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Hernando Today

Touch screen gadgets are the big sellers

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: November 28, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Two years ago it was text messaging.

Phones with pull-out keypads were what people wanted.

Last year it was all about global positioning devices. Mapquest wasn't enough. Drivers wanted turn-by-turn directions told to them - via their cell phones.

This year, thanks mostly to the never-ending iPhone craze, cell phone users are seeking touch screens.

That doesn't mean the keypads are obsolete. No, people want the latest, newest amenities piled on top of the rest. Many phones have all the above capabilities and so much more.

Those who market cell phones for a living even know how to sell the accessories.

"Everyone's always talking about wanting more juice for their phones," said AT&T spokeswoman Gretchen Schultz, who demoed the latest in BlackBerry devices and touch screens.

She was showing off the latest charging tools that can work in the car, home or office.

She held, turned, flipped and activated one device after another - it didn't matter whether it was prepaid or whether it had an ear piece. If it had AT&T on it and it was a phone or part of a phone, she showed it.

Schultz then turned her attention to the latest touch screen phones. Apple prevents her from demoing the iPhone, but AT&T offers several more devices with similar features, like the newly released HTC Pure or the Samsung Mythic.

"Touch screens are the hot items this year," Schultz said. "The iPhone really ushered in a new technology. It showed what a phone can do."

For its part, Verizon is seeing major gains in three areas, said company spokesman Chuck Hamby.

There is the newly released Droid, Verizon's long-awaited answer to the iPhone; the Gateway LT Netbook, which is being offered for as low as $29.99; and the MiFi, a portable wireless router.

"It's a personal hot spot for up to five users with their own little computation cloud," Hamby said. "It gives you a lot of options."
MiFi is like having an AirCard, only it provides Internet access for more than one, he said.

Sprint also offers MiFi.

Few people in the cell phone industry have been singing the recession blues, especially this time of year.

"The crowds we've seen so far are really encouraging," Hamby said, referring to Droid sales since its launch earlier this month. "Those who stood in line for it then were those who really needed to have the newest, greatest techno toys on the market. We've seen it continue."

Schultz said her encounters with suppliers, stores and shoppers make her think the industry is back on solid footing.

"I went to my manager and asked him for the hottest phones and he said to me, 'They're all hot,'" Schultz said. "Really, we have everything flying off the shelves."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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