News
Issue #2003 - 23 (August 2003)
(Updated Aug. 19, 2003)

DEVICES

Device News This Week

1. Orange to launch new Microsoft Phone
Carrier Orange gave early details about its new SPV2 Microsoft Smartphone. The phone appears to use the same design from HTC as the original SPV. The new device includes support for Bluetooth, an improved color display, and an integrated digital camera. The SPV2 is a GSM/GPRS device that supports Java and MMS messaging. No further details about the phone are available at this time. Phone makers Motorola and Samsung are expected to release handsets using Microsoft's software in the next several months.

2. Kyocera launches dual GSM/CDMA 1xrtt phone
Kyocera announced a new dual GSM/CDMA handset, the KZ850. The KZ850 uses Qualcomm's GSM1x technology, which allows the phone to operate on both GSM/GPRS networks and on CDMA2000 1xrtt networks, allowing the device to roam between most networks in the world. The phone is the first handset to use the technology and is now available on China Unicom's network. Samsung is planning to release a similar phone using Qualcomm's GSM1x technology

3. Palm and Others Reduce Price of Handhelds
The going rate for Palm’s Tungsten T is down $50 to $300. The device, which debuted at $500 in October 2002, has been reduced in the shadow of the launch of the new Tungsten T2, which offers a much brighter screen and more memory. Joining Palm in cutting the prices of handhelds is Sony, which recently reduced the price of its PEG-NX70V to $400, and Sprint, which is offering the Treo 300 for just $99. (Source: Brighthand)

Source: Fiercewireless and Brighthand

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: After some setbacks in 2002, Microsoft is making some headway in smart phone OS market. It is still way behind Symbian but Microsoft does not give up a market too quickly when it is a huge market with annual handset sales in 400 million range.

Mobile PDA device market , in general, is tough with competition and lower margins. Even RIM, the darling of the device market, is under pressure from a different source - NTP for patent infringement.

Kyocera's dual GSM/CDMA handset is very interesting and harbinger of things to come - multi-mode, multi-protocol and multi-band.   

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