Vodafone first in Europe to offer mobile phone with 1 megapixel digital camera

Sharp GX30 - the new Vodafone live mobile phone Vodafone first in Europe to offer mobile phone with 1 megapixel digital camera From now on, all you need in order to immortalise that unforgettable party, holiday or that first magic smile is your mobile phone. With an inbuilt digital camera that can take 1 million-pixel pictures, the Vodafone live mobile Sharp GX30 is a milestone in the European mobile market. In addition to amazing picture quality and picture communication possibilities, the user-friendly clam shell, quad-band (GSM) mobile phone is fitted with bluetooth support, MP3 player, video message function and a colour screen that displays 260,000 colours. You can also, of course, use it for making calls. The Japanese Sharp GX30 is the successor to the Vodafone live! model Sharp GX20 and is a major step in the development of mobile communication in colour, sound and pictures. It is the first GSM-enabled cameraphone that can take pictures of a resolution of 1 million pixels, which is three times the resolution that is normally available in cameraphones in the European market today. The phone will be available during March 2004 in Sweden. "We're delighted to add the Sharp GX30 to our range of Vodafone live mobile phones. Its enhanced picture capabilities will make Vodafone live's range of services even more fun to use. This includes sending postcards directly from your mobile phone, uploading pictures into your Vodafone Album and sending and receiving picture messages. And the superb picture quality means that many people will want to transfer their pictures to their family album on the computer," says Paul Moonga, Director of Consumer Market at Vodafone Sweden. 1 megapixel camera The Sharp GX30's inbuilt 1 megapixel digital camera opens up a world of possibilities. It can take stills in five different sizes - from 858 x 1144 pixels down to 120 x 160 pixels - and there's a 7x digital zoom for the smallest picture size. Like its predecessor, it has a macro setting for taking close-ups and a torch is fitted alongside the lens to light up objects when taking photos in poor light. And with the GX30's photo editing program, you can put the finishing touches to the pictures you have taken. Pictures taken at the larger sizes are simple to transfer to a computer by inserting the mobile phone's memory card (SD card) into the computer's SD card reader or via a USB cable. 240 x 320 colour screen boasts 260,000 colours The Sharp GX30 has two colour screens: the main screen (LCD) has a 240 x 320-dot resolution that boasts 260,000 colours for pictures even sharper and richer in contrast than its precessor. The outer display is larger than the Sharp GX20's and it has a 64 x 96-dot resolution and 65,000 colours. With both screens, users can add their own background pictures. Both screens also display caller ID information, as well as the time and date of each call. The outer screen can also be used as a viewfinder when users want to take their own pictures. Mobile entertainment The sharp, crystal clear colour screen enhances the users' experience when they download Java games from Vodafone live's wide range of games. The Vodafone live portal today boasts more than 150 different Java game titles. Around 20 of these will be adapted for the Sharp GX30 when it is launched. What's more, with its 40 polyphonic ringtones, the GX30 is optimised to accommodate Vodafone live's extensive range of downloadable ringtones (numbering some 2,500). It is also equipped with an audio player that supports the MP3 format and a video function to record video clips of around 10-20 seconds. These clips can then be sent as Video MMS to other video-enabled mobile phones or to e-mail addresses*. The Sharp GX30 will be launched in March 2004. Press pictures of the Sharp GX30 are available at: http://www.vodafone.se/433.jsp For more information, please contact: Paul Moonga, Director of Consumer Market, Vodafone Sweden Tel: +46 734-25 26 28 e-post: paul.moonga@vodafone.se *Other mobile phones with a video function include the Sharp GX20. To view video messages via e-mail, users need to download a player for their PCs that handles the .3gp format. Price details: Sharp GX30 Recommended retail prices for the Sharp GX30 from Vodafone are: SEK 1295 with the Vodafone 60 or 120 subscriptions, with a monthly charge increase of SEK 200 and a 18-month minimum subscription period. SEK 4895 subscribing to Vodafone subscription 12 month period. About Vodafone live! Services You can use Vodafone live! to take pictures, send and receive colour pictures, save pictures in a Vodafone Album, send real postcards, download and play games from the widest range of Java games in the market, send e-mail, download polyphonic ringtones, and get the latest news, information and pictures in colour on everything from sports and weather to the best restaurants and current movies. You can, of course, also make and receive calls. Vodafone live mobile phones Vodafone live! is sold as a package in which cameraphones are pre- programmed for all the services and are ready to use from the moment you leave the store. You can easily access the services through the user interface of Vodafone live! directly from your phone. Vodafone live! offers a huge range of cameraphones in various price categories and from a many different suppliers. In addition to the Sharp GX30, which will be available in March, the following models are included: Motorola v525, Nokia 7650, Nokia 3650, Nokia 3200, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6220, Panasonic GD87, Sagem MyV65, Sharp GX10i, Sharp GX20, Sony Ericsson Z600, Sony Ericsson T610. When you buy the Sharp GX30 with a new subscription or prepaid card, you automatically get access to all the services in Vodafone live! Customers who already have prepaid cards or subscriptions with Vodafone, need only supplement with the mobile phone to get access to the Vodafone live! services. Specifications: Sharp GX30 Quad band (GSM800/900/1800/1900) Built-in digital camera VGA CCD 1 Megapixel Digital zoom up to 7x Picture size: up to 858 x 1144 pixels Video message function and video playback Main screen QVGA 240 x 320 pixels, 260K colour system CGS LCD External display: 64 x 96 pixels, 65K colour Built-in torch for taking pictures in poor light Built-in IrDA-port GPRS WAP MMS Supports JAVATM technology 16-voice polyphonic ringtones Bluetooth Audio player (supports mp3 format) Memory card 8 Mb Battery life, standby: up to 230 hours Battery life, call time: up to 210 minutes ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/02/19/20040219BIT00330/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/02/19/20040219BIT00330/wkr0002.pdf