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3 online multiplayer and handset 3 Handset 3 Communciations  I'm
not one who usually gushes over mobile phones. The idea of a phone
having email and web access does appeal to the nerd in me, but I have
access both at home and work. I'm not a big fan of taking pictures
or video and, being someone who actually likes music, I detest polyphonic
ringtones. But after I was given the chance to play with the LG 8110
connected to 3 Mobile, my opinions have changed. The last few days
have seen me playing with the phone non-stop. I've downloaded music
videos, ringtones, wallpapers, taken pictures and video, looked up
news stories and emailed them to people, and even played games with
other people on it. It's been wonderful and, more importantly, so
damn easy.The handset itself has a lightweight flip top design, which is cool because it reminds me of the future I was promised as a kid. When it's closed, there's a small LCD view screen that displays the time, and any message notification and missed calls. On the flip fold is the camera, which can be turned to face you, or turned outward when the phone is opened. When opened it up, there's a rather large 56mm screen that's bright and easy to read. Opening can also be accompanied by a sound, but I resisted the urge to download a Star Trek communicator noise. The face buttons are flat but rather wide and, as someone who has rather large fingers, I found using the keypad rather comfortable even when composing emails. The web services can be found at the touch of a button. There's news, sport, weather, comedy, entertainment and games in the inbuilt browser, plus you can browse to other websites. I found that none of the websites I wanted to look at would work - whether this was because I was blocked or because the coding of those pages wasn't set for mobile phones I'm not entirely sure, but there was no "error" page to tell me what had gone wrong. Luckily 3's set up is rather impressive. The news section came straight from Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and AAP with regular video from Sky News. The Olympics filled pages and pages of sport, and the Entertainment wasn't strictly aimed at the teen market. For example, one offering was a download of the X-cutioners latest single on video, which streamed as well as a PC connected to DSL. There were a few games available for download, including 'Badlands,' the first Australian Online Multiplayer for phones. It's a simple, top down vehicle combat game where you drive around and shoot one another and is nothing too exciting in terms of graphics or gameplay, but it's damn fun and there always seemed to be people playing - and I experienced no lag even when travelling. One imagines that it would be quite intense with the server's maximum of 500 players. The controls take a little getting used to, but those who are good at 'Snake' would have little trouble getting into it. I also downloaded a 'Snowboarding' game and whilst it was no 'Amped' it was still fun and passed the time on the bus. The only downside I can see to all this is that in being so easy to download, you can rack up a huge bill. Some content is capped to $15, but at between 50 cents and $2 a download/view you can see how quickly bills would mount up. Oh yeah, the handset also worked well as a phone, although I didn't take it outside the metropolitan area. It's a great little handset, and 3's services are good quality and will no doubt expand in the future.  |
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