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NEC unveils tiniest camera-phone

A model shows off the world's smallest, slimmest, card-shaped, camera-equipped mobile phone, made by NEC, during a press conference in Tokyo yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Japanese high-tech company NEC Corp yesterday unveiled what it claimed is the world's smallest, slimmest camera-equipped mobile phone which will go on sale in China later this month in a bid to catch up with its rivals in the huge potential market.

The card-shaped mobile phone, measuring 85mm in width, 54mm in height and 8.6mm in depth, was released to selected clients on Sunday and will be sold to the general public later this month.

NEC will sell the metalic-colored mobile phone which weighs 70g and is slightly smaller than a standard business card -- for 7,000 yuan (US$840), equipped with mobile Internet functions.

"This world's smallest and slimmest mobile phone is a symbolic flag-ship product representing NEC's leading position in mobile terminal technology," said Yoshiharu Tamura, NEC's mobile phone division chief.

NEC produces the new product, which must be used in conjunction with an earphone and a microphone, at its Saitama factory, north of Tokyo, with a sales target of 100,000 units for the first year.

NEC has been left behind in China, the world's largest mobile phone market, where its domestic and foreign rivals have already sparked fierce competition.

Some 700 new mobile phones are released every year in China for its 270 million potential users.

"We have to admit we got a late start," Tamura told a news conference. "We cannot [talk about] mobile phones without [mentioning] China."

NEC, which fully entered the market in 2002, said it will target China's upper-end market with its cutting-edge Internet and ultra-thin packing technology.

The company plans to build its own flagship shops in Beijing and Shanghai for the new product.

"We are considering an aggressive marketing strategy which we have not done before in China," Tamura said.

NEC plans to release 20 models, including the latest, this year, compared with 11 over the past two years.
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