Sony Ericsson says no 3G this year

Romanians will not see any 3G mobile telephony services this year. At least this is what Radu Ionescu, Sony Ericsson official in charge of the Romanian operations, says. He is more optimistic about multimedia messaging services (MMS), though. The first 3G services could be launched next year, yet they will most likely not be anything commercial. “We should have the third generation mobile telephony licences awarded this year and the first test services launched in 2004. We will not have any 3G services in Romania this year,” Radu Ionescu said during the launch of the latest Sony Ericsson handset models on the Romanian market. The four models launched on the Romanian market on Thursday are P800, T100, T310 and T610. P800 is actually a full mobile communications solution, as it can be used as both a handheld organiser and a phone. It also comes with a digital camera and will cost 650 to 1,000 euros. The first shipment is due in two weeks. T-100 is a low-end model that will be available for up to 100 euros as of this week. T310 will be available in Romania as of April. It comes with a colour display, is MMS enabled and can be linked to a digital camera. It will cost about 140-200 euros. T610 comes with a built-in digital camera and Bluetooth. It is MMS enabled and has a 65K-colour display. It is due to arrive in June and will cost less than 300 euros. ZF