NEW YORK-Ericsson Mobile Phones, Research Triangle Park, N.C., introduced a suite of new handsets June 21 at MobileFocus ’99 that the company plans to offer for sale later this year and early next year.
For those who want a wireless communications device rugged enough for the rough-and-tumble of life on the job or life with children, Ericsson will offer the R250d PRO, nicknamed the “Rock.”
The tri-mode Time Division Multiple Access phone works on 800 MHz analog and 800 MHz and 1900 MHz digital frequencies. It is water, shock and dust resistant and meets American military MIL810E specifications for hazardous environments.
The Rock also features a radio mode that allows several types of TDMA group calling for up to 96 people at a time anywhere in North America: standard, first-person answer, sequential call and broadcast mode.
The R250d PRO, which will have a suggested retail price of $299 when it debuts commercially this fall, has a maximum talk time capacity of four hours and standby time of 80 hours. It also features a silent call alert, a speaker phone, a high-capacity phone book, speed dial and redial functions, data and fax capabilities and full support for voice mail, conference calls, call screening and caller identification.
For customers who prefer the keep-it-simple-stupid approach, Ericsson will offer the A1228d TDMA tri-mode phone, also in autumn. The handset doubles as a pager, allowing users to receive text messages on its display panel.
“Many users are looking for a phone with great basic features that is really easy to use. That’s the A1228d,” said Jeff Mandell, vice president of marketing for Ericsson Mobile Phones, Region Americas.
“We include a manual, but the good news is you probably will never need it.”
The handset includes Ericsson’s new “EZ-Read Menus” and a wide screen for greater legibility. One touch of a button allows users to access their voice mail or to speed-dial numbers. Volume adjustment keys are positioned on the side of the phone to help customers hear their calls in areas with high levels of ambient noise.
The A1228d phone, with a suggested retail price of $150, will allow customers to make up to 75 calls on a single battery charge. Standby time is at least a week.
Coming to market late this year, but in time for the holiday shopping season, are the first two models in Ericsson’s new T18 line of tri-mode handsets: the T18d, which supports TDMA, and the T18z, which supports Global System for Mobile communications.
The pocket-sized phones, which will carry a suggested retail price of $199, come with a long-life battery that delivers up to 125 calls on a single charge. Also included as standard equipment with the T18 is Ericsson’s Turbo QuickCharger, which can recharge batteries in about an hour.
Both the T18d and the T18z include “POWER-Profiles,” which allow users to customize more than 20 features to different environments, like work, home, travel and drive time. Phone Book Groups give different rings for different categories of callers so the recipient easily can identify the originators. The handsets also provide digital data and fax capabilities.
The T18z GSM tri-mode phone offers three additional features not available in the T18d TDMA model: voice-activated dialing, two-way short messaging service and a built-in alarm clock and calculator.
Early next year, Ericsson plans to make commercially available the MC218. The company said this will be the first handheld wireless device based on the EPOC operating system offered since the formation of Symbian Ltd.
Symbian, headquartered in London, is owned by Ericsson, Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp., Matsushita and Psion Inc. Symbian’s mission is to promote standards for the interoperability of wireless information devices with wireless networks, content services, messaging and enterprise-wide solutions.
The MC218, which has Wireless Application Protocol functionality, features an infrared modem for connectivity to any Ericsson GSM mobile phone. It will support e-mail, fax, SMS and Internet access.
The company did not disclose the suggested retail price for this device.
