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Yet another handset to come out of Mobile World Congress today was the PUMA Phone, made by Sagem for the sports-savvy consumer. As a high-end feature phone with a proprietary, Java-based operating system, the PUMA Phone isn’t a lot too look at on the spec sheet: 2.8″ QVGA touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, GPS, and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA. Preloaded software, like a pedometer, compass, stopwatch, sports scores, a GPS location tracker and highly-pocketable size really gear this phone to those who enjoy the active lifestyle and are likely to already be wearing something from PUMA. More apps will apparently be on the way from PUMA over time.
The rear solar panel does spruce things up a fair bit. A small LED just above it lets you know if it has sufficient light to charge, and an app will keep track of how much energy you’ve used from the sun. The Pumaphone isn’t characterized by hardware or megaherts or milliamps; the biggest feature of this handset is its attitude. Punching in calculator equations will flash a message like “oh, that’s about…” or “that’s easy” before giving you an answer. The media player includes a turntable that you can scratch while listening to your music. There’s an “on-demand digital cat” named Dylan who will chill out on your phone if you feel like you need the company of a real puma. That kind of smartassery might just get irritating after awhile, but it makes a great first impression.
The phone itself will launch across Africa, Asia, and Europe this spring (46 days, according to the teaser site) for about 400 Euros at Puma stores, but expect to see this baby subsidized on carriers as soon as they realize just how much awesome is packed into the relatively tiny package.
UPDATE: Got some still pictures, for those who can’t bear the whirlwind of moving ones.
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
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