The Unofficial Cingular Weblog

Sorry about the hiatus folks, but we've done some reorganizing and added a new writer. To kick off we are bringing you information on the Motorola L6.

The Motorola L6 will be launching tomorrow exclusively at RadioShack for Cingular. The L6 which follows the same form factor as its older brother, is something of an economy version of the Slvr L7 which launched at the end of January. The main difference is a lower quality STN vs TFT screen, absent expandable memory, no iTunes and triband functionality vs quadband. If anything the reduction in its included features makes the L6 slightly thinner at .41 inches vs the .45 of the L7. Pricing will be set by RadioShack but it expect it to be a good bit lower than the Slvr.

The Moto Slvr L7 is expected to be available for sale on January 31st. If it is anything like the ROKR launch we can expect it to arrive in stores and on-line at Cingular.Com the same time.

Additionally the price point will be 199.99 with a 2 Year contract, and no mail-in rebates. The retail no contract price is set at 299.99. It is not likely that the phone will be covered by insurance for a while, as was the Razr.

In the box:

• Travel Charger
• Manual
  
• iTunes CD
• USB Data Cable
• 512 MB TransFlash Card
• 3.5 mm headphone adapter.
• Stereo Earbuds/Headset

*Update: The SLVR has already been recieved by some locations today, Jan 30th.

In the first part of New Handset Speculation we talked about what we would expect for release in the first quarter of 06. With January practically gone we have some practical (as well as probable) predictions for February.

Prediction #1: The Nokia 6282 will launch second half of February with all of its UMTS glory. We have no pricing information but we would definitely put it around $200. The 6682 was dropped in price today with the addition of a $60.00 rebate that is available to customers who sign-up for unlimited internet usage on their line. We would imagine the 6282 upon launch as well as the other two expected 3G phones to have this sort of pricing scheme as well.

Prediction #2: With the Cingular 2125 currently in launch limbo (available on-line and only some stores). We expect the Cingular 8125 to follow suit towards the beginning of the month gradually making its way to differing retail outlets by the end of the coming month. Pricing for the Cingular Windows Mobile 5 device is reported to be $349.99 after a $50.00 mail-in rebate and probably with a voice plan of $39.99 or higher and the addition of an unlimited PDA Connect package. In addition this will add back to the Cingular line-up in terms of devices actually capable of using their WiFi service which is powered by both SBC and ATT hotspots. Previously the now discontinuted Siemens SX66 was the only PDA with built-in WiFi. The Option Globetrotter EDGE card also featured WiFi.

Prediction #3: One more PTT phone? While we have heard rumors that the z520a was going to be launched with PTT service we believe that they might have been started or fueled by the disappearance of them earlier this month. We are still hoping for a Nokia PTT phone, but current sources are pointing to another LG. The model number is the LG CG C300. Reportedly it is, like most LG’s, nothing special. However this flip phone is supposed to have Bluetooth. We would expect the Bluetooth feature to put it right with the Samsung D357 as far as price points, and we hope to see another Buy-One-Get-One offer.

Prediction #4: Prepaid always seems to get the shaft as far as equipment is concerned. Cingular’s prepaid phone lineup definitely has a case of schizophrenia as well. So why not throw another wrench into the works for fun!?! Sources are pointing to another Sony Ericsson, a lower end device that recently was launched by SE. The z300a is a lower end clam-shell device by Sony Ericsson. It features the simulated analog clock display on the outside as seen on previous European SE models, dual-band roaming and polyphonic ringtones.

Thats it for now!

We did not cover the vanishing of the z520a when it originally occured earlier this month. Various user forums on the internet pointed to a possible memory leak problem within the Cingular version firmware which would cause the z520a to randomly "loose" items such as ringtones, graphics etc, causing a plethora of problems including the phone not ringing. We confirmed that not cycling the power as part of normal usage after a period would cause these symptoms to appear.

The z520a is back and should be available for sale in all outlets. If you purchased one within your return period, and are experiencing problems. we recommend getting it exchanged.

In any case, its a very good recommendation to turn your phone off and on every couple of days. Mobile phones today are much more like your home computer than the cellular phones that were on the market 10 years ago. Like your computer at home, they need to be refreshed/rebooted every now and then. Additionally like installing new software on your home computer... if your phone recieves network updates, they won't take effect until your phone is restarted.

So the ROKR is officially END-OF-LIFE at Cingular which means that only remaining warehouse inventory will be distributed and sold. No new ROKR's will be purchased from Motorola. In its stead the new Moto SLVR L7 will be hitting stores. Hopefully it will make up for the many, many inadequacies of the ROKR.

Specs (SLVR vs ROKR)

• Quad-band vs Quad-Band
• Weight: 3.3 oz vs. 3.7 oz
• Talk Time: 6.33 hrs vs. 9.0 hrs
• Standby Time: 420 hrs vs. 230 hrs.
• Memory: 5 MB vs. 5MB
• Expandable Memory: microSD(TransFlash) vs. microSD
  
• Camera: 640x480 VGA vs 640x480 VGA
• Flash: NONE vs LED
• Bluetooth: Class 2 vs Class 1.1
• Charging/Data: USB vs. Standard Moto Port
• Data Class: GPRS vs GPRS

Since December the Motorola ROKR E1 had been in short supply. It was originally believed to have been simply a supply shortage... akin to what iPoders frequently experience. We have significant reasons to believe however that the ROKR has been dropped from the Cingular line up. Some possible confirmation came today to calls and visits to several company-owned stores where the Cingular iTunes stand had been removed from the floor, leaving only the accessories in its absent shadow. Does this mean that it’s the end of the iTunes + Cingular relationship? Probably not, there is quite a bit invested in it, anyone who travels frequently on the interstate has probably seen more than one billboard. Not to mention the high-quality acrylic stand for the ROKR which probably a very shiny penny to manufacture has a place for three handsets.

We know that the new GSM Razr has iTunes on it, but who knows when Cingular is going to carry it. (Not that anyone over here is holding their breath for a StarTac that plays mp3s!).

So we at TUCW say farewell (or maybe good riddance?) to thee ROKR

Today Cingular officially launched HSDPA/UMTS service branded as BroadbandConnect. The broadband connect service is targeted at business customers. It is live in 16 cities across the US including Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tacoma and Washington D.C. Cingular takes the title as the first HSDPA provider with wide coverage in the world. HSDPA will feature an average speed of 400-700kbps with a burst rate of upto 1.8mbps in its first iteration. HSDPA will allow for seamless integration with existing data technologies including EDGE and GPRS. This includes seamless "hand-down" from 3G to 2.5 and 2G voice and data service. At first release "hand-up" but the specification is provided for with HSDPA and will more than likely be added in the future. We can assume that this is because its much more likely for someone to leave a 3G service area than enter one when traveling.

The best part of Cingular's new HSDPA service is the ability for simultaneous voice and data transfer, something that is not available with competitors 3G CDMA EV-DO networks at the time.

In addition the move to 3G will provide great reductions in cost for calls and data transfer on Cingulars network, leaving more revenue for expansion, upgrades, research and features.

So it is a sure bet that Cingular will be releasing the HTC Tornado/Faraday and the HTC Wizard, rebranded as the Cingular 2125 and the Cingular 8125. HTC devices with Cingular have normally carried the Audiovox name brand, but it seems that Cingular has gone straight to the source with these new devices. Pictures have already started appearing online of the 2125 with Cingular branding. Like the v551 and other business oriented handsets, they will come in camera/no camera varients to appease companys with security concerns. That aside what can we expect from Cingular in the coming months, namely first quarter of 06?

Towards the end of this quarter in 05 Cingular has turned HSDPA, the latest 3G revision of GSM, on in several markets across the US. UMTS is already live in the majority of the major markets, and is ready and wating in most others. That being said we can probably expect one or two 3G handsets sometime in the first quarter of 06. Our first assumption is in the direction of Nokia.

Assumption #1:
Currently Cingular only has three Nokia handsets that they are really pushing post-paid side, the Nokia 6010, Nokia 3120 and the Nokia flip 6102. The ill-fated 6230 was the only non-smartphone Nokia with bluetooth capability, and on the smartphone side the 6682 has had more than its fair share of recalls from both Cingular and Nokia. Looking in the direction of 3G and Nokia specifically at UMTS 1900 (as opposed to UMTS 2100) we have the Nokia 6282 and the Nokia N80 both of which have been approved to some extent by the FCC in the US. Assuming that Cingular will not want to loose any more money that they already have off of the 6682, and that Cingular will want to fill the void of a high-end-pre-smartphone mobile left by the 6230 we are going to shoot for the 6282. With bluetooth, edge, umts, 1 megapixel camera and expansion slot, the 6282 really fits the bill.

Assumption #2
Again looking in the "high-end-pre-smartphone mobile" category, our attention focuses on the Razr. Already showing its age, and definately being bought up like its going out of style the Razr is very likely to be replaced. Cingular has knocked down the price significantly from its original ~$500 retail price tag to sub $100, in addition it is reported that the silver color is in low supply. Why would Cingular choose to forego profits on such a popular phone you ask? Because they want to clear the inventory for something new. Verizon, T-Mobile and even Altell have all come out with the Razr in one form (or color) or another. Cingular who scored the exclusive with Motorola in the first place is more than likely scheming to profit off it on another go. That brings us to the V3i. The V3i shares all of the basic features of the original GSM Razr with the addition of a memory card slot, upgrade to a 1.23 megapixel camera, and.... iTunes. If anyone has walked in to a corporate store and seen the iTunes display, they have no doubt noticed its nakedness. The display was made to hold three devices, yet it only holds the Rokr at the moment. The V3i would no doubt be a nice addition, and a good slap in the face to Cingular's competitors. "Oh yours is pink how cute, ours is new with a memory slot, better camera oh and just for kicks music software by Apple"

Assumption #3
Cingular has soft launched Push-To-Talk in a few markets nationwide and will likely complete a full launch nationwide in 06. The original launch was slated to include two handsets, the LG F7200 and the Samsung D357. At a rate of 9.99 per single and 19.99 per family rate, its basically free money for Cingular as it requires almost no additional resources to support so we can assume that in the future a good number of handsets carried by Cingular would support this feature. The 357 was recently recalled, leaving only the LG handset. There is only one problem however, Cingular's PTT service is completely proprietary -- it is not the same as the GSM variant floating around overseas. This is the main reason why so little information was available about the D357 and F7200 prior to launch, which makes assuming a future handset with this feature very hard to do. Nokia has a few handsets already overseas with the other GSM PTT service, and at least one here in the US -- the 6102. We wouldn't imagine it being too difficult for Nokia to rerelease a handset such as the 6102 with the Cingular PTT variation supported in its firmware. With this reasoning we can also look at Motorola. Moto is the king of PTT, they practially invented it for use with their iDEN network technology. With a history of handsets supporting this feature, again all we would need is a supporting firmware. So for this assumption we leave you with no specific model, but a definate need for an additional PTT handset.