Motofone makes global debut in India

New Delhi, Nov 28 (UNI) Targeting the entry-level mobile users in India, handset maker Motorola today unveiled its latest offering 'Motofone F3' and said it was contemplating launch of the model in coloured variants by mid-next year.

''With the GSM version in place, the company will roll out the CDMA version of Motofone by the end of this year,'' Motorola India Director (Marketing) Lloyd Mathias told reporters at the global launch of the phone here.

He said the company was in talks with several CDMA players but the finaldecision was yet to be taken.

The company chose India as the key launch for its Motofone F3 as the handset will be designed and manufactured at the Chennai facility in which the company is investing close to 100 million dollars, Mr Allen Burnes, Corporate Vice President, High Growth Markets, Motorola Inc said.

Based on Motorola's SCPL design platform, Motofone comes with a changeable electonic-link display technology which makes it easier to use the phone outdoors and voice prompts in seven regional languages -- Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu -- making it more attractive to Tier II and Tier III cities.

Mr Burnes declined to divulge any sales target for the new technology but said the Motofone F3 was the first member in the SPCL family.

Motorola will roll out an add campaign soon with state-owned BSNL for the phone priced at Rs 1,649 with an additional talktime worth Rs 3,600 for three years, Mr Mathias added.

The handset will be available by the fourth quarter of this financial year with Airtel and Idea.

This launch was likely to be followed by more launches in the same platform, with Motorola facing stiff competition from rival handset maker Nokia.

The company already has star actor Abhishek Bachchan as its global Brand Ambassador for its Motorola Razr.

UNI PV DKS RN2006