It took a while, but LG and Cingular have finally released the long promised CE500 musicphone. This unit was originally supposed to be on the market in July, but it is here today. And because of its delay we are no longer impressed by its miniscule memory storage for music. In a nutshell, it’s a clamshell model with an mp3 player and a TransFlash memory slot with an included 64MB card. According to the press release it is perfect for “rockin’ out” and “jamming to mp3s”. I, for one, had no idea LG was so darned hip.

Besides the player (or should we say playa?), it also features a VGA camera/camcorder with flash, tri-band capabilities and multimedia messaging. It’s on the EDGE network, which means you get Mobile Instant Messaging with AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, & ICQ, and the rest of the EDGE benefits.

For the first while anyway, the only place you can get it is at Best Buy. The price is reasonable at $100, provided you sign up for two years of service, of course.

Some additional features of the Cingular Wireless LG CE500 include:

– GSM 850/1800/1900 MHz (Tri-Band)
– EDGE Class 10
– Memory: 32 MB Flash/8 MB SRAM: TransFlash External Memory Card
(64 MB)
– Dimensions: 3.70″ (H) x 1.89″ (W) x 0.96″ (D)
– Weight: 3.70 oz.
– Internal LCD: 262K Color TFT, 128 x 160 Pixels, 8 Lines
– External LCD: 65K Color TFT, 96 x 96 Pixels, 4 Lines
– Standard 1,000 mAh Li-Ion Battery
– Talk Time: Up to 7 Hours
– Standby Time: Up to 9 Days and 4 Hours
– Music Player Supporting MP3, AAC & AAC+
– Customizable Graphic Equalizer & Player Skin
– Dual Speakers for 3D Stereo Sound
– TransFlash Memory Port for Music Storage
– POP3 E-Mail Client
– Mobile Web — WAP 2.0 browser with image support