T-Mobile to Launch PEBL Wednesday
The much-anticipated Motorola PEBL will launch with T-Mobile as a Web-only exclusive on Wednesday, BetaNews has learned.
The move by the nation's fourth largest carrier signifies the beginning of a more aggressive marketing campaign by T-Mobile USA to occur in 2006. This would happen through phone exclusives and a continuation of the company's philosophy of being the go-to wireless carrier for budget-conscious consumers.
The PEBL, a RAZR-like clamshell phone, will sell for $299 USD with a one-year contract through the company. Although first available via the Internet, T-Mobile's Peter Dobrow told BetaNews that plans were to have it in the company's retail stores by January.
Named for its pebble-shaped exterior, the PEBL includes a camera, speakerphone, as well as Bluetooth. When opened, the PEBL features an etched keypad much like Motorola's popular RAZR V3. The phone will also be quad-band, including the 850MHz band that in many situations offers extended range over traditional GSM frequencies.
Dobrow said that while T-Mobile had not made much of it publicly, "throughout the year we've been building out our 850 network."
Dobrow noted that at completion, the addition of 850 would add 40 percent more coverage to the carrier's network. After the PEBL, most of T-Mobile's available phones will include the new band, Dobrow said.
Despite its less aggressive design, the PEBL isn't necessarily targeted at a female demographic, says Michael Gartenberg, vice president at Jupiter Research. "The PEBL is targeted at more fashion conscious users," Gartenberg explained, saying the market for the phone will likely be the same as those who bought the RAZR.
He said that phones like the PEBL have a high degree of "caressability," meaning people want to touch them, and they incite a visceral response from the user. "In a market so full of churn, you need ways to differentiate yourself," Gartenberg added.
T-Mobile has other "hot" phones coming out in the first quarter of 2006, Dobrow promised, including phones similar to the 2125 Windows Mobile 5.0 device released Monday by Cingular.