Nokia's Third-Generation Smartphone
The Nokia 9210 smartphone, Nokia's [NASDAQ:NOK] third-generation PDA-
style handset, has now been unveiled - but
don't hold your breath. The company says the 4096-color
multimedia phone, which tips the scales at a fairly chunky 244 grams,
won't ship much before the summer. And, even then, it will be "premium
priced."
"Shipment is scheduled for some time in the first half of next year,"
said a spokesperson, who added that pricing is equally vague.
Newsbytes' sources suggest that the GSM/PCS 900/1800 smartphone will
ship in small quantities worldwide during the end of the second
quarter, 2001, followed by volume shipments in August, 2001.
Dealers in the UK have been told that the 9210 will sell
for around $400 with a contract and around $800 without.
One original plan, a source told Newsbytes, was to launch the
phone at next spring's CeBIT Computer Faire in Germany, roughly three
months before actual availability.
The date was shuffled forward, the source said, when Nokia realized
that its Symbian EPOC-driven smartphone would be eclipsed by a new
Psion EPOC superphone, which is scheduled for launch
next January.
As both Nokia and Psion - along with Ericsson and Motorola - are
founding members of the Symbian alliance, Nokia is rumored to have
decided to bring forward the date to preempt Psion.
The 9210 builds on the success of the original 9000 and the still-
shipping 9110 superphone, and features a color screen plus full Java-
enabled Web browsing, as well as the now-ubiquitous wireless
application protocol (WAP) microbrowser.
The key feature of the 9210 is that the chiclet-style keyboard seen on
the 9000 and 9110 is replaced by a compact Psion-style "full
keyboard," allowing real e-mail and word processing on the move.
Where supported by the GSM/PCS network, the new phone will also
support high-speed data network technology, which allows wireless
Internet access at roughly the same speed on dial-up 56K modems.
When flipped open, clamshell-style, the 9210 allows users to create
Microsoft Word and Excel documents, as well as view PowerPoint slides,
storing data on a 16-megabyte (MB) memory card, or in battery-backed
internal memory as required.
Nokia says the 9210 is the world's first SyncML
enabled product, making it easy to remotely synchronize calendar,
contacts and to-do lists. However, by the time the phone actually
ships, there will be several other SyncML devices already available.
Because the phone is relatively large, the rechargeable lithium-ion
battery supports up to 10 hours talk time and up to 230 hours of
standby time/PDA operating time.
Nokia's Web site is at http://www.nokia.com.