Gwen Stefani's HP R607 out and about

We know some of you were (less than) excited about that edition of the HP R607 that Gwen Stefani "designed," but we just wanted to shoot you a memo letting you know that the little bugger's finally available. And not a moment too soon—we have a strong feeling that a couple-hundie dollar gadget will help slow down that inevitable chart slide she's facing any, uh, month now.

[Via MobileMag]

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

Yeah, because, you know that sticking a bunch of random Japanese-looking stuff on a gadget automatically makes it cool. Just like a celeb saying they like Harajuku makes them cool too. Because Japan is like, totally trendy right now.

(gag)

[izzy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

loooooooooooooooooool at #2

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

Wow the comments on the previous entry are pretty hilarious. Must be a bunch of Stefani fans who came in via search engines. I've never seen a post on Engadget with that many exclamation points and capital letters before.

[izzy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

btw u deserve that hug
*izzy gives hug-me a very big and cuddley hug in a non gayish way*

[Ernie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

That is a horrible color.

[lupinstel @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

Isn't Harajuku style sort of the equivelant of punk in the 70's. DIY, random clothing, not following brands and all that. Maybe I am mistaken but I don't think any Harajuku kid would drop money on some companys "cool" camera when they could just paint it, put stickers on it, and have an original version. Perhaps if the camera had built in filters for various dressing styles of japanese subculture that would be cool. You could take a picture and then select from the Harajuku, Ganjuru, Anime/Otaku, J-pop, Japanese gothic lolita or Fruits setting, and instantly your camera colors your clothes and face to match that particular style. Of course the camera would conect by USB so you could update the Japanese styles as they change...every week.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

I saw this digital camera at http://digicamnews.net today, where they stopped just short of listing the specs for the camera, saying that people who are buying a digital camera because it was designed by Gwen Stefani probably don't really care about the specs, anyway.

I think HP's made a misstep with this one, but at least Carly's still gone! But seriously, I don't think the public is ready for overpriced designer digital cameras, which is why Olympus hasn't done that well with the Stylus Verve.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

"Isn't Harajuku style sort of the equivelant of punk in the 70's."

Not really. Harajuku is in Shibuya, which is just a teen hangout for all types. Harajuku itself is just a shopping district for young people. It's really dumb to call something "Harajuku Style" because there is no such thing (I'm talking about Gwen Stefani, not you) - it would be like saying "East Village Style" or "Times Square Style" or something similar for New York or another city. It's just meaningless. Maybe it means something to an outsider who's been there like, once, but it doesn't mean anything to people who actually know the area well. There's nothing really much different about kids in Harajuku than kids in Roppongi or Shinjuku or a lot of different places.

If you're talking about the kids that show up on Sunday all made up, they're more inspired by the 1980's goth culture, not punk. But that's just kids playing dress-up, they're not really like that all the time (it's basically cosplay). But they wouldn't want a camera like this either.

This is just to appeal to westerners who think Japanese words are "cool"...

[UFG @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

Too bad HP makes terrible cameras. That and it's ugly.

[blop @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

Uh... #10. Harajuku isn't *in* Shibuya... It's a different part altogether. Though it is the station right next to Shibuya if you go by the Yamanote-line. Here is a nice JR Lines map that is quite handy btw: http://www.jreast.co.jp/map/pdf/map_tokyo.pdf Just zoom in if you can't read the japanese names. Not that most young people are any different in Harajuku than most other parts of Tokyo but if you want to see people in some extreme, weird and funny clothing you'll probably find that much easier in Harajuku than the rest of Tokyo. And yes it's mostly dress-up but you won't find it that easily in other parts of Tokyo. Try the bridge next to the Harajuku station for example. Even japanese people stop to have a look (and a few pics of it). About the obsession with kanji etc the same can be said for the japanese obsession with english...

[Angelo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:53AM]

Harajuku is really close to Omotesandou, which, ironically, is full of designer brands such as Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton. And by close, I mean, REAL close, its just across the street from the JR station. hah. But harajuku does seem to have its own particular style, but its quite omnipresent. And there's a lot of punk influence, actually. meh. I'm sure someone will buy a camera with L.A.M.B. on it.