BenQ-Siemens have taken the wraps off another big introduction of new handset models at CeBIT, following a gush of new models at 3GSM. This is the biggest burst of activity from BenQ since their acquisition of Siemens' mobile handset business last year. The Taiwan-based manufacturer unveiled eight new handsets (and counting), including:

• EF81 - Skinny, aluminum Razr look-alike


• EL71 - Sexy silver slider with music features


• CL71 - Multimedia slider with FM and MP3


• CL75 - Fuschia-colored flip phone for the feminine set


• P51 - Smartphone with Windows Mobile, push e-mail, GPS and WLAN

Clemens Joos, CEO of BenQ Mobile touted his firm's new intros:

"Within quarter one alone we have launched 12 new handsets under the new BenQ-Siemens brand, combining technical know-how with design flair in an original way that will excite consumers. Operators are certainly showing confidence in our approach, with many of our products now listed across the major regions, and I have great confidence that consumers will identify with the spirit of the BenQ-Siemens brand. You should expect the unexpected in 2006"

Nonetheless, BenQ-Siemens' mobiles are not standing out tremendously from a crowded field of handsets flooding the marketplace, other than to look a bit like Nokia's higher end devices with the use of brushed metal. Indeed, the sameness of the marketplace will force continued mergers and consolidation.