The obsession with miniaturizing tech continues with Pantech launching what it claims is the world's smallest camera clamshell. First announced in April, the Pantech C300 is a featherweight 70.9g and petite 68 x 43 x 19mm when closed. It was recently introduced exclusively to Cingular customers in the US for US$119.99. Korean compatriot Samsung, meanwhile, claims the title for world's slimmest camera-phone with its SGH-X820.
There's, of course, a tradeoff with such diminutive dimensions. The C300 sports a VGA camera with 4x digital zoom and photolight, although Pantech has attempted to make up for the shortfall with a 1.5-inch 262K-color internal display. Also onboard are MP3 ringtones, instant messenging, email and photo caller ID. There are no indications on whether the phone will ever see light of day in Asia.
If you find Samsung's SGH-E900 terribly familiar, that's because its buttonless navigation panel and sleek design bring to mind LG's hugely popular Chocolate KG800 handset with its LED touch keypad. The SGH-E900, first showcased at CeBIT 2006 in March, is Samsung's answer to the former.
In a head-to-head, we'd say the Chocolate has first-to-market advantage and is probably the thinner and sexier of the two. However, the SGH-E900 has a beefed-up feature set that includes a 2-megapixel camera and expandable miniSD slot. Function or form? You decide.
Samsung has yet to confirm the E900's availability in Asia, outside of Korea, or pricing details.