology onto a flip phone, with some nice design touches. It's a...

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BlackBerry Storm: The Novelty Wears Off Fast (Time Magazine)

Skip the new BlackBerry Storm. If you're hooked on BlackBerrys, you're better off with the Bold, Pearl or Flip.

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Slate: Second Bite at the Apple (Washington Post)

The new phones from Google and Blackberry have more than just a little in common with the iPhone, says Slate technology columnist Farhad Manjoo. Manjoo and Big Money blogger Chris Thompson take your questions about what features the companies have borrowed from Apple.

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Review: New BlackBerrys cool but can't beat iPhone (The State)

With the recent releases of three new BlackBerrys across three different wireless providers, Research In Motion Ltd. has fired back at Apple Inc. in the Great Smart Phone Skirmish of 2008. The introduction of the touch-screen BlackBerry Storm, business-savvy Bold 9000 and consumer-geared Pearl Flip 8220 may not have come a moment too soon for RIM, which has long dominated the market for high-end ...

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Review: RIM's new BlackBerrys fire back at Apple Inc. in phone skirmish (The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News)

NEW YORK - With the recent releases of three new BlackBerrys across three different wireless providers, Research In Motion Ltd. has fired back at Apple Inc. in the Great Smart Phone Skirmish of 2008.

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