BenQ rolls out C30 phone with top-mount music control

BenQ this morning followed up its camera announcement with the release of its C30 bar phone. The company claims to have solved one of the common problems of music phones by moving dedicated music controls to the top of the design. Listeners can now pause or skip tracks while leaving the phone safely in a pocket, BenQ says. Two of the buttons also double as triggers for the built-in FM radio and the rear VGA camera. Two speakers also produce stereo sound without the need for headphones.

The handset supports its digital music in AAC, MP3, or WAV form on microSD cards up to 1GB in size, and will also save voice memos and AVI videos. The phone manages talk times of up to four hours and should be available shortly depending on the carrier. A 900/1800MHz dual-band GSM radio suggests the phone is unlikely to reach North America but should be available in Asia and Europe.