Manufacturers Unveil Next-Generation Phones
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 4/2/2001
LAS VEGAS -Here's what handset manufacturers unveiled in 2G and next-generation handsets during CTIA's Wireless 2001 event:
Audiovox: The company announced plans to add 1X as a running change to the CDM-9100 and -8100 trimode CDMA phones, which would be renamed the 9150 and 8150. They'll be available by the third quarter but weren't displayed.
Also in the third quarter, Audiovox will offer its first PDA/phone, an 800MHz/1.9GHz 1X device that will weigh about 7 ounces with built-in speaker and microphone, earpiece jack, SD card slot, MP3 player, streaming video, color screen and word-processing software. Its operating system hasn't been announced.
The company also displayed new TDMA trimode phones and new CDMA phones (see TWICE, March 19, p. 38).
Denso: The 4.7-ounce 3300, due in August, will be the company's first E911-capable handset, which will incorporate Qualcomm's gpsOne technology. That technology incorporates a GPS receiver in the handset. Network-server technology accelerates the time it takes for the handset to acquire its position from GPS satellites and improves indoor GPS coverage.
It's a dual-band 1.9GHz CDMA/800 MHz analog model expected to be available through Sprint PCS.
Ericsson: The company's first three U.S. GSM/GPRS models, all triband 900/1800/1900 MHz models, download data at a data rate up to 57.6 Kbps and upload at 14.4. They also feature built-in Bluetooth and microbrowser.
The first U.S. model, shown at CES, is the 3.7-ounce R520. It features speakerphone, calendar, and battery delivering up to seven hours and 35 minutes of digital talktime or up to 200 standby hours. In the United States, it will be available in late third quarter or early fourth quarter, but it has been available in limited quantities elsewhere.
The other two GPRS phones are the T39 and T68, the former due in volume early in the third quarter and the latter early in the fourth quarter. The T39 features IR port, talk and standby times of 11/300 hours, and PIM functions that sync with a PC.
The 2.98-ounce T68 is the company's first phone with color screen. It supports MMS (mobile messaging service), which lets phones send and view messages that include digital photos, formatted text, animation and voice.
For use with the T68 and other Ericsson GSM phones equipped with built-in modem, the company unveiled the 0.9-ounce CommuniCam digital camera. It snaps onto Ericsson phones to transmit images as part of an MMS message to other phones or as an e-mail to any PC or to a personal photo album on an Ericsson website. Pricing was unavailable, but the device yields 352 x 288-pixel resolution with 24-bit color depth.
The company's first 3-volt-platform TDMA phone is the midtier 4.83-ounce trimode R300, which features circuit-switched microbrowser, two-way SMS, the company's first integrated antenna, and more talktime per ounce than any other Ericsson phone: six hours of talktime on the optional battery or 400 standby hours. Previously, the company cited that talk and standby time for the standard battery, which actually delivers up to 3.25 hours/200+ hours. The R300 also accepts an MP3 or Bluetooth add-on module. It's due early in the third quarter at an estimated street price of less than $199.
The company said 1X phones and dual-mode TDMA/GSM phones are planned but declined to outline a precise timetable.
Kyocera: Prototype 1X handsets were used as part of a Lucent infrastructure demonstration. Kyocera said it will have 1X available when the carriers are ready.
Mitsubishi: Of the first four Mitsubishi phones to be launched in the United States under the new Trium brand, the G360 will be a 28.8 Kbps GSM/GPRS model targeted for U.S. availability in July depending on carrier buildout. It was demonstrated and weighs 5.6 ounces and delivers up to four hours of talktime.
A GSM phone lacking GPRS, the entry-level G320, is due in September with microbrowser, circuit-switched data and user-changeable color top covers.
Two new trimode TDMA phones, the T300 and T330, are due April and September, respectively.
The company also plans two GSM/ GPRS phones, due in first-quarter 2002, incorporating Microsoft's trimode Mobile Explorer microbrowser, which accesses WAP sites, iMode (cHTML) sites and HTML sites. Download speeds were unavailable. The phones appear to be targeted at AT & T Wireless, which could be positioning itself to offer iMode service in the United States now that it is part-owned by DoCoMo, the Japan carrier and iMode developer.
Motorola: Five GSM/GPRS models destined for North America in the second half were on display and included two previously announced models, the triband 900/1800/1900MHz Accompli 009 and triband 900/1800/ 1900MHz Timeport 7389i.
The other three models are the triband Timeport 280, triband V series 66 and 1.9GHz single-band Talkabout 193, the company's first and only phone with internal antenna. It's expected to retail for less than $100. The midtier 66 is the smallest and lightest triband GPRS phone announced to date and could retail from $149-$199, the company said. The 280 features joystick navigation and could retail for around $199.
The five models' supported data rates range from 43.2-57.6 Kbps, depending on the model.
Samsung: Having exclusively sold CDMA phones in the United States, Samsung showed its first two GSM phones for this country, including one GPRS model.
Spokesman Roy Cole said the first Samsung 1X phone for the United States will be available in the fourth quarter, as will an E911 phone incorporating Qualcomm's gpsOne location technology, which has been adopted by Sprint PCS. The 1X phone was shown privately and will be a trimode, said sales and marketing VP Pete Skarzynski.
One GSM phone, the midtier SGH-N105, is a 900/1,900MHz model with circuit-switched one-touch browser, two-way SMS, voice dialing and 10 games. The high-end SGH-Q105, also a dual-band 900/1,900MHz model, features GPRS at a 57.6 Kbps download rate and 28.8 Kbps upload rate. It also features 11-line LCD screen. The GSM phones, both flip models, are due in the summer.
Samsung continues to develop Stinger-OS-based smartphones for GSM and CDMA networks, the first of which will be available late this year or early next. In the meantime, the company unveiled its long-awaited Palm 3.5 OS-based smartphone, the I300, which will be available through Sprint PCS in late summer at around an expected $499.
Two other new handsets, the CDMA trimode 3.5-ounce T300 and 3.9-ounce N150, are due through Verizon in June and July, respectively, and feature whisper mode to enable subscribers to speak softly.
Siemens: The company's first phones designed for the U.S. market are the TDMA/GSM dual-band S47 and the S46, which differ only in cosmetics. The high-end models feature GPRS, operate in 800MHz and 1,900MHz GSM and TDMA networks, and lack analog AMPS. Fourth-quarter availability is targeted. The company didn't reveal key features.
Siemens has no plans for 1X phones but will pursue EDGE phones and W-CDMA phones, said mobile phones VP Florian Seiche. The company also demonstrated a working sample of a triband GSM wristwatch phone without announcing whether it plans to ship it.
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