But now and then a phone appears which seems to have got it right and the recent announcements about Sony Ericsson's new range caught LP's eye, yes there's the K700 but he's started drooling over the S700 and its unique rotation hinge system.

The Sony Ericsson S700 is due to be launched in the UK this summer in time for the key sales period running up to Christmas 2004, what first strikes you is the sheer style of the device, clad in silver the case when closed is about the thickness of the Z600 but it doesn't flip open. Instead the screen hinges and rotates to reveal a standard and good size keypad which accesses the main features of the phone, when in this position with the screen rotated 180 degrees the S700 feels quite easy to use for normal voice calls.

Unlike the rather chunky Z1010 the S700 comes in at a reduced 107.5 x 49 x 24.5 mm which is a tad longer to get the screen in but 5mm less in width and 5mm thinner which all adds up when you are trying to force it into your jeans pocket, even if it does weigh a porky 137 grams.

What Sony Ericsson are trying to achieve with the S700 is a multifunction phone, with the unit closed it has a large scratch resistant 2.3 inch 262k colour TFT screen ideal for browsing content via the joystick and quad button control. The display is excellent and really aides navigation through the now familiar Sony Ericsson Symbian OS.

Hiding in the back of the S700 is a 1.3 mega pixel camera which is a considerable increase on the webcam standard deployed in most of the current camera phones, when combined with a 8 x digital zoom and the 2.3 inch screen acting as a viewfinder you could almost use the S700 as a camera. But don't be fooled 1.3 mega pixels is not a real digital camera.

Of course connectivity is key on any phone especially one trying to muscle in as a small smartphone, here the S700 comes loaded with Tri Band, GPRS, WAP 2.0, Bluetooth, IrDA, USB and has an in built memory stick Duo slot. Sadly no Wifi on this model but it can't be long before we start to see phones with full blown 802.11 b/g connectivity, for now the S700 has enough options to allow for easy synchronisation of email or WAP / Web browsing.

The package is rounded off with the usual collection of games, ring tones, calendar and video playback capabilities all useful extras but the sort of things you use once and forget. Even with our limited access to the Sony Ericsson S700 its done enough to convince us that this unique design brining browsing and traditional mobile phone operation together will be popular when it hits the streets in October 2004.

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