In March, Pirelli broadband solutions, a broadband access and photonics company has announced that it will be launching a new range of dual-mode GSM-WiFI handsets at the C5 World Forum.

The Pirelli Discus DP-M30 is a dual-mode phone that packs both VoWLAN and GSM, allowing the use of either a regular SIM card or a WiFi network. The stylish clamshell offers Bluetooth for connectivity and an integrated MP3 player. Comparing to Pirelli's previous model, the DP-L10 the Discus brings some major improvements.

It is equipped with a 2.2 inch 262k color screen with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution as well as an external display, a 2 megapixel camera and MicroSD card slot for memory expansion, supporting cards of up to 1GB. Other features include a web browser, Java support and email client.

"Our first dual-mode handset has proved extremely popular across Europe since its launch in 2006. This new family of GSM-Wi-Fi handsets will build on that success and will take dual-mode mobile communications to the next level," said Mauro Sacchetto, CEO at Pirelli Broadband Solutions . "The technology behind our dual-mode offering is the result of more than five years' R&D and large-scale deployments of VoIP service-oriented devices."

On a full charge, the handset will last for up to four hours of talk time (on GSM), 3 hours on WiFi or up to 9 days on standby. Pirelli has managed to introduce a quite interesting dual-mode device that comes with all the capabilities of a regular mobile phone and some extra ones. Its manufacturer hasn't announced either the price or the availability of the Discus so far.