It’s always good to see innovation brought to the market, even if the innovation doesn’t necessarily do well. Or at least I think so. Take a look at the N-Gage – it’s almost unanimously disliked, and has basically proved that “side-talking” is worthless.
Taking another stab at the game/phone hybrid device is Korean “Pantech & Curitel.” I had more or less forgotten about this company since the Gizmodo article a couple months ago. Keitai Watch has renewed my interest in what they have to offer, though, through their coverage of the company’s booth at ITU Telecom Asia 2004.
Hybrid game/phone devices aren’t the only suprises Pantech & Curitel had up their proverbial sleeve. There were also two phones with 3.1MP cameras and detachable TV antennas, one that looks like it was runover by an ice cream truck (intended for the American market), and some other assorted innovations. More information after the jump.
I’ll stick to the order of the Keitai Watch article coverage, because after all, I’m lazy. The two phones we have up first are the “PH-S5000V” and “PH-K1000V/VT.” It should be noted that both of these have 3.1MP cameras, and can have TV tuners attached for watching TV. They’re also both equipped with 100MB of flash memory and can record TV programs. Really, the only differences between the two models (as far as I can tell) are how the former can receive streaming broadcasts, while the latter can’t. But in exchange, you get Optical Character Recognition. Hangul, anyone?
Besides these beefy specs, there’s not too much innovation in these phones – that I can see anyway.
We here at Gizmodo previously covered the “PH-S3500,” to a certain extent. But this was quite a bit of time ago, before many of the technical specifications were known. Worry no more – this “makeup case inspired” game/phone hybrid features a 3D accelerator, 0.33MP camera, 176 x 240 dot display, and 128 x 128 dot subdisplay. I guffawed at how the Japanese reporter chastised the 3D performance as not being as good as Japanese models.
Most importantly, this phone looks cool. These three above models will be released this month in Korea.
Further delving into the realm of the bizarre, we have the “GA-400B.” Of particular note with this phone is its shape – I can’t say much other than “banana.” Also, we have these “Smart Skins” which aren’t just cover replacements; they also contain chips so game contents will be loaded as well. Our final useless feature is the “Air Text,” which when you wave the phone through the air, certain LEDs will light up and your customized message will appear IN THIN AIR. Or something, I think I’ve seen this before (albeit on a different device) in one of those cheap stands at the mall. (There’s a Nokia with AirTexting, the 3220 -ed.)
https://gizmodo.com/nokias-3220-airtexter-15458
Now the fun begins. Concept phones! What trade show would be complete without them? Another slide phone, the “PHK2000,” has a mirror on the back of the sliding body, as well as a pink body color. Sexual profiling, I think. But hey, it’s Asia. The “GI100” features a fingerprint recognition device, ala FOMA F900i (Japanese 3G phone).
I’m hoping Samsung doesn’t hear about this next one, considering that 1.5GB phone announcement they made earlier. Because the “JUKEBOX PHONE GIZMO,” apart from a better name, has a 2GB capacity. I’m also wondering about the “SENSE OF SMELL” phone, which is apparently equipped with a “smell sensor.” So what, you wave it and it will detect whether or not there are any dead animals within a 5 mile radius?
Read – “Pantech & Curitel appeals with unique phone lineup” (Japanese) [Keitai Watch]
Related:
Pantech & Curitel PH-S3500 Game Phone [Gizmodo]
https://gizmodo.com/pantech-curitel-ph-s3500-game-phone-20494
