Verizon and UT Starcom

Verizon Wireless should be adding three new Starcom/Audiovox cell phones to its lineup. When passing by the company's booth today at the CTIA show in San Francisco, I noticed the Verizon logo and menu interface on the CDM-180, the CDM-8945, and the CDM-9200. Though neither company has made an official announcement regarding the phones, UT Starcom didn't deny my assumption either.

The CDM-180 is an odd-looking handset first unveiled at this year's CES. Rather than a standard portrait orientation, the handset offers a Landscape mode. The result is a short, wide, and almost square handset that certainly stands out. According to UT Starcom, the CDM-180 has tested remarkably well with men. Other features include analog roaming (CDMA 800/1900; AMPS 800), a speakerphone, voice dialing, text and multimedia messaging, and a CMOS camera with flash. The CDM-8945 has a relatively standard flip-phone design. It offers a CCD camera with video, an M3P3 player, support for EV-DO, a TransFlash memory card slot, text and multimedia messaging, voice dialing, and a speakerphone. Finally, the CDM-9200 has a cool oval form factor with a splash of blue and silver. A more basic handset, it promises a VGA camera, analog roaming (CDMA 800/1900; AMPS 800), dual color displays, and text and multimedia messaging. The CDM-9945 also bears a Verizon logo, but apparently that's only wishful thinking on UT Starcom's part.