Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Qualcomm prods phone maker into 'push to talk'

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 22:03:59 -0500

Qualcomm prods phone maker into 'push to talk'

Last modified: December 9, 2003, 12:49 PM PST
By Ben Charny 
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Kyocera Wireless said Tuesday that it has joined the growing number 
of manufacturers producing cell phones with a walkie-talkie feature 
known informally as "push to talk." 

The phones will make a debut early next year and will be based on a 
standard popular in the Americas, Korea and parts of Japan, according 
to a Kyocera Wireless representative. The representative would not 
disclose what carriers, if any, have agreed to sell the phones. 

Kyocera Wireless is entering an increasingly crowded market for 
handsets that feature push-to-talk features. Motorola has been 
selling push-to-talk handsets for a decade. Nokia recently introduced 
its first push-to-talk handset, the 5140, and said all of its phones 
will feature push to talk by 2005. Sources said handset maker Siemens 
also intends to introduce push-to-talk phones in the next few months. 

"We're not going to be late to the game," a Kyocera Wireless 
representative said. "This is a very young market." 

Push-to-talk phones connect within seconds. Users push a button for 
the immediate linkup, rather than dialing a telephone number and 
waiting for someone to answer the call. Only one person can talk at a 
time, a cost-saving measure that eliminates the dead air of any phone 
conversation. Up until this year, Nextel Communications was the only 
carrier to offer push to talk, which has replaced a large portion of 
the walkie-talkies and pagers formerly used by messengers, delivery 
employees and other mobile workers. 

About 20 carriers worldwide are still considering offering a push-to-
talk service. Kyocera Wireless said its phones are meant to appeal to 
a much broader audience, which U.S. carriers Verizon Wireless and 
Sprint PCS hope to capture with their push-to-talk services. 

Kyocera is not developing its own push-to-talk feature; it's using 
one provided by Qualcomm, a maker of cell phone chips and software. 
Kyocera is the first handset maker to plan a commercial release of 
Qualcomm software called BREWChat, according to Gina Lombardi, senior 
vice president at Qualcomm. BREWChat is usually delivered over the 
air to cell phones compatible with Qualcomm's binary runtime 
environment for wireless (BREW) download software. About a dozen 
carriers, including Verizon Wireless, sell BREW handsets and 
downloads. 

Lombardi said various handset makers and carriers are now testing 
BREWChat software. But she did not disclose any customers besides 
Kyocera Wireless. 

Qualcomm's BREWChat software competes for handset-making customers 
with software from Motorola and Nextel, Togabi, and Kodiak Networks. 

http://news.com.com/2100-1039-5118134.html

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