Toshiba G450 4-in-1 Gadget – USB Flash Drive, MP3 Player, Cell Phone & Laptop Modem

Following our slight rant concerning the dull styling of Sharp’s new SP600 PMP along comes Toshiba with this G450 which, apart from offering decidedly novel styling, serves as a USB flash drive, an MP3 player and lap top modem and, believe it or not, even a cell phone.

Admittedly, as far as the G450’s aesthetics are concerned, we suspect that the somewhat uncongenial styling will draw praise and derision in equal measure but, which ever camp you fall in (personally we fall very much into the former) Toshiba surely has to be congratulated for conceiving of a device that inexorably stands out from the crowd.

Due to become available in black, white and red, and featuring two keypads and an OLED display, in its flash drive capacity the G450 sports 160MB of storage for your miscellaneous files which is also used for storing MP3 and AAC audio files which the device will happily play. Nothing new here, certainly, but add into the equation that Toshiba’s G450 also functions as a cell phone and a highly ‘pocketable’ HSDPA (as well as GPRS and EDGE) modem – it measures in at a mere 36 x 98 x 16mm and weighs just 57 grams - and will allow you to make and receive calls and text whilst surfing the web and what you have is a highly versatile gadget that is sure to make an ideal travelling companion for those that make their living on the road.

Here’s Toshiba’s Official Press Release:

Toshiba Unveils a World First with the New G450: USB Modem that’s also a Mobile Phone and MP3 Player

First in a range of unique HSDPA USB modem phones, the simplest way to link any laptop PC to the internet over a mobile network and not miss out on calls

London, UK – 21st January 2008 - Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd, Mobile Communications Division, today announced the G450, a unique four-in-one innovative mobile device designed to quickly and easily enable anyone to connect a laptop to the internet using a HSDPA mobile network. As well as providing instant high speed mobile broadband access, the G450 is a mobile phone for voice calls and texting, a USB data storage device and an MP3 player. It will be available across Europe in the first quarter of 2008.

The perfect solution for anyone looking for a mobile handset that integrates and works seamlessly with their laptop, the G450 simply plugs into any USB socket to provide broadband PC access to the web, emails or office network over 3G/HSDPA mobile networks, or EDGE or GPRS connections. No settings are required you can just ‘plug and play’. You can also make and receive calls whilst using the G450 to connect to the internet too; the G450 will allow you to simultaneously make a call and be connected to the Internet when on a 3G/HSDPA network.

The G450 also provides all of the key functions you’d expect of a mobile phone, including voice calling, SMS texting and an alarm clock, making it a perfect simple to use phone. Weighing only 57 grams, the G450 is light enough to carry with you all the time and charges direct from a laptop USB socket too, allowing you to top up power wherever you’re working.

The G450 can also be used as a USB memory storage device, with room for up to 160 MB of data; enough space for work files, pictures or even songs when using its in-built MP3 music player. Music will be automatically paused whilst you take a call and resume when you hang-up.

Available in white, red or black colour schemes, the G450 packages all of its capabilities within a unique and extremely compact (just 98mm long) lozenge-like design comprising of three interlinked spheres.

Says Takashi Okamoto, Deputy Managing Director, Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd: “With increasingly mobile lives and flexible working practices, there’s a real and growing need for new solutions to connect people and enable them to work more effectively when they are away from the office. The G450 is an exciting product because it opens up new avenues for mobile access, keeping users in touch by email and the web via their notebook PC wherever they’re located as well as providing them with an easy-to-use voice device. The G450 is a great illustration of Toshiba Mobile Communications’ aim, which is to bring to market innovative new mobile devices that meet the changing requirements of our modern, mobile lives.”

Toshiba G450 – Specification Overview

• Form Factor: Bar (USB modem type)
• Size: 36mm x 98mm x 16mm
• Weight: 57g
• System: UMTS/HSDPA(3.6Mbps)/GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM6280
• Memory: 160MB (user available memory)
• Interface: mini USB
• Band: 2100 for UMTS, 900/1800/1900 for GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Battery: 600mAh
• Standby: Up to 200hrs*
• Talktime: Up to 140 mins*
• Display: OLED 96×39 pixels
• Messaging: SMS with T9 text editor
• Media Player: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+
• Utilities: Alarm
• Colours: Black, Red, White
• Accessories: mini USB cable, Stereo Headset (with microphone and switch), charger, user guide, CD-ROM

* Dependent on network conditions and usage

Toshiba’s G450 will retail for around £150 when it becomes available in UK sometime in March.

[Source | Digital Drops]