Sendo phone takes on MP3 players

UK mobile phone manufacturer Sendo has unveiled three new handsets, including one which it claims could give standalone digital music players a run for their money.

The Sendo X2 Music Phone, available in Europe during this summer, supports the MP3 music format and offers easy transfer of music from a PC over Bluetooth or USB, the company claimed.

The triband GSM/GPRS phone also supports the AAC and AAC+ music formats, and features Open Mobile Alliance digital rights management.

Ron Schaeffer, product management director at Sendo, said "The Sendo X2 is the first phone that makes playing music as simple as making a call. Just switch the phone on and press Play. There's no wading through menus or searching to find your songs.

"Phones have not really been credible alternatives to dedicated digital audio players until now."

The X2 is 18mm thick and Sendo claims it is the smallest and lightest Symbian OS phone announced so far.

Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera with eight times digital zoom and camcorder, and 32MB free memory expandable to more than 1GB with miniSD cards. The X2 also has Bluetooth and USB connectivity, including charging over USB from a compatible PC.

Sendo has also launched a Bluetooth headset and handset combo, the Sendo K1, which the company said eliminates the complexity of pairing devices so that they are ready to go straight out of the box.