UMTS and 3G terminals

UMTS and 3G terminals

3Ghandsets usually have cameras, music players, video players, contactless smartcards for payment functions (wallet phones), Web browsers, email clients and more. This shows that the UMTS system is based on layered services and future applications can be supported without too much impact to the underlying radio access network.

UMTS terminalsThe technical complexities of a 3G phone or handset depends on its need to roam onto legacy 2G networks. In the first countries, Japan and South Korea, there was no need to include roaming capabilities to older networks such as GSM, so 3G phones were small and lightweight. In Europe and America, the manufacturers and network operators wanted multi-mode 3G phones which would operate on 3G and 2G networks (e.g., WCDMA and GSM), which added to the complexity, size, weight, and cost of the handset. As a result, early European WCDMA phones were significantly larger and heavier than comparable Japanese WCDMA phones.Japan's Vodafone KK experienced a great deal of trouble with these differences when its UK-based parent, Vodafone, insisted the Japanese subsidiary use standard Vodafone handsets. Japanese customers who were accustomed to smaller handsets were suddenly required to switch to European handsets that were much bulkier and considered unfashionable by Japanese consumers. During this conversion, Vodafone KK lost 6 customers for every 4 that migrated to 3G. Soon thereafter, Vodafone sold the subsidiary (now known as Softbank).The general trend to smaller and smaller phones seems to have paused, perhaps even turned, with the capability of large-screen phones (similar to the Apple iPhone - interestingly EDGE, not 3G) to provide more video, gaming and internet use on the 3G networks