Mobiado: Designer Phone For Gadget Freaks

Nokia already has an exclusive line of designer phones called Vertu, they'll run you a thick knot, but you aren't paying for cutting edge features, instead the money is an investment in elegant design and expensive materials—oh, and access to the Vertu concierge service to do everything for you in lieu of fancy technologies.

The Mobiado tries to fill the gap between feature packed phones and designer phones. The materials aren't as exlusive as the Vertu's nor is the design as sexy (it looks like ball bearings dropped on block of aluminum, which is basically exactly what it is). However the Mobiado has all the latest features like Bluetooth, a VGA camera, video, EDGE, and Nokia's series 40 v 2 interface. Hey wait a second, that sounds just like a Nokia 6230. In fact, if you look at where all the buttons and the camera are placed, the Mobiado is a Nokia 6230 inside a shiny metal case.

So what sort of luxury features does $1200 buy you? A machined aluminum case with stainless steel buttons and Acrylite (a form of Lexan) lens. In other words, a phone that will stick to your face like a lamp pole if you use it this winter. The one real bonus Mobiado adds over the 6230 is two LED assist lamps for the digital camera. Are two LEDs and an aluminum body worth $850 we'd have to say no. In fact we'd say you're better off spending your hard earned cash on a 6230 and commissioning a fabricator to build a much nicer metal or carbon fibre or some such fancy material cover and faceplate. You'll have something nicer and still probably spend less than half of what a Mobiado would run you.