NEW YORK-Motorola Inc. has begun carrier trials of its first Bluetooth-capable wireless phone, the Timeport 270, and expects to begin shipping the CDMA handsets by year-end.
Depending on “carrier testing regimens,” the manufacturer expects to ramp up to full production of the tri-mode PCS, analog and digital cellular terminals early next year, said Jim McArdle, the Timeport West Products director, based in Piscataway, N.J. Motorola expects the phones to have a suggested retail price of $300-$400, he said.
By the second quarter of 2001, Motorola plans to make TDMA and GSM versions of the phone commercially available.
To activate the Bluetooth capabilities inside the Timeport 270, consumers also must purchase the new Bluetooth Smart Module, which snaps on in place of the standard battery cover. The module has received approval from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, of which Motorola is a member.
To use the Timeport 270 as a wireless modem for a laptop computer or to synchronize data between the handset and the computer, consumers also must purchase Motorola’s Bluetooh PC-enabler card. Introduced in June and now sold by Toshiba and IBM Corp. for about $200, the card was the first commercial Bluetooth product to receive the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s approval, McArdle said.
In addition to its Bluetooth wireless device connectivity functions, the new Timeport 270 includes several other new features. Several are of particular note given the local government crackdown here on handheld phone use while driving.
“Call it a usable speaker phone. We have a number of patents to provide good volume and (background) noise-reduction techniques, and it is engineered to be audible all around the phone,” said Mark Francisco, CDMA Leap II engineering manager, also based in Piscataway, N.J.
The Timeport 270 has built-in voice-recognition capabilities that allow verbal shortcuts through menu options on its screen.
The handset’s belt clip permits easy attachment of the phone to the car’s windshield visor. The clip also can serve as a tripod for standing the phone upright on a flat surface.
For the first time in its wireless handsets, Motorola has incorporated into this terminal a four-way navigation key, which requires far fewer keystrokes than traditional arrow keys. This will make it easier for users to access Internet information and scroll through menus.
The company also redesigned the user interface so that it is menu-driven and list-based, thereby enabling customers to avoid a lengthy education process via instruction manual. Those who so desire can customize their menu and ringer options.
