New Phones Target Diverse Segments

By Joseph Palenchar On Aug 20 2007 - 6:00am

Families, music lovers and businesspeople are the separate targets of cellphones launched by three suppliers.

For families, the Samsung DM-S105/DM-S110 for the Disney Mobile network lets parents monitor their child's usage of a cellphone, locate their child via GPS technology and limit who their children can talk with and when. The dual-band tri-mode CDMA 1x clamshell phone, available at $19.99 with two-year contract, is available in soft pink (DM-S110) or metallic silver (DM-S105). It features VGA camera, Bluetooth, multimedia messaging and speaker phone.

For music lovers, carrier Alltel launched LG's The Wave at $79.99 after $50 rebate and two-year service commitment. The Alltel-exclusive phone, designed to mimic the curl of a wave, features external music controls, Bluetooth stereo and memory card slot. It also features 1.3-megapixel camera.

For businesspeople, HTC has begun making its Advantage PDA phone available through CompUSA and Amazon.com at an approximate price of $899. The device, with Windows Mobile 6 operating system and 8GB hard disk drive, looks like a tiny laptop when its thin, magnetically connected QWERTY keyboard is flipped open to reveal a 5-inch VGA touch display.

The W-CDMA phone operates in W-CDMA mode in European 2.1GHz markets and American 850/1,900MHz markets. It also operates in GSM/EDGE networks. Other features include Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.