SkyLink Announces New CDMA Handsets for Russia

SkyLink, the CDMA Russian mobile operator, has recently announced the future availability of two new handsets: AnyDATA ASP-505 and Ubiquam U800.

Undoubtedly, AnyDATA ASP-505 is the device that's worth most of our attention, as it's an elegant Pocket PC that runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and packs several advanced features. These include dual-band CDMA connectivity (450 / 800 �Hz) with EV-DO Rev. A for fast data transfer speeds, Wi-Fi, internal GPS, a 2.8 TFT touchscreen display with 240 x 320 pixels and 65K colors, Bluetooth 2.0, Music and Video players, a 2 Megapixel camera, a Samsung processor at 400 MHz and microSD card support.

AnyDATA ASP-505 measures 102 x 58 x 14.3 millimeters, weighs 120 grams and includes a 1270 mAh battery that can probably offer decent talk and stand-by times.

According to SkyLink, the new Pocket PC will be commercially available across Russia starting the fourth quarter of 2008. Its price was not disclosed yet.

Ubiquam U800, the second new handset presented by SkyLink, is a weird-looking device that sports a full QWERTY keyboard. Its features include EVDO Rev. 0 connectivity, a 240 x 320 pixel display, mobile TV capabilities, GPS, Music player, Bluetooth, support for Brew 3.1, Web browser, push email, Instant Messaging and document viewer. The price of Ubiquam U800 is not known for the moment, but we do know that the device is scheduled for a 2009 release.

The only Russian operator to offer CDMA services, SkyLink is owned by Sistema, a powerful holding company that also owns MTS - Russia's largest GSM carrier (more than 61 million subscribers). Since CDMA is not that popular among Russian mobiles users, SkyLink has less than 1 million subscribers. In consequence, its handset offering is currently not too rich, mainly including devices from Pantech and Ubiquam.