Christian Dior has branched out into the mobile/cellular phone universe with the "My Dior" phone, by ModeLabs. It took three years to develop the clamshell, which will be available in two versions: a $5,000 basic version and a $26,000 luxury version, which features a 2.6 touch screen with an integrated media player and is decorated with 640 stones of 3,251 carats of Swarovski crystals imprinted on a crocodile skin case. Ringtones are proposed to be Dior's voice as well as music. Look for marketing to begin this month. This phone is just beautiful, but I'd be terrified of dropping or losing it!
Here's a Bluetooth earpiece that manages to be quite fancy looking without having any Swarovski crystal or gold plated "bling." The Plantronics Discovery 925 has a unisex VFrame™ design and is available in 3 jewel tone colors (black, gold, and pink) with a cute color-coordinated leather carrying case and charger included. According to this review the features are pretty average, with the exception of excellent audio quality thanks to AudioIQ noise control technology. The Black Onyx version is available now, with the Alchemy Gold and Cerise Pink shipping next month. $149.00
The regular Jawbone blue-tooth headsets were pretty cool, but apparently creator Yves Behar didn't think they were the best he could do -- and it seems they weren't. Now available (in theory anyway, they're really hard to find) is an extremely limited edition collection of 3 Love to Talk Jawbone headsets called "Sweet Talk," "Dirty Talk," and "Trash Talk." Each headset is a different color (gold, black, and white respectively) with a theme appropriate design etched into the surface. Which one would you get? And what on earth is etched onto the "Sweet Talk" headpiece? Is that a flower?
Gallery: "Love to Talk" Limited Edition Jawbone Headsets
Softbank Mobile is in the process of launching their new line of 15 cell phones, one of which was created in collaboration with Tiffany & Co. Japan Inc. The new handset is encrusted with more than 400 diamonds totaling 20+ carats and will cost about $94,000. For that kind of money I hope it looks better in person than in any of the pictures I've been able to find!
The phone is available starting this month in Japan, with the complete line of new phones to be launched by the end of March.
Oooooooh, aaaaaaaah. Let the admirers stare and envy you as you not only whip out your new iPhone to answer a call or check your email, but as you whip out your new black iPhone. It's the ccPhone, and it's not only an iPhone modified to be a cool matte black color, but it also comes with a selection of new music, videos, screen art, and even an exclusive address book program.
If you want one you're going to have to get right on it though, as the ccPhone is available in a limited edition of just 50. Preorder only and will ship on November 15th. $2000
If the iPhone isn't on your holiday list maybe the new Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition will catch your eye. The phone has 18K gold-plated accents with a black metal finish, a soft-touch back with a snakeskin look and details such as pin stripes, an engraved diamond-cut pattern on the sideband and a linear etching on the navigation wheel. The phone includes the Opera mobile browser, a 2.0 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom that also provides up to 2 hours of video capture and playback, 2Gb of storage for up to 1,000 songs, and a large external screen so you can manage music and read texts without opening the flip. it also comes with a matching black Motorola H680 Bluetooth headset with 18k gold-plated accents.
In case just having an iPhone isn't good enough of a statement for you, soon you'll be able to have an iPhone plated in 24 carat gold. I'm not going to say it looks bad, because it doesn't (it is an iPhone, after all!), but I will say the concept is a little over the top and a bit ridiculous -- especially once people realize it is in fact real gold.
There's not much space to put the gold on an iPhone so not sure if the price (which is still TBA) will reflect that or not. Just don't add any diamonds anywhere, please (although I'm sure that's next...).
The latest in blinged out cellphones is the Diamond Nokia N95, and there's no argument that it's 'doing the bling thing' in a big way. Coming from Alexander Amosu, the phone is a combination of 18k solid gold and 3.30 carats of high-quality diamonds. Available in a limited edition of only 10, each phone is custom set with 325 diamonds and the owner's choice of white gold or classic gold (white gold for me all the way), and of course each will be numbered from 1-10. Name or initials also available, $24,482.
It's a busy few weeks for cellphone watchers as everyone wants to create the next phone that makes all the cool kids go crazy the way the iPhone has. Born Rich reports that Porsche Design is working on the shiny new gadget shown above. The P9521 cell phone is created from a block of aluminum and has a scratch-resistant screen which rotates 180 degrees, a three-megapixel camera, a fingerprint reader and a MP3 player. This baby will set you back way more than the iPhone, it is expected to sell fo $1600.
Another hot cellphone story is that Samsung is reportedly working with Armani to create a phone. The Armani phone is said to have "exclusive content" and undoubtedly minimalist design to die for.
Those at China's Olympics can keep in touch with a gold phone. Samsung will make a special 18-carat gold-plated mobile phone in China to celebrate the Olympics in Beijing. The P318 phone will be black with gold trim and gold along the bottom half of its back. The phone will only be sold in China and no launch date has been set yet.
We never thought a phone could look fast, but Porsche seems to have accomplished just that. The squarish clamshell contraption you see in the photo is the company's newest design, a cell phone it developed in cooperation with Sagem Communications.
The P'9521, launched at the Red Dot Museum in Essen, offers up a 3.2 megapixel digital camera, 320 x 240 pixel touchscreen display, high-speed internet access and MP3 capability. While we're not sure if or when the phone will hit the market, it's no doubt that the Porsche name will send this phone a long way toward marketing success.
Peter Aloisson has released a new design in the "way too expensive and over-the-top" cell phone category: the diamond studded gold Motorola V3i. The golden stainless steel case is hand-set with 855 diamonds, totaling 3.8 carats altogether. Of course it comes with all the same cool features as the regular Motorola V3i, and sells for a mere $10,000.
So, when this phone is obsolete a few months from now, what happens to all those little diamonds?
This is something I need! A cell phone strap. I know they sell them all over, but I never seem to see one when I'm thinking of it and inevitably my poor phone keeps hitting the pavement, the sidewalk, the tile, whatever! How many lives does a cell phone have, anyway? My little guy is well into the double digits, easy.
So anyway, Bulgari has come out with their own luxurious version of the cell phone strap, made of soft calf leather and palladium -- and a handy feature where the strap part disconnects leaving a cute cube pendant behind for easy reattachment (very handy). They also have other designs available on the website (I found them under "gifts") that come in other colors, along with some darling phone pendants as well.
Who you are is largely communicated by your style, whether you like it or not. Whether you try, or don't try, either way says a great deal. And just what does "style" all include? Many major designers believe it's about more than just clothes and fashion, and are hoping to cash in on some of the other "angles" where their respective brand names can help somebody make a statement. After all, designers are all about style, and style is about a lot more than just fashion.
Specifically designers are branching out into technology and transportation -- and they're doing it in a big way. But then we wouldn't expect anything less from names like Prada and Versace, would we?
State-of-the-art touch screen cell-phones,sports cars, private jets, and even helicopters are just the beginning of this trend. So be on the lookout for more than just clothes bearing designer names and, of course, designer prices.
Having a concierge on call at all times is a pricey proposition, although it can certainly be done. Perhaps the next best thing would be to have a virtual concierge on call to help you out when you're traveling. Concierge.com, the online portal for Condé Nast Traveler, wants to help all of us out in this respect and has just launched Concierge Mobile to do so. Concierge Mobile lets you access over 200 destination guides, as well as weather updates and info on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List of the world's top hotels. From the website, you can send yourself hotel, restaurant and activity details to plan your trip.
You'll still have to do the shopping yourself, but at least you'll know where to go to do it!
