O2 Cocoon: Hands-on with the alarm clock phone

Crave has to admit that it wasn't overwhelmed by the idea of a phone that emphasises its alarm clock abilities, but having spent some time with the O2 Cocoon, we have to say it's surprisingly innovative.

For starters, the Cocoon is highly stylish, featuring a smooth, curved white casing that slips easily into a pocket. In a neat touch, there are hidden LEDs behind the front cover that light up and tell you the time, and preview text messages and incoming caller details. But what's really impressive about these lights is how they work in conjunction with the provided dock, or 'nest' as O2 likes to call it.

As well as charging the Cocoon, the dock turns the handset into a fully fledged alarm clock that constantly displays the time and can wake you up to music or the radio. This looks and acts like a proper alarm clock, so you don't have to faff around in the morning trying to figure out what's going on.

Once you're awake, the Cocoon is a very tasty mobile too. Open it up and you're presented with a bright, colourful screen and a large, easy-to-use keypad that's well spaced out. Specs-wise, the Cocoon comes with HSDPA (3.5G) for speedy Internet browsing and video calls, there's a 2-megapixel camera on the back with an LED photo light, a music player with dedicated music buttons on the side and stereo speakers.

You can listen to your music using stereo Bluetooth headphones and there's a whopping 2GB of on-board memory, which can store up to 500 songs -- the expandable microSD slot can support a further 500 songs too.

The O2 Cocoon is currently available for free on a monthly contract of £35 per month or for £160 on a £25 per month contract. Alternatively you can pay £300 to get it on pay as you go, which we think is crazy money, but it will probably come down in price later on in the year. Expect a full review soon. -Andrew Lim

Update: a full O2 Cocoon review is now on the site.