Pirelli, of tyre and naughty calendar fame, have released a new handset. No this isn’t a branding thing, their Broadband Solutions department have launched their own dual-mode GSM-WiFi handset.

 

The Discus Dual Mode Phone DP-M30 is billed as a stylish multimedia clamshell with Bluetooth capabilities and front cover hotkeys for the handset’s MP3 player.  

"Our first dual-mode handset has proved extremely popular across Europe since its launch in 2006.  This new family of GSM-Wi-Fi handsets will build on that success and will take dual-mode mobile communications to the next level," said Mauro Sacchetto, CEO at Pirelli Broadband Solutions . "The technology behind our dual-mode offering is the result of more than five years’ R&D and large-scale deployments of VoIP service-oriented devices."

The DP-M30 boasts a 2.2" 240×320 pixel main display in 262,000 colours plus a secondary 1.1" 96×96 pixel panel on the outside along with a 2 megapixel camera and external media control keys, and can support SD cards up to 1gb.  

As well as being a GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz phone with GPRS, it also has WiFi and works with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) VoIP.

With "dual-mode" handsets, users can make regular mobile phone calls using a SIM card or call via the internet with an xDSL Wi-Fi gateway. This solution enables mobile phone features through a fixed-broadband connection, which provides greater bandwidth and cost savings. Pirelli dual-mode devices also provide automatic provisioning and software upgrade features that allow the operator to simplify the user’s experience and lower the costs related to service activation and management.