Physically identical to the BenQ-Siemens E81, the C31 is an attractive lightweight GSM phone with a built-in MP3 player, and FM radio and microSD expandable memory (supporting up to 4GB).
There's no Bluetooth and the C31 only has a 1.8" 176x220 pixel display and a 1.3 megapixel camera, but as we think that the handset will be less than €130 before tax and subsidy it still offers pretty good value for money.
Although it looks like the E81 on the surface, underneath this is purely a BenQ device. It appears that the Siemens legacy only lives on when it comes to styling.
As with the E52, we understand that this will be available in Eastern Europe from June 2007 onwards. We don't know about other markets yet, but the C31 certainly seems attractive enough to sell well for prepay customers in other parts of Europe too.
BenQ-Siemens C31 at a glance
Available:
Q3 2007
Network:
GSM 900/1800/1900
Data:
GPRS
Screen:
176x220 pixels, 262k colours
Camera:
1.3 megapixels
Size:
Lightweight monoblock
100 x 47 x 17mm / 122 grams
Bluetooth:
No
Memory card:
microSD
Infra-red:
No
Polyphonic:
Yes
Java:
Yes
Battery life:
3 hours talk / 7 days standby
