Launched with much pomp and splendour on the 31st August 2000 at Home, one of the prestigious bars at Cockle Bay, Sydney, Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has revealed its world's first mobile phone capable of playing back MP3 music files.
Dubbed the SCH-M105, the phone contains all the features of a standard mobile phone with the addition of a 32-megabyte (MB) flash memory chips that can be used to store music and data files.
Samsung Australia's Les Chapman believes that "the MP3 phone addresses the huge growth in demand for digital electronic music." With Samsung's expertise in the development of mobile phones and "Yepp" line of portable MP3 players, it has combined the best of both worlds into the SCH-M105 bringing added functionality on top of what one would get out of a standard mobile phone.
Some of the product highlights include:
MP3 Features
CD-quality sound
MP3 file download through personal computer
Equaliser (Jazz/Rock/Classic)
Remote control with stereo ear-microphone
Phone Features
Voice dialling
Voice recording
Phone book with 200 locations
SMS
Caller ID, Call Waiting and Forwarding, and Three-Way Calling (Network dependent)
A release date for the CDMA version of the product has been set for September with the GSM model following in November. Pricing of either phones have yet to be announced.
