Nokia Upgrades N80 Web Phone
By Tim Sprinkle
September 1, 2006 11:57AM
For John Jackson with the Yankee Group, just the introduction of a VoIP-compatible cell phone is big news. "I think it's a landmark device really," he said. "The fact that the operators have consented to distribute the phone shows that they're committed to a multimedia agenda and that they're becoming realistic about the market for VoIP."
Taking the concept of mobile Internet beyond e-mail and sports scores, Nokia yesterday announced the N80 Internet Edition, an upgraded version of its Web-enabled cell phone. In addition to a fully-featured browser, 3-megapixel camera, music player and hard drive, the device even allows users to place wireless Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls.
Both the patina bronze and pearl black versions of the Nokia N80 Internet Edition will be available in Europe and North America in mid-September. Pricing has not yet been announced, although the previous N80 model carried an MSRP of $1,499 before carrier discounts.
In making the announcement, Ralph Eric Kunz, Nokia's vice president of multimedia said the company has made mobile Internet a "major strategic focus."
"The Internet has evolved from static Web pages to communities and people sharing experiences," he said. "I believe it will be multimedia computers that will be primary devices for people to participate in this phenomenon, in addition to PCs."
Talk the Web
As a phone, the new N80 packs the latest-and-greatest in connection technologies, but the real twist is its support for Internet phone service, including Skype and Vonage . Users just download their third party provider's software to the device; the VoIP protocol is integrated right into the Nokia-built hardware.
From there, placing Internet calls is as easy as making a regular call, the only difference being that the signal is carried over the N80's wireless LAN connection rather than a traditional cell network. The unit's connection wizard locates and sets up a wireless connection for Internet calling or browsing.
Why would you want to make Internet calls from a cell phone? For the same reason customers use these services at home: to save money. This phone allows existing VoIP customers to extend the flexibility of their calling plans and makes it easy for new users to get on board without having to dig through the technical details.
For John Jackson with the Yankee Group, just the introduction of a VoIP-compatible cell phone is big news. "I think it's a landmark device really," he said. "The fact that the operators have consented to distribute the phone shows that they're committed to a multimedia agenda and that they're becoming realistic about the market for VoIP."
Mobile Internet that Works
From a mobile Internet standpoint, the new device pulls out all the stops. It comes out of the box with Nokia's Web browser with the "Mini Map" function, which plots out search results on a local map. The new "Download!" client manages all mobile applications and updates.
The device also comes pre-loaded with Yahoo! Go for Mobile, which integrates Yahoo's popular applications into one easy-to-use suite. Amazon's MobiPocket reader allows users to browse ebooks, while integrated Flickr support makes it easy to share snapshots.