Sagem Launches the COSY Phone with NFC Technology

French telecom provider Sagem Wireless has just announced the launch of the new NFC-enabled COSY Phone.

Sagem closed its mobile phone division a few years ago and focused its business only on cellular network solutions and telecommunication equipments.

However, from time to time, the company comes out with a “common” mobile device, probably meant to test some of its new technologies.

The COSY Phone is a standard bar phone, which embeds the NFC (Near Field Communications) technology.

NFC enables users to access features and content without navigating through menus on the handset. When users scan an NFC tag they can initiate calls or texts, open applications and receive content without taking extra actions.

Furthermore, these tags can be customized by users to perform a certain action, or they can be used in commercial applications for access and data capture.

“We approach the design and development process looking at both market needs and a strategy that makes the most of available technologies. NFC is a perfect example of a technology which, when used intelligently and creatively, can deliver real usability benefits that transform the mobile experience,” said Jerome Nadel, EVP Marketing & User Experience, Sagem Wireless.

“The COSY Phone leverages the capabilities of NFC to improve usability for personal use while enabling a growing ecosystem of business applications,” added Nadel.

The feature-phone is 3G/HSPA compatible and comes with a 2.2-inch display with 240x320 pixels resolution.

Other key features of the COSY Phone include: Bluetooth with 2.1 EDR support, integrated Myriad 7.2.7 browser, 128 MB internal memory, microSD card slot for memory expansion, FM radio and 1.3-megapixel camera.

The COSY Phone can be purchased only in France for the moment, through some operators and mobile phone retailers, but it will also be available in the UK and Ireland by the end of the month. More European countries will follow by the end of 2010.