NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. will begin on Sept. 4 selling mobile phones equipped with a security buzzer system at its dealerships nationwide, the automaker said Monday.
The new lineup for the PiPit Phone services, jointly developed with DDI Pocket Inc. and Kyocera Corp., is designed to buzz if a user pulls a strap on the back of the handset, even if it is switched off, the automaker said.
The new handset also has e-mail functions and can automatically make calls to preregistered phone numbers if its security buzzer is activated, said Toyota, which has been providing simplified phone services targeted at children and elderly users since June 2002.
PiPit Phone, based on the personal handy-phone system, has easy-to-use functions and can only make calls to three preregistered phone numbers.
The price of the new product is expected to be around 7,000 yen. Toyota said it aims to sell 7,000 a month. The basic monthly charge for the new service is 1,029 yen.