Hitachi have released the new Hitachi W41H mobile TV phone. This tasty piece of mobile mentalism (forgive the pun!) is, as you can see, a mobile TV phone. Better yet, you can watch nearly four hours of TV on its 2.7 inch screen, and even record 30 minutes’ worth for later viewing. Music’s catered for with a built-in MP3 player, as well as support for Japanese network operator au’s LISMO service (a mobile iTunes-type service). Naturally, it’s a cameraphone too, and being Japanese, it sports a nifty 2 megapixel camera. Best of all, though, is the twisty form factor. It may look like an oversized candy-bar, but read on to see the shapes the Hitachi W41H mobile TV phone can pull.

 

 

The Hitachi W41H mobile TV phone

 

 

First thing to notice (apart from the fact it comes in black or white) is that the Hitachi W41H mobile TV phone isn’t just a candy-bar: it’s actually a clam shell. When in clamshell mode, the 3D surround stereo speaker is visible on the front, with the 2 megapixel camera lens sited on the back. Open it up, and you get to see the huge screen.

 

 

Still not satisfied with that? Fine, just twist the screen round to any angle you like, or twist it a full 180 degrees, place it in its charging cradle, and voila: instant desktop TV.

 

If you’re still not satisfied, you can also view PDF, Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel and Word files, as well as browse the web.

 

Slightly heavy at 160 grams, and measuring 2 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches, this is a phone destined to compete with the Korean technological marvels, and could easily go head to head with the Nokia N92. But not outside Japan, as it’s for the Japanese market only (doh!)