GearBits

Panasonic Videocam Handset

Panasonic has announced the X300 mobile handset, which turns into a videocam at the touch of a button, sporting a pop-up LCD 65K colour screen. The unit will be available in the fall of this year.

Pop-up LCD screens are primarily seen on camcorders, but the design appears to be a significant ergonomic advance over other mobile phone camcorders. Filming is much easier when holding the phone sideways, videocam style.

Besides the novel pop-up screen, the Panasonic X300 tri-band phone features video record and playback, a 65-k colour display, a built-in VGA digital camera, multimedia messaging, polyphonic ring tones, preloaded games, and a WAP 2.0-compatible browser.