Archive for the ‘Concept phone’ Category
Since Apple’s iPhone was such a runaway success, the entire mobile phone industry has been playing catch-up with the pocket wonder. Jonathan Ive’s (Apple’s Chief of Design) minimal flat black screen design has instantly become a gadget icon and seems to be the inevitable future of mobile phone designs for everyone looking to grab market share. The problem with this design direction is the very limited aesthetic potential. How many ways can you reinterpret the flat black touchscreen screen? Well designer Jaren Goh has done a pretty decent job of putting his own spin this movement with his “Basic Tab” mobile phone design. He has masterfully taken softer side out of the iPhone silhouette and gave it a more edgy, masculine appearance. His clever use of red translucent materials mixed with chrome harkens more retro future funk sci-fi creations like 2001 A Space Odysseys “HAL 9000″ and the Cylons on Battlestar Gallactica.
Ever since Motorola was tossing the Tetra name around in 2005, the brand has catered to those operating in less-than-beautiful conditions. The T-Pad smartphone is no exception to the rule, boasting a shock-proof (MIL-STD-810F) casing, IP65 waterproof rating and a keypad that resists dust, debris and any other manner of matter. Specs wise, you’ll find a 640 x 480 resolution display, Intel’s Xscale 400MHz CPU, Windows CE.Net 4.2, Bluetooth, 64MB of SDRAM, USB connectivity and optional WiFi / GPS. Unfortunately, this little bugger is reportedly stickered at £1,300 ($2,592), so unless your employer is picking up the tab for you to have a mobile while wrestling polar bears at the North Pole, we’d probably recommend a cheaper alternative.
If Maxwell Smart decided to go to the beach, this would be his flip flop of choice. The ArchPoint show has been seen before with a wallet inside the heel of the shoe. The company now says that it has plans to make a sandal that has a spot for hiding a cell phone.
Before the concept can come to market the company says it needs to find a hardware maker that can build a device rugged enough to be stepped on all day and withstand dirt, water or the goo that is on the floor of your local movie theater.
I can see the benefit of a place to hold your money and keys while working out. However, I can hardly see you looking too cool if your show starts ringing at your favorite restaurant and you have to reach down and whip your cell phone out of your shoe.
You’ll find no iPhone touchscreen or 10 megapixel camera here. Nor will you find mirror finishes or a graphic interface spec’d for stunning video. What you WILL find is car tires, old PET bottles and pre loved soda cans.
Ok, so here’s the deal, apparently a typical mobile phone contains approximately 44 of the 112 elements known to mankind. Now I’m no chemist but apart from the environmental issues this would create, I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t want to be holding a large chunk of the periodic table 2 inches from my brain on a day to day basis. The folks over at Nokia have been looking at ways to create a sustainable mobile that reduces the number and toxicity of materials goes into manufacture. If that wasn’t noble enough, the skin and bones are created entirely through Upcycling. The result is the Remade.
The numeric keypad backing and all the gaskets are made from car tires, plastic components are from recycled PET bottles and the shell is made from old metal cans (lick one and see if you can taste the Pepsi).
As Nokia has eloquently stated, many small actions when multiplied by large numbers, can indeed change the world. We can see the result of the many small actions here. Now all the remains are the large numbers. I’ll be on the waiting list.
The folks at NaviGadget got a couple reader-submitted shots of a white Nuvifone, but there’s no telling just now how legit they are. Garmin just shows a black version of its phone — which is still slated for Q3 at a purported $500 pricepoint — on its own site, but perhaps this teensy supposed leak means there’s more news in store for the Nuvifone camp in the near future.
Seeing is not always believing as mobile phones go. It’s all about the screen and how much info can be managed through the screen. But for the blind or mostly blind of the world, little thought has gone into making a phone that helps them in their journey through life. The “Sens” phone by Takumi Yoshida is a great idea who’s time has come. For the nearly blind, this phone features lighted sides that help convey different alert messages. Forgoing the use of the standard “blind man’s dimple” keyboard arrangement found on most cell phones and designing a more tactile keys distinguishable not only for the blind but for anyone trying to interact with this device.
Designer: Takumi Yoshida
Hats, sunglasses, bags, clutches, shoes and now mobile phones, fashion label Christian Dior sure knows how dress up women from head, hand to toes! Designed with Modelabs, My Dior is a clamshell that features a 2.6 touch screen with a resolution QVGA, APN on a 2 Megapixels and is encrusted with 640 stones of 3251 carats of Swarovski crystals. The case is made of crocodile skin. After three years of toiling on the design, My Dior is available in two editions. The first model will cost $5000 while the other bejeweled beauty costs $26000.
Hop-On has taken a different approach to the entry-level market and introduced its HOP1800, quite possibly one of the most bare bones and affordable handsets on the market. This candybar handset does not have a display, but does offer a regular numeric keypad.
Retailing for US$10 without a contract, the HOP1800 was designed from the ground up to be a disposable handset. The phone supports dual-band GSM (850/1900MHz or 900/1800MHz) and offers an estimated 4 hours of talk time.
Candy bars, flips, b ricks, diamonds - phones come in a myriad of monikers but a common denominator are their form factors. For the most part they’re designed to be pocketable. You can throw all those expectations out the window because designer Tamer Koseli wants no part of it. His Super Phone is probably the longest mobile phone concept we’ve seen.
She argues mobile phones are basic multimedia gadgets, far from their traditional aim of communication. He wanted to create a device with no superfluous features. That’s right, you won’t find a MP3 player, video capabilities, or even a camera. But WAIT! Don’t dismiss the Super Phone yet because it’s got a touchscreen. Scratch that, it’s got 2 touchscreens. Oh what? DAMN! Yes friends one is an OLED that displays basic info - whatever that is while the other is where finger play happens - scrollin’ for daysssss. Best part is when the thing breaks, just use it as a protective weapon. I’m sure it could double as a baton.
Would be interesting to see the kinds of cases manufacturers would make for this.
From www.yankodesign.com
Mobiado announces the Professional 105 ZAF, a shimmering; metallic-looking handset that is touted to be the thinnest luxury phone in the world. It is only 10.6 mm thin, nearest competitor Vertu Ascent is only 22 mm. Brimming in luxury, the phone is constructed out of chunks of sapphire crystals (front to back) and has a patent pending single-unit sliding mechanism for a battery cover. Specs include quad-band GSM/dual-band WCDMA. The phone also features an anodized aircraft aluminum frame which makes the handset strong yet light. The buttons and screws are made out of stainless steel. The phone boasts of a 2-inch display with up to 16 million colors, Built-in 2 megapixel camera, over 1GB of internal memory, Bluetooth and microUSB connectivity, Music player with MP3, AAC and eAAC+ music file format support.
Mobiado has not yet divulged and pricing and availability details, but we think it should be available in a couple of months from now.
From www.newlaunches.com