NOT everybody wants the most expensive, up-to-date mobile phone with tons of features. 

There are those who are simply content with having a basic model, which allows them to make voice calls as well as do a bit of text messaging. 

However with so many basic models available, how does a manufacturer distinguish itself from the field? 

One way is to introduce new and exciting features without having the customer pay extra for them. 

Take the Panasonic A210 mobile phone for instance.  

With dimensions of 91 x 44 x 16.5mm and weight of just 71g, the phone is small and light enough to fit in the front pocket of your shirt.  

The A210 boasts a 128 x 128pixel screen capable of displaying 65,536 colours. The phone comes in three colours. 

However what sets it apart is the phone's colour SMS function that allows users to send colourful text messages.  

That is not all – the phone also comes built-in with a set of pictographic symbols (emoticons) that will trigger corresponding light effects when used. 

Panasonic calls this feature “illumination messaging.” 

There's a catch to this though – the recipient must have a compatible phone. In this case, another A210 phone as there is no other “colour SMS” phone currently available in the market.  

However Panasonic believes that other phone manufacturers will soon follow suit with their own colour SMS models. 

U, lite up my life
With illumination messaging, you can express your feelings via SMS in a whole new way or if you're a recipient, feel the “emotion” of a message such as happiness, surprise or anger even before opening it.  

When sending an SMS message, all you have to do is choose a built-in emoticon or animation from the drop-down menu that you want to incorporate into your message.  

There are 40 different emoticons and 15 animations to choose from. 

The indicator light on the phone will then respond to the pictographs in an illumination message – the phone will light up in a combination of colours and light patterns when you receive or view an illumination message.  

There are three light patterns available: “Firefly” where the lights flicker slowly for about two seconds, “flash” where the light flickers fast for about one second and “beam” where it lights up for about two seconds.  

The phone can display up to eight different coloured lights such as green, blue and purple.  

Unfortunately, with so many combinations of light colours and patterns, trying to make sense of an incoming illumination message can be a daunting task. 

Thus, the recipient needs to know or memorise what colour and flash pattern corresponds to what emotion.  

Otherwise, you will need to keep the manual within reach to decipher their meanings. Doh! 

In order to keep one's sanity intact, we foresee users using only a few of these emoticons.  

Another disadvantage to using this feature is that it's a time consuming process as the user interface is not very intuitive.  

Every time you need to change the colour of the text or add in an emoticon, you will have to go through the drop-down menu.  

To make matters worse, the A210 comes with petite buttons that are quite difficult to press.