CDMA Series 60 In the Works
It looks like there is a CDMA-based Series 60 phone being worked on right now. Nokia said as much themselves during their investor conference in Texas last month, but it's interesting to see that not only is it already happening, but it looks like some - if not all - of the work may be happening here in the U.S.
Here's part of an email I got this morning from the Nokia Job bot that I signed up for months ago:
PA - Series 60 UI Designer(Specifier), United States / San Diego
This position requires applying user interface concepts to design features for smart/mobile phones. The individual will maintain user interface specifications for CDMA features and work with marketing (and other team members) to manage feature lists for CDMA products. This person will be responsible for integrating change requests and requirements into the user interface, while adhering to the standard Nokia look and feel. Candidates must have effective verbal and written communication skills and experience working with people from varied disciplines(marketing, software engineers, localizers, etc.)
More information and details can be found here.
There are also ads for S60 software engineers and integration specialists. Very cool...
The general sense in our office is that after testing both CDMA2000 1x phones and the equivalent GSM/GPRS based models, that CDMA is faster both to connect and in download speed. The coverage here in the U.S. seems to be better and the voice quality comparable. The phones are pretty comparable as well if you don't stray from the high-end and don't need the extras like Bluetooth or Symbian. To a normal end user the top-end CMDA phones are just as good as most of the GSM phones that you'll find, and if you like the flip models (which I'm actually warming up to) there's lots to choose from.
My point? Well, a Series 60 CDMA phone would *rock*, especially here in the U.S. Nice to see it's in the works. :-)
-Russ