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Microsoft Smart Phones Coming Soon

Combination PDA-phone devices will be available from four wireless service providers later this year.

Joris Evers, IDG News Service

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Four U.S. mobile-phone operators will start selling smart phones and phone-PDAs running Microsoft software later this year.

Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and VoiceStream Wireless will market combination PDA and phone devices running Microsoft's Pocket PC software, according to statements issued by Microsoft and each of the operators at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association event in Orlando.

Cingular Wireless will sell Sendo's Z100, a phone with some PDA functions based on Microsoft's Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 software, Sendo said Monday. Sendo, of Birmingham, England, last week said the Z100 would be hitting the streets this year.

Verizon, of Bedminster, New Jersey, and Sprint, of Westwood, Kansas, will both sell the Thera from Audiovox Communications. Verizon plans to start selling the Thera in the second quarter, followed by Sprint sometime mid-2002, the operators said.

Added Phone Features

The Thera is a Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 PDA with added phone functionality. It is powered by an Intel StrongArm 206-MHz processor, weighs 7 ounces, measures 3 inches by 5 inches, and comes with 32MB of RAM and 32MB of flash memory. Expansion is possible using the Secure Digital card slot, according to Audiovox.

VoiceStream, of Bellevue, Washington, has not specified a manufacturer, but promises a product "later this year."

Pricing information was not announced for any of the products.

The PDA-mobile phone hybrids, such as the Thera, operate on packet-switched mobile phone networks and allow a user to access e-mail and connect to the Internet and corporate networks. The software on these devices includes stripped down versions of Microsoft's Office applications.

Smart phones, such as the Sendo Z100, are generally smaller in size, offer limited access to e-mail and the Web and don't offer as many software options.

The U.S. announcements follow similar announcements in Europe. Last week mm02 of Uxbridge, England, said its xda, a combined PDA and phone running Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, will go on sale in May for between $560 and $700 when purchased with an airtime agreement. The xda works with Global System for Mobile Communications and General Packet Radio Service networks.

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