Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is adding a Razr-esque smart phone to its device lineup, targeting business and consumer users who want access to e-mail and entertainment content, but are willing to forego a full Qwerty keyboard. ?
The Cingular 3125 is manufactured by Chinese vendor HTC and is expected to sell for $150, Cingular officials announced at a lunchtime press conference during last week’s CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show.
“We think in this category, this is truly a game-changer,” said Kent Mathy, president of Cingular’s business markets group. “Our device portfolio is getting stronger than ever.”
The 3125 runs Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile 5.2 operating system, is Bluetooth-equipped and features a Windows Media Player MP3 player. The black clamshell is about half-an-inch thick and can capture photos with a 1.3-megapixel camera and shoot video.
The 3125 is expected to appeal to both business and consumers, a testament to the fact that Cingular expects to see the consumer market for smart phones “opening up in a bigger way,” Mathy said. ?
Along those lines, Mathy added that Cingular will be bringing out Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry Pearl smart phone–recently snagged first by T-Mobile USA Inc.–within four to eight weeks. Mathy said that Cingular “actually [tests] our devices rather rigorously” and that the testing of the Pearl is in progress. When the device hits Cingular stores, he promised, “it will be rock solid as a Cingular device” and will include a push-to-talk feature.
In general, Cingular’s PTT offering from Kodiak Networks is doing well, Mathy said.
“The adoption rate is spot-on,” he said, adding that the carrier is “seeing a nice take rate of the service among families as well.”
Mathy also hinted that an HSDPA-capable smart phone running on the Windows platform is in the works.
Jeff Bradley, vice president of the business markets group, told RCR Wireless News last week that an HSDPA-equipped smart phone is slated for introduction in the fourth quarter. Cingular expects to extend HSDPA coverage to more than 100 million potential customers by the end of this year and serves 87 markets with the high-speed network.
Bradley also said during the lunchtime briefing that Cingular is committed to IMS and “in the process of implementing our first set of IMS [applications], as are our parents.” Cingular is owned by AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp.
