Audiovox Communications Corp. has pitched into the push-to-talk market by unveiling two new handsets with PTT capabilities, the CDM-8425 and CDM-8475.
Top phone makers like Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG have promised to roll out more of such phones with different capabilities.
Both Audiovox handsets are ruggedized with advanced features, said the company. The CDM-8425 has a bar style and is BREW capable. The CDM-8475 has similar design and is Java capable.
Both phones, which have Web browsing with two-way short-messaging capabilities, are tri-mode with CDMA2000 1x, GPSOne-capable MSM6050 chipsets and support E911 Phase II service. They operate on 800 MHz AMPS/CDMA and 1900 MHz.
“We are happy to offer another choice to consumers who want push-to-talk capability in their phone,” said Philip Christopher, ACC president and chief executive officer. “The ruggedized design of the Audiovox CDM-8425 and 8475 PTT is user friendly and includes the most practical and popular features that mobile-phone consumers enjoy.”
The phones also feature a built-in two-way speakerphone, 1.5-inch LCD with 4,096-color STN display, wireless data capability with USB interface and 32 polyphonic ring tones. Both handsets also have voice-activated dialing and blue keypad backlighting.
PTT’s traction in the wireless industry has led to more specifications like the push-to-talk-over-cellular standard signed on by big players like L.M. Ericsson and Motorola Inc., which has been making the phones for carrier Nextel Communications Inc. The push-to-talk-over-cellular protocol involves software upgrades and leverages the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem for both CDMA and GSM.
