The X800 is impressive with its huge edge-to-edge screen and its sleek dark looks, but that would only appeal premium cell phone users who want more than just phone calls and text messages. Now, Philips is looking to tap the low-range market with the announcement of two new phones, the 198 and 199, which are affordable and functional. Although both the 198 and 199 are similar in their candybar form factor and simple design, the 199 is a step-up over the 198 with an FM Radio . Otherwise, both the phones have the same 1.5 inch display of 62k colors, a four-way navigation key, SMS/MMS, and T9 text input. The miniUSB support is a mystery though, as there is no way to expand memory and being low end, there probably won’t be any substantial storage integrated. All this runs off a 800 mAh battery which can provide up to 5 hours of talktime and 20 days on standby. Only dual-band GSM 900/1800 MHz frequencies are supported along with GPRS and WAP connectivity. The three games onboard add a flavor of entertainment to these otherwise ho-hum devices.

The Philips 198 and 199 will be available for now in Russia at a price of $62 and $70 respectively. Now that’s a steal!

Thanks Trent