AT&T Unveils Smart Services for New Non-Smart Cell Phones

If you’re among the millions who can’t afford to pay in the triple digits for mobile data services, AT&T’s (News - Alert) new suite of basic, less-expensive cell phones with managed data services could be exactly what you need.

 

AT&T today announced a lineup of four new Quick Messaging Devices that will be “among the first” to offer a new suite of consumer data services intended to enhance messaging, video and photo sharing, as well as contacts management.

 

According to the operator, the launch addresses “the growing realization of mobile broadband’s benefits” among consumers. It also bridges socioeconomic divides by bringing a “smartphone-like” experience to a wider range of gadgets.

 

The changes are part of “a slow, subtle, but tectonic shift (in wireless phones) that AT&T is driving,” analyst John Jackson (News - Alert) of market research firm CCS Insight said in an article published earlier by USA Today. “It’s an experiment in creating stickiness and brand loyalty around AT&T instead of iPhone (News - Alert) or Google. It’s questionable whether it’s a viable long-term strategy. But it’s an appropriate thing for AT&T to try.”

 

The new quick messaging phones lineup for spring 2010 includes: Samsung (News - Alert) Strive (available on March 21 in black/silver and purple/charcoal); Samsung Sunburst; Pantech Link and Pantech Pursuit.

 

“Quick Messaging Devices are among our most popular and fastest-growing phones,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “They offer great value -- and now will offer cutting-edge services that enhance the overall experience consumers have with these phones.”