Designer -- Engadget Mobile

designer posts

HTC gets fancy with designer Tattoo covers

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 13th 2009 @ 8:14AM

We knew the Tattoo would be just a little funkier than the rest of the devices in HTC's Android line (though you've got to admit that the pink Hero is pretty freakin' funky), and that vision's now coming to fruition under a whole line of designer covers. Under the clever-but-obvious "Tattoo My HTC" and "Tattoo You" catchphrases, the company is now offering a selection of 15 replacement covers to spice up your sidearm for €11.99 (about $18) each -- and if you're not feeling any of them, you can design your own right from the comfort of HTC's site for €14.99 (about $22). That might seem outrageous for a battery cover, but the good news is that these aren't just pretty rear ends -- the covers replace both the front and back of the Tattoo for a whole-body makeover that's sure to impress your fashion-conscious friends.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Samsung's Armani alliance soldiers on with W820 / W8200 slider

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 7th 2009 @ 2:20AM

So far, "understated" isn't a word we've been comfortable associating with Giorgio Armani's telephonic ventures with Samsung -- particularly the flashy Night Effect, featuring a glowing Armani logo on the side. We'll go out on a limb and say the latest effort out of South Korea isn't quite as insane as the Night Effect, but a gold finish is always a step in the right direction if attracting as much attention as humanly possible with a piece of electronic equipment stuck to your face is your goal. It looks like the slider will find a home on domestic carriers KTF and SKT, and as far as we can tell, it's not the rumored WinMo-based Armani 2 -- but it does have a 5 megapixel cam, WVGA AMOLED touchscreen, T-DMB tuner, and the adoration of... well, someone, we're sure. Let us know when you find 'em. No word on pricing or a release date, but take this as a sign that the Armani lovers out there have nothing to fear if they're looking to replace that tweaked F480.

[Via Samsung Hub]

Palm Pre designers sit down to talk, reminisce and revel

by Darren Murph posted Jun 5th 2009 @ 9:21AM

By now, you know precisely what the Palm Pre is capable of. You know the ins and outs of the user experience, and you've probably got a solid idea of whether or not you'll be lined up come June 6th to claim one as your own. But here's a side you probably haven't heard: the voice of the design team. At long last, the masterminds behind Palm's comeback phone have finally sat down to talk about the build process and what drove them to create both the Pre and webOS. Not surprisingly, most of it came from the desire to truly revolutionize the mobile experience, one that's been generally poor for far too long. In separate (but equally awesome) interviews, Michelle Koh and a gaggle of design engineers (including Matias Duarte, Mike Bell, Peter Skillman and Michael Abbott) have opened up to spill their soul on rejuvenating the company with a single product. We won't issue any spoilers here, but we'd argue that the read links below are required reading if you're even remotely interested in this handset.

Read - Michelle Koh interview
Read - Design team interview

More designer WinMo 6.5 themes get pictured

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 6th 2009 @ 12:29PM

Not into that Mizrahi theme that Microsoft showed off for Windows Mobile 6.5 a few days ago? No worries -- there are others in the pipeline, too, and odds are you'll be able to find something you like in here (either that, or your tastes are badly misaligned with the world's designerati, apparently). istartedsomething reports that Microsoft has roped in Ron Arad, Vera Wang, Rock and Republic, and Diane von Furstenberg among others to beef up WinMo's fashion cred, and judging from the leaked wallpapers, they're moving in the right direction. 'Course, no number of pretty backgrounds can counter an aging kernel, but let's take this thing one step at a time, shall we?

[Via wmpoweruser.com]

Samsung's Armani Night Effect handset gets detailed, pictured

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2008 @ 4:29PM

There was little doubt Samsung and Armani's latest tie-up was the real deal, but just in case you're more skeptical than most, the pair has launched a dedicated promo site to pump up the flashy candybar. The Samsung Armani Night Effect boasts a 2.2-inch OLED display, lots of LED accents, HSDPA support, a 3.2-megapixel camera, multimedia player, FM radio tuner, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, 120MB of internal memory and a microSD expansion slot. We're hearing that it'll be released this November in both black and white motifs, each running €300 ($439). Check out lots more delectable images over at Engadget Spanish.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Samsung's Armani 2 Night Effect is well branded, lacks style

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 21st 2008 @ 8:19PM

Well it seems Samsung and Giorgio Armani weren't happy to see an end to the battle of the designer phone, so here they are again with yet another garishly branded phone. The Samsung Armani 2 Night Effect eschews tech and cool form for a lovely blue wraparound light, quad-band EDGE / HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, 120MB of memory with expansion via microSD, and Bluetooth for accessory connectivity. This handset should see the light of day in Europe come November with South East Asia and the Middle East getting their soon after.

[Via UnwiredView]

Samsung and Giorgio Armani team up on mobile phones, LCD TVs

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 23rd 2007 @ 4:14PM

In an exciting peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate development, Samsung has announced its plans to manufacture new products jointly designed with famed fashion magnate Giorgio Armani (of course, we knew this was coming). According to reports, Giorgio and the company are teaming up for the development of a "luxury" mobile phone, as well as a "luxury" LCD television, both of which are rumored to be extremely "luxurious." The phone (which we first heard about in July) will make its first "official" appearance at an Armani fashion show in Milan, Italy, while the television will rear its gorgeous head sometime in January. "This powerful partnership will match great design with leading technology to ensure performance is as impressive as appearance," said Yun Jong-Yong, vice chairman of Samsung. Could this be the company's answer to LG's Prada mash-up? We think yes.

Hulger's confessional booth lets sinners vent on luxury handsets

by Darren Murph posted Apr 14th 2007 @ 7:49AM

Hey, we know that purchasing one of Hulger's avant-garde handsets could very well leave you feeling guilty considering the lofty pricetag, but the company is looking to give you sinners a way out with its communication-enabled confessional booth. The bizarre setup will be erected at Designersblock Milan 2007, and is being constructed in partnership with "communications specialist Associate" to offer visitors the chance to "play the priest or the penitent." Of course, we've no interest in interviewing with a unordained minister, but so long as the unit features Hulger's latest ASTOR & SOPHIA limited edition handsets (pictured), we'd most definitely stop in for a courtesy chat.

[Via Textually]

Gucci to follow Prada down mobile rabbit hole?

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 9th 2007 @ 12:49PM

Yeah, mobile phones have been status symbols and fashion accessories for some time now, but the concept of a designer's name taking top billing in the product name is a fairly recent development. If Gucci really does have a handset baking in the oven, we're guessing the Italian icon isn't doing the heavy lifting of the development all by its lonesome, though we haven't an inkling who might be involved. Heck, we can't even really make out what kind of form factor we have going on here, and all we've got is this one lonely pic up on flickr to go by. Of course, LG and Prada have set the bar pretty high in this arena, so if this is legit, Gucci had best come out with guns blazing.

[Thanks, Jack]

Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition + diamonds = Vertu price tag

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 29th 2006 @ 6:56AM

We're not sure what the story is behind this shining example of modern excess, but we think it's safe to say that taking a Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition (not a cheap phone to begin with) and tacking on this amount of designer hardware sends the sticker into Vertu territory and beyond. This fashion slider to end all fashion sliders apparently rocks out with the usual array of diamonds, sterling silver mesh, and stingray (yes, stingray -- as in, the sea creature) leather. We don't know how to buy this, who to talk to, or what it's worth, but we can think of a few stingrays that'll thank you for spending your cash elsewhere (like say, here or here).

[Thanks, Steve L.]

Motorola i835 gets fancy, purple for Boost

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 14th 2006 @ 11:57AM

Where we come from, you can add colors, pinstripes, and all manner of designs to a boring phone -- at the end of the day, it's still the same boring phone. On the other hand, if we were to allow our eyes to gloss over the spec sheet, the dismal internal and external displays, and the fact that this still isn't an iDEN / CDMA hybrid, we can understand how we might manage to get excited about Boost dressing up its workhorse model. Besides the obvious alterations to its appearance, the i835g variant features a redesigned speakerphone mesh (of all things) and matching wallpapers and screensavers. It's available immediately for the same price as the basic i835 on which it's based.

[Via SlashGear]