Bang & Olufsen / Samsung Serene
Discontinued 7th October 2005
It looks like a concept phone.. but
it isn't. It looks like a hoax.. but it isn't. What
this is though is the fruit of a collaboration
between Samsung and Bang and Olufsen to come up with
a completely novel approach to mobile phone design.
The
Bang and Olufsen Serene has several novel features.
Look at the photograph on the right and you might think
that the phone was upside down. It isn't - B&O really
have designed the Serene so that in general use the
screen is at the bottom. This cleverly stops the screen
from getting greasy when you talk on the phone. In fact,
you can use the phone either way up as the handset can
invert the screen display. This topsy-turvy approach
probably explains the circular keypad, but what you
can tell from the stills photo is that the round thing
in the middle is actually a iPod-style rotator that
selects menu options. The circular arrangement of keys
on the Serene also conceals a loudspeaker.
We mentioned the iPod, and you'd think
a handset like this would make a fantastic iPod killer,
especially with the Bang and Olufsen name behind
it. But the B&O Serene ins't a music phone at all.
It does have a camera, but it's only a 0.3 megapixel
VGA resolution device. The display is quite high resolution
though, it's a 2.1" display with a wide 320x240
pixel arrangement in 262,000 colours. It has tri-band
GSM (900/1800/1900), a WAP 2.0 browser, email client and
Bluetooth. B&O say that they wanted to keep the
handset simple by including only the basics, but as
the Serene will cost €1000 when it comes out, you might
expect more.
There's a toblerone-shaped docking station/charger
too, so that the Serene can be used on a desk. There's
also a DECT docking station that allows users to synchronise
the phonebook in the Serene with a B&O DECT
system. The B&O Serene weighs 110 grams and measures
65x70x24mm when closed. Talktime is 3 hours with 10
days standby time.
The Bang and Olufsen Serene will be
available sometime during Q4 2005 in B&O retail
outlets and from selected Samsung partners in Europe,
Russia and the Ukraine.
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|
Bang
and Olufsen Serene at a
glance
|
Available:
|
Q4
2005
|
Network:
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Tri-band
GSM 900/1800/1900
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Data:
|
GPRS
|
Screen:
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320x240
pixels, 262k colours
|
Camera:
|
0.3
megapixels
|
Size:
|
Medium-large
clamshell 65x70x24mm
/ 110 grams
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Not
specified
|
Battery
life:
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3 hours talk / 10 days standby
|
|
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