ERICSSON
INTRODUCES WORLD’S SMALLEST MASS-MARKET
ERICSSON
INTRODUCES WORLD’S SMALLEST MASS-MARKET
“QUAD-MODE” PHONE WITH FAST WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS
R280LX
combines small size, ease of use, responsiveness and affordability
January 2000 –Ericsson unveiled the R280LX, the world’s smallest “quad-mode” phone with fast Internet access. The R280LX provides quick delivery of breaking news, sports, weather, financial and other Web data at up to twice the speed of ordinary wireless data connections. It also works on multiple networks and supports AT&T’s Digital One Rate service plan.
The
R280LX will be introduced in the first half of 2000 and will support the full
array of AT&T PocketNetâ: e-mail, address book,
personal organizer, calendar and access to up-to-the-minute information sites
such as ABCNews.com, Bloomberg Online, ESPN Sportszone and InfoSpace.
Subscribers can even search the white and yellow pages.
AT&T PocketNet users pay a flat rate for “all-you-can-use” access
to these services.
“The R280LX is
targeted to a broad market of cellular and PC users who desire wireless access
to fast-changing information no matter where they are,” stated Jeffrey R.
Mandell, vice president of marketing for Ericsson Mobile Phones/Region Americas.
“Whether you are a teenager, a typical consumer or a computer expert,
this phone and the information it delivers will change your life.”
Kendra VanderMeulen, senior
vice president of product development and strategy at AT&T Wireless Services
commented: “ We are thrilled to see Ericsson enter the market with a phone for the AT&T PocketNet Service.
The R280LX is a beautifully executed product for both consumers and
business.”
The R280LX offers “quad-mode” coverage
(800/1900MHz TDMA, 800MHz Analog and 800 MHz Packet Data) to enable nearly
ubiquitous go-anywhere communications. The
enhanced full rate voice vocoder provides voice quality comparable to a landline
connection.
The R280LX is powered by CDPD
(Cellular Digital Packet Data), an open non-proprietary standard that allows
data to be transmitted across a wireless network at up to 19.2 kbps.
Messages and data are transferred with the reliability and efficiency of
wireline systems and security is ensured by encrypted transmission. Ericsson is
a leader in software and hardware solutions for CDPD systems around the world
and supplies the underlying infrastructure technology for AT&T Wireless
Services’ data network. Notably,
the America’s Cup 2000 race in New Zealand will use Ericsson’s CDPD wireless
IP system to relay real-time data on yacht positions, wind speed and direction.
The R280LX is Internet-enabled
by UP.Browser, a microbrowser from
Phone.com, Inc. that displays text from Web pages specifically designed for the
limited screen space in handheld devices. The
microbrowser delivers live access to e-mail and specialized mobile Internet
content including news briefs, stock quotes, airline schedules, sports scores,
weather and traffic reports, and national white and yellow pages directories.
Besides having intuitive
icon-based menus, the R280LX incorporates T9â Text
Input technology from Tegic Communications that makes it easier to enter words
and sentences using the phone keypad rather than pressing a button several times
to enter a letter. T9 tries to “predict” the word choice from an extensive
database that includes proper names and allows for customization.
The
R280LX works with AT&T PocketNet to provide access to the subscriber’s
PocketNet e-mail address or forwarded messages from another address. The EZ
Replyä
feature lets users embed multiple-choice responses in an e-mail message and
turns the R280LX into a turbo-charged two-way pager. The Personal Organizer
combines a call list manager, address book and calendar.
The R280LX yields up to four
hours of talk/135 hours of standby time and can be enhanced with the high
performance battery accessory. The
unit comes with Ericsson’s Rapid Charger that restores battery life in about
an hour. The R280LX is sleek and
compact at 5 x 2 x 1” (130 x 51 x 25 mm) and weighs just 6.1 oz. (173.6 g)
when paired with the ultra slim battery, included.
The wide LCD screen is 1.5” across by .8” high (38.3 x 20.2 mm) and
features a five-line text display, icon-based EZ-Read MenusÔ and a full graphics display
of 40 x 101 pixels for clarity and legibility.
It comes in a silver alloy finish.
The R280LX also has a
400-entry phonebook, a large incoming/outgoing call log, side volume controls,
single-key voice mail access and conference calling, a clock with alarm and
stopwatch, caller ID at-a-glance, Super Speed DialÔ, and
phonebook groups with call screening that identifies the caller by the ring
tone.
The R280LX is a part of
a family of Internet-enabled products from Ericsson, such as the R380 smartphone with
built-in PDA utilizing WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) to surf the Web.
Future versions of the R280LX will have WAP browsers.
The
R280LX works with most Ericsson original accessories, including an assortment of
handsfree devices. For
information on where to purchase Ericsson products and accessories, call the
Customer Care Center at 1-800-ERICSSON (1-800-374-2776), outside the U.S.
919-472-7908, or log on to http://www.ericsson.com/phones.
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