At 7:50am, 28th September 2009, somewhere in Petaling Jaya, I looked at my phone and found this!

Yes, that’s right, DiGi is allowing certain customers to use their yet-to-be-officially-launched 3G UMTS (and 3.5G HSDPA) mobile service!

I tried video calling a few people but realized that all these people who used to use the video call function, had iPhones! (The iPhone 3Gs does not support video calls, and when you buy one, you have to sign a “iPhone Purchase Checklist” where you check that it has included SIM Eject Tool, Charger, LCD Display, User Guide, Handsfree, USB Cable, Service Card, a demonstration on how to insert SIM tray, and No video call.)

The turtlenecked man might announce it in 2010. Or 2011. Who cares, they have your money! Where do all the previous iPhones go? iDunno.

Anyway, on to phones with a front camera.

Later that day, I made a video call to Jenifur! She is on Maxis though. I found 3G reception all over the North court of Midvalley Megamall, and on the top floor of the South court. Gotta say it is a new experience, nearly walking into pillars and trashcans, and finding that the front camera is not wide enough, and that my head blocks most of the background unless I hold the phone far away from me.

Unfortunately, at home, and at the office, there is no 3G, yet. I’m guessing that October 2009 is when they launch it and enable fuller coverage.

Who are these certain customers?

I am guessing that they, like me, have subscribed to the Data Unlimited plan. I’ve always found EDGE to be handy, and very stable. However, it is not terribly fast – Google Maps takes a while to load maps. When 3G was on however, I would say it appeared just 2-3 seconds later! I don’t download lots of stuff on my phone, so Google Maps is my only benchmark. Even when I was no longer within 3G range, I found Google Maps to be a lot faster than before today.

So how about some concrete speeds?

The people at lowyat.net found a rather impressive speed when connected.