Japanese electronics firm NEC has unveiled what it claims to be the world's smallest and slimmest mobile phone. The handset, which weighs just 70 g despite its metal and resin shell, measures just 85 x 54 x 8.6 mm.

The GSM handset is the product of NEC's R&D team, and features a number of technological innovations to achieve its svelte lines. These include a new resin and metal structure for rigidity, a super-thin PCB and optimized space layout, which should really go without saying.

NEC Credit Card phone

Proving that good things come in small packages, the spec sheet is far from tiny. NEC have included a 0.3 MP digital camera with picture light and consecutive shooting ability, as well as a 1.8-inch, 120 x 160 pixel, TFT display.

The feature set is completed by 40-voice polyphonic ringtones and GPRS. No word was available on the battery life of the device, nor other features such as Bluetooth.

NEC's handset has one disadvantage: it can only be used in conjunction with a headset.