CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
REVIEWS
» Cell phones
» Cameras
» Camcorders
» Archive » Resource Center
» Compare » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Cell phones
How to make the most of your 3G phoneBy Jørgen Sundgot, 9 April 2006
It's fast, furious and... you really don't do much with it, do you now. From browsing to instant messaging, gaming and mobile TV, we tell you how to make the most of your 3G phone.

You've just gone and bought yourself a 3G phone and made your first few video calls - but after a while, the novelty starts to wear off. Then it's off to take a look at the paltry offerings from your operator's 3G portal, which in many cases is a rather anemic collection of generic news articles and a few streaming video clips. Surely, you think, there must be more I can do with this little mobile marvel of mine - and you couldn't be more spot on.

Get your surf on

Remember WAP? Easy now, put the brick down. Three years on, mobile surfing is a very different game - thanks to more powerful phones with better browsers. Unfortunately, little content has been adapted for mobile devices, and so the solution becomes to use a proxy solution which does the hard work for you; choose between Skweezer and - surprise - Google The best option bar none, however, is the Opera Mini browser which can be installed on virtually any recent Java capable phone and not only reformats but also compresses web pages on the fly to save you hassle, time and bandwidth costs. Genius!



Tippity-tappity

If reading isn't your thing, how about staying in the text-based realm and chatting it up with friends instead? Again courtesy of the prevalence of Java in mobile phones, you can easily keep in touch with all of your MSN Messenger, ICQ and Yahoo Messenger contacts by installing bluepulse. By using this application, you can pour your heart out while on the move and save a bundle as compared to using text messages - unfortunately, AIM isn't supported as of this writing.



Gooooaaaaalllll!

Although you might want to keep it down in public, here's your chance to catch a game of footie, watch the news or even your favourite reality series from beyond the comfort of your couch. If you're lucky enough to have a subscription with a supported operator, downloading either the Java or BREW version of MobiTV will let you enjoy a bundle of channels while squinting at your 2-inch plus screen. Granted, it won't replace your TV any time soon, but at least you stand a better chance at not missing out on something important.

Get ready for a quick bout of gaming

Last, but not least, the vast majority of phones do come with a few games installed, but unless you're exceptionally fortunate they're usually explicitly crap. For quality games, head over to Gameloft - a France-based mobile gaming house which covers everything from mobile versions of popular console games and movie licenses to unique one-offs. Games can be bought either via SMS or credit card, are compatible with a vast arsenal of handsets and offer a superb gaming experience with pretty graphics and high quality sound effects - where supported.

Best Multimedia phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Sony Ericsson W760 72% $100AT&T
Samsung Instinct 72% $130Sprint
Nokia 5310 XpressMusic 70% $50T-Mobile
LG Versa 70% $200Verizon Wireless
LG Chocolate 3 69% $80Verizon Wireless
Samsung Instinct S30 69% $130Sprint
Samsung Highnote 68% $100Sprint
Nokia 5610 XpressMusic 67% $100T-Mobile
Motorola Zine ZN5 67% $100T-Mobile
Samsung Eternity 66% $150AT&T
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
NEW IN-DEPTH REVIEWS
Cell Phones & Smartphones
 
Digital Cameras
 
Camcorders
HOTTEST
Smartphones
 
Cell Phones
 
Touch Phones
TOP STORIES
Samsung Jet
 
Samsung Omnia 2
 
Nokia N86
Nokia E72
 
Sony Ericsson Yari
 
Sony Ericsson Satio
HTC Hero runs Google Android with new HTC Sense interface
 
HTC Firestone with Snapdragon Technology on Its Way
 
iPhone 3GS review
NEW CELL PHONE RELEASES
LG Viewty Smart
HTC Snap (Sprint)
RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip
Apple iPhone 3GS
Nokia 5630 XpressMusic
HTC Touch Pro 2
Samsung Omnia HD
HTC Snap
Sony Ericsson T707
LG enV Touch
LG enV3
Nokia N86
UPCOMING CELL PHONES
Sony Ericsson W995
Sony Ericsson C903
RIM BlackBerry Tour
Nokia E55
HTC Hero
T-Mobile myTouch 3G
Samsung i7500
T-Mobile Dash 3G
Samsung Pixon12 M8910
CELL PHONE RESOURCE CENTER
Best phones
 
Expert guides
 
Ask the Editors
3+ inch screen phones
 
Wi-Fi phones
 
Concept phones
» Feature Search & Compare
» Side-By-Side Comparison
» Upcoming Releases
» Carriers
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, More...
» Brands
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Palm, More...
» User Types
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
NOW IN PHONES
BlackBerry Pearl Flip review
 
Samsung Jet
 
Casio Exilim C721 review
 
Sprint HTC Snap review
 
BlackBerry Tour takes Verizon Wireless global
Samsung Omnia 2
Nokia N86
Nokia E72
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
HDTVs
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMCORDERS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2009 © infoSync World