Posted by PeterKay
Panasonic this week unveiled its first smart phone, based on the Symbian OS and Nokia's Series 60 user interface.
The tri-band GSM/GPRS X700 is based on a clamshell design which incorporates a 640 x 480 digicam with flash, a 16-bit colour main display and a colour sub-display on the lid. The latter provides picture caller ID.
Images and video shot on the camera can be stored on miniSD cards, for which the X700 provides a slot. The same connector can be used to hook the handset up to a variety of Panasonic AV kit, the company said. Files can also be send to a PC or other handsets using the phone's Bluetooth capability. There's a USB port for syncing via cable.
Panasonic touted the handsets video editing software, but of more use to business users will be the ability to read and edit native Microsoft Office documents. The handset also sports speaker-independent voice recognition and voice control.
The Panasonic X700 is expected to start shipping across Europe next Autumn. Price will depend on operator.