Sony Ericsson, the world's No. 4 mobile phone maker, on Sunday unveiled a cell phone that can be silenced by a wave of hand.
Sony Ericsson, owned by Sony Corp and Ericsson, said a user can simply wave their hand over the phone to mute the ring tone and ignore a call on the Z555 flip cover phone, which will be available in the first quarter.
Similarly, a consumer using the phone as an alarm clock can activate the snooze function by waving across the phone.
The company also announced two new phones for its Walkman music handset line-up including the Walkman W760 music phone with satellite positioning technology that, combined with mapping software from Google, lets users follow step by step directions to their destination.
It will be available from the second quarter, said Sony Ericsson, which has seen strong success with its Walkman branded music phones but trails Nokia Oyj, Samsung Electronics and Motorola in the global market for mobile phones.
Like its other rivals, it also faces stiff competition from iPhone, the first cell phone from digital music player market leader Apple Inc.
The devices were expected to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, which opens to the public in Las Vegas on Monday. The company did not reveal retail pricing.