VGA camera for still photos or videos

As the barrage of expensive convergence mobile devices (such as the Nokia N series) continue to flood the market, one may wonder: "Are there still mobile phones out there that are just affordable and functional?" The answer for that is a resounding 'Yes!' In fact, Nokia has come out with a range of models to satisfy this particular group looking for a functional mobile phone more than anything else. Among these new phones in the market is the 6070 – a sensible phone for practical people.Elegance in SimplicityThe Nokia 6070 exudes an extraordinary appeal despite its plain, monoblock design. Up front, users will notice the large 65K color (128x160 pixel) display of the phone, accompanied by its ample keypad. With this setup, shouldn't have a hard time reading text messages, navigating through its GUI or inputting data, providing an ideal mobile phone experience.For those familiar with the classic Nokia shouldn't have a problem navigating the 6070.

Triple-entre from BenQ-Siemens

IT HAS been a year since BenQ acquired Siemens mobile phone division, so it was only a matter of time before we would be seeing the BenQ-Siemens brand cellphones as we have on the jerseys of Real Madrid football players.

For us, that time has finally arrived as BenQ-Siemens recently launched three models here, namely the EF81 (RM1,399), E61 (RM799) and S88 (RM1,099).

According to the company, the phone models are named in a convention similar to Mercedes Benz automobiles its S-class phones are basically luxury models, while E-class models come with at least one exclusive feature that is currently unique in the cellphone market.

The EF81 is touted as an ultra-slim 3G phone that is forged with high-quality materials that give this clamshell an elegant finish.

Motorola and T-Mobile introduce MOTORAZR design by tattoo artist

Motorola and T-Mobile announced the availability in the US of the MOTORAZR V3 - Miami Ink Collection, two hot new handsets featuring tattoo-inspired designs by Ami James, leading tattoo artist on TLC's hit television series "Miami Ink." Combining these 'tattoos' designed by the world-famous artist with the MOTORAZR's award-winning slender form and multimedia features, the Miami Ink collection offers T-Mobile consumers a new twist on the world's best-selling mobile handset."From cool new materials to vibrant bursts of color, these new tattoo-etched phones let consumers express their individual style," said Jim Wicks, vice president and director, Consumer Experience Design, Motorola."With Ami's unique and eye-catching designs, we are able to offer a device that truly is a lifestyle accessory."Two of Ami's designs -- in dark pearl gray with Dragon Tattoo and in magenta with Cherry Blossom Tattoo -- are the first to become available globally from the MOTORAZR V3 - Miami Ink Collection -- giving consumers 'tattoo cool' without the pain! Laser-etched onto the smooth brushed aluminum surface of the MOTORAZR V3, the tattoos turn the slim mobile device into a work of art.Including an integrated VGA camera with 4x digital zoom, the MOTORAZR V3 - Miami Ink Collection makes it easy to see, snap and share memories, while MPEG 4 video clips bring digital images to life in the palm of your hand.

Samsung SGH-D900 (Black carbon)

Samsung has churned out another slim slider phone with its SGH-D900. The company has gone so far as to call it the "world's thinnest slider phone," but surely this statement won't hold for long. Still, the all-black SGH-D900 (aka "black carbon") is sexy and packs a wide assortment of features into a body that is just 0.5 inch thick. There's quad-band world phone support, a 3.1-megapixel camera with video recording and playback, a Micro SD card slot, 80MB of internal memory, Bluetooth, USB support, and a digital music player. Availability isn't yet certain, but we expect it to be with a GSM carrier by the end of the year.

Samsung's latest phones, straight from Korea

While Crave was out in South Korea with Samsung last week, we saw a presentation of some of their latest mobile phones. In 2005, Samsung launched around 140 phones and over the next year it looks like it's going to make a whole bunch more.

Right now Samsung is the world's third largest mobile phone manufacturer and is making technological advancements at an incredible pace. This is a selection of some of its latest handsets, some of which will come to the UK.

The Samsung X830 (pictured) is Samsung's first attempt at a dedicated music phone. It features a flick-to-open mechanism, 1GB of onboard memory and a scroll wheel. This is a sign of things to come and sources at Samsung informed me that it is soon going to launch a new range of music phones in the UK, to compete with the likes of Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

Sony Z530 Clamshell Phone

Just in time for the holiday season, Sony Ericsson launched three new affordable camera phones. One of them includes the Z530, a quality finished clamshell phone that combines good quality digital photography with simple operation to create albums, search for pictures by timeline and also a good connectivity to send the same on by MMS, infrared or email.

The Sony Z530 is a Tri band GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900MHz) phone with a dual display, a Monochrome sub display on the outer shell and the 65k color 128x160 pixels UBC main display. It makes use of a VGA camera with 4X digital zoom and capable of Video Recording/play-back. It gets a 28MB of internal memory and the onboard memory can be expanded to 1GB by adding a Memory Stick Micro (M2). Connectivity is established by MMS, Bluetooth, USB2.0, standard push-email and a full HTML Internet browser.