Philips 755

Posted by T3 Online on Wed 31 Oct 2007

Reckon all mobiles are pretty similar? Here's one with some interesting extras

Think Philips and you probably picture innovative wireless devices, great TVs and neat little camera gadgets, not mobile phones. Still, the company hopes to change all that with the 755, its first handset to boast some truly unique features.

If you've ever wanted to add handwritten scrawl to MMS messages - and the chances are you haven't, as sending an MMS is about as fashionable as fell walking - then the 755 is your mobile. For it comes with a small and slightly tacky stylus that enables you to write directly onto the screen. And it isn't only useful for adding "wish you were here"-type quips to messages. It can also be used to operate many of the phone's features, type handwritten reminders and speed up texting via an on-screen keyboard. To give credit to Philips, it's a neat little extra which has real novelty value, but you'll probably only use it occasionally after your initial burst of enthusiasm has waned.

Ironically, the handset doesn't really need it anyway, as it comes with a much cooler lead feature. This is one of the first models to boast next year's hottest camera phone application - TV plug-and-play. You simply run the included composite AV lead between the mobile and a telly, and you can view the 755's VGA images on a big screen. It's a great idea, but slightly compromised by the quality of snaps the phone takes. Compared to its megapixel rivals, to say nothing of some even better fellow VGA models, it takes images that are low in both resolution and colour, and blowing them up on a telly only underlines how far most mobiles have to go before they can truly replace dedicated cameras. Usefully, you can use the facility to show one image at a time, or if you're so inclined, run a mini slide show.

Other than its headline features, this is pretty much a bog-standard midrange-to-budget mobile. It sports a tasteful "chocolate bar" design, large keys, an okay joystick for controlling everything and a fairly typical (given its price point) 65,000-colour, 128 x 160-pixel screen. Philips' menu system and interface are simple to use, and just like previous Dutch handsets, the 755 has a superb battery life. There's also a solid selection of games and ringtones.

Overall, it's a neat little package. The stylus is reasonably handy and there's clearly a big future for TV outputs on mobiles. One day, Philips will deliver a killer phone that'll promote it into the mobile Premiership - this isn't the one, but it does highlight that the company is moving in the right direction.