designer cell phones

cell phones have come a long way from their neanderthalesque brick ancestors in the '90s. from the 5-pound handset and its accompanying charger (as one so fondly remembers ross from friends carrying in a briefcase), it has gotten lighter, slimmer, and more multi-functional with technological advances. and of course, with this has arrived the desire for sexier and more high-design cell phones. while some brands like D&G and Prada have collaborated to make signature editions, others have experimented with materials or the form itself. the AU design project, for example, was started by KDDI in japan as a response to the traditional cellular device in seeking to create new and original models. the big wave of 2007 though seems to be geared towards music phones and touch screen interfaces, especially with the iPhone which was unveiled at MacWorld 2007 earlier today. note that i'm not so concerned or savvy about the functions included on each phone but more on the design. here are some of my picks:



apple iPhone
a widescreen LCD multi-touch interface, 4GB flash memory for music and movies, 2megapixel camera, visual voicemail options, wi-fi and bluetooth and more...could this be the superphone? the iPhone will undoubtedly cover the gap for those overly technogadget phones that have left much to be desired. them the release is expected in june and will start at $499.
via zdnet | gizmodo



LG ke850
the LG ke850 recently won the if product design award of 2007 and is rumored to be the prototype for which prada will base their rebranded cell phone on. there haven't been much on the specs yet as it hasn't been released, but prada or no prada label, the ke850 is pretty as it is. the touch-screen replacing the conventional buttons will probably take some getting used to though like the iPhone since it looks more like a tablet than something you talk into. i've heard that the lg chocolate touch interface is hard to use so i wonder if they've resolved it in this version.
via gizmodo




kddi neon by naoto fukasawa
the neon was released in 2006 as the latest model from the AU design project. the form is a rectangular solid that comes in three colors and a black interface. features include a 1.3 megapixel camera, miniSD card slot, FM tuner, and 50MB of memory for music. but the coolest thing that this phone offers is the top smooth surface of the phone that acts as a display for song functions and details.
via kddi | mocoloco


black diamond by jaren goh
the black diamond concept phone is a luxury item that will be sold in early 2007 by swiss manufacturer VIPN for a gi-normous sum of $300,000! this super sleek limited edition is made out of titanium, real diamonds, and has a glossy mirror finish. features include a 4 megapixel camera, 2-in. touch sensitive screen, intel 400Mhz processor that runs windows mobile 5, 128 mb internal memory, and sd card slot.
via jarengoh

other honorable mentions:
motorola rizr z6: suped up sliding rizr z3 with a better interface
sony ericsson w200i: the budget walkman
samsung ultra music phone: dual face music machine
hulger pip*phone: african hardwood shelled phone- wax with care