Page 17 - Sphere No.11 (Apr 2004)

Thanks to 3, Hong Kong has entered a brand new era of video mobile communications.
By Mark Caldwell
A dam Chan* was the very first cus-
tomer in Hong Kong to get his
hands on a 3 video mobile phone.
“I bought it so I could watch and listen to
music,” he said as he emerged beaming from
the bustling 3Shop in Central.
Businessman EricWong was another early
customer — in fact, he bought two video
mobiles. “Now I can see my wife more,”
he said.
Wong spends long hours at the office or
travelling abroad, and the video calling capa-
bilities of his NEC 616s will keep him in
visual touch not only with his wife but with
his London-based daughter as well. “I am
also looking forward to trying out the other
functions, like being able to receive news
and access voice, e-mail and faxmail while
on the move,”Wong added.
Carol Ng and two of her friends also
joined the “early adopters”.They bought six
video mobiles between them and before
long they were conducting video calls with
each other at a coffee shop in Central.
Life in Hong Kong will never be
the same.
Heralded by lion dancing and a carnival
atmosphere, the 3 S ervice went live in Hong
Kong on the sixth day of the Lunar New
Year (January 27, 2004) — an auspicious
date in the Chinese calendar.The event sig-
nalled the beginning of a new 3G (third-
generation) mobile communications era
in a city famous for the eagerness of its citi-
zens to be first to adopt new technology.
Mobile communications are already an
integral part of the Hong Kong lifestyle.
Second-generation (2G) penetration stands
at over 100% with more mobile phones in
the territory than there are people. 3 Hong
Kong (3 HK) believes there will now be
a steady migration by consumers to the
faster and smarter 3 video mobile phones
which deliver a far greater range of content
and services.
Since opening their doors in January
2004 for pre-bookings, the distinctive
3Shops (see sidebar, p.17) have been inundat-
ed by a public eager to catch the first wave.
Within days of the rollout in January,
a growing band of early adopters could
be spotted city-wide “surfing” content
offerings and trying out the new video
call applications.
DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT
The launch was accompanied by an adver-
tising blitz that saw billboards,TV and news-
paper advertisements festooned with the
slogan:“The difference is 3”.
To succeed in this highly competitive
marketplace, communicating to the public
the difference between 3 and competing 2G
services is indeed vital.
Empowered by the advanced 3G
(UMTS) technology, 3 delivers a range of
applications that 2G simply cannot match.
While so-called 2.5G services have for some
time been offering users the ability to take
photographs and to send and receive them,
3 adds a visual dimension to mobile com-
munications not seen in Hong Kong before.
The most obvious difference between the
new 3 service and those of incumbent oper-
ators is 3’s ability to simultaneously make
and receive live video calls.
Added to that, 3 provides a selection of
streamed video content — ranging from
news, financial updates and sport to music,
games and fashion — that allows the user
to truly enter the realm of moving pictures
within the mobile environment.
Subscribers gain entry into a space that
is altogether more useful, more diverse and
more fun than the screen on their old 2G
device. It’s a space that entertains and
informs, with the capacity to surprise,
delight and entertain. It’s the difference
between looking at a picture on the wall and
looking at the world through a window.
As never before, 3 creates the sensation
of “being there” and “being with”. Eye-to-
eye video contact in real time is a delightful
move up the communications ladder, allow-
ing Grandma to see
her new grandson
(*Names have been changed to protect customers’ privacy.)
3 CHEERS
3G