O2 Cocoon Preview
Expected
August 2007 14th June 2007
The O2 Cocoon is a very unusual and
highly attractive clamshell phone, due to hit O2 retail
outlets in the UK during August.
The name "Cocoon" gives a
clue as to the design - the outer case is curved (the
design sketches at the bottom of the page will give
you the best idea of the design) giving the handset
a very elegant look. In many ways the design is reminiscent
of the B&O
Serene, but the O2 Cocoon is a much more highly
specified device.
The outer case on the O2 Cocoon has
a hidden display panel with large LED-style letters.
This is a little like the Fujitsu
F703i and Sony
Ericsson Z610i in terms of concept. The external
display can show track information, caller ID or other
messages.
Open
the O2 Cocoon up and the minimalist design continues
on the inside with a very subdued and quite uncluttered
layout. There's a QVGA (240x320 pixel) display and what
appears to be a secondary video camera (which would
make this a 3G phone). The keypad layout is pretty simple,
but look on the side of the O2 Cocoon and you'll see
that the media controls are discretely mounted on the
outside. This arrangement means that you can use the
Cocoon's media keys while it is open or closed, but
presumably it might take a little practice.
The Cocoon features a 2 megapixel autofocus
camera, there's also a MP3 player, FM radio with RDS,
expandable memory up to 2GB (we believe the O2 Cocoon
uses miniSD cards). Other details aren't known, but
you can expect the O2 Cocoon to come with a web browser
and email client too.
Another clever feature with the O2 Cocoon
is a device called the "nest". Really, it's
just a docking station with an inbuilt charger, but
it turns the Cocoon into a sort of desktop MP3 player/radio/alarm
clock.
The overall look and concept of the
O2 Cocoon has been designed by Swedish firm Syntes
Studio, and their design concept (below) gives a
clearer view of the Cocoon's elegant curved design.
The O2 Cocoon is due in the UK in August
2007, and it should be free for customers on a
£35/month tariff. Pricing and availability in
other regions are not known at present.
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O2
Cocoon provisional specifications (subject
to confirmation)
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Available:
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Q3
2007
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Network:
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GSM
+ UMTS
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Data:
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GPRS
+ UMTS (3G)
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Screen:
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240x320
pixels
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Camera:
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2
megapixels
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Size:
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Not
specified
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Bluetooth:
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Yes
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Memory
card:
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miniSD
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Infra-red:
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No
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Polyphonic:
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Yes
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Java:
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Yes
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Battery
life:
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Not
specified
|
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