Samsung and Bang & Olufsen, inspire the World Again with Serenata

Samsung and Bang & Olufsen announced in Hong Kong, the Serenata, a new, compact digital device that combines superb sound quality with the convenience of a mobile phone. Bringing new strengths in sound quality and sophisticated mobile phone functionality, the Serenata enables users to enjoy the best possible music experience while on the move.

Bang & Olufsen's expertise in concept development, user-interface experience, acoustic sound capabilities and design skills, together with Samsung‘s leadership in mobile phone technology, engineering and quality, have realized a new approach to combining unique music and mobile experiences for consumers.

"Both Bang & Olufsen and Samsung share a passion for innovation and consumer-focused technology. I'm proud to say that our customers have seen true innovation of music players and mobile phones since we launched Serene two years ago. Serenata is another example of new ways to think about the mobile phone,” says Geesung Choi, president of the Telecommunications Network Business in Samsung Electronics.

"We have high expectations for Serenata, as it is a result of our joint vision to constantly push the boundaries and bring unique and exciting products to our customers," states Lars Myrup, Managing Director, Bang & Olufsen Asia.

Serenata features a built-in stereo speaker system that delivers outstanding sound quality. Equipped with a built-in hi-fi speaker and advanced bass system, the phone delivers high-quality sound without any distortion. With this state-of-the-art technology, mobile phone users can enjoy their favorite music in the same way they would through their hi-fi systems at home. At anytime and in any place, the integrated loudspeaker system or the dedicated stereo EarSet 3 will deliver music of lifelike rendition.

Combining only top-performing speaker components with ingenious acoustic principles and Bang & Olufsen-patented ICEpower® amplification, Serenata offers breathtaking acoustic performance. The focus has been to provide uncompromised and totally authentic music performance, with emphasis on playback of "uncompressed" music. In addition to handling lossless, Serenata also handles playback in various formats, including MP3, WMA and AAC.

As a dedicated music phone, Serenata also offers special ring tones for users who want to have unique and sophisticated sounds designed by Bang & Olufsen. The effect achieved from a triangle, wind chimes, various types of glass and different types of woods will offer beautiful sounds for every mood and occasion.

Sophisticated design inspired by nature
Bang & Olufsen designer David Lewis used beach pebbles rounded by the sea as the starting point for the form of the Serenata. Whether standing on its integrated foot or nicely tucked in the palm of your hand, this music phone is a sight worth seeing. The balance between the cool aluminum and the warm soft-touch lacquer alludes to its exquisite marriage of form and function.

Intuitive user interface
This unique music phone's sound quality and elegant design does not compromise its ease of use. The click-wheel navigation gives users hassle-free control of music functions.

“The basic idea is simplicity and one-hand operation. There are very few actual keys. We use the wheel for all primary operation in the context-sensitive menus, such as dialling, writing and accessing the music lists. For secondary operation, the wheel is supported by on-screen operation based on sensi-touch technology", explains Lewis.

To assist the user, the display changes colour depending on whether it is in Phone mode (blue) or Music mode (red). Furthermore, the large 2.26-inch 256K colour LCD display developed by Samsung allows Serenata to show album covers in an excellent resolution and facilitates on-screen navigation.

To enhance the usability, Bang & Olufsen has developed BeoPlayer, simple software that can access and organize all music files on the PC and conveniently transfer them to Serenata. Also, through the Samsung PC studio, users can synchronize the contacts, calendar and to-do list from their computer onto Serenata via Microsoft Office Outlook.

Providing unique mobile experiences
To offer enhanced multimedia functions, Serenata brings 1.8Mbps High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) connectivity to Serenata. With 3.5G connectivity, users can enjoy full multimedia features including music and video, e-mail, MMS and instant purchase and download of music tracks. Also, the phone features a 4GB solid-state memory for storing digital music and data.

Featuring hi-fi speakers to deliver high quality sound reproduction and telephony, Serenata also provides a portable conference call feature, enabling multiple users to conduct a group call within a few feet of the phone.

Playback of music without disturbance from incoming calls or messages is made possible via the PureMusic function. Serenata still receives calls in the answering device or messages in the inbox, but users are not disturbed while listening to music.

For more information about Samsung mobile phones, please visit www.samsung.com or call the Samsung Customer Services Hotline at (+852) 3698-4698.

About Bang & Olufsen a/s
Founded in 1925 in Struer, Denmark, Bang & Olufsen a/s is world renowned for its distinctive range of quality consumer electronic products that represent our vision: Courage to constantly question the ordinary in search of surprising, long-lasting experiences. The Bang & Olufsen Group manufactures a unique range of televisions, music systems, loudspeakers, telephones and multimedia products. The company has approximately 2,500 employees and the products are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. The turnover for the 2006/2007 financial year was DKK 4,376 million (EUR 588 million).
Further information about Bang & Olufsen a/s is available from www.bang-olufsen.com

Specifications and Key Functions of Serenata:

Designer
David Lewis

Network^
• UMTS 2100
• GSM (900/1800/1900)

Dimensions
63x109.5x19.7mm

Weight
136.4g

Battery capacity
1000 mAh

Talk time*
up to 3 hrs

Standby time*
up to 220 hrs

Display
• TFT-LCD Pixel 240x240, Colour 256k,
• Size in inches 2.26”

Bluetooth
Profiles Generic Access , Service Discovery Application, Headset, Hands Free, Generic Object Exchange (OBEX), Object Push, Advance Audio Distribution Profile, Audio Video Remote Control Profile

Connectivity
• Bluetooth V1.2#
• Data Connectivity: USB 2.0
• Data Transfer^: HSDPA (1.8 Mbps) / 3G / EDGE / GPRS

Browser
WAP 2.0

Message
SMS, MMS, E-Mail (POP3, IMAP4, SMTP, SSL, TLS, OTA E-Mail Settings Configuration)

Memory
4GB + 25MB

Offline playback
up to 5 hrs (speaker)

Audio codec
MP3, AMR (Voice Tag), AAC, WMA, OMA, DRM, Windows Media DRM

Artificial Bass
SRS TruBass

Accessories
• Travel Adapter, MIC Cable, Bluetooth Headset (WEP420), Bluetooth Charging
• Cradle, Bluetooth Travel Adaptor, Data Kit: PC Studio + Data Cable

PC tools
• PC Studio (Compatible with Windows® 2000/XP)
• BeoPlayer (Compatible with Windows® XP)

Suggested Retail Price
HK$13,888

^ Subject to local network and the messaging services.
# Stereo Bluetooth is only applicable to specific headsets.
* The talk time and stand-by time are approximate. Performance of the battery is subject to the network, signal strength, function selection and profile.