Hi Quincy, Ericsson's rather clumsy phone + PDA duo was an attempt to answer Nokia's 9000 and 9110 models, where both PDA and phone are incorporated in the same device. Nokia's infrared ports aren't really meant for link-ups with PDA's - they are meant for printing e-mail and faxes that you receive with your phone, exchanging electronic "business cards" with other people, etc. I know this is an technological feature that many people have written off as frivolous, but I beg to disagree.
Big displays that enable people to receive short messages, phone/PDA hybrid, infrared port, internal modem, lack of external antenna, vibrating alarm built in the phone rather than in the battery, voice-activated dialing, dynamically changing font size, a 60-gram GSM card that is plugged in the laptop and transforms it into a mobile phone, etc, etc.
These are features that Nokia either introduced to the market or was the second company in the world to offer in their product range. Many people have scoffed at many of these advantages, calling them unnecessary or worse. But the fact of the matter is, it's these technological leaps that have made Nokia's reputation as a high-end brand. People do want these features. Maybe just a small fraction of the public is genuinely attracted to any one of these features, but it adds up. And these "early adaptors" that are drawn into infrared ports and GSM cards are the people who influence the buying decisions of the general public.
Nokia was just chosen to be the phone that is incorporated in all of the new luxury Volvos, beating out Ericsson in its backyard. The keypad will be in the center of the wheel and the voice system will be hands-free. Another seemingly frivolous example. But within four years *all* of the luxury models will have inbuilt mobile phones like this. And Nokia just received the best possible recommendation, a Swedish luxury car maker turning down Ericsson in favour of Nokia.
Within two years all manufacturers have to offer a wireless connection to printers and voice-activated dialing for their phones. I think being first to the market will make all the difference in maintaining an edge over competitors. And moreover, CDMA will be in a world of pain if it doesn't shape up one of these days. It can't afford to lag other standards two years in introducing voice-activated dialing, smartphones, ten-day stand-by times, sub-100 gram weight, color displays, wireless links to printers, touch screens, etc. These innovations are driving the industry and not one of them comes from CDMA camp.
Tero
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