China Mobile has opened some TD-SCDMA “experience shops” to push its soft launch of the service in 8 cities, reports ABI Research. The idea is to let the public experiment with TD-SCDMA handsets to see what they can do… the analyst also notes that “China Mobile is planning to roll out 3G-specific services such as mobile TV, video sharing applications, video conferencing, etc. progressively during 2008”, which gives the impression that the 3G service currently offers the same things as the 2.5G service, only faster. That includes a wireless music club, mobile newspaper and mobile wallet. The telco is charging RMB50 ($7) per month and RMB0.6 ($0.09) per minute for video calls, while mobile Internet usage will be based on a flat rate with a capped usage plan. ABI wrote that the initial launch included 60,000 dual-mode TD-SCDMA/GSM handsets and 15,000 data cards, with the phones selling for RMB2,000 ($286) to RMB4,000 ($572). “Now is when the real test kicks in,” said analyst Hwai Lin Khor, “gauging TD-SCDMA’s performance under conditions of mass and varied mobility usage.”

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