Nextel Plans Moto Wi-Fi and Microsoft Phones
As usual Nextel is shaking things up. First they announced that Motorola is working on an GSM/GPRS/iDen phone with Microsoft Smartphone. Given Nextel’s business user focus adding a MS powered phone is a natural choice and since Motorola is the only iDen supplier they are the only ones who can build it. It will be interesting to see if this leads to other MS powered Motorola phones. The two are also working on an iDen phone with built-in Wi-Fi for VoIP calls. Again this is a pretty smart move targeted at Nextel’s core business user audience. Integrating VoIP over Wi-Fi means that workers will always use their Nextel phone both at the office and away from the office. And unlike most wireless carriers who are scared of VoIP and Wi-Fi, Nextel is figuring out how to make it work for them. We are curious though to see how Motorola gets around Wi-Fi’s power requirements which will kill a normal cell phone battery. Then again, iDen phones aren’t exactly known for their small size.
