Sendo signs first U.S. deal

Orlando, Fla.--Sendo, a UK-based handset vendor, said today that it has inked its first deal to provide handsets to a U.S.-based carrier with a multi-year contract with Cingular.

Cingular plans to launch Sendo GSM/GPRS handsets this year starting with the Z100 multimedia smartphone in its GSM 1900 markets. As Cingular rolls out services based on its 850 MHz infrastructure, Sendo will be the first to support that band, according to Ron Schaeffer, head of product strategy and planning.

Sendo’s initial products, already deployed in Europe and Asia, are geared more toward the teen market with features such as downloadable graphics, two-player games, chat and enhanced messaging services. And while Cingular will offer up such entertainment options, the vendor is also starting to shift gears toward more of a corporate user.

In most of its phones, for example, the company is implementing Microsoft’s browser.

“For corporate customers, we think that’s extremely important,” said Schaeffer.