A taste of Panasonic: Mini phones, pop-up screen

Japanese phone maker Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. recently launched two new mobile phones that pack both power and style.

The two new handsets – the A100 Series and the X300 – target two different segments of the market and represent the company’s efforts to bring more innovative phones to mobile users.

The A100 Series phones – the A100, A101 and A102 – are all simple, stylish and smaller than the average credit card.

"There are many people who think buying an entry-level monochrome phone means they need to add a big brick to their personal effects. The A100 instead shows you that it is possible to have all the basic features packed into something much smaller," says Yoshihisa Tatsumi, Panasonic Mobile Communications’ marketing director for the Asia-Pacific.

"Users really want the basic features of a phone which are talk and text. They want straightforward, no-nonsense handsets without compromising on style. The A100 meets this demand," Tatsumi adds.

Last year, Panasonic introduced the GD55 which was the first of its mini phones and was an overnight global success. "When we introduced GD55, we were surprised about the market’s overwhelming acceptance. We have seen, especially in the Asian market, that there was an enormous demand for small, simple and efficient phones," Tatsumi says.

The A100 Series phones has basic features like alarm, calculator, calendar, SMS (Short Messaging Service), melody composer and speaker phone, and can store up to 250 contacts in the phonebook.

Measuring 77 millimeters and weighing just 66 grams, these tri-band phones have 16 polyphonic ringtones and a 112 x 64 pixel display that shows three full lines of information.

The mini phones have the latest SMS and EMS (Enhanced Messaging Service) technology but keep it simple and reliable enough to make it easy for the average user to use.

The A100 Series will be sold at P4,990. As a special treat to buyers, Panasonic will give a free jacket worth P800 with every purchase of the A100.

The X300, on the other hand, is perfect for style-conscious users who want the latest technology combined with cutting-edge design. Created for the mid-level market, the phone, priced at P15,000, has an innovative, pop-up screen design that transforms the handset into a digital camera.

"This phone, which we nicknamed ‘visual trendsetter,’ will be a hit among the younger market, the 16-35 year-old active-type users who really want to be different," Tatsumi says.

More than just an innovation in mobile phone design, the X300 has all the essentials one would expect from Panasonic. It features a 65K color screen, video record and playback capability, 40 polyphonic ringtones, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), a calendar, calculator, games and wallpaper downloads, to name just a few.

It is also tri-band, enabling users to share pictures and video games with anyone else in the world.

With its one-push, pop-up screen, the X300 makes taking pictures and shooting video clips very simple. The built-in VGA camera has a handy self-timer function, while photos or videos can be played back on the clear color display.

By supporting GPRS and MMS, the X300 allows users to send photos and even video clips to a PC or another compatible phone.

"You will see that with these new handsets, Panasonic is not just another off-the-shelf phone maker. We want to be different by bringing more innovative products to the market. I believe there is a phone for every user," Tatsumi says.

Early this year, Panasonic launched four compact-sized handsets – the G51 E/M, G70, X66 and X70. This year, the company will introduce a total of 14 new models.

"We will be launching some of the most advanced phones. We have the thinnest clamshell GSM phone (X400), the shortest entry-level camera phone (X100), and the thinnest bar-type phone (X200). Panasonic has a clear strategy to capture the market which needs these types of phones," Tatsumi says.