It's been a while since Panasonic has announced a phone for the local markets that has mobile buffs sitting up and taking notice. The X800 could be that handset. Though not as flat as Motorola blade-thin Razr, this Panasonic clamshell holds its own with a streamlined girth of just 17.2mm. It also runs on a Symbian Series 60 platform, making this the company's second smart phone. Does it live up to the hype? Well, yes and no.

Upside: If you like i-mode phones, the antenna-less dual-screen X800 comes close to aping its Japanese relations in look and feel. That plus design, we feel, provide the greatest draw for the triband X800 which also sports changeable faceplates; though it's a pity this ships with just black and white casings for the Singapore market as we understand. An auto active button flips open the lid to reveal an almost seamless keypad and navi rocker that differ from anything we've seen thus far. While the internal LCD display specs out at 65K colors of 176 x 208 pixels, it's still sharp and vibrant. The miniSD card, a format already becoming common in Japan, is supported and neatly concealed in a side slot by an attached plastic cover.

Downside: The X800 is only as good as it looks. On closer inspection, the glossy iPod-like exterior suffers from the same finger smudging as the Sony Ericsson T610. The central hinge is also its Achilles heel as it's just not robust enough to anchor the longish lid without some creaky joints. Having played with the Samsung T200's elegant auto-opening feature which is electronically controlled, the X800's feels like a highly strung spring-loaded mechanism that snaps the cover open. We almost dropped the handset as a result.

Mainly due to its Symbian platform, this Pana earns a smart phone tag. But other than that, there's not a lot of phone smarts under the hood. Apart from Bluetooth, features are pretty average, with an onboard VGA camera and tiny LED flashlight that are altogether disappointing for such a dapper-looking smart phone. To be fair, these are just early impressions. Who knows, given a fuller accounting, the X800 might well turn out to be a mobile with potential.

Conclusion:The X800 scores one in our cards for being among the slimmest and most attractive smart phones around. If that's all it takes to get you to fork out S$700 (w/o contract), then go for it. Otherwise, watch this space for a full evaluation of the handset.