Nokia to launch GSM-WLAN phone

Nokia will offer a mobile phone capable of working on cellular networks and wireless LANs in the second quarter of this year. It will also release network operating equipment to support the new converged handset, it announced Monday.

The 6136 phone is based on the UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) industry standard, which enables the hand-off of voice and data connections between GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) networks and WLANs.
The handset, to cost €275, will support all GSM frequencies. It will be equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera and removable micro SD format memory card, said Kai Öistämö, executive vice president and general manager of Nokia's mobile phone division, at a news conference at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.

Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phone handsets, also plans to offer network operators equipment to support the new GSM-WLAN phone's functions in the second quarter, it said.

The mobile phone industry is at a "turning point" with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology. Some manufacturers and operators may view VoIP as a disruptive technology, while others will see it as an opportunity, according to Öistämö.

"We view VoIP as an opportunity," he said.