CANNES, France-Motorola Inc. added to the proliferation of so-called world phones last week at
the GSM World Conference with a series of announcements introducing a new line of mobile phones designed for
global roaming.
The first handset is a tri-band phone that can function on all three Global System for Mobile
communications frequencies, called the L7089. GSM transmits at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz in Europe and Asia, and at
1900 MHz in North America. It is expected to be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the second quarter.
No mention was made of its availability in North America.
Mixing technologies this time, Motorola also introduced
the i2000 handset, a dual-mode phone designed to operate between GSM and integrated Digital Enhanced Network
technologies. iDEN networks are prevalent in North America, South America and Asia, where GSM is not as
widespread. While on iDEN networks, the handset will allow users to take advantage of the technology’s group and
one-to-one dispatch capabilities, the company said.
Both the L7089 and the i2000 use GSM subscriber identity
module cards.
Finally, Motorola displayed the Satellite Series 9500 phone and 9501 pager. The phone can be a
satellite-only device for use with the Iridium system, or with the appropriate cassettes function as a dual-mode global
roaming phone. The pager also is for use with the Iridium system.
“Motorola is proud to present this portfolio
of digital world phones,” said Frank Lloyd, senior vice president and general manager for Europe, the Middle
East and Africa for Motorola’s Personal Communications Sector. “Motorola’s world phones are designed to meet
the precise needs of our customers in terms of quality, performance and time-to-market.”
