Philips phone plays a different tune in China

As the mobile phone industry churns out new handsets every day, the opportunities to distance a product from the massive pack can seem infinitesimal. For that reason Philips deserves some credit for trying some new tricks on the Chinese market.

Its latest offering, the M600, attempts to capitalize on the continuing evolution toward music devices with a design that looks almost more like a media player than a phone. Not only does it have a giant play button just above the keypad, according to SlashPhone, but it also features MP3 hotkeys, 40 hours of playback, and the same "SRS WOW" equalizer technology that's featured in Bang & Olufsen's high-end "Serenata" music phone.

Other features of the GSM candy bar handset include a 2-inch display, 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD card slot, Bluetooth, and Java game support. The phone is available only in China at the moment but hints that it may be headed for other lands because it accepts text in English, French, Russian, and Turkish.

Via CNET Crave

Tiny headset could be step toward implants

Steve Tobak may be onto something with his prediction for Bluetooth implants. In fact, some existing models are so small that they may lodge themselves permanently in the ear canal as an unintended consequence.

The updated Argard M10 headset--or earset, more accurately--weighs just 5g and, depending one's aural anatomy, would seem to be a good candidate. The latest version looks less shiny than the original, perhaps to avoid being mistaken for a piece of jewelry.

It also comes with a stylish docking station, according to GeekAlerts, which resembles a pair of tweezers. That could also come in handy as a tool to press the tiny buttons on the device or perhaps help dislodge it in an emergency.

Via Crave CNET

The winged avenger strikes back

Iron Man may be getting all the press these days, but Batman will always be No. 1 in our pantheon of superheroes. (With Mr. Furious coming in a close second.) So even though we're reasonably sure that this Batman MP3 player won't displace the iPod anytime soon, we still wouldn't mind adding it to our collection. Described by Gizmodo as "shaped like a 2.75-inch black bat shuriken", it has 1GB of memory and comes with headphones made to resemble bat suit hood ear-shaped bat ears. Perfect for late-night viewings in the Bat Cave.

Via Crave CNET

The panoramic assistant

If you've ever tried to take a panoramic shot with a regular camera, chances are it didn't turn out that great. Without fail, the level of suckiness will increase proportionally with the number of shots you are trying to stitch together. Some cameras try to help you out with guiding lines in their viewfinder, or provide you with stitching software on your desktop computer. But here's neat hardware solution called the Panamatic.

This tripod attachment helps you move your camera horizontally, stably. The wheel clicks at fixed intervals, telling you when to take a shot, of up to 12 shots. There are certain instructions as to what kind of lens you can use but it looks like most compacts should work fine.

You can buy this gadget from Lenspen online, which seems to ship internationally. It costs US$24.95, not too expensive if you are bent on taking good panoramic photos.

Via OhGizmo!

Nokia announces glossy trio of handsets

After a pair of new XpressMusic handsets last week, Nokia today unveiled another three more devices: The 6600 fold, 6600 slide and 3600 slide.

The Finnish giant is marketing these three phones as "beautiful to use" even though we think they look just like your regular handsets. According to Aki Laine, the man responsible for the 6600 fold, the clamshell phone is designed to fit the contours of your face (which sounds like the "banana" phone some years back) and there's no need to manually open the clamshell (there's a dedicated button to do that). The pictures of the 6600 slide, on the other hand, remind us of the current N81. Both the 6600 models feature a "tapping" function which can be used to silence and reject incoming calls, for instance.

The 3600 slide is supposedly the first Nokia phone to feature background noise cancellation and packs a 3.2-megapixel AF camera with dual LED flash lights and TV-out connectivity.

All three phones are expected to be available in Asia in Q3.

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