Tokyo Edge: A Tale of Many New Cell Phones
Cool gadgets from Asia this month also include a new Toshiba laptop equipped for HD DVD-R.Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
TOKYO -- If you're interested in cell phones, you're in luck. With the spring models being announced by Japan's major carriers and South Korean makers wowing attendees at the 3GSM mobile communications congress in Barcelona earlier this month, our pick of Asia's coolest new toys is heavy on handsets.
An overview of the new phones--and there are many of them--reveals a few trends.
First of all, 2G (second-generation wireless telephony) is not dead. Carriers won't tell you that because they've all invested billions in new 3G networks and multimedia services, but look at many of the new handsets, and you'll find that they are 2G-only. Samsung's U100, discussed later in this story, is all about being thin, and adding 3G support would only bulk it up.
The persistence of 2G--reflected in the reluctance of consumers to rush to 3G networks--is obviously irking carriers; at 3GSM, 12 carriers from both Europe and Asia disclosed plans to jointly promote the technology under the banner "3G for All." That's great, but make sure they give you a good deal when you finally decide to switch. After all, it's in their interest to get you on the new network.
Second, here comes digital TV. The launch in many countries of mobile digital TV trials or services means television will increasingly find a place alongside voice, SMS, Web, and e-mail in high-end handsets. Here, TV makers appear to have an advantage because they can use their established TV brand names to sell phones. Sharp has already been doing this with a phone that carries its Aquos LCD TV brand name, and now Sony is getting in on the act with a Bravia phone.
And finally: touch screens. Apple made headlines with its touch-screen iPhone last month, and already two heavyweights--Samsung and LG--have look-alike handsets of their own. There's some dispute as to who came up with the idea first, but obviously no one wants to miss out on this developing trend. After all, Motorola stole a lead on others with its iTunes-enabled Razr phone, and Apple has claimed more than a few scalps in the MP3 player market, so look for phones in the iPhone form factor to become common this year.
Samsung F700 Mobile Phone
Packing both GSM and WCDMA (see the end of the article for a spelling-out of these and some other acronyms), Samsung's touch-screen F700 handset will have people talking all over the world. In addition to its good looks, the phone boasts a 5-megapixel camera and can play back video in a number of formats, including MPEG4, H.263, H.264, and Real Video, as well as the audio formats MP3, AACplus, eAACplus, and Real. There's also a surprise for people who can't get enough of mobile e-mail: a QWERTY keyboard that slides out from behind the display. With such a rich feature set, some are already talking about Samsung's F700 as an iPhone-killer, but perhaps we should leave the iPhone-killing until both are on the market. No launch or pricing details have yet been announced for the F700.
LG KE850 Mobile Phone
Before Samsung took the wraps off the F700, its cross-town competitor LG showed a stylish phone of its own. The KE850 was designed with the help of Italian fashion goods maker Prada and is dominated by a large touch-screen display. Prada not only had input on the phone's exterior but also on key elements of the user interface, including the touch screen, ring tones, and preloaded content. The tri-band GSM KE850 is 3.9 inches long, 2.1 inches wide, and 0.5 inches thick. It will go on sale initially in late February through Prada shops in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, with a price of about 600 euros ($775). In March it will begin appearing in Asia, including stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, LG says. A version for the Korean market is due out in the second quarter. LG has no plans to put it on sale in the United States.
Sony Bravia Mobile Phone
Coming in June from Sony is the first cell phone to carry the Bravia brand name that is used on Sony's LCD television sets. The SO903i has a tuner for receiving digital mobile TV broadcasts and employs technology from the company's LCD TV line to produce a better picture, according to NTT DoCoMo, the carrier through which the device will be offered (in Japan only). Pricing was not announced.
Samsung Ultra 100 Mobile Phone
A phone so thin you can't see it? That's the silly claim Samsung made this month: "The Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100) is thin enough to disappear if turned on its side." Of course that's not true, but it does give you an idea of how thin the U100 is. At just 0.2 inches, it's the thinnest cell phone yet developed. It has a 3-megapixel camera and is compatible with the GSM standard, but don't expect a 3G model. The candy-bar-style phone will be joined by three other new handsets in the Ultra series: the Ultra 9.6 tri-band GSM clamshell model, the Ultra 10.9 quad-band GSM slider, and the Ultra 12.9 tri-band GSM and WCDMA 3G slider with HSDPA. The phones are all due to go on sale in Europe during the current quarter. Pricing, as well as launch details for other markets, were not disclosed.
Canon Ivis HV20 Digital Video Camera
Canon has a new high-definition digital video camera to talk about. The Ivis HV20 features an image sensor that's more sensitive than that of the previous HV10 camcorder. The sensor, which Canon adapted from those used in its digital still cameras, can capture images in light conditions down to 3 lux. The previous sensor worked down to 5 lux. Other new features include an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) output for direct connection to an HDTV and a cinema shooting mode, which records at 24 frames per second to produce video that gives a feel closer to that of film than of tape. The camera also comes with a 10X optical zoom and optical image stabilization, and it records to HDV tape. The HV20 measures 3.6 inches by 3.1 inches by 5.4 inches and weighs 1.1 pounds. It will be available first in Japan in early March for about $1071. It will be launched in North America in April for $1099 and go on sale in Europe and Asia in April.
Toshiba HD DVD-R Laptop
In late February in Japan, Toshiba will begin selling its first laptop PC in the world with support for the write-once HD DVD-R optical disc format. The G30/97A will be an upgrade of existing models of Toshiba's hefty Qosmio G30 entertainment laptop. The computer is based on a 2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and has a 17-inch wide-screen display with 1920 by 1280 pixel resolution--that means it can show high-definition images from HD DVD movie discs. The 10-pound machine also features a 320-gigabyte hard disk, a digital TV tuner, and HDMI output. Toshiba hasn't announced a price for the computer, which will run the Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. International launch plans were not announced.
Sony Series 501 Audio
Sony is targeting consumers at or near retirement age with a new home audio system that pairs high-quality sound with a relatively low price and small size. The System 501 products consist of an amplifier, a CD player, and a pair of speakers, and will be launched in Japan in March. Collectively, they'll cost $1945, which is much less than other products delivering the same audio quality, according to Sony. The amplifier and the CD player are both 10.9 inches wide and 4.3 inches high. The amplifier is 7.9 inches deep, and the CD player is 10.6 inches deep. That makes them suitable for use in small Japanese rooms. The audio products are expected to go on sale overseas later in the year. No international launch dates or prices have been announced.