Siemens Shows New Multimedia Phones

HANOVER, GERMANY -- Multimedia services aren't the exclusive domain of mobile phones, Siemens says here at the Cebit trade show this week. The company launched a range of new mobile phones, a fixed-line phone with a built-in camera and MMS capabilities, and an adaptor that gives its cordless fixed-line phones easy access to voice over IP.

The mobile phone market is in a new growth phase; it is likely to grow 10 percent in the next year, says Rudi Lamprecht, a member of Siemens' managing board. This year will also see the shift from a voice-driven market to one focused on services, he says.

The number of MMS-enabled phones on the market will rise from 25 percent to 50 percent, and all of the 30 phones that Siemens plans to launch will include MMS capabilities, Lamprecht says.

Going Mobile

Siemens announced three new mobile phones, including a rugged phone that can survive any weather, it says. The company showed an upgraded version of an older model incorporating push-to-talk, walkie-talkie-style technology.

The "outdoor" phone, the M65, can handle extremes of temperature, water, and dust, and can stand up to rough treatment, as Thorsten Heins, president of the Munich company's mobile phone division, demonstrated by throwing it around the room. The handset also includes a built-in computer that gives speeds and distances covered when attached to a bicycle's handlebars.

The C65 is Siemens' attempt to bring MMS to the lower end of the market, with an integrated camera and color screen, Heins says. Siemens is particularly strong in the low end of the market and in emerging markets, Lamprecht says.

The S65 is a stylish multimedia phone with a 1.3-megapixel integrated video and still camera, and four-step digital zoom. The video records at 15 frames per second, Heins says. The phone also includes Bluetooth connectivity and a 32MB exchangeable memory card, Siemens says.

Siemens is also demonstrating a new version of its CX65 handset at Cebit, with push-to-talk technology. The company is currently running eight trial push-to-talk networks worldwide, it says.

Fixed Location

The company showed the SL740 fixed-line phone, which incorporates a camera and features the ability to record and send sound files. The phone marks the start of a new range of fixed-line devices, the company says.

The convergence of services between mobile and fixed is also the inspiration behind the Gigaset M34 USB PC adapter, which lets Siemens' Gigaset cordless phones easily access VOIP telephony, says Clemens Joos, president of the cordless products division. Siemens will work in partnership with peer-to-peer telephony company Skype Technologies (which was set up by the developers of the Kazaa peer-to-peer download service) to provide VOIP calls in Europe starting in September.

Adding a note of the futuristic, Jose Costa e Silva, president of Siemens' wireless modules division, says it is important to remember that humans aren't the only users of mobile services. There are currently 5 million machines connected via wireless modules, and that number could grow as high as 50 billion, he says.

The machines markets include freight and route planning, security, vending machines, and medical applications, he says. To serve that sector, Siemens is launching a new embedded module, the XT55, that combines GSM, GPRS, and GPS connectivity in one product, Costa e Silva says.