Verizon Wireless at the show launched Vcast, a consumer-focused multimedia service that will run on its 3G EvDO network. Vcast will let consumers access video, games and music on 3G handsets.

Among the new, so-called next- generation phones touted at the show was Samsung's i730 handset, which supports 3G 1xEvDO data. Packed into the device, which runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Pocket PC, is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 64MB of RAM for applications and an SDIO (SD input/output) memory card slot for expansion, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a 2.8-inch QVGA 65K color display, and a speakerphone.

The i730 will ship in the first quarter from Verizon, said sources. Pricing is not yet available.

Also at the show, BenQ America Corp. showcased its forthcoming PalmOne Inc. Treo look-alike, the BenQ P50 Pocket PC smart phone. The quadband GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) phone has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a 2.8-inch color screen, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a built-in keypad, 64MB of memory and an SDIO expansion slot, and a speakerphone. The P50 will ship next quarter. Pricing and carrier have not yet been determined.

New 3G phones weren't the only gadgets on display at the CES that could prove compelling to business users.

Another new Samsung phone, the SPH-A800, includes a 2-megapixel camera and scanner capabilities that let a user scan a business card and automatically upload contact information to the phone. The SPH-A800 will be offered from Sprint this quarter. Pricing is not yet available.

Samsung at the show also unveiled a handset for users who like the nonintrusiveness of sending text messages but abhor the tediousness of keying in messages. The p207 lets users verbally address, compose and send SMS (Short Message Service) messages or e-mail. The p207 is due in March through Cingular Wireless. Pricing is not yet available.





Mobile business professionals got a glimpse into their future last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where faster third-generation networks—and the gear designed to work with them—suggested a world of fewer dropped calls, improved Internet access, better image quality and lower prices.

ADVERTISEMENT To fulfill such promises, carriers will be making significant improvements to their networks in the coming year. Verizon Wireless at the show announced it was expanding its 3G EvDO (Evolution Data Optimized) network to 12 more cities, with plans to further extend the network this year to cover 150 million users. Sprint Nextel also plans to turn on its 3G network this year, and Cingular Wireless will launch its own flavor of a next-generation network, UMTS/ HSDPA (High Speed Downline Packet Access), in the next two years.

Because data costs on 3G networks are lower than on traditional networks, prices for users will also come down, said carriers. This could expand the use of mobile devices in the enterprise beyond the senior management level, said Phillip Redman, an analyst with Gartner Inc., in Stamford, Conn.