Samsung and Bang & Olufsen are to bring their co-designed Serene mobile phone to the US, the South Korean giant revealed this weekend. Only the well-heeled need continue waiting: the handset will retail for a staggering $1,272.

So claim South Korean media reports, at any rate. Serene is already available in Europe, and it's an odd-looking beast. The clamshell opening mechanism is motor-driven and reveals a 2.1in, 240 x 320, 262,144-colour display and a circular numeric pad. It's got Bluetooth on board, and can operate as a modem. There's a VGA camera built in too.

The phone's a tri-band (900/1,800/1,900MHz) GSM/GPRS unit, but it will also talk to B&O's DECT handsets via a special docking station, exchanging phonebook entries. Alas, while Serene will synchronise with Microsoft Outlook to copy over To Do and Calendar items, the need for DECT handset compatibility means Serene won't synchronise Contact details with a PC.

Serene contains an 800mAh battery good, said B&O, for up to three hours' talk time and 250 hours on stand-by. The unit measures 6.5 x 7.0 x 2.4cm. ®