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inexpensive posts

Samsung offers up simplistic E1110 / E2510 handsets

by Darren Murph posted Nov 9th 2008 @ 3:57AM

If you can't appreciate the low-end with the elite, you'll probably find it impossible to respect Samsung's latest duo. The "classic" E1110 keeps it real simple with a 1.3-inch 128 x 128 resolution display, GSM 900 / 1,800 support, a 500 number contact book, MP3 ringtone compatibility, Bluetooth, 1.5MB of internal memory, USB 2.0 and a battery good for 8-hours of talk time (or 20 days in standby). Up next is the E2510 clamshell, which actually doesn't look too drab for a basic cellie. Features wise, it's rockin' a 1.9-inch 160 x 128 internal display, quad-band GSM support, Bluetooth / USB 2.0, 15MB of memory, a microSD card slot, FM tuner and talk time of 7-hours. There's no mention of price or global availability, so we'll just toss you a "good luck" on your hunt to find your next backup.

CDMA phones to get ultra cheap, too

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 27th 2006 @ 1:18AM

Anyone else notice that most of the fanfare surrounding the concept of the almost-free unsubsidized handset has been largely restricted to the GSM camp? Sure, we have occasional CDMA examples like Kyocera's K122 and K132 -- but with all due respect to Kyocera, cooler looking GSM goodies like the MOTOFONE have been generating just a bit more buzz. No worries, though; a handful of scrappy Korean startups are looking to correct the imbalance, committing to deliver $30 handsets utilizing CDMA2000 1x radios (no EV-DO, we're guessing) to India starting in December of this year with other Southeast Asian countries hopping on the bandwagon in '07. According to Rose Telecom, one of the startups involved in the initiative, the phones should take another dive to the $20 mark in 2008. We can almost sense American prepaid MVNOs expressing interest already.

Update: A resourceful reader has pointed out that Motorola's also offering a CDMA variant of the MOTOFONE, which clearly raises the bar for style in the CDMA emerging markets segment. The Korean folks still look to have a slight edge on pricing here -- but with Motorola having suggested that we'll be seeing $15 handsets by '08, they may not for long. [Thanks, Rich]

Motorola chairman predicts ultra-cheap mobiles by '08

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2006 @ 2:10PM

$15 contract-free cellphones might just be a reality by 2008. David Brown, Chairman of the Board for Motorola's British outpost, delivered the good news during a speech to the UK's Institute of Engineering and Technology, saying that agreements with suppliers are largely to thank for the development. Of course, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves -- 2008 is still a little ways off yet -- but coming from the company that brings us the ultra-low-cost (yet still reasonably fashionable) MOTOFONE, we'd like to believe the statement carries some weight. If it all goes down, Mr. Brown believes it'll lead to another 100 million people investing in their first cellphone each and every year, and if that's not motivation for the manufacturers to make it a reality, we don't know what is.