Cellphones Turn Into PDAs, Music/Video Players At CES
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 1/28/2002
Las Vegas — Wireless phone suppliers demonstrated their knack for turning wireless phones into multipurpose products during CES, where Sendo targeted first-half availability of its first smartphone and Motorola unveiled an MP3 player that connects to multiple phones.
In other announcements during the show, Motorola unveiled its first CDMA 1x phone, and Nokia announced the launch of its first U.S. GPRS/GSM phone and first hybrid GSM/TDMA phone.
Here's what the suppliers said:
Sendo: The Z100 Stinger-based smartphone is part of the company's entry into the U.S. market, initially with GSM-based phones. The U.K.-based company expects to announce U.S. carrier contracts for the Z100 and other GSM models in the coming weeks with first-half availability to consumers, said CEO Hugh Brogan.
The timing could make Sendo the first company in the United States to offer a smartphone based on Microsoft's Stinger platform, he said. It could sell for up to $599.
The current model, being trialed in Europe, operates in Europe's 900/1800MHz bands and the U.S. 1900MHz band, but the company is considering the addition of the U.S. 850 MHz band.
The 3.47-ounce Java-capable device features GPRS packet data (54kbps down, 13kbps up), supports MMC and SD memory cards, offers MSN instant messaging, and accesses POP3/IMAP4 e-mail. Blackberry-like e-mail functionality is also planned but might not be available at launch.
The Z100 synchronizes with Microsoft Outlook, opens and views Microsoft Word documents, plays MP3 and WMA music files, and plays MPEG4 full-motion video stored on memory cards.
Its multimode Web browser supports HTML, WAP and cHTML browsing. An add-on digital still/video camera is planned at a targeted retail of $99-$149. Pictures will be viewable on the phone's screen and could be sent wirelessly.
Motorola: The company unveiled its first North American CDMA 1x phone, the 4.5-ounce trimode V120x. It's compatible with Motorola's first add-on MP3 player for cellphones. Both are expected to be available to consumers in the first half.
The 5x1.7x1.1-inch phone is expected to retail for less than $100, while the MP3 player will retail for a suggested $199 with included removable 32MB memory card.
The MP3 player runs off the phone's battery, which will deliver one hour of music playback at a rate equivalent to 20 minutes of talk time. To alert the user to an incoming call if the user is listening to music, the player's included hands-free stereo headset (with microphone) will deliver an audible beep. The music will pause if the call is answered.
All user controls are on the MP3 player, which lacks a display. As a running change to the V120x, however, Motorola will further integrate MP3 and phone functionality by letting users control the player from the phone's menu. The MP3 player is also compatible with select models of the V series 60c and 120c and Timeport 270c.
The 1x phone delivers 150 minutes of talk time or 230 hours of standby. That compares to 270 minutes/300 hours for the 120c phone, upon which the V120x is based.
The V120x supports packet-data downloads to 153kbps and uploads to 76kbps.
Nokia: The company showed off the 8390 GSM/GPRS phone, already available to AT&T, and the 6340 hybrid GSM/TDMA phone. The 6340 is also the company's first phone with the EOTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference of Arrival) position-location technology.
The 8390 GPRS phone, expected to retail for $200-$250, features a 40.2kbps packet-data download rate and WAP 1.2.1 browser, which lets carriers push new software or applications to phones or push information services with graphics. It also features internal antenna, voice recorder, 10-name voice dialing, and voice menu control.
The GSM/TDMA 6340, expected to retail for $125-$175, is a quad-mode phone operating on 1900MHz GSM, 850 and 1900 MHz TDMA, and 850 MHz analog networks.
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