Will Cheaper 3G Handset Prices Tempt You ?

11th April 2003 by Kevin Thomas Editor 3G

UK : Hutchison 3G in the UK ( 3 UK ), the first 3G operator to commercially launch 3G in Europe during March 2003, has reduced the price of its 3G handsets and extended the introductory 50% discount offer by another month which will now terminate at end of April, 2003.

The Motorola A830 ( left ) is now £125 ( normally £249 )
The NEC e606 is now £200 ( normally £399 )
The Nec e608 is now £225 ( normally £449 )

To date Hutchison 3G reports to have sold approx. 10,000 handsets since launch on 03/03/2003. Canning Fok, Group MD of Hutchison Whampoa has stated that his target is to sell 1,000,000 3G Handsets in Europe throughout the group in 2003.

3 UK has probably faced the stiffest competition that any UK mobile operator has faced in the last 3 years. Vodafone has sold hundreds of thousands of Vodafone LIVE GPRS handsets while Hutchison has sold low tens of thousands. Each one of those GPRS sales is a lost 3G handset owner.

The Vodafone LIVE TV advertising campaign has been powerful. One advert springs to mind in particular. This is the one where a young woman places an engagement ring on her finger and then takes a picture of the ring on her finger and sends the picture to all her friends. The thought of being able to do things like that is likely to send a lot of potential 3G customers running to the Vodafone shop for a GPRS phone.

On the UK High Street, phone retailers like the Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and the Link have sold a comparatively low number of 3G handsets. It could even be as low as one thousand in total. I have spoken to a number of High Street Phone Shop Managers who report extremely disappointing sales.

Personally, I am still surprised with my own situation. I do not have a 3G phone. Why not you may ask. The answer to this is I really don’t know. I have registered twice on the 3 UK website to qualify for the early adopter discount and said that I am extremely interested in owning a 3G phone. I have heard nothing. I do not know why and I have no desire to chase them. To be frank, as time has gone by, my extremely high interest in owning a 3G phone has dwindled. Anyway, there is not one person I know who has bought one so what would I do with it anyway. I am likely to hang on now till Vodafone launch 3G to buy a 3G phone - maybe in the Autumn this year.

In 2002, 3G.co.uk approached Hutchison 3G and suggested working together in some form or other. This included the sales of 3G handsets via the 3G.co.uk website. I was informed by a senior person in the company that our website content was not really directly related to their marketing strategy so my suggestion was not of interest. This is a pity as you never know we may have sold more 3G Handsets than the UK High Street shops.

This Press Release Sponsored by AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES

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