3G, here we come! This is my first post via Utel Internet.

I've been always fascinated by the way chinese are taking over the global IT market. On one hand, noone cannot beat their prices, on the other, noone cannot discern the logics behind the chinese user interfaces for their equipment. I think, at least one or two generations will pass away till they learn.

Here are some highlights of my first experience with 3G in Ukraine:
- No installation CD included!
- Built-in flash memory with intallation files inside. wow!
- The chinese way to spell "Utel" is "U'tel". hm... Great idea for re-branding! Should talk to Utel folks about this.
- "You required to register" and no menu to enter SIM PIN. Really strange.
- Finally it works! the connection speed shows proud 3.6Mbps!

Now the speed test:
Youtube 4-minute video download - 12.5 minutes.
The office WiFi loads a video twice as long in 4 minutes.

Ярлыки: mobile content, technology

  ¶ 12:56 Комментарии: 6

  Video IVR A new wave of mobile content is coming to Ukraine as well, with the start of Utel 3G. One of the most interesting functionalities is the video IVR menus. To spur up your fantasy, just imagine that you can call a restaurant to book a table, and waiter lets you see the table where you'll be seated, or when you call an information hotline, you can also see the tech support person you're calling, and so on.

The problem with this is that most of the 3G phones support the H.263 video standard with Adaptive Multi-Rate compression (AMR) audio. This standard supports only 176x144 picture resolution, and was originally designed for mobile video conferencing - if you try to view video fragments that require greater detail, such as films, sport events or hot babes, it just won't work: the picture will be too blurry to see any details.

So, all these great video telephony ideas will have to wait till the H.264 standard will become more popular, which will support higher resolution video.

Ярлыки: business, business in Ukraine, mobile content, technology

  ¶ 14:54 Комментарии: 7

  a piano with invisible player I was sitting in a lobby of a hotel somewhere in Dupont Circle in Washington DC, enjoying jazz. Initially, I thought it was just a recording, but I was wrong :)
Take a look at this miracle of technology! :)

Ярлыки: technology, travel, US trip 2007

  ¶ 05:40 Комментарии: 0