Mass market Motos
Motorola today unveiled seven new phones at the 3GSM Asia Congress held at Singapore's Suntec Convention Centre. Among them were five entry-level handsets (C118, C139, C168, C257 and C261) for the mass market crowd as well as two low-cost models (C113 and C113A) for participation in the Emerging Market Handset (EMH) program. EMH is an initiative led by the GSM Association (GSMA) and several operators to develop phone for emerging market segments.
Editors' note:
New images have been added for each product.
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"Our new devices include inspired designs and focus on the best of the basics, while providing valuable extras that extend their usefulness even further," said Motorola's Steve Lalla, vice president and general manager, Mass Market Products, Mobile Devices. Lalla was one of the speakers at the press launch themed "Connect the Unconnected".
According to the US phone manufacturer, the seven new handsets were designed based on several key criteria such as a compact and robust construction, easy-to-use interface and long battery life. The entry-level models offer basic phone and SMS functions with monochrome displays, while the high-end handsets come with additional features ranging from FM radio and illumination functions to color TFT screens and onboard VGA camera.
The most impressive feature of the new Motos is the battery life. The monochrome-screen handsets are rated to last up to 700 min on a full charge. That's more than 11 hours of non-stop usage at one go. Even the color-display models offer at least 450 min of talktime, which should be more than sufficient for most users.
Two phones caught our attention. The C257 and its VGA camera-equipped counterpart, the C261, surprised with their ultra-slim, attractive exterior that looked like they belonged to the same series as the upcoming SLVR V8 candy-bar mobile.
The C113 and C113A phones will be made available in emerging markets such as India, Africa, Russia, Egypt, the Philippines and Indonesia from the first quarter of 2006. Motorola Singapore could not confirm if the other phones would be available in Singapore but these are expected out in stores before the end of the year.
Motorola's handsets for emerging markets
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Model Names |
Availability |
Basic features |
Price |
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Q1 2006
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Dualband; SMS iTAP predictive text entry; pre-loaded games; 96x64 black and white display; ringtone composer; alarm, calculator, stopwatch and currency converter; up to 700 min of talktime; 101 x 48 x 22 mm; 80g.
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Not available (N.A.)
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Q1 2006
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Dualband; SMS iTAP predictive text entry; pre-loaded games; 96x64 black and white display; ringtone composer; alarm, calculator, stopwatch and currency converter; up to 700 min of talktime; 101.3 x 45.7 x 21.5 mm; 86.3g.
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N.A.
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Motorola's mass market phone offerings
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Model Names |
Availability |
Basic features |
Price |
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Q4 2005
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Dualband; SMS iTAP predictive text entry; pre-loaded games; 96x64 black and white display; ringtone composer; alarm, calculator, stopwatch and currency converter; up to 700 min of talktime; 101.3 x 45.7 x 21.5 mm; 86.3g.
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N.A.
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Q4 2005
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Dualband; SMS iTAP predictive text entry; three pre-loaded games; 96x64 65k-color display; lantern illumination; downloadable ringtones; multiple organizer features; up to 700 min of talktime; 100.6 x 45.6 x 21.8 mm; 85g.
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N.A.
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Q4 2005
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Dualband; SMS iTAP predictive text entry; pre-loaded games; 128x128 color STN display; FM radio (via headset); WAP 2.0 and GPRS; 600-entry phonebook; multiple organizer features; up to 576 min of talktime; 104.4 x 46 x 14 mm; 77g.
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N.A.
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Q4 2005
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Dualband; SMS/MMS; 32-chord polyphonic ringtones; pre-loaded games; 128x160 color TFT display with unique backlighting; speakerphone; WAP 2.0 and GPRS; 100-entry phonebook; multiple organizer features; up to 450 min of talktime; 109.9 x 49.9 x 14.9 mm; 91g.
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N.A.
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Q4 2005
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Dualband; SMS/MMS; onboard VGA camera; 32-chord polyphonic ringtones; pre-loaded games; 128x160 color TFT display with unique backlighting; speakerphone; WAP 2.0 and GPRS; 100-entry phonebook; multiple organizer features; up to 450 min of talktime; 109.9 x 49.9 x 14.9 mm; 91g.
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N.A.
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