Taking the Neonode N2 for a test drive

Swedish company Neonode showed its N2 phone at CES. The tiny handset, which launched at the 3GSM show last February, would certainly be in the running for the title of smallest (and perhaps cutest) cell phone around. Like a certain device from Apple, the N2 relies almost entirely on a touch screen and has just one physical button. Yet the N2's interface is unique. Aside from a couple menus that involve pressing icons, most functions are performed by finger swipes across different areas of the display. You even use finger swipes to place and end calls. We tried it out for a few minutes and it worked pretty well. Admittedly, it has a learning curve, but onscreen arrows show you where to swipe your finger. Neonode gave us a review model so we'll give it a thorough shake-down when we return the office.

Features include Bluetooth, USB compatibility, messaging, a 2-megapixel camera, a miniSD card slot, and an MP3 player. The N2 is a quadband GSM world phone, and though you can get it unlocked, Neonode says it is in talks with U.S. carriers. Stay tuned for more availability news.