Alcatel phones enter US through O2 Wireless

The French-based telecom Alcatel is releasing its first official phone for the US, the E206a. The phone is being carried by the GSM-based MVNO O2 Wireless -- not to be confused with Europe's O2 -- and uses an extremely basic candybar design, having only a dual-band receiver, and virtually no other features. Aside from foregoing technologies such as 3G, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, the 206a lacks even EDGE or GPRS data support, and does not have a USB port.

Features are in fact limited to vibration notification, SMS messaging, and two preloaded games. A lithium-ion battery supports five hours of talk time, and 250 hours (10 days) of standby. The phone should be available soon through one of O2W's pre-paid airtime plans.

Filed under: gadgets
Other story tags: cellphones, Alcatel-Lucent