CONSUMER
Motorola announces handset rollout plans
04-03-2003
by Ralph Averbuch
Motorola spokesmen were out in force Tuesday for their annual press gathering, taking the opportunity to announce new mobile handsets.
The company, which celebrates its 75th year of operation this year, demonstrated four new handsets which will begin appearing in shops and as part of airtime contracts in the next couple of months. The first will be the T720i expected in April. This will be followed by the C350 around May/June time and then the E390 and the V600 both around September.
All these handsets build on previous developments but the key to their success is a wholesale move to colour screens, polyphonic sound and the ability to play games. This is particularly so with the T720i. It incorporates a built-in camera and a screen with 4,096 colours and can also download games. The anticipated price point with contract is thought to be around EUR249 with a broad audience target, anywhere from 18+.
The C350 is also aimed at the youth market, though it is thought it will also appeal to slightly older buyers, up to the mid-30s age range. However, it is thought it will have a post pay price of around EUR79. It sports 65k unique colour screen.
The E390 is an altogether more interesting beast. Like the C350 it has a 65k colour screen but it also offers user feedback when playing games, which means players will feel responses from the keys as they play games. Stereo is included to offer a more "immersive gaming experience", but how realistic games can be on such a small device is open for debate.
The V600 is a sleek looking unit with quad band support, a large colour screen, Bluetooth and just about everything else customers might want in the latest round of handhelds. It even squeezes in MPEG4 playback. For this reason it's going to be more expensive than the others in the line-up.
The challenge with all new Motorola handsets will be finding a price point which will encourage the bulk of mobile owners to upgrade to the next generation of handsets. The new lineup for 2003 are all impressive devices in their own right, sporting the latest developments in phone OS and usability. Yet they face a market in saturation, making new sales increasingly difficult.
Also on show, though not yet available in the Irish market, was Motorola's first 3G handset. The A830 is weighted down with features, including Bluetooth, irDa, GSM, 3G and tri-band. So even if users can't download the latest football highlights, they will be able to make an ordinary call over existing networks. Unfortunately, with all the technologies packed into the handset, it feels rather more like a phone from five years ago, at least in terms of weight and dimensions -- more jacket than trouser pocket. To see a picture of this new handset Click Here.
Motorola, which returned to profitability in 2002, employs approximately 650 staff in Ireland across three locations. Two sites in Cork handle global telecommunications and the semiconductor sectors respectively, while marketing and sales are headquartered in Swords.
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