Top 5 unique mobile phones

By Damian Koh

We've seen our share of bizarre cell phones on the planet, some of them downright ridiculous, some a hair's breath from making the list of stupidest phones ever. Concept phones are nice to look at, but some are horribly flawed--like the one that requires the user to insert his finger into the appropriate keyhole to dial a number. That said, we did coo over the Transformers mobile bot. But before I digress any further, we've selected five mobile phones (yes, real ones) that are special in one way or another. We've also decided to include the Apple iPhone as an honorable mention, even though we're still sore that we have to wait till 2008 for it in Asia.

Touched by a screen: LG Prada Phone

So the iPhone isn't coming to Asia until 2008? Fine… whatever. The LG Prada Phone is a trendy touchscreen mobile phone that's available in the market now. Synonymous with class and style, the Prada Phone courts the well-heeled and fashion-conscious. It doesn't have the latest features, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

Bend it like Beckham: Moto Z8

Slider phones? Totally passé. The Moto Z8 re-jigged the whole sliding motion with a kick-slide mechanism that curves the phone closer to your mouth and ear. We must say the idea is pretty cool though we're not too sure how useful it will be. Remember the old Nokia banana phone (made famous in Matrix)? It's the same idea here. If you like that one, you'll probably fall in love with this Moto.

Glass act: Nokia 8600 Luna

When it comes to phones crafted from unique materials, Nokia comes to mind. Its 8600 Luna sports an opaque, smoked glass cover over its keypad. Did you just say glass? Yeah, we're still worried it might break if we drop the phone, but who can resist a handset that is romanticized as "mysteriously, it glows, magnetically, it calls", "inspired by moonlight, it pulsates with allure". We can't.

The show must go on: Samsung Ultra Video F500

Here's a candy-bar phone for movie aficionados who need their screen fix. Sit this Samsung on a desktop with the screen facing toward you and you're all ready to catch the latest blockbuster on this DivX-certified device. And when your boss walks past, you can flip the lid down and pretend you're talking to an important client on the earpiece. Quite easily done.

Just shoot me: Sony Ericsson K850i

We're still not convinced that camera-phones will replace dedicated digicams, although the upcoming Cyber-shot K850i may just change our minds. Sony Ericsson isn't the first to have a 5-megapixel shooter, but its Cyber-shot pedigree should have people clamoring for the K850i. Will this Sony Ericsson best the 5-megapixel Nokia N95 in terms of performance and image quality? We'll find out toward the end of the year.

Orange first for Sony Ericsson Walkman Phones

Orange customers in the UK can get their hands on Sony Ericsson's much-anticipated Walkman W910i phone first, thanks to a talent show tie-up between the companies.

Sony Ericsson is providing a trio of Walkman mobile models to Orange first as part of its partnership deal. The W660i, W580i and W910i will all debut first on Orange - the 3G HSDPA-enabled W910i sliderphone being the highlight of the line-up. The phones will feature links to the Orange Music Store, offering over the air full track downloads.

Sony Ericsson and Orange have teamed up to launch a search-for-band talent show for Channel 4 - mobileAct Unsigned - to be shown on T4 and 4music. The sponsorship deal, first reported by Tech.co.uk earlier this month, will give users a chance to vote for the best unsigned bands with interactive mobile internet and websites offering track downloads, info and voting options.

In time-honoured reality TV fashion there's a record contract with a major label awaiting the winners.

tech.co.uk

Samsung Launches Quartet of Music Video Phones

A PLAYGROUND OF FUN WITH SAMSUNG’S QUARTET OF PHONES

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. today unveiled four mobile phones set to redefine the concept of fun and entertainment on the go. Featuring Bang & Olufsen ICEPower music support, panoramic 3-megapixel cameras and DivX video capabilities, Samsung’s line-up of phones offers a range of industry-leading multimedia capabilities built into cutting edge stylish designs.

“Today’s young and trendy consumers are always looking for compact yet power-packed products which allow them to carry their entertainment with them wherever they go. We believe our new line-up offers them a gamut of high-technology multimedia from music to video in sleek form factors,” said Mr. Ng Long Shyang, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Telecommunications and IT products.


Focusing on leisure and entertainment to enable fun seekers to experience more and express themselves better, the quartet consists of the dual-faced Ultra Video F500, a portable multiplayer phone with a large 2.4” TFT screen for comfortable viewing of videos and movies, the dual-faced Ultra Music F300 which offers a dedicated music user interface for quick and easy navigation, the candy bar Mini Camera E590 designed by Jasper Morrison and featuring a 3-Megapixel camera with panorama shot feature, and the Music Phone E740, an affordable music phone with one-touch music access.

Ultra Video F500
One of the most versatile and super slim personal multimedia devices, Samsung’s Ultra Video is the first phone to be DivX Certified. Combined with a built-in audio player, the Ultra Video boasts DVD-like quality picture and sound. Complementing the Ultra Video’s cuttingedge features is an innovative design incorporating a dual face LCD screen - a phone on one side and on the reverse a large 2.4” screen for multimedia viewing. The screen boasts a 240x320 pixel panel in 262,000 colours that can display video in landscape mode, while TV output gives you the option to view videos on a larger screen. The Ultra Video also comes with a back-up battery leather case which ensures longer battery life, and its unique swivel design allows for an adjustable viewing angle or serves as a stand to be placed on a flat surface. The Ultra Video F500 will be available from early August, pricing TBD.

Ultra Music F300
The Ultra Music F300 features an innovative dual-face LCD design which is unique for optimum viewing of the extensive multimedia features, yet stylish. On one side is a complete music player with superb sound quality and a large, clear touch-screen which makes scrolling through your music simple, intuitive, and fun. Flip over to the other side for a Samsung mobile phone that is rich in extra features such as a 2-megapixel camera with digital zoom, 128 MB onboard memory with microSD™ slot for expansion and BluetoothTM for wireless music streaming via a stereo headset. All this is packed into an extremely slim 9.4mm profile. The Ultra Music F300 is available at an RRP of $638 without contract.


Mini Camera E590
The Mini Camera E590, designed by leading industrial designer Jasper Morrison, features simple contours and clean lines which comprise this compact bar design. It is equipped with a powerful 3-megapixel camera with auto focus and half-shutter. In addition, the Panorama shot feature enables users to take landscape pictures, achieving wider coverage in one shot. The Mini Camera E590 also comes with the Bean bag, a unique tripod which serves as a portable accessory made from special rubber material for maximum flexibility and grip. Pricing and availability TBD.

Music Phone E740
A music model with FM radio, the Music Phone E740 features high quality music performance and a dedicated music user interface. The easy one-click music access, jog disc control and categorization by genre, album, artiste or recently played tracks means quick and easy navigation, while the multi-format music and video support lets users enjoy various file types on the phone. The locally-launched version comes with a 1GB card pre-loaded with 180 full track songs from various artistes which users can preview for free, and download and purchase the license at the click of a button if they like the song. The Music Phone E740 will be available from mid-July, pricing TBD.

Swap my mobile phone for a million pounds? No way!

This might seem hard to believe, but according to research carried out by the Carphone Warehouse and the London School of Economics, one in three people aged 16 to 24 would not give up their mobile phone for a million pounds.

The phone-centric survey, called Mobile Life, was carried out across the UK and questioned 1,256 people aged 16 to 64 on a variety of topics, including whether or not they would sacrifice being able to own or use a mobile phone ever again for a whopping £1m.

Carphone Warehouse also filmed 24 volunteers try to survive without their phones for a week, which produced some quite extraordinary results. I totally understand, as I tried to live without a mobile phone during my 8-step technology detox and it was a very weird experience.

It seems that most young people view having a mobile phone as a vital part of their life. This coincides with research done by Gfk that shows the UK as being the largest market for consumer electronics in Europe. Apparently we're going to spend a whopping €13.1bn (£8.8bn) this year -- a hefty £144 each. In comparison, Germany will spend €12.3 billion and France a paltry €9.6 billion, even though they have larger populations.

So young people really like having a mobile phone and we all love buying gadgets. But before you dismiss this research as stating the bleeding obvious, think about this -- if someone had told you even ten years ago that people would be taking out second mortgages to buy flat screen TVs, and teenagers would reject offers of a million pounds for giving up their phone, would you have believed it?

-Andrew Lim

Samsung 2008 Olympics Games Campaign begins with the launch of New Mobile Phones

Samsung, the official Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games in wireless communications equipment has started its campaign for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with the launch of its new, high-profile mobile phones designed especially for the event.

At the Samsung Olympic Games campaign launch, the company announced the Samsung Olympic Games Visual Identity System (SOVIS), Samsung’s Olympic Torch Relay Plan, as well as a brief introduction to the Olympic Rendezvous @ Samsung (OR@S).


At the campaign launch, Samsung unveiled its E848 mobile phone that has been designed especially for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).
The company also unveiled the Samsung P318 and the U308 mobile phones for joint marketing campaigns with China Mobile.


The Samsung E848 is a delicate-looking, slide-open handset. There are no details of the P318 and U308 handsets as yet. But as the Beijing 2008 Olympics nears you can be sure to get some more details on these mobile phones.

For Samsung’s Olympic Torch Relay Plan, the company will launch a series of public events around its wireless products to drive its brand value in all major cities in the Relay Mainland China Sector (along the torch route).

In April, Lenovo, China’s worldwide Olympic partner unveiled its design for the Beijing 2008 Olympics torch, as well as a similarly designed laptop.