Samsung has shown off a mobile phone that's little bigger than a credit card. The ultra-slim handset - dubbed the Platinum Cardphone but more labelled with the more prosaic model number SCH-V870 - measures just 8.7 x 5.4 x 0.9cm and weighs 81g.

The handset still manages to squeeze in a 1.3 megapixel camera. We're not sure what the battery life is, but it may be telling that Samsung bundles a second power pack with the handset, slotting the spare into the business card holder-like leather case that comes with the SCH-V870.

The Platinum Cardphone has 80MB of on-board memory, we understand, and a memory card slot to add more. The screen's a 1.8in, 176 x 220, 262,144-colour job.

Samsung has shown a version of the gagdet before, as the SCH-P300, a tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM phone. That model offers up to eight hours' talk time, Samsung claimed. ®

Image courtesy the Chosun Ilbo