Ericsson unveils wireless Net phone
Ericsson is launching the UK’s first mobile phone which can connect laptop computers to the Internet without cables.
The SH888 phone is the first new product from Ericsson since its 20m global “Make yourself heard” brand campaign broke in February and will link product and brand advertising.
National press ads, through Young & Rubicam, will run in broadsheet newspapers from July, featuring the “Make yourself heard” slogan as a secondary message.
The SH888 phone, which has an infra-red beam, works with any laptop or palm-top running Windows, that has an infra-red connection. It can access the Internet, read e-mails, send data, documents and faxes through a PC card.
The phone is aimed at the travelling business user – 20 per cent of mobile phone customers, but 80 per cent of mobile network traffic.
Peter Sandin, Ericsson global product manager SH888, says: “This is the first step to making the Internet mobile, simply and without cables. All you need is the phone and a good, small PC.”
Ericsson UK marketing director Alex Rodrigues says product advertising will support the brand campaign, which he hopes will increase brand awareness, currently standing at 35 per cent, by ten per cent by the end of the year.
Rodrigues is looking for two senior marketers for his UK department – an advertisement manager and research manager.