Key moves as singing phones reach crescendo

Ipod handset comes late to the market - but some buyers more interested in how to input text

Music on the move was in the news last month, with HMV and Microsoft launching a download service to rival Apple’s Itunes. The two services are not compatible and HMV’s requires the use of Creative and I-river players.

Apple launched a much anticipated Ipod phone in partnership with Motorola, bowing to the common view that there is little point in having a separate player and mobile. But other companies had already beaten it to the market (see here).

There has been a surge in sales of mobile phones – 21.6 per cent in the three months up to June – as people replaced old handsets, according to analyst Gartner. But they have been shunning 3G models, apparently because of a lack of interest in 3G services.

However, the latest models, to be launched in time for Christmas are slimmer and lighter than the first 3G handsets and may tempt more buyers.

Another trend, prompted by the success of Blackberry email-on-the-move, is towards phone/PDAs with mini keyboards. The most elegant is the new O2 XDA Executive, which has a swivel top similar to a tiny Tablet PC.

Both the XDA and T-Mobile’s MDA Pro run Windows Mobile 5.0 and support 3G, GPRS and Wifi, and have twin cameras (one for video calls).

The MDA costs up to £399, depending on contract. At the time of going to press, no prices were available for the XDA.