Which? slams 3G

3 December 2004 11:36 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Orange maybe rushing ahead to launch its service before Christmas and Vodafone may have spent £10 billion on the launch last month but according to Which? you should should be buying a 3G phone just yet.

Malcolm Coles, editor, Which?, says: “There are teething problems with 3G phones and coverage, so we recommend sticking with a 2G phone for the time being. We'll be keeping an eye on 3G phones over the coming months to see if they, and the networks, live up to their hype.”

The 3G network issues combined with the bulky handsets means Which? didn't select any of the third generation phones as Best Buys. Only 2G phones met the Best Buy criteria, which includes tests of sound quality, ease of use, battery life, and reception.

A spokesman for 3, when we spoke to him was struggling to understand why Which? has made the statement it has: "3 has over 80% coverage on its 3G network and the other 19% is supported by a roaming contract with other network operators. What's more we are the fastest growing mobile phone operator in the country." What seemed to be the nail in the coffin was that "We don't, or does any of our competitors sell the Sony Ericsson Z1010. The 7600 from Nokia is a popular phone, if a little old [it came out in march] and the NEC e338 is 3 or 4g lighter than Which?'s best choice 2G handset."

Here at pocket-lint we agree that the coverage is weak in some areas, but phones like the e1000 from Motorola, the v800 from Sony Ericsson, and the 7600 from Nokia are great handsets that aren't large and promise great access to the services available.

Full tags

Phones, Mobile phones, 3G