BenQ-Siemens launch three new handsets and seal branding

BenQ-Siemens unveiled its new consumer brand this morning at a packed European press conference in Berlin

17 January 2006 10:42 GMT / By Stuart Miles

BenQ-Siemens unveiled its new consumer brand this morning at a packed European press conference in Berlin.

The company, which officially launched in October last year, launched three new handsets; the EF81, the S68 and S88.

Clemens Joos, CEO BenQ, outlined the company's aggressive plan to break into the competitive mobile market promising 23-30 new phones this year alone.

A third of all phones launched in 2006 would include 3G connectivity. He also announced that three out of four would include a music player or FM radio and every second phone would offer a 1.3 megapixel camera, signaling a strong focus in multimedia performance.

The CEO when questioned by Pocket-lint.co.uk at the conference said the dramatic change of design over previous Siemens models was because "the design was not working".

The highlight of the announcement was the EF81, an ultra-slim 3G clamshell handset modeled in a similar design to the Motorola RAZR V3 line.

The phone will include a 262k 2.2 inch internal display, a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity, 64Mb of internal memory and be made from magnesium, aluminium and stainless steel. The handset is expected to be available in March.

The S68 and S88 are both candy bar designed phones that feature 2 megapixel cameras with 16x digial zoom and LED photolights. Film buffs will be pleased to see that you can record directly to MPEG-4 video and a Micro-SD card slot allows files to be saved and transferred easily.

The phones also features Triband connectivity and Bluetooth. The difference between the two models appears to be in the design and the internal memory allocation. The S68 has 8Mb while the S88 has 16Mb. Both phones are scheduled for a Q1 2006 release.

All three phones come with a metallic finish.