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CEBIT 2005 : Moblie Phone Round-Up

by David Ross on 19 March 2005, 00:00

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qabbp

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Are phones cool again?




Over at halle 26 the main mobile handset manufacturers are competing to see who can make the sexiest, feature rich products for 2005. Mobile phones are big business and the market has been waiting for a new reason to push consumers into going out and spending £150 odd quid on a new handset. The latest trend has been towards fashion phones, with Nokia recently launching multiple fashion orientated handsets, including the curious looking keyless 7280.

Siemens have taken this one step further by releasing limited edition phones in conjunction with the fashion house Escada.





Sexy, Wacky or Tacky? With a big name like Ronaldo attached to the brand (we saw him walking around the hall being blinded by hundreds of paparazzi camera flashes!) sales will probably skyrocket. Siemens are also focusing on rugged technology with the launch of their new M75 "Outdoor-activity" phone.



As you can see, they are testing this product in glass cases filled with sand, iron filings and dust to prove that the product could handle the extreme environments.

Ok, so you are unlikely to leave your phone near a sand blasting machine, but the electrical equipment / Mediterranean beach problem definitely seems solved.


Camera phones are nothing new and in the past have been a bit of a gimmick, but with an increasing number of 1.0 Mega Pixel models available, it is now possible to take half decent snaps. CeBIT sees the launch of a number of 2.0 Mega Pixel camera's as this sexy selection shows….

NEC (above)




Sony Ericcson (above and below)


and Samsung. (see below)






It seems that Samsung have taken this market very, very seriously, with a family of high-spec camera phones including, 2.0, 3.0, and even a 5.2 Mega Pixel, 3x Optical Zoom model!!!!





I know this seems crazy but think about the actual benefits. How many times have you wished you had your camera to hand? It’s not really feasible to permanently carry around a camera with you on the off chance that you will catch Posh Spice exiting Prada or Dean Gaffney and Jordan falling out of Chinawhite at 5am. With the CCD sizes increasing it may now actually be possible to ditch your old 2 Mega Pixel point and shoot and use your phone instead.

Samsung have also released a phone that could potentially replace your PDA, MP3 player, Digital Camera & mobile phone all in one device!



The SGH-i300 incorporates; a 3GB Hard Drive, 1.3 Mega Pixel camera with flash, Mpeg4 recorder, 3D Surround sound, Digital Power Amplifier, Bluetooth and Windows Mobile operating system.

So if the weight of your gadgets has your trousers down to your ankles, ditch your Ipod, chuck out your Digicam, Give your Ipaq to your mum and go out an buy one of these!

Mobile gaming is also becoming pretty big now, with a tournament at the world Cyber Games dedicated to the subject. Nokia have finally released the follow up to the N-GAGE, the N-GAGE QD.



HEXUS.gaming editor Nick Haywood sat down to have a play of SSX - Out of Bounds.

"With the DS and Gizmondo out now and the PSP due for a US release in a week’s time, the N-Gage is looking more and more outdated and outclassed. Certainly, it’s a phone as well as a gaming platform and Nokia have solved that ‘remove the battery to insert a game’ problem, but the QD just doesn’t measure up to the competition who all outclass it in every area other than telephony. If you need a new phone then it might be worth a look, but given the cost of the new generation of handheld consoles and the bargains you can get for phones now, the case for the QD looks increasingly weak."


Samsung are also entering the mobile gaming arena with the new SPH-G1000 and are launching with gaming titles such as Resident Evil (unfortunately only in Korea), Battle Wing, Reloaded - Metalion and Shot Mobile.


The problem with any form of new gaming device is usually lack of software titles. Lets just hope that the developers get behind projects such as the SPH-G1000 so that that the technology continues to move forward instead of disappearing into the ether.

All in all the relatively stagnant mobile market looks like it is going to receive a new lease of life with the influx of these new devices, lets just hope they all make it over to the UK market sometime soon!