3GSM World Congress -- It has been announced that the Motorola W205 -- a new consumer focused mobile handset will be released with only basic features. It doesn't quite go as low end as the FONE, but the features appear to be circa 2003, not 2007.

Features Include:
Quad band GSM frequency
128×128 65k color CSTN display screen
Speakerphone External
Memory for 750 SMS messages

Motorola says they will begin shipping the W205 phone during 1Q, 2007. Exact pricing has not been announced, but it should be a low entry point. Motorola has also announced in the W series line -- the W510/W215.

Posted by mobilemodo at 05:36 PM | Permalink
Posted to 3GSM | Motorola | News

T-Mobile USA has announced Q4 results -- eclipsing the 25 million subscriber milestone for the first time. The carrier is by far the smallest of the four national wireless telecoms by a long shot, but is adding customers at a fast mobile clip. Cingular, the nation's largest carrier, recently announced they have surpassed the 60 million+ subscriber mark.

T-Mobile released the customer milestone new along with the big Q4 2006 earnings statement. Several interesting metrics were included:

1) 900k net new customers in Q4; nearly 800k of those were post paid
2) 1.6 million BlackBerry and Sidekick users -- data centric
3) Churn has remained the same versus the year ago period

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:21 AM | Permalink
Posted to News | T-Mobile

Motorola has signed an agreement with Texas Instruments for chips to power future mobile phones. Previously Motorola has relied on silicon from Freescale, a company that Motorola spun off in 2003. Motorola has been a little slow in getting advanced 3G phones to the market -- but won't be left behind in 2007. From a financial perspective, this agreement won't help the bottom line much in 2007 -- Motorola handsets based on the new Texas Instruments chips will begin shipping in 2008.

TI's embedded chips will help launch both 3G and WiMAX (802.16e) data connectivity to major telecom players like Sprint Nextel. Motorola, along with Intel is one of the early adopters of next generation WiMAX and expects to begin shipping a new line of 802.16e mobile devices next year when Sprint is heavily rolling out 4G. Motorola Labs division is the force behind this recent announcement, continuing to push innovation in the wireless space.

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:02 AM | Permalink
Posted to Motorola | News

Sprint has officially announced the next smartphone release -- dubbed the Motorola Q. The Moto Q had been limited exclusively to Verizon Wireless (CDMA carrier) since it was launched in May of 2006. Sprint plans to start shipping the phone to its direct business channels in late January -- and expects to have "The Q" in retail channels starting in February.

The Motorola Q by Sprint features:
Slim Design: 4.6H x 2.5W x 0.45D inches (thick as a pencil)
Windows Mobile 5.0
miniSD card slot bulit-in
EVDO 3G data speeds
1.3 megapixel camera (MP)
Bluetooth Wireless

See Also -- FCC Approves Moto Q, Verizon

Posted by mobilemodo at 07:40 PM | Permalink
Posted to 3G | Motorola | News | Sprint Nextel

Sprint has released another music-centric phone -- the exclusive Sanyo M1. While most music-oriented mobile handsets only have a minimal amout of memory (forcing owners to purchase an add-on memory card or user upgrade), the M1 handset has a cool 1GB of internal memory built-in. This is the largest amount of internal memory of any phone currently being carried by US national carriers (Sprint, Verizon, Cingular, T-mobile), but they don't provide an expansion slot anywhere on the handset to add more memory. The M1 flip-phone rolls in at 23mm thick (.9"), making it a little chunky when compared to other recently launched music phones by other carriers.

Sanyo M1 feature-set:
EVDO data via Powervision
QVGA screen display w/ 262k colors
Bluetooth wireless with A2DP stereo
2.0 MP Camera
Music player with external controls (MP3, AAC, AAC+) + stereo speakers
Built-in Speakerphone

Right now -- Sprint is selling the Sanyo M1 for $199 when you sign-up for a new 2-year contract with $150 in instant savings. It is available now in stores and on the Sprint.com website. Another photo of the M1 opened up with Sprint's Music store Groove Mobile being launched is shown below.

Continue reading "Sanyo M1 released by Sprint" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 06:02 PM | Permalink
Posted to 3G | Mobile Music | Sanyo | Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel has just launched debuted the Sanyo SCP-7000, a slight twist on the existing SCP-2400. The 7000 is basically a ruggedized version of the 2400 -- which also includes swappable faceplates. Both the 7000/2400 phones are entry-level wireless units that focus on basic voice functions. Sprint Nextel has also launched another CDMA based Sanyo handset today, the M1. Unlike the basic voice-centric focus of the 7000, the Sanyo M1 is a high-end music phone.

Sanyo SCP-2400 features include:
Rugged Dura-Grip antislip handset coating
Push-to-talk (aka ReadyLink)
Speakerphone capable
128×160 pixel display screen w/65k colors
Parental control option
Sprint is now selling the SCP-7000 for $30 with a 2-year contract agreement with $150 in instant savings applied. The Sanyo SCP-2400 is still available and is now being priced at $20.

Continue reading "Sanyo SCP-7000 launched by Sprint" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:57 PM | Permalink
Posted to News | Sanyo | Sprint Nextel