3G mobile phones -- worth the wait?

TOKYO - Consumers in Japan have became the first in the world to step into the wireless future of mobile phones that can handle video and make fast internet connections.

Or at least they will once they get through the 945 pages of instructions that come with NTT DoCoMo's third generation mobile phones, which became available commercially in Japan on Monday.

And these instructions are just for the standard model.

Despite its apparent complexity, the standard model has not been hyped as much as the video phone, which has a little camera built in for face-to-face video conferencing.

It is also not as obtrusive as the cheaper data card model that plugs into laptops for heavy-duty data users.

But the standard handset, dubbed the N2001 and built by NEC Corp, is well-balanced, with a smaller profile than the video phone which allows it to fit easily into a shirt pocket and connect to a laptop for Internet surfing.

The standard model costs about 48,000 yen ($US400) while the fancier video model costs about 68,000 yen ($US570).

The data model can be had for about 28,000 yen ($US235).

Service costs are generally more expensive than second generation services, but DoCoMo says costs will go down once usage increases and shifts toward data transmission.

The standard N2001 model is essentially a turbocharged version of the popular "i-mode" internet access phones already sold by DoCoMo.

These allow users on the go to check their e-mail, surf internet sites, download ringing tones and read the news.

The N2001 weighs about 105 grams, lasts 55 hours on standby mode and has a bright, easy to read 4,096-color screen.

The phone allows users to access i-mode, which has amassed 27.5 million users in 2- years of growth and turned DoCoMo into one of Japan's largest companies by market value, defying a decade-long economic slump.

The N2001, which has no antenna, also has superior voice quality on a par with that of a fixed line.

It also lets the user surf the web at upwards of 384 kilobits per second (kbps), six times the fastest mobile speed in Japan.

The battery heats up after about 15 minutes of conversation and runs out fairly quickly, in about an hour, compared to second generation phones which can last a whole day.

The standard model doesn't receive DoCoMo's planned video or music streaming service, which are set to come online in spring for upgraded models.

Still, it can send and receive e-mail with up to 5,000 characters, and download mini Java programs in seconds, some of which provide a schedule for the last train home or a weather forecast updated hourly.

- REUTERS