Panasonic Shows Off New Smart Phone

After dropping hints earlier this month about a possible launch at the 3GSM World Congress, Panasonic Mobile Communications unveiled its first smart phone based on Symbian's OS and the Nokia's Series 60 interface at the show this week.

The X700 smart phone, designed for use on GSM networks, is an upgrade of the company's X70 handset, which is based on a proprietary operating system developed by Panasonic Mobile.

Shipments of the new clamshell phone in Europe will begin in the third quarter, the Yokohama, Japan, manufacturer says. Price details were not available.

The X700 model features an integrated VGA digital camera with a TFT display and video capability, as well as e-mail, text, and picture messaging and other PDA functions.

Down to Business

Of particular interest to business users, the tri-band handset comes with a range of preloaded office applications. Users, for instance, can view and edit documents created with Microsoft's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs on their handsets. A miniSD card provides additional memory to store these files.

The launch of the X700 comes just weeks after Nokia agreed to acquire Psion's stake in Symbian and become the majority shareholder of the London-based OS developer.

Other shareholders in Symbian include Matsushita Electric Industrial (better known by its Panasonic brand name), Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.