Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2006/06/09/o2_readies_business_phone/

O2 preps basic phone for business users

'Jet' to focus on battery life not consumer-friendly fripperies?

By Tony Smith

Posted in Personal Tech, 9th June 2006 08:02 GMT

Exclusive O2 is believed to be preparing to bring to market a new handset, codenamed 'Jet', that will be pitched at the countless business users who want long battery life and solid telephony features without the fripperies used to entice consumers.

Documentation seen by Reg Hardware suggests that what the UK carrier has in mind is a clear successor to the still wildly popular Nokia 6310i, the Finnish company's chief business-centric phone back in the early years of the decade. Camera-free and with a monochrome screen, the 6310i did all the basics and did them well. You still seem them around. This reporter uses one. Nokia knocked it on the head over a year ago.

Jet isn't going to sport a black and white display, but O2 is understood to want to be able to offer a battery life in excess of the three to four hours offered by most modern feature phones and smart handsets. Jet is believed to have been specified with a battery life of more than six-and-a-half hours.

The handset is also planned to offer "best-in-class" network connectivity, though at this stage it's unclear what kind of radio the handset will contain - almost certainly a quad-band model, we'd say.

Jet is also expected to feature Bluetooth and be fully fitted out with car-mounting options. It is not expected to sport a camera, but it may ship with a desktop dock, the better to suggest its use as an alternative to a landline. O2 has in the past expressed an interest in the fixed-line market.

The handset, we understand, will fill the gap below O2's XDA range, which is geared toward business users who want greater functionality.

Jet is likely to ship in October, we hear. Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but it's likely to come in well below rival business phones from the likes of Nokia, Sony Ericsson and co. There's even talk of a longer-than-usual warranty to build confidence in the device. It will be offered on both monthy tariffs and pay-as-you-go packages. ®