Tech Bytes: KeyCorp's Cell Phone Allows Banking, Investing

KeyCorp has introduced a cellular telephone that permits users to do banking and investing while on the road.

The wireless telephone, called KeyMobile, can be programmed to signal stock price information and to transmit E-mail. Entrepreneurs who need to know the values of their portfolios could be alerted to changes while they are on the golf course or en route to a business meeting, KeyCorp officials said.

The telephone has a screen with four lines, each accommodating 20 characters of text. In addition to stock quotes, the device can be used to view documents on the Internet.

"Our customers will be able to access our service anytime and anywhere," said Daniel E. Klimas, executive vice president of KeyCorp's private banking division. "Our affluent clients are looking for the ability to access financial and nonfinancial service information."

In a pilot beginning this month, 50 private banking customers will get the phones. The price has not been set.

The service was developed by Realogic, a Cleveland telecommuniciations consulting firm, in conjunction with the cellular phone maker PCSI and the software company Unwired Planet. The latter wrote the program that permits the phone to tap into the Internet.