Switching on a TV today makes it hard to avoid the latest barrage of adverts showing off new mobile phone operator 3 and its video phones. 3 is keen to get out there and trumpet this ability because it is the first 3G (see What on Earth is?,issue 103) mobile phone network on the market.

If the hype is to be believed, 3G is the next generation of mobile telephone system, offering a lightning-fast data connection that in 3's case, is being used to transmit video as well as sound. It's a shame then that the reality bears little resemblance to the promises advertised.

We tested this new offering with the NEC e606 mobile phone and were left quite disappointed. This clamshell phone is ugly, large and its flimsy build only makes it feel cheap and nasty. Only the two camera lenses - one either side of the screen - give away the fact that this isn't just another camera phone. The two lenses are so that you can take normal photos and in video phone mode, video yourself.

However, after fighting with the phone's hapless interface, we found that in camera mode the picture quality was no better than phones that have been out for months. Switching into video mode to make a phone call was even worse. The picture was very low quality and very jerky. At 50p per-minute for this kind of call, we were expecting a lot more.

But jerky video is only for the 'lucky' people out there, as currently you can't make video calls in all parts of the UK due to service restrictions.

Once you are out of range, the phone downgrades itself and jumps onto an existing 2G network. We noticed that our phone frequently joined the O2 network, even when we were sitting in Computeractive's central London office. The only decent video that we managed to get hold of were the football highlights, but even then you have to sit back for a minute or so while the clips are downloaded.

The combination of a new service and low-quality handsets means that 3 is just not an attractive proposal at the moment. Sit back until there's more maturity in the market and a good handset manufacturer, such as Nokia or Sony-Ericsson, enters the fray.

Contact: 3 Tel: 0870 7330 333
www.three.co.uk