22nd November 2004 - The Nokia THR880i handportable radio, the world's first TETRA radio with integrated GPS, active high-resolution TFT display and XHTML color browser, has started shipping. Following its launch in September 2004, Nokia began deliveries of the radio in the beginning of November. The Warwickshire Police in the UK was among the first to receive the Nokia THR880i radios, supplied by Nokia's Value Added Reseller Magdalene Telecom, for use in the O2 Airwave network.

Warwickshire's decision to choose the Nokia terminal was made following an extensive evaluation process. During user trials, testers were particularly impressed by its ease of use, fitness for purpose and ruggedness. The terminal was also considered to be technically innovative and to incorporate important future-proofing elements.

"Starting the shipments of the Nokia THR880i radio is a very important milestone both to our customers and to Nokia," said Kenneth Björklund, Director TETRA terminals, Multimedia, Nokia. "It proves Nokia's commitment to develop and deliver products that enhance users' mobility, helping them in their demanding tasks within public safety. We appreciate our customers' awareness in choosing the product that is available now in volumes and is capable of adapting to their evolving needs in mobility."

A versatile work tool for communications in the most demanding situations, the Nokia THR880i radio delivers a superior user experience that is based on careful analysis of users' needs. Equipped with a built-in GPS receiver, the Nokia THR880i allows authorized users, such as command and control personnel, to request the radio's location over the air, enabling faster response times and a better service for citizens. The Nokia THR880i radio can even show the user's position on a digital map, delivered to the radio display over a WAP/IP packet data connection. Users can also use the radio's color browser to view digital content from their organization's database or from the web when such access is supported by the TETRA network infrastructure. Thanks to the new active color display and convenient four-way navigation, browsing and capturing essential information is quick and reliable.

Following the 380 MHz band, the 410 MHz variant Nokia THR880i radio is expected to start shipping in December, and the 800 MHz variant in the 1st quarter of 2005.

Nokia is a leading supplier of TETRA terminals with products delivered to public safety users in more than 20 countries throughout Europe, the Gulf Region, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) is the only open digital trunked radio standard defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to meet the needs of the most demanding professional mobile radio users.