LAS VEGAS-Manufacturers at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas may have been hinting at things to come with a handful of launches and plenty of promises of phones that can do more for longer periods of time.
Long-awaited dual-mode, dual-band phones-those that work on both analog and digital networks at either 800 MHz or 1900 MHz-are finally making it to market in quantities. And manufacturers are beginning to add more features to their handsets to make them more attractive to consumers.
“Most digital phones in the next few years will be dual-mode, if not dual-band,” said Phillip Redman, senior analyst of wireless/mobile communications research and consulting for The Yankee Group.
Nokia
Nokia Corp. introduced two new Time Division Multiple Access phones that it will begin shipping this quarter. The 6120 is an 800 MHz single-band/dual-mode phone and the 6160 is an 800 MHzMHz dual-band/dual-mode handset.
Both phones support three hours and 15 minutes of talk time and eight days of standby time with the standard battery. An optional extended-life battery provides five hours and 10 minutes of talk time and 13 days of standby, said the company.
Nokia packed the handset with plenty of features, including memory for 199 names and phone numbers, an alarm clock, a calendar and a calculator as well as games. The phones also can be programmed for different alerts appropriate to different environments, including a silent alert.
The company enlisted the expertise of designers from auto manufacturer BMW to make the phone as attractive and easy-to-use as possible, said Matt Wisk, vice president of customer marketing, USA, for Nokia Mobile Phones Inc. New design elements include fewer buttons spaced farther apart, he said.
Nokia also introduced enhanced versions of its 252 and 918 analog cellular handsets, which now support Caller ID.
Nokia’s 6100 series as well as its 252 model won Innovations ’98 awards for excellence in design and engineering in the mobile electronics/mobile office category.
Samsung
Samsung Telecommunications America unveiled its SCS-100/200 Code Division Multiple Access/Advanced Mobile Phone Service smart phone. The phone won an Innovations award for design and engineering in the mobile electronics/mobile office category.
The phone, which works with the Windows CE 2.0 operating system, comes in a version developed for cellular users, and one designed for personal communications services users, said the company. Both versions offer data transmission and word processing; access to faxes, e-mail, short messages and the Internet; and organizational aids, including an electronic calendar, address book, note pad, calculator and personal organizer.
The phone is expected to begin shipping during the second half of this year.
Ericsson
L.M. Ericsson debuted its K-series, a second-generation series of handsets that operate on Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service networks at 1900 MHz and D-AMPS and AMPS networks at 800 MHz.
The K-Series phones, which will replace the company’s PD and LX series, feature a larger three-line display, side-mounted volume and menu control keys and menu language choice of English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
In addition, Ericsson introduced an enhanced version of its AF738 AMPS cellular phone, which includes Caller ID and silent call alert features.
The company also announced it began shipping its smallest personal communications services handset, the CF 788. Weighing 4.7 ounces, the Global System for Mobile communications handset delivers talk times of three hours and 20 minutes and standby times of up to 60 hours.
Motorola
Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Subscriber Sector introduced its cd160 dual-band Global System for Mobile communications phone for the European market. The cd160 is targeted specifically at first time users and the general consumer market, said Motorola.
The phone offers up to 300 minutes of talk time and up to 90 hours of standby time. Features include a liquid crystal display, dedicated voice-mail key, short message service capability and quick access menu, as well as a conference calling facility, said the company.
The cd160 phone is capable of data transmission speeds of 9600 bps.
Motorola also announced the commercial availability of its MicroDigital M75 Time Division Multiple Access cellular phone.
The M75 is Motorola’s first phone available in U.S. markets to support short message services with a scrolling display, said the company. The phone also features a sleep mode, which increase standby times.
The phone supports up to 130 minutes of talk time and 33 hours of standby time with the standard battery.
