The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Microsoft and Armani fashion a phone

Suits you, sir

It's a marriage made in heaven: Microsoft and Giorgio Armani, with a little help from Samsung, have launched a mobile phone.

The Armani phone runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5, and if you're wearing a baggy Armani suit, you might even have room in your pocket for it. The latest, and least bad, version of Windows Mobile launched earlier this month. The company is hoping its applications store will create some of the buzz which surrounds iPhone apps.

The chunky phone, complete with "bronze detailing", has a full Qwerty keyboard, touch-sensitive screen and 5Mp camera.

It was launched by Steve Ballmer and Giorgio Armani at the end of Steve's whistle stop European tour late last week. Armani and Samsung have produced two high-end phones before. Armani said he'd designed the phone using his "fashion aesthetic" and it was "perfect for managers".

The steampunk device is presumably not going to be included in a lot of mobile contract bundles given its high price: $1000 or €700.

There's a YouTube video of the launch here. ®

Latest Comments

"Unique Design"...

... my ass.

It's an HTC Kaiser with a bling kit.

Not going back to a 4 row QWERTY after my 5-row touch pro.

0
0

@AC 20:51

"Are there thousands of applications out there, which can all be found with that highly difficult 15 second google search rather than having to search through 15,000 fart applications to find what I want...... yes."

There are, what, 60 fart apps for the iPhone, out of a total of 85,000. That's less than 0.01%, but feel free to concentrate your regressed human intellect on that if it gives you a false sense of superiority.

0
0

Oink

Silk purses and sow's ears come to mind. If Steve Ballmer wants to be associated with coolness, he needs to fill in a job application with Apple. It's never, ever going to happen to MS.

0
0

Armani - WinMob6.5

Its like a Ferrari branded moped.

0
0

it's a TouchPro 2 with some gold paint

okay, so 6.5 doesn't seem to be too bad - It's the first touch device I've used that I actually like - but double the price for some paint.... really?

0
0

More from The Register

Android is a mess and needs sprucing up, admits chief
Can Google really fix it? It isn't in control any more
New Lumia 925: This, loyalists, is the BIG ONE you've waited for
Nokia veep drills high-end master plan for El Reg
Android device? Ooohhhh, you mean a Samsung phone
Koreans nabbed nearly all the Q1 profits – more even than Google
Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
All roads lead to Chrome?
Borked your iDevice? Pay EVEN MORE to have it fixed by Applecare
Or scream at their hapless techies on their forums
Euro PC shipments plummet into bottomless pit of DOOOOM
11th quarter of decline, 20pc drop on last year - Gartner
MIT takes battery-powered robot cheetah for a gallop
Biomimetic big cat needs no power cord, just a walker