Let's face it: in the near future, if you make a mobile phone without audio playback capabilities, you won't exactly be selling like hot cakes. Which is why BenQ, under the BenQ-Siemens brand, has the new EF51 music cell phone, recently approved for the USA.

My first impression is that it's wider than most phones, possibly because of the screen. Oh, and surprise, surprise - the screen is square-shaped. The front houses quick-access music keys for play/pause, forward/rewind and volume control, and interestingly, this is a flip keypad which opens out to reveal full-blown keypad behind it.

The BenQ-Siemens EF51 supports microSD memory cards, so go ahead and burn those songs. Bluetooth connectivity is provided for compatible handsfree kits as well as setting up your own PAN. One of the cool features on this phone is that during MP3 playback, it displays a graphic equalizer.

A megapixel camera is provided as well, capable of taking photos at 1280x960 pixel resolution. Niceties include multi-shots and self-timer, as well as a USB data sync cable. Pricing has not been announced yet, but we expect details about the BenQ-Siemens EF51 soon on BenQ's website.