Motorola Inc, the world's No 2 maker of mobile phones, on Wednesday introduced three new models that take advantage of the nascent market for "walkie-talkie"-like features, including a model for the European market.
Motorola, which has been working to defend market share in Europe in the face of heavy competition from Nokia, said the V400p phone, running on the GSM wireless standard, would feature a built-in camera, a speakerphone and MP3 ringtones.
But the company is touting the phone's "push-to-talk" capabilities, a new feature that allows users to connect directly to each other, in the style of a walkie-talkie.
Such services are not yet available from American GSM carriers but are expected later this year.
The technology was popularised by Nextel Communications Inc in the United States. The V400p phone fits into that strategy for more stylishness in its handsets, with a colour screen and rounded lines. It will launch in Europe in the second quarter. Pricing details were not announced.
Besides the new GSM model unveiled Wednesday, the company also introduced two models designed for the CDMA standard most popular in the United States and Latin America, the T300p and the V65p.

Copyright Reuters, 2004

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