BEIJING, Jan. 14 -- South Korea's Samsung Electronics said it has developed the world's first mobile phone with motion-recognition capabilities, unveiling yet another technical coup.

     The SCH-S310 phone allows users to dial phone numbers by waving the phone in the air in the shape of digits and symbols instead of pressing a keypad while they can delete unsolicited text messages by shaking the phone up and down.

     The phone uses sophisticated sensing technology that can interpret simple hand movements, Samsung said.

     The electronics giant said the "3-dimensional movement recognition" phone was a new starting point for mobile phone technology.

     "Our new movement recognition technology opens a new chapter in natural communication," Samsung Electronics president Lee Ki-Tae said.

     Samsung described the new phone as the most innovative of its latest product offerings which included the world's first mobile phone capable of converting spoken words into text messages.

     "The capability extends beyond the identification of the general locus to include precise recognition of small and rapid movements as well as alpha-numeric symbols," it said in a statement.

     The SCH-S310 also comes with a global positioning system, a 1.3 mega-pixel camera, digital music player and mobile banking capabilities. It will be released for sale in March.

     The company said its new technology would become "an important user interface and revolutionize mobile phone designs and features," with many functions to be controlled by hand movements.

     "This technology will do away with the need for complex keypads on mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and other handheld products," it said.

     If the user wrote the number "three" in the air, the SCH-S310 would read this movement and dial "3". Shaking it twice would conclude a call or delete spam messages.

     If the user drew a "O" or "X" in the air, the phone would respond with the voice messages: "Yes" or "No".

     Samsung said new functions would be adopted on later models, including the choice of landscape or portrait frames when shooting a video or snapping a stills picture.

     Games would be played by moving the phone up, down, right or left, and an upgraded version could even sense changes in body movement and provide advice on health tips.

     (Source: CRIENGLISH.com/AFP)