ATLANTA-Industry is awash in high-end phone news, as Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and T-Mobile in Germany showed off new smart phones, and as Panasonic gears up to release a new device running Nokia Corp.’s Symbian-based Series 60 operating system.
First, Cingular announced it will sell PalmOne Inc.’s Treo 650. The high-end, Palm OS-based device will run on Cingular’s EDGE network and features an MP3 player and Bluetooth. Cingular is selling the device for $450 with a two-year contract. Sprint Corp. offers a CDMA version of the device.
In other Cingular device news, the carrier announced it plans to sell the F9100 phone from LG Electronics Co. Ltd. The device features a slide-out QWERTY keypad as well as instant-messaging software and 24MB of memory. The device is available for $150 with a two-year contract.
Separately, T-Mobile in Germany showed off its new MDA IV, which runs Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile operating system and will work on the carrier’s W-CDMA network. The flip-open device features a keyboard, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Finally, the Federal Communications Commission approved a new clamshell-style smart phone from Panasonic. The company’s new GSM X800 runs Nokia’s Series 60 operating system. It is unclear whether it will sell through one of the nation’s carriers; Panasonic does not sell any mobile phones in the United States.
