Based on my experience with a couple of Philips products, I’ve come to conclusion that Philips isn’t necessarily trying to innovate with what they do, but they are trying to throw a decent feature set into an affordable package. This “basic” strategy seems to also underpin the newly revealed Philips 192 candybar mobile phone, because it really offers very little other than a teeny-weeny price point.

It’s a little strange that Philips is making a triumphant return to the European market with such a barebones unit, considering that they withdrew from Europe a long time ago. The Philips 192 isn’t even made by Philips, instead getting built by a Chinese contract manufacturer. That could explain the basic and cheap philosophy behind the Philips 192.

You get a dual-band GSM radio, 65k color CSTN display, and that’s about it. Destined for Portugal initially, the Philips 192 will retail for under 40 Euro.