Ericsson mobile phones serve as browsers and radios
Connecting state and local government leaders
A phone-radio from Ericsson Mobile Phones of Miami will start ringing early next year in the Chicago area, and later in Seattle and Washington.
A phone-radio from Ericsson Mobile Phones of Miami will start ringing early next year in the Chicago area, and later in Seattle and Washington.
The R250d Pro Rock, a 9.5-ounce unit that meets the Defense Department's Mil-Std 810e for ruggedness, works over time-division-multiple-access networks such as those on the Federal Technology Service's Wireless Store contract with Southwestern Bell Wireless of Dallas.
Ericsson senior product marketing manager Ted Browne said the $299 Rock operates at either 800- or 1,900-MHz digital or 800-MHz analog frequencies, as well as in push-to-talk radio mode.
It can broadcast a live or recorded message to 96 other units or sequentially hunt through up to 30 numbers.
It digitally encrypts conversation and has a built-in authentication key to prevent unauthorized calls.
Other features include a speakerphone, one-way text messaging and fax capability. The battery lasts for about four hours of talking or 80 hours of standby, he said.
Next year, Ericsson will introduce a $300 wide-screen Web browser phone and a $500 Mobile Companion personal digital assistant, both with infrared modems.
Touch and go
The R380 Web browser phone prototype looks like a portable phone but has a keypad and a large, landscape-style touch-screen display under its flip cover.
The user can check e-mail, keep a calendar and browse future Web sites that have a Wireless Application Protocol display choice, similar to current sites that offer a text-only display choice. Browne said the Web browser phone will take voice notations and recognize handwriting and voice commands.
The MC218 Mobile Companion palmtop will run the wireless Epoc operating system from the European Symbian Ltd. consortium.
The 12-ounce unit will support WAP and have built-in software compatible with leading Microsoft Windows 9x and Windows NT desktop PC applications.
Browne said 150-hour lithium polymer batteries will soon appear in lightweight phones that can operate worldwide using the Global System for Mobile Communications standard.
More information appears on the Web at www.ericsson.com/us/shop.
Contact Ericsson at 800-374-2776.
 | The R250d Pro Rock phone-radio operates in TDMA digital and analog or radio modes. It also encrypts conversations. |  | Set for release next year, the MC218, a mobile companion for wireless phones, connects by infrared modem to printers. |