Smart to develop own cellphone brand

Leading mobile operator Smart Communications is taking its business one step further following its decision to develop and sell its own brand of cellular phone.

Smart officials revealed the other day that the new mobile phone, dubbed "Smart Amazing Phone", is actually a three-way partnership with Microsoft Corp. which is providing the operating platform Windows and Taiwanese company Hitech which is manufacturing the phone. Hitech is also the company that makes the Ipaq PDA for Compaq.

In explaining the rationale for the new business, Smart president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said "the introduction of the Smart Amazing Phone will help drive Smart’s data revenue growth through the offering of advanced services such as photo messaging, multimedia messaging, access to high-quality information and content and advanced messaging services."

Nazareno added that it is actually a mobile personal computer and a powerful device through which Smart can offer more sophisticated but user-friendly services to its subscribers. "Its introduction will help change the landscape of the mobile phone industry," he said.

Smart officials however admitted that the decision to enter the mobile phone development business was also an offshoot of past experiences whereby certain services like WAP (wireless application protocol) and GPRS (general packet radio service) are already available but the phone manufacturers could not come up yet with a WAP or GPRS-enabled phone.

"It is high time that the operator sets his own strategy in terms of terminal development instead of being dependent on the phone manufacturer," Smart business and product development head Edgardo Bautista explained.

The new phone, which is the first Microsoft Windows-powered Smartphone in Asia, took only around three months to develop. It is expected to be commercially available very soon, together with its attachments which include a digital camera.

According to Smart personal communications and mobile services division head Anastacio Martirez, the company worked intensively with Microsoft and the hardware manufacturers to ensure that the phone offers features and functionalities that are easy to use and relevant to the customers. "We are now working with applications developers to create compelling services that can take full advantage of the capabilities of the phone," he added.

The new phone is a tri-band handset that will offer both GPRS and multimedia messaging service (MMS) capabilities. It features a 32 megabyte internal memory and an expansion slot for an MMC card for storage of pictures, music, video, and software applications.

It makes possible seamless connectivity with other Windows-based devices such as PCs and laptops. It also features a WAP e-mail service that provides the user with his own-based e-mail account.

The phone has a built-in Internet browser, an integrated MSN Messenger, a Windows Media Player, among others.