New Cingular phone has Seattle connections

LOS ANGELES — Cingular Wireless announced Wednesday the availability of a phone that combines the strengths of three companies with a large presence in the Seattle area.

The phone — the Cingular 3125 — is a sleek, black flip-phone that has a classic analog-looking clock on the outside.

The mid-range phone is priced as low as $150.

The three companies involved in the phone are Cingular, which continues to have a large development team in Redmond after the Atlanta-based company bought AT&T Wireless three years ago; HTC, the Taiwan phone manufacturer that has its U.S. headquarters in Bellevue; and Microsoft, which provided the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system for the device.

The 3125 was unveiled at a news conference Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment show.

Kent Mathy, president of Cingular's Business Markets Group, said it doesn't hurt when the development teams of Cingular and Microsoft are only 1 ½ miles away from each other.

Scott Horn, Microsoft's director of marketing with the Embedded Devices Group, said HTC also plays a critical role with new designs.

The 3125 is only the most recent phone the three companies have worked on together.

The phone runs on the Edge network and features Bluetooth, a MP3 player, a 1.3 megapixel camera and the ability to record video.

Although the phone is considered a "smartphone" because of its high-end operating system, Pieter Knook, senior vice president of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Device Division, said the price point and sleekness make it more consumer-friendly.