UTStarcom Preps Successor to the Slice

UTStarcom's wafer-thin Slice is one of the thinnest phones you can get with a pre-paid plan, not to mention one of the cheapest (about $50 on Virgin Mobile). Of course, the Slice lacks such gotta-have features as a built-in camera and Bluetooth, but UTStarcom is looking to change that with its latest slim phone.

The handset is so new that it doesn't even have a name yet, and the model I saw at CTIA was just one of those plastic mockups you'll see at your local cell phone outlet. Anyway, the phone-to-be-named-later looks pretty much like the Slice of old; it's about 0.4 inches wide and will come with a 1.8-inch, 65,000-color display, text messaging, a speakerphone and a mobile Web browser. The news with this new slim phone, however, is that it will arrive packing its very own VGA camera, along with Bluetooth for wireless, hands-free calling. UTStarcom reps say the handset should hit stores by the third quarter on "multiple" carriers; no word yet on pricing.