Nextel is offering the Motorola i860 camera phone (see below) for $299.99 with a two-year contract. The phone retails for $349.99.
The i860 features a VGA camera, 4x digital zoom and a flash.
For the first two months, multimedia messaging is free, but the MMS rate plans aren't inexpensive. Take a look at the pricing chart below.
There are four plans, ranging from a "pay as you go" per-message (per SMS or per MMS) to a "full service" package. With the exception of the "pay as you go" plan, the three other plans offer unlimited SMS.
None of the plans offer unlimited MMS. The most expensive plan -- "full service" -- costs $15 per month for unlimited SMS, 80 MMS messages, Web access, wireless e-mail, instant messaging and address book features.
Emphasizing business
The Nextel Web site mentions three business applications. Nextel says: "Multimedia Messaging is a great productivity tool. Exchange images and audio memos with co-workers and customers and get immediate feedback."
The three applications are: "Real Estate -- send pictures and property descriptions to buyers as soon as they hit the market; Construction -- provide image/audio proof of work for disputes; Insurance -- send an image of auto damage to speed up claim process."
I had suggested to Nextel that it post detailed information on the Web about the many uses of camera phones for business, but there's nothing posted except for the three applications. Many businesses are scared witless about camera phones and Nextel is going to have to be very proactive in convincing companies about the value of wireless imaging.
Actually their pricing isn't too bad. I'm paying $15 a month for 2500 txt and 40 MMS. I try to keep track of how many pic messages I've sent but I also use my data cable a lot.
Posted by: Brian | Tuesday, October 05, 2004 at 10:17 AM