'Screen 3' mobiles ring in a new era

SINGAPORE: Cellphones are no longer smart, cute, sleek toys making a lifestyle statement. Within a few months, the little instrument will power-drive the trajectory of the upwardly mobile in India.

Already off the shelf, the 'Screen 3' technology is promising to make the old familiar world of the cellphone history by opening up a new range of exciting possibilities. If experts assembled here from different continents for the CommunicAsia exhibition are to be believed, this new phone recently introduced in US is sure to make the next technological leap of faith.

Screen 3 will fascinate the gizmo-loving rich, but more importantly, it will redefine connectivity, says Motorola V-P Steve Lalla. A fine specimen of the third generation technology, it connects the phone to the Internet, or to any other source of information.

On his way to work, a financial expert can have on his phone screen information about the trading at stock exchange, says Scott P Martin, another Motorola top honcho. With 10 mega bytes of memory, the phone can store immense data. Encouraged by the initial response in US, the Screen 3 phone is being positioned for its launch in India later this year.

Experts believe that the new technology has the promise to bridge the divide between two segments - the high end and the common man.

An executive can access information from a TV network or a news agency on his mobile phone, while a farmer in a small town can get the day's quotes from the grain market anywhere in Asia, Lalla points out. Experts see Screen 3 as the most exciting find among the latest technologies showcased here.