The Hindu Business Line : On the go-go

Do you use your mobile phone merely to make and receive calls and send messages? Careful, your answer may date you horribly. If you've answered in the affirmative, you are not just technologically challenged you are also a dinosaur. A mobile phone is no longer just device used to make calls and send messages, it is a complete lifestyle statement for people on the move, a powerful multimedia enabled tool and entertainer, all rolled into one. What you expect your mobile phone to be able to do for you clearly defines who you are and where you want to be.

The new generation mobile phones can take pictures, send them on to other phones or computers, record and stream video clips, send and receive e-mail, surf the Internet and double up as a personal assistant with their huge memory-backed organisers. At the rate the wired world is clipping along, your mobile phone will soon be able to make coffee, or walk your dog!

Camera phones, which till last year were heard of more than seen, are now the rage. Consumers walk into stores demanding phones by brands and numbers, and telecom majors are losing no time in catering to the demand, which is growing with each passing day.

Right from market leader Nokia to Samsung, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and even the less popular brands, new phones are entering the market, in an attempt to provide the latest at competitive prices. Nokia's first built-in digital camera phone, the 7650, priced at Rs 26,000 seemed to be the phone of choice till last year: The phone supported WAP, e-mail, high-speed GSM data support, and you could forgive its bulk considering there was so much hardware packed inside.

Three months back Nokia launched its 6600 (Rs 20,000) camera phone and, already, the 7650 is history. The 6600 is rated by hard-to-please reviewers as "a great digital camera and video recording unit with audio functions". Here are the technical specifications: Bright 65, 536 TFT (the acronym used to define screen characteristics) display, integrated digital camera with audio support, streaming video and audio, memory card slot for additional user memory, wireless connectivity, and tri-band operations in GSM 900/1800/1900 networks.

And already a newer Nokia camera phone is available, the eye-shaped 7600 (Rs 26,000), with its 6500 pixel screen, which does all this and more. And at a mere 123 gm, it is one of the most lightweight phones, a feature thatis sure to endear it to those who do not like bulk.

Samsung, known for its high-visibility ad campaigns is all set with three new camera phones. The sliding SGH-D410 has a crystal clear 262144 TFT colour screen, with 64 polyphonic sounds, and a storage capacity of 1,000 names in the phone memory. The camera functions are geared towards customised picture-taking, receiving and sending .You can use tones such as grey, sepia or negative and the model has an additional snazzy feature: You can take multi-shots of the same thing or person, all of which will appear on your screen at the same time, improve them digitally, frame them as you wish from the options available, and send them. You can also put on the loudspeaker, and get your hands totally free, great for drivers who hate using earphones. The Samsung SGH-E810 and SGH-E800, again slide-ups, come equipped with a high-resolution digital camera with a flash which allows you to shoot clear images even in darkened pubs. And both have an interesting photo caller ID feature, which tells you who is on the line, and decides whether you want to take the call. Both these phones are scheduled for launch soon, and all three are priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 19,000.

The Sony Ericsson K700 has a neat little camera and easy messaging and connectivity possibilities, and comes equipped like every other phone, with FM radio supports. Like all other Sony-Ericsson models, it gets our vote for a classy design, and very nice graphics.

Not known for sleekness because they are meant to be workhorses, Motorala's V600 is also worth checking out for its nice-looking lines, solid features and attractive muted-silver colour.

So, is this the end of digital cameras, with global sales of camera phones rising rapidly? (By 2005, camera phone sales are projected to outstrip digital cameras). High-end camera phones now have 1.3 and 1.4 megapixel sensors, which can produce images sharp enough for a standard 4x6 print, making them serious alternatives to conventional cameras.

The photography industry is watching the progress of the camera phones with a great deal of caution. As are gaming majors such as Nintendo. With the recent launch of the Nokia N-gage QD (Rs 10,000), the endless possibilities of gaming on mobile phones have been thrown open to youthful Indian consumers. But that's another story.

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
The good food guide

Think global, buy local

On the go-go

Wake up and smell the `kapi'

Attn!Women at work

It pays to be polite

A sparkling experience

A dream getaway

Talking stock

One man's vision...