Abu Dhabi: The UAE's Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company said it expects sales of its new handheld phones to touch 90,000 over the next year.
"The lightest and smallest in the industry, the SO-2510 and the SG-2520 phones, have been well received since their soft launch a few months ago," said Yousuf Al Sayed, Thuraya's CEO, in a statement.
"The new SO-2510 phone was a runaway success as the initial shipment of 10,000 units was sold out in September. Thuraya plans to sell 90,000 units over the next 12 to 15 months," he added.
The SG-2520 smart phone will be commercially available later this year, with the company planning to sell 70,000 units in 12 months. The SO-2510 is priced at $725 (Dh2,700) and the SG-2520 at $925.
At a mere 130 grams, it is the world's lightest and smallest satellite phone. It is loaded with features such as GPS, a high-resolution colour screen, enhanced memory, polyphonic ring tones, USB connectivity and multi-language support.
With its easy-to-navigate GSM-like menu, the handset offers a wide range of services including voice, data, fax and short messaging.
Thuraya recently tested the phone's GPRS capabilities by making the first high-speed internet connection via a satellite handheld terminal. Data can be downloaded at speeds of up to 60Kbps and uploaded at 15Kbps. The GPRS service will be available to customers at an additional fee.
The smart phone, weighing 180 grams, is the only satellite tri-band phone that provides connectivity on GSM mode in all five continents. It has all the features of the SO-2510 plus a built-in camera and advanced streaming media capability.
The new phones, manufactured by APSI of South Korea, a firm partly owned by Thuraya, generated a lot of interest at last month's Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) conference in Seoul.
