Nokia have announced the Nokia 6555 designer phone, which signals a change in the mobile phone market. The phone itself is nothing revolutionary - it comes with some pretty decent features, including 3G and quad-band GSM connectivity, 16 million colour QVGA screen and external analogue clock, but nothing amazing.

What is significant, though, is the price - just 200 Euros. Given that the 6555 is being pitched as a designer phone, that's a damned good price, particularly with all the features it comes with.


As such, the Nokia 6555 sees typical high-end features entering the lower end of the market, while the cost of new designer phones is now also moving lower. This is great news for the consumer, as it means that pretty soon all mobile phones will come with a similar set of features, regardless of their price.

Even the lowliest 'disposable' phone for the budget end of the market will come with 3G (and I bet it still won't be used as much as the operators would like!).