Wacky is probably the best adjective to describe the design of Sony Ericsson’s latest handset: the R306.

Sony Ericsson's R306: an AM/FM treat?

The clamshell handset’s unique selling point, Sony Ericsson claimed, is its ability to tune into FM and AM radio broadcasts and pump it out to a pair of headphones or through its two built-in speakers. Buttons for switching between stations and for moving directly to one of your three favourite stations are on the handset’s front face, while there's a 1.9in TFT display inside.

On its reverse there’s a 1.3-megapixel camera, but it’s a shame SE doesn’t mention anything about an external memory card slot because the phone only has a 5MB internal memory. Bluetooth and a USB port do feature, though.

The handset is tri-band GSM/GRPS, but isn’t equipped with Edge or HSDPA.

The R300's looks plain, compared to the R306

The R306 also has a new brother: the R300. However, its design is more mainstream and akin to many phones already in SE’s range. It’s a tri-band GSM/GPRS device, but has a smaller 1.8in TFT screen and a larger 8MB internal memory. There’s no mention of external storage here either, but Bluetooth and a USB port are still built-in.

Like the R306, it also features AM and FM connections, but SE’s made them less of a feature, apart from a bold “radio” etching on its casing. Both handsets promise that their batteries will hold out for 27 hours of AM/FM broadcast pleasure.

Shockingly, the R300 only has a 0.3-megapixel camera, putting it far below the wants of any self-respecting camera-loving mobile user.

SE hasn’t broadcast a price for either handset yet, but has said both will be available in the third quarter of 2008.