New Generation 'picture Phone' Launched
The Age (Melbourne)
March 15, 2003
Sue Lowe
This weekend a few thousand high-income Britons and Italians will be raking up big bills on $1000 mobile phones. The first European third generation (3G) mobile phone service is up and running, allowing photos and video clips to be attached to text messages.
The system provides high-speed internet access and a location service to find the nearest car park. And for the first time since "Picturephones" were exhibited in 1956, 3G will enable mass-market video calls - users will see each other on screen as they talk.
The service is the best insight yet into what Australia will get when Hutchison launches it here, possibly next month. NEC says it will have two video-capable 3G handsets available from mid-April, costing $1100 to $1350).