Handset makers continue to get creative

by Michelle L on October 16, 2009

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Over the years, cell phone handsets have gone through a lot of changes. Those who were around when mobile phones first became available will remember the huge portable phones as big as a man’s head that looked more like overgrown walkie talkies than phones. For a long time, the goal was, understandably, to make mobile phones smaller, lighter, and more easily portable. Those goals have been reached. If cell phones get any smaller, we’ll need tweezers and miniature tools to use them. As far as the handsets themselves, and not just the software or applications they use, manufacturers continue to innovate. This includes functions, which continue to improve with features such as better keypads and cameras, and handset design. Samsung and HTC have recently upped the design ante with a few unique options.

Being green is all the rage now, but Samsung has taken environmental consciousness in a slightly different direction. At least, they’re showing their environmental commitment in a different color—blue. Much like the Reclaim, also from Samsung, whose casing is made from corn, the Samsung Blue Earth phone is made from recycled plastic water bottles. But the environmental benefits don’t stop there. The phone’s packaging is printed with soy ink, and its charger uses just .03 watts in standby mode. It also draws power from a solar panel on the back of the handset. The earth friendly design doesn’t sacrifice any function, though.

The Blue Earth boasts such features as a touchscreen, FM radio, music and video players, a 3.2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and runs on a 3G network. The Blue Earth is launching this month in Sweden, then throughout Europe and Asia. No word yet on when it might reach the United States, or how much it might cost.

If money is no object, you can forgo the environmentally friendly handset in favor of a little luxury. Samsung sure did, by teaming up with Giorgio Armani to create a $1,000 smartphone. It’s not the first Armani phone to come out, but it is the most luxurious and feature-filled.

The Armani phone runs on the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform, which offers Internet Explorer Mobile with Flash support. It has a touchscreen, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The phone includes a 5-megapixel camera, GPS navigation, high-speed Internet, a video and music player, and 8GB of memory. The mostly black phone also features bronze detailing which, the company says, “coordinates perfectly with Giorgio Armani suits.” If you’re concerned about your electronic devices matching your clothing, then this is the way to go. Provided you’re also sporting Armani suits, that is. The Armani phone will be available in China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the UAE, and the UK.

Gadget-loving guitarists will revel in the first of its kind collaboration between a handset maker and a guitar manufacturer. HTC and T-Mobile have teamed up with Fender, the iconic American guitar maker, to launch a wood-grain finished, Fender-logoed version of the MyTouch 3G smartphone.

Just like the standard MyTouch 3G, the Fender model runs on Google’s Android operating system. It offers such applications as Google Maps with Street View, YouTube, Google Search by Voice, and Picasa. It also has a new application called Sherpa which provides recommendations for stores, restaurants and entertainment based on what it learns from the user’s preferences. The Fender MyTouch also includes a 3.2-megapixel camera, a music player, and a touchscreen display. No word yet on how much it will cost, but it’s rumored to be set for launch in the United States later this year.

Filed under : Cell Phones