By Ian Burley
23rd October - 2001
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Update, 25th October - click here.
Thanks to our correspondent in Japan, Hiroyuki Kamijou, we can bring news that Fujifilm Japan has today announced the FinePix 30i, a development of its multimedia digicam family, currently represented in the UK by the 50i (click here).
Like the 50i, the 30i is a 2 megapixel camera with a non-zooming lens and doubles as an MP3 music player. What makes the 30i interesting is that it is designed to connect directly to a mobile phone. 
To be more exact the Japanese version of 30i will connect to a cdmaOne multimedia phone. You can display your snaps on the phone itself or transmit them to the Web (see right).
According to a representative of Fujifilm UK, the 30i won’t come to the UK before next year, but there is a chance that it will eventually, though it would have to be modified for use with European specification GSM or GPRS phones rather than the CDMA type now available in Japan and the US.
In Japan the FinePix 30i has a price tag of Y68,400, or about £390 or US$550.
Update: 25th October - Fujifilm UK has swiftly brought its plans for the 30i up to date and now says the European version of the camera will be available from this November, priced £350.
Alas, the UK press release is completely void of any mention of a mobile phone feature. Instead, we get a remote control facility and a Webcam mode.
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DPN News service
www.dp-now.com
