BenQ-Siemens trio headed this way

In BenQ-Siemens' case, it takes three to tango, with the company's mobile division finally confirming the launch dates of three of its phones. Originally slated for an April launch, the CL71 slider has been delayed to a late May rollout. Meanwhile, both the EL71 and E61 are firm for a June debut in Singapore.

Specs-wise, the CL71 offers the standard features expected in today's music phone. Those looking out for a musically inclined handset can expect up to 10 hours of music, with the onboard player capable of supporting MP3 and other formats, a six-band equalizer and the BenQSyncer software. The phone will come in a choice of silver and orange.

As for the other two sliders, the blocky-looking EL71 is notable for its 2-inch QVGA 262K-color display, semi-automatic sliding mechanism and microSD card slot. But it won't score any brownie points with shooters owing to a low-res 1.3-megapixel camera. This comes in Quartz Anthracite or Opal Black.

The CL71 offers more or less the same features as its EL71 sibling, but is a more stunning looker, with an iF Design Award 2006 to give it credence.

Prices for all three models were not available at press time.

More new colors for the V3x

Blink, and yet another Motorola has shed its current wardrobe for another designer set of colors. This time it's the V3x series with the US company releasing it in Ash and Licorice, two fancy names to describe what we personally think are simply silver and black. They join the current batch in Cosmic Blue and Hot Pink. Still, it's become an interesting exercise to see just what Paris Hilton-ish hue and name will emerge next from Motorola's color palette.

Meanwhile, for those who've been waiting for the Maroon and Silver editions of the V3i, they're finally out. Both now retail at S$668 without a plan, while the V3x is going for S$798 sans contract.

The world's thinnest phone?

Samsung seems to think so. And for good reason. The SGH-X820 sports a mere 6.9mm thinness, which is as close as you can get to Ultraviolet's paper phone, and nearly half the Motorola RAZR V3's 13.9mm girth. It even does one better on the already slim-built 8.9mm SGH-P300. What's more, the triband X820 weighs in at an anorexic 66g. Talk about extreme dieting.

It gets better. Samsung packs in a 2-megapixel camera, video recording and playback, MP3 player, a 1.9-inch 262K-color screen, Bluetooth, document reader (as with the SGH-D600) and TV output.

So when's this bundle of goodness coming? Word is you'll have to wait till later this year.

Rumor alert: Apple's iTunes phone coming soon?

A recent report from Japan's Nihon Keizei Shimbun seems to indicate that Apple may be teaming up with Japanese telco Softbank to develop a mobile phone with the Cupertino company's popular iTunes service. Unlike the iTunes-enabled Motorola ROKR E1 released last year which allows downloads of songs via a PC, the handset is expected to be the first to allow music downloads over the air.

Not surprisingly, Apple has kept mum in response to inquiries following the report. But the various tech sites are already buzzing with anticipation over whether this is the so-called iPhone or Mac Mobile which Apple is rumored to be working on. Expect more updates to follow soon.

Motorola L6 goes pretty in pink

It started with the RAZR V3, followed by the RAZR V3x and more recently, the PEBL. Now even the L6 is available in pink. According to Motorola's press announcement, it will be called the L6 Bubblegum Pink. The new candy-bar handset will be available in Singapore at an estimated price of S$288 (US$211.76) without operator contract.

First launched in Nov 2005, the Motorola L6 is currently one of the slimmest mobile phones in the market, measuring just 10.9mm thick. As a lower-end version of the SLVR L7, it features triband GSM support, Bluetooth, VGA camera as well as video capture and playback.

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