Few products have created more hype than the so-called third generation (3G) mobile phones on which UK telcos spent more than £22bn for the licences alone almost three years ago. So when you hold one of the first production models in your hand, there is inevitably an air of exaggerated expectations.
In fact, Hutchison's clamshell e606 phone (made by NEC) impresses even after only a day's trial. The video phone worked first time when I rang my colleague Stuart Jeffries, who also has a phone on trial. (Like fax machines and telephones, you need a network of users to make them a viable proposition.)
No reflection on him, but I'm not sure there is a vast untapped demand out there for seeing the person you are talking to once the novelty has worn off. But if every phone eventually has the facility (as is likely to happen with picture phones), it will seamlesly become part of the culture.
Meanwhile, it is easy to see how the three "Gs" of video phone applications (girls, gaming and gambling) could take off in a big way if enough people buy the phones. The porn industry is doubtless clearing out more space in the bank vaults in anticipation.
The video clips showing Premiership goals (for which Hutchison has the rights) were impressive, as was Stuart's brief video film of his cat. There are plenty of Java games to download, including PlayGolf and Klondike.
Viewing ITN's news bulletin - showing President Bush's speech on Monday night - was easy by downloading the clip, saving it and then playing. Cute, but I'm not sure how many times users would want to do it.
Access to the web was easy, with a single stroke of the keyboard. But it did take longer than you would expect from a phone that is supposedly cutting edge and "always on" to the network. Setting up an address and sending an email was the easiest I have come across on a phone.
The service is designed to tell you where you are so you can find the nearest restaurant, bar or cash machine. It has some nice-looking maps but was half a mile off target in locating where I was (though you can type in an exact postcode instead).
It would be unfair to judge a phone like this after such a brief acquaintance; a fuller review will appear later. It is sleek and well designed, with an easy to use four-directional navigation button with a joystick button in the middle.
It may find the going difficult, not least because it needs a critical mass of users to make it work at a time when picture phones have exactly the same idea.
It is quite expensive, with a starting price of £399, and a bit heavier (at 150g) than the latest picture phones. But considering the features it manages to pack into such a small space, it is a minor miracle in its own right.
