When tech geeks turn fashionistas

[Lass]

pretty interesting to see how all these fashion brands are lending their name to gadgets...

 

By Ariel Tam, TODAY | Posted: 28 December 2007 1000 hrs

 

Label-loving technophiles have it good these days. More and more luxury-goods companies are crossing over to the once-staid sphere of tech gadgets and stencilling their glitzy logo on every thing cold and metallic, from humble thumbdrives to notebooks.

 

The mobile phone is a favourite target. Prada and LG collaborated to create the Apple iPhone lookalike KE850, Armani and Samsung for the chrome-edged P520, and Julien MacDonald and Sony Ericsson for the sprightly K510i. And who could forget the ritzy gold Razr born from the blessed union between Dolce & Gabbana and Motorola?

 

Last month, renowned Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer announced a tie-up with French design label Modelabs to create a line of luxury mobile phones that will be released in the second half of next year.

 

New York-based clothing designer Vivienne Tam showed off a concept-edition MP3 player that boasts a gleaming scarlet body with seductive curves not unlike those of a teapot handle, albeit a very stylish one.

 

It seems that international fashion houses have wisely caught on to the "ker-ching" revelation that their coveted brand status can rub off on a raft of goods beyond handbags and apparel.

 

After all, tech gadgets are veritable fashion accessories — what you carry and use reflects your personality and style. For fashionistas, a designer logo on any object gives them immediate bragging rights.

 

But pretty as they may be, the fruit of the liaisons between fashion labels and electronics makers sometimes appears to be wanting in functionality. Under the swanky hood, you may find that the specifications are nothing to scream about, and the features disappointingly pedestrian.

 

Remember the Philips-Swarovski memory sticks masquerading as crystal hearts and jewelled locks? All that bling is a treat for the eyes but the added bulk also means that users might not be able to slot other peripherals into their computer's ports.

 

Last year, French jeweller Cartier also unveiled a USB flash drive, androgynously sleek in brushed palladium and unapologetically chichi with embossed numbers mimicking watch bezels. The drive has a grand total of 1GB of memory capacity, and will cost nearly $1,000. You pay a premium for the name, not for technical superiority.

 

Some electronics makers disguise basic specifications by hooking up with a fashion brand. For example, Samsung recently dressed up its no-frills 3G Z240 clamshell by painting it crimson and stamping it with the logo of Spanish designer Vittorio and Lucchino.

 

Beneath the alluring front however, it is still a simple phone with basic specifications — 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth-capable, and 25MB of internal memory.

 

Sometimes, functionality and practicality are sacrificed to preserve the aesthetics of a product, and the priorities of luxury fashion houses do lean towards pleasing the eye. Look at six-inch stilettos, ultra-skinny jeans and rib-crushing corset tops — not very functional, are they?

 

Similarly, a qwerty keyboard on a phone is terribly handy but designers are not rushing to slap one on because it just does not look very good. After all, phones conceived from designer marriages favour smooth touchscreens and petite keypads, not clunky keyboards.

 

At the end of the day, it is simply a matter of priorities. Looks and functionality are not mutually exclusive but one of them sometimes takes a backseat.

 

Consumers often unconsciously make buzzword-compliant devices their starting point, and then ask what features they would be willing to sacrifice for brand cache.

 

The Prada LG KE850 might not be 3.5G or WiFi-enabled but its 2-megapixel camera is respectable, as is its battery life.

 

The reality is that the average tech device already meets most consumer needs, and high-end specifications and designer looks are both luxuries. The question then becomes which luxury do buyers want to pay a premium for.

 

Word has it that Samsung-Armani will be debuting an LCD screen at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next year. There's no word on the technical specifications but it will probably not be too shabby. Would we want one? Hell, yeah! - TODAY/ar

[jB]

Remember the Philips-Swarovski memory sticks masquerading as crystal hearts and jewelled locks? All that bling is a treat for the eyes but the added bulk also means that users might not be able to slot other peripherals into their computer's ports.

 

remembered that very well

http://www.active-crystals.philips.com/en/sg/overview.html

saw it in the showroom when i was working but the price is really

imagine paying like at least 300 for only 1gb thumbdrive.

[redbeacon]

Rarely do I see a well-to-do person having such I.T. intellect and interest before.

 

But this is a good start into acquainting these people to computers and electronics, so I guess the product's value is there.

[redbeacon]

Need an iPhone case? Here's one for $20,000

~ by Mike Yamamoto

 

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2916/casemate200x267bb1.jpg

 

After seeing Amosu's work on its diamond iPhone, we thought there was a market for such things.

 

But apparently it's this one that people are after:

 

Case-mate's cleverly named "Diamond Case" is made with 42 diamonds, totaling 3.5 carats, embedded in 18k gold. Tech Digest says the company gave one away at Macworld and will happily sell them for $20,000 apiece if you didn't attend.

 

There's also a carbon-fiber version for $90, in case you're in need of a late Christmas gift for the butler.

 

- 42 diamonds, 3.5 carat weight

- Diamonds are VVS1 clarity, H color

 

- 18k gold settings, 18k gold emblem

 

- Crafted of rare gold Carbon Fiber leather

 

- Injection molded, impact resistant plastic shell

 

- Full face screen protection

 

- Free shipping

 

- Most luxurious iPhone case on the market

 

 

But a bit of advice for the company: Lose the cheesy nameplate.

[jB]

just when I thought they were crazy to introduce those in 1st post.Yours is worse

[redbeacon]

Browse around.

 

You will realise that Apple, Motorola (and LG/Samsung) products usually are the ones that get these kinds of 5-star accessory treatment, with Apple leading the pack.

 

In fact, walk into any Apple store. They've got so many accessories for their computers and music players, you'll be spoilt for choice. Even when I worked in one for quite a while, I ever seen Chinese salesmen showcasing their funky iPod skins, in the hopes that our store can sell them.

 

My personal fav would be iShop by Club 21 at Cine.

 

FYI: A company even released a 24k plated gold version of the iPhone. Yep, it's not the usual silver we are used to seeing in ads.

[jB]

The world's most expensive mobile phone http://gallery.techarena.in/data/600/most_expensive_mobile_phone.jpg

 

July 16, 2006 Russian company JSC Ancort has teamed with celebrity jeweller Peter Aloisson to create a very upmarket version of Swiss Crypto Telecommunication Security’s Crypto Smart telephone which will sell for US$1.3 million and in so doing, become the world’s most expensive mobile telephone. Designed to attract attention to the issues of mobile phone privacy, the solid platinum Brilliant Crypto Smartphone uses a symmetric 256 bit cryptographic algorithm and Windows CE operating system. In addition to the platinum body, the Ancort logo and the navigation key are made of 18 carat rose gold, as is the navigation key which also carries 28 round cut diamonds. Aloissen is well known for his personalisation and bejewelling of popular mobile phones such as the Nokia 8210 and Sony Ericsson T68, increasing their sale price to more than EU32,000. The phone can also be ordered with the platinum treated with a black rhodium process to give it a black, shiny look.

 

The phone also comes with a Connolly leather carrying case with platinum trimmings and lock and hand made macassar ebony presentation box with beige suede leather lining again with platinum trimmings and lock. When the box is opened, it plays music and the music can be changed to the client’s choice.

 

Space has been reserved on the phone and leather pouch for personalization with the company logo or client’s name/initials.

 

 

 

taken from news some time back, now this is what you wanna show off :]

imagine having one of those diamonds dropping out