News on the phone front continues in anticipation of the upcoming CTIA trade show, with Motorola Inc., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sanyo making announcements.
First up is LG, which appears to be readying a new slider-style phone for Sprint. Sprint already sells the LG PM325 sliding phone, and LG appears to be increasing its presence with Sprint. According to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, LG is gearing up to release its sliding LX545 phone, which features a 1.3-megapixel digital camera. Although neither company has officially announced the device, Sprint is named as the carrier in the FCC documents. However, not all FCC-approved devices reach store shelves.
In other Sprint news, the carrier announced it will sell the advanced MM-5600 from Sanyo, which features a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 16MB removable miniSD memory card and a MP3/AAC music player. Sprint will sell the device for $280 after rebates. Sprint made its announcement in conjunction with the Photo Marketing Association’s trade show in Orlando, Fla.
In other news, Motorola announced it will sell its i325 IS handset through Nextel Communications Inc. The durable phone supports Nextel’s Direct Talk, which allows users who are outside the Nextel coverage area to manually transfer to a two-way radio-to-radio communication mode with a range of up to 6 miles. Separately, Motorola announced Rogers Wireless will sell the company’s popular Razr V3 clamshell-style phone. Cingular Wireless sells the device in the United States.
Finally, Samsung said it will sell a phone from fashion designer Anna Sui through T-Mobile USA Inc.
