Tech Phone

The Hyundai MB-910 is a full-blown wristwatch phone, similar in concept to the upcoming LG GD910 and it opens up the possibility of a new battleground for manufacturers.

Hyundai say that the MB-910 should be due in the UK during the late second quarter of 2009.. and crucially, the estimated SIM-free retail price of the MB-910 is going to be around £200 (approximately €220) when it hits the streets.

The MB-910 is being pitched as a second phone by Hyundai, and at this sort of price it is easy to see the phone's appeal.
If you ignore the cool packaging of the MB-910, the underneath you will find that this is a tri-band GSM phone with a 1.5" 132 x 176 pixel touch-sensitive display, Bluetooth, a multimedia player with 128MB of memory, USB 2.0 connectivity, a WAP 2.0 browser, email client and a set of personal information management applications.. including a full-screen clock.





Hyundai MB910

Hyundai MB-910 Of course, what's really clever about the Hyundai MB-910 is the fact that it can be worn on the wrist, so it is basically just like a wristwatch. We must say though that the MB-910 is a very large wristwatch. Weighing 58 grams and measuring 58 x 44 x 16mm, the MB-910 is about twice as heavy as a typical man's watch, and three times as heavy as a woman's watch.. and of course it is much bigger. Think of the MB-910 as being around the same size as a diver's watch and you might get a feeling for just how large this is.

The small 400 mAh battery can drive the MB-910 for up to 3 hours talktime and just under 3 days standby time. That may not seem like a long time, but really the MB-910 is going to appeal to people who will wear it for a few hours and then take it off.

It's hard to say if the MB-910 will be a success as it isn't exactly a mainstream phone, but then none of the recently announced Hyundai handsets have been very mainstream.. and that's a very good thing for consumer choice.

Hyundai MB-910 at a glance

Available:


Q2 2009

Network:


GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900

Data:


GPRS

Screen:


132 x 176 pixels

Camera:


No

Size:


Wristwatch phone
58 x 44 x 16mm / 58 grams

Bluetooth:


Yes

Memory card:


No

Infra-red:


No

Polyphonic:


Yes

Java:


Not specified

GPS:


No

Battery life:


3 hours talk / 3 days standby
-Hyundai MB-910 Wristwatch phone

Car firm Hyundai has unveiled two mid-range devices and a low-end one. Hyundai with the MB-490i dolphin phone announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Hyundai’s designers have attempted to make the MB-490i look like a dolphin from the side, and there’s an aquatic feel to the ripples on the surface of the phone which continues the theme.It features a 240 x 400 pixels touchscreen display and touch-sensitive navigation. Besides that it includes Stereo Bluetooth, FM radio and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

A Yamaha-powered speaker system should mean the phone’s able to blast out tunes with some clarity, while tracks can be imported either over Bluetooth or using the memory card slot.The “dolphin” theme is also carried through into software, with a dolphin assistant to help navigate menus.

No date as to when this will hit the UK, however the company has confirmed that you will be able to get it here

A familiar name, but on an unfamiliar product. Hyundai Mobile is perhaps not the first, or indeed second, Korean mobile phone maker that you can think of. But along with fellow companies LG and Samsung, Hyundai hopes to take a slice of the UK mobile market.

Hyundai Coupe Mk III and Hyundai Pony Mk IThe Hyundai brand is perhaps best known in the UK for cars, and Hyundai Mobile would probably sooner you think of the Hyundai Coupé instead of the 1975 Hyundai Pony. It might seem strange for a car manufacturer to make phones, but in fact Hyundai is a chaebol - a large industrial conglomerate that is involved in everything from electronics to shipping. It might surprise you to learn that Samsung are also involved in making cars, through Renault Samsung motors.
Perhaps then, the surprise is that it has taken so long for Hyundai to market phones in the UK. In fact, Hyundai Mobile are already active in Hungary, Slovenia, Germany and Austria. And Hyundai have very aggressive plans for the UK market.

Just as Hyundai cars are appealing because of the value for money that they offer, Hyundai Mobile is also pursuing customers who are "price conscious".

Hyundai's current model range is quite varied. Highlights include the MB-400 with an iPod-style control pad on the front, the MB-910 wristwatch phone, the simple-to-use MB-150, a glossy slider called the MB-500, the MB-220 which is an unusual clamshell with an external touchscreen and the dual-SIM MB-D130. LG want to introduce ten to fifteen new mobile phones annually, across a wide product range.. we think some of these will be shown off at next month's Mobile World Congress.Currently, the Hyundai range lacks any 3G devices and the maximum camera resolution is just 3 megapixels. But the interesting MB-400 retails for only about €120 SIM-free in Germany, and the novel MB-910 wristwatch phone is about €200.. so they certainly seem to offer good value for money.

It is impossible to say if Hyundai can be successful in the UK market, but a combination of "different" design and low prices may well be appealing to British consumers.