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Jan. 7, 2009

Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility division has confirmed it will be showcasing some of its wireless and MIDs (mobile Internet devices) products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas beginning tomorrow.

The handset maker announced that its KeepMeConnected Femtocells – CDMA-9100 Series was selected as an honoree of the CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards for 2009.

The touch-screen digital picture frame with a built-in femtocell is recognized in the furniture product category.

Rob Malnati, Motorola's manager in its Broadband & Software division says "the new 9100 takes a fairly technical device and turns it into something that can be presented as a picture frame in the home."

He added “we’re trying to create a compelling form factor.”

Malnati didn’t quote a price range for the 9100 but did say it is up to wireless carriers to decide how much they want to subsidize it. Mobile phone users can simply incorporate their own pictures into the device if they wish.

The cell phone maker will also be showing off the Motorola wi-4 Wi-MAX CPE-i 775 model, an all-in-one access device that combines a WiMAX 802.16e modem with an integrated WiFi 802.11 b/g router, VoIP ATA ports for voice calling and a fast Ethernet port.

The new mobile phone is designed so that users can position it anywhere in a home or office and still get adequate reception.

For wireless service providers, it means their customer support people can eliminate the step where they try to figure out if the end-user has the device correctly oriented when they get called, said Tom Gruba, Motorola's director of wireless broadband marketing.

The company hasn't publicly announced customers for the Wi-Fi/WiMAX access device as of yet, but two outside the U.S. are already lined up.

At some point, Motorola might design a unit for the U.S. market, but the current version is for the 3.5 GHz band, with support for 5 MHz, 7 MHz and 10 MHz bandwidths.

In the handset segment, Motorola will be featuring three new phone models. The Moto W-233 Renew is described as the world’s first carbon neutral cell phone. The 'Renew' is made from plastics comprised of recycled water bottles. The wireless phone’s reduced packing size and in-box materials are printed using vegetable-based inks on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

Motorola also will launch a new update of its Communications Convergence Engine (CCE), the software behind next-generation TV that combines the convenience of classic TV with the control and personalization of the Internet.

The Storefront 1.0 update results in consumers being able to browse personalized catalogs of content via TV, Web and mobile devices.

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Source: Motorola.