Siemens launches iPod-styled camera phone

Siemens today unveiled what's arguably the most iPod-like mobile phone yet, the shiny white plastic-cased SF65.

The phone maker called the handset's design "contemporary and paired-down", but while its "polar white" colour scheme is decidedly reminiscent of Apple's iPod, the handset is geared more toward photography than phonography. For the iPod-less, Siemens will offer an 'onyx black' version.

The handset incorporates a 1.3 megapixel digicam with LED flash, 4x digital zoom and timer facility. Nominally a clamshell, the front of the case can be rotated once opened and then closed to expose the main 128 x 160, 65,000-colour LCD as a viewfinder.

The SF65 contains 18MB of user memory for picture storage, and includes photo editing software. Oddly, Siemens hasn't equipped the phone with a memory card slot for further storage.

As a phone, the SF65 incorporates a dual-band 900/1800 GSM/GPRS radio. It supports MIDI, SP MIDI and WAV audio with 64-voice polyphonic ringtones. Java is there too, for games.

The 9.1 x 4.4 x 2.4cm shell incorporates a 660mAh battery capable of providing up to 400 hours stand-by time and four hours' talk time, Siemens said. The handset weighs 97g.

Siemens would not provide prices, which are always dependent on network subsidies, but it did say the SF65 will ship in December, in Europe and Asia. ®

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