Nokia Releases Java-Friendly Phone

Nokia has begun shipping its Nokia 9210 Communicator mobile phone, a Java-enabled device that includes PDA functions--but only in Europe, Asia, and Africa until next year.

The 9210 handset combines phone and personal digital assistant functions in a clamshell format that runs Symbian's EPOC operating system and Personal Java software. The phone also includes a version of Real Networks RealPlayer, so it can play video and audio files, according to Tekka Isosomppi, a Nokia spokespeson.

The Nokia 9210 Communicator comes with a full keyboard and a color display with 4096 colors. Its data transmission speeds can hit 43.2 kilobits per second when used over the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900/1800 networks, Isosomppi says.

Street price for the unit in Finland is $1043, Isosomppi says. Nokia plans to ship a U.S. version, dubbed the 9290 Communicator, to be available next year and capable of running on 1900 GSM networks in the United States, Isosomppi adds. That version will be identical to those now shipping, also based on the Symbian system.

Nokia voiced its commitment to Java at Sun's recent JavaOne conference in San Francisco. Pekka Ala-Pietilä, Nokia's president, joined Java guru James Gosling, vice president and fellow at Sun, to laud Java as a key tool for linking many types of devices.

Nokia plans to ship 50 million Java-enabled handsets by 2002 and then double that number the following year, Ala-Pietilä said. Shipments of that volume would make Nokia one of the leading Java promoters and users.

Nextel released a family of Java phones this spring. The Nextel phones, manufactured by Motorola, integrate Java 2 Micro Edition. They come bundled with several simple Java business applications and let you download Java programs as well.

Kyocera and others are developing phones for use on the GSM networks. They typically provide PDA functions, but they aren't necessarily Java-enabled devices.

Phones Eagerly Awaited

Sales representatives at a retail store, the Carphone Warehouse Group in central London, say the 9210 Communicator has already drawn great customer interest.

"There has been a huge interest in the phone," said a Carphone Warehouse representative. "Usually people just wait until it comes out, but every sales rep here has put at least two or three of the phones on hold, which is really unusual."

The Carphone Warehouse plans to sell the Nokia 9210 Communicator for $703 when purchased with a carrier contract.

"The person who will need this phone is somebody who needs a mobile office, and if current interest is any indication, there are loads of people who would fit the bill," another Carphone Warehouse sales representative says.