News
Issue #2002 - 36 (September 2002)
(Updated October 2, 2002)

INFRASTRUCTURE, PRODUCTS & SERVICES

3G Handsets From Motorola and Nokia 

Motorola Indicates 3G Handset Pricing Ballpark
26 September 2002 -- According to Dow Jones, Motorola, Inc. announced in Europe that it expected its 3G mobile phones to sell for between GBP 399 and 500 in the UK. It also indicated that 3G handsets would have adequate battery life. The company spokesperson said that the 3G phone will have 80 to 100 minutes of talk time, and a standby time of 130 to 150 hours on one battery charge. 

Bob Schukai, head of Motorola's 3G products and development in Europe, told CNBC Europe that the company would ship its first phones this year in 2002, with volume shipments during the first half of 2003. 

Nokia debuts first dual GSM/WCDMA handset
Nokia today announced the first dual GSM 900/1800 and WCDMA compatible mobile phone, the Nokia 6650. The 6650 is, according to Nokia, the world's first handset to work on both GSM and WCDMA networks in Europe and Japan. The Nokia 6650 has a large color display, integrated camera with picture and video capabilities, Bluetooth compatibility, as well as mobile data and Internet access. The 6650 can capture both still pictures as well as video and audio clips of up to 20 seconds in length.

For more information: http://www.motorola.com,  http://www.dowjones.com and http://ww.nokia.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory:  3G handsets are slightly late in coming but so is 3G deployment. While the trade press is suggesting that delay in 3G handsets is causing delays in the deployment of 3G networks, we do not share this view. 3G is late because of a number of other reasons - general economic environment, high cost of network deployment, lack of value proposition perceived by consumers and discrepancy between the hype and reality for the enterprise wireless data market. These realities are delaying return on early 3G investments. That in turn s is forcing carriers to postpone 3G projects - kind of vicious cycle. 

In any case, 3G will happen. Therefore, it is good to see early signs of 3G (true W-CDMA variety, not the 25 G GPRS and 1xRTT variety) handsets from the leaders. Let us say - the vendors will make them if consumers start buying these handsets at 500 dollars a piece. 

Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology architectures.  All trademarks used in this summary are the property of their respective owners.