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Taking an important step towards the release of its eagerly awaited Voq Professional Phone, Sierra Wireless has signed agreements with key European distributors, including A & C Systems, Cedros, Daimler, Dangaard, Speeka, and Xacom, to sell Windows Mobile smartphone in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Nordics, Switzerland, and Spain. A North American distributor wasn't announced.

Siierra Wireless first announced the Voq smartphone last October. The company, which is mainly known for its wireless AirCard PC Cards for laptops, has plenty of experience in the mobile market. The company said it hopes to leverage that experience and its existing network of wireless operators and corporate technology channels when it launches the Voq phones, which initially was supposed to be in the first quarter but has been delayed till the second quarter.

The Voq phones are slated to include not only a standard phone keypad, but also a unique flip open QWERTY keyboard that makes the thumb keyboard twice as wide as the width of the phone. It also has a 200MHz Intel XScale processor with stacked flash memory. Other features include 32MB of memory with 16MB available to the user, 48MB of flash memory, a Secure Digital slot, and a 220 x 176 resolution display.

The initial model will run on GSM/GPRS networks. Sierra Wireless is also touting secure email for the devices. It said its email solution requires no desktop redirector or dedicated server with support for standard enterprise email systems including Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, and Novell GroupWise.

Sierra Wireless, which is showcasing the Voq smartphone at CeBIT 2004 in Hannover, Germany this week, also announced that it has signed an agreement with THBBury to provide car accessories for the Voq phone through THBBury distribution channels in Europe and North America. These accessories include a custom cradle that is compatible with the UNI System 8 car kit and supports European handheld standards for hands-free driving. The handset is voice controlled, allowing the driver to make a call safely while the sound is heard through the external speaker or routed through the car-stereo speaker system