WSJ -- Dial Both Wi-Fi, Cellular On Newest Mobile Phones.
February 19, 2003
Dial Both Wi-Fi, Cellular On Newest Mobile Phones
Devices Will Let You Chat or Download Tons of Data, but They Won't Be Cheap
By KEVIN J. DELANEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
CANNES, France -- Consumers are about to be presented with yet another promise of wireless nirvana from gadget makers.
New Wi-Fi phones, expected to be available world-wide within the next 12 months, would allow users to connect to Wi-Fi networks, which can be 100 times as fast as even relatively speedy cellular-data connections. The phones could be used for everything from e-mailing to surfing the Web and downloading music, video or big files such as PowerPoint presentations, and making voice calls to boot. When the devices aren't in the vicinity of Wi-Fi links, which are increasingly found in homes, offices, airports and cafes, users could switch over to traditional cellular services.
Prices haven't been set yet, but the phones are expected to cost about as much as high-end phones or personal digital assistants, which typically start at $500. The Wi-Fi phones also are likely to be bigger and heavier than the tiniest cellphones available today, to accommodate screens and possibly bigger batteries.
Depending on how such a phone is used, there could be cost advantages, because transferring data and even talking on the phone on Wi-Fi is generally less-expensive than using cellphone connections.
A host of questions remain about whether people will flock to such specially equipped phones and hand-held computers, whether wireless operators will help promote them, and whether cheaper, more attractive services will be available as a result.
[Nexio]
Samsung's Nexio S155, available only in South Korea, is one of the new devices that can connect to Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
But the fact that the phones are in the works shows just how much plans for high-speed mobile connections have shifted in recent years. The industry was once counting on a grand rollout of "third-generation" wireless networks. Instead, 3G is late and proving a commercial flop where available. Wi-Fi, which relies on a standard known as 802.11, is growing in popularity, spawning combination devices like the new phones.
Motorola Inc. expects to unveil a cellphone by the end of next year that can be used for Wi-Fi services. Texas Instruments Inc., which supplies an estimated 50% of cellphone chips, says it is releasing at least two cellphone reference designs, very specific recipes for building such phones, within the next few months that would allow its manufacturer clients to make dual-mode devices. Chip makers Intel Corp. and Philips Semiconductors are pushing forward along similar paths. And companies that provide some of the biggest players with technology and advice say that many of them are tinkering with prototypes and test services and should role out such dual-mode devices next year.
Meanwhile, Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. in December unveiled a hand-held computer with built-in Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities that also enables users to make voice calls. Called the Nexio, it sells for the equivalent of about $1,125 and is available only in South Korea. Samsung says it doesn't have any plans to roll out the device beyond there.
And at the 3GSM World Congress here this week, Hewlett-Packard Co. is showing one of its iPaq hand-held computers connected to a cellphone seamlessly switching back and forth from Wi-Fi and cellular networks, providing some tangible proof of the concept.
A growing number of hand-helds, such as the Palm Pilot and Pocket PC devices, include either a cellular or Wi-Fi connection and allow users to add special cards or adapters to access both. Nokia Corp. also sells a dual Wi-Fi and cellular card to be used in laptops.
Nokia, Palm Inc., Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, and Qualcomm Inc. all say they are looking into Wi-Fi phones and either don't have exact plans yet or won't reveal more until they announce specific products.
Some argue that Wi-Fi connections over phones are one way to get users hooked on high-speed data applications in preparation for when 3G services do really arrive in force. Recent statements suggest the operators aren't totally closed to such dual-mode devices.
"If it's possible, I would very much like to see something like that," said Solomon Trujillo, shortly after he was named last week as chief executive of Orange SA, Europe's second-largest wireless operator.
Doubters caution that the task of packaging the two technologies together is formidable. Still others question whether Wi-Fi networks are ubiquitous enough to justify the new devices. "Especially in a handset we just don't see the utility at this point because there are so few areas where you can" access Wi-Fi networks, says Jeff Belk, a senior vice president for marketing at Qualcomm.
Proponents say for businesses that are already installing Wi-Fi networks they make a lot of sense. Industry players predict they will first be pitched to corporate users and then trickle down to the consumer market.
"This is definitely going to happen," says Jon Hindle, strategic technology manager for world-wide mobility at Cisco Systems Inc.
Write to Kevin J. Delaney at kevin.delaney@wsj.com
Updated February 19, 2003
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