Art Lebedev's Scartel WiMax handset concept: we're moving to Russia

Never one to settle, Art Lebedev's design shop is trying its hand at handset design, and we like the looks of it. Art is teaming up with Scartel, a Russian carrier which just launched a WiMax network in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for a flagship handset of sorts, and has left no spec unturned -- at least in the wishful-thinking conceptual stage. In addition to a WiMax radio, the device has WiFi, tri-band GSM, microSD, dual cameras, 3.5mm audio, an A/V plug and a gargantuan 850 x 480 screen. There are minimal buttons at the base: a five-way joystick and call / end, and no keypad, so we're going to assume that we're looking at a touchscreen device. Now all that's left is to pick an OS -- would Android be too much to ask? Another shot is after the fold.

[Via Pocket-lint]

[Jash Sayani @ Sep 25th 2008 11:04AM]

Looks wonderful !!! This is a true iPhone killer !

[fred @ Sep 25th 2008 11:07AM]

In 2019, when it gets released for $30,000.00

[Rohit Kapur @ Sep 25th 2008 11:09AM]

I'm with fred. Coming soon, to a vaporware store near you! And eventually, to select other stores for you to pay obscene amounts of money at!

[rock99rock @ Sep 25th 2008 11:24AM]

Art puts out some nice stuff... and this concept is awesome.

wtf is up with that odd res screen though? 850 what?

[tijs @ Sep 25th 2008 11:26AM]

"In 2019, when it gets released for $30,000.00"

by 2019 the iPhone will cost 1,99 dollars, and will have 14G according to the "twice as fast, half the price" theory.
everything else will be the same.

[Frankenstein Black @ Sep 25th 2008 11:34AM]

Wow! Now thats an awesome look.
Clean, sleek, thin, even delicious, like a Cadbury Bar ;^p...

[kjb434 @ Sep 25th 2008 11:46AM]

Well, if he's aiming for Russia, then the billionaire/millionaire market is growing by leaps and bounds and these people will buy it just say they have it.

After that the price can drop a little for the rest of the world.

[Barth @ Sep 25th 2008 11:52AM]

Yes.. it looks almost just like every other touchscreen phone. Almost just like an iPhone!

[MadMike @ Sep 25th 2008 12:24PM]

by 2019, the iPhone may be $1.99 and with some obscene radio that still doesn't get reception because AT&T networks sucks - but I can guarantee that it still won't have copy/paste and MMS.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Sep 25th 2008 1:16PM]

You just think this looks cool now, because you haven't seen my SuperMegaEverything concept. It's a device no larger than a deck of cards, but does everything you could possibly imagine -- and more! It's a phone, a navigation system, a camera, an internet device, a blender, a water purifier, a can opener, too many devices to list. It's even got its own fusion reactor so it provides it's own power! When you plug it into the wall at night, it doesn't recharge from your mains, it POWERS YOUR HOUSE!

I'm taking $500 deposits now -- be among the first to own the SuperMegaEverything!

[Jon Nelson @ Sep 25th 2008 1:57PM]

I'm really sick of the whole idea of an "iPhone killer". Who cares?

I'm damn sure no fanboy, but kudos to Apple for making something that works well.

The diehard fanboys that think Apple shits rainbows can die in a fire.

[Simon @ Sep 25th 2008 6:02PM]

ok, please don't snap at me for this, i really have no idea.
what's so good about android? i really have no idea about all the hype.
anyone care to school me? thanks.

[Chris in CA @ Sep 26th 2008 11:27AM]

Specs seem similar to the TouchHD except for WiMax. And the TouchHD is alot closer to release...

[Steve @ Sep 25th 2008 11:05AM]

Hopefully they will put Windows Mobile on it, since Android is a gimmick.

[StreetHigh181 @ Sep 25th 2008 12:06PM]

Windows Mobile, you mean THE Windows Mobile? The OS that prevented me from buying half the smartphones out there? WinMo is a joke. It's just crap in a phone. I would rather have Android in there than Windows Mobile, at least it's open sourced, open to improvements.

[Sarig @ Sep 25th 2008 1:37PM]

I'm reluctantly agreeing. If you need a google log-on to use Android, it's really no better than needing an iTunes account to use iPhones.

I'm not sure how "free" and "open" android will be, but what I saw with the launch of the G1 didn't excactly thrill me.

Also, what's up with Engadget making a cut for a reversed picture of the one they first used? Redundant, much?

[Duke @ Sep 25th 2008 4:49PM]

Windows Mobile is awful. We just had an HTC phone using it that would ring for no reason, alarms wouldn't work, email was a pain to get into, it would shut off and on when it wished, etc. What a frustrating OS. No thanks. We dumped it and Sprint for screwing us out of so much for their super phone.

[Nicky-Larson @ Sep 25th 2008 11:05AM]

Wow, Looks Awesome. I would love to have that. Pretty slick design too.

[Murphy Mac @ Sep 25th 2008 11:25AM]

Slabs are soooo in.

[CJ @ Sep 25th 2008 12:13PM]

As opposed to slivers?

[shimmy shimmy yah @ Sep 26th 2008 4:08AM]

it looks like those lg ones, sorta like the viewty or whatever, except with proportionate and slim dimensions, and better specificatyions, great looking phone

[skant @ Sep 25th 2008 11:05AM]

android? no thank you...for now

[Brian @ Sep 25th 2008 3:00PM]

I agree. No android. Period. It looks like it was designed in the early 90's along with the device.

[AC0 @ Sep 25th 2008 11:08AM]

Well considering how long it took them to put together something as simple as a keyboard, i'm not expecting this one in my lifetime. I'm sure my future children will love it though, very nice looking device.

[mrrookie @ Sep 25th 2008 11:10AM]

Relax guys, it's Art Lebedev, you can't afford it and neither can i.

[SKI @ Sep 25th 2008 1:13PM]

And neither can he.

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 25th 2008 11:17AM]

Looks and sounds very nice, although I fear it'll cost a small fortune.

[Darak @ Sep 25th 2008 11:20AM]

Needs OLED buttons IMO.

[MadMike @ Sep 25th 2008 12:25PM]

The screen is probably OLED.

[wooptywoop @ Sep 25th 2008 11:22AM]

absolutely TERRIBLE placement of the headphone jack. wow.

[marky-b @ Sep 25th 2008 12:02PM]

Agreed. Looks prone to the broken headphone jack that plagued the 1gen-4gen ipods. How is it supposed to slip in and out of your pocket easily with that placement? :(

[Christian Martin @ Sep 25th 2008 12:05PM]

At least it HAS a headphone jack.

[vandy1997 @ Sep 25th 2008 11:23AM]

At this time, I believe that it would be difficult to make such a thin phone with all of those features - maybe not. I wonder if they have talked to the engineers to make sure that all of the parts can be fit into such a thin phone. Does it have a battery? And how long would that battery last with all of those radios?

[Mr. Lebedev @ Sep 25th 2008 12:13PM]

Yes it does have a battery*, but it isn't user replaceable or even rechargeable. You must ship the phone back to Mother Russia for charging.



*We use the term "battery" for the device that barely keeps our phone powered on for 15 minutes. You can't charge it because we forgot to add that feature. It's a v1.0 product for the rich, they won't care, right?

[8r13n @ Sep 25th 2008 11:23AM]

...Wow. You guys are freaking out over this. It's far from perfect, and it's nothing amazing. How would you use that directional pad. ...With your second hand? ...yeah. Bad placement.

The candybar form factor with a querty is still the way to go. Like the iPaq 910c or the BB Bold. The rest are fine PMPs, but a computer needs a keyboard. And lets face it, we don't want a phone, we want a computer.

...Honestly, most of you are probably too green to remember when touchscreens first became popular (in the 80's). ...In the end we realized there's nothing like a keyboard.

Then again, if you're just going to stream videos from YouTube or watch My Little Pony reruns, maybe this form factor is right for you. ...Personally I use my phone to text and email more than anything else. And I know I'm not alone on that.

[grimm2420 @ Sep 25th 2008 11:32AM]

Looks like you are the only one freaking out :|

[humps @ Sep 25th 2008 11:38AM]

I happen to agree with 8r13n. The joystick placement is impossible to use. The headphone jack is at the wrong place as well, imagine holding it right hand, single hand operation with the headphone jacked in? I think it is meant to be mostly used landscape, but then putting it in the pocket with headphone sticking out that direction is odd.

besides, HTC can kick out something like this in no time. Look at the Touch HD as an example. Too high res means more processing power needed to display the same thing, lower battery life. Video playback will require heavy upscaling or you see blocks. If videos were encoded in the native resolution of that screen, the phone will need a pretty damn fast CPU to play it back too.

[robjennings @ Sep 25th 2008 12:47PM]

I have to agree with you regarding the design of this phone. The joystick, call and end buttons are going to be incredibly awkward to manipulate. And the placement of the headphone jack looks inconvenient in both portrait and landscape orientation.

And although I disagree with you regarding keyboards on phones - I'd rather have the flexibility of a touchscreen than the convenience of a keyboard - I don't really understand why you got low-ranked for thoughtfully expressing your opinion. Oh well.

[dLeet @ Sep 25th 2008 12:53PM]

By that logic 8r13n, we wouldn't have any technological innovation.

Flash back to late 1800's

This handcranked auto-carriage is a pain, horse drawn carriage is the way to go and will never be replaced.
Low and behold a few decades later and the Model T assembly line with the removal for a need to hand crank, we have the automobile. Do you own one? You might have more clout if you don't own own, use, or have ridden a car.

[hitsthings @ Sep 25th 2008 11:27AM]

After the fold?
What happened to the "after the jump"?
This the second time I've noticed this phrase, and both have been today...

Did the internets suddenly switch terminology or have I been under a rock the whole time?

(OK, fine--just lower my rock, please. The light is hurting my eyes.)

[robjennings @ Sep 25th 2008 12:43PM]

I think it's a reference to "above the fold" and "below the fold," which was originally old broadsheet newspaper terminology describing the placement of editorial or advertising either on the top half or bottom half of a folded broadsheet newspaper. ("Above the fold" or top half being preferable placement.)

The terminology has been co-opted by web designers and usually refers to whether or not a particular content element appears near the top of a web page and is visible without scrolling.

I've never heard it used to describe the placement of content after a link, though.

[azz0r @ Sep 25th 2008 11:31AM]

eww its got 80's VCR written all over it. PLUS its got the terrible little thumb ball thing that always break on Sony Ericsson phones.

Plus its just a large screen with not much else....geez.

[CJ @ Sep 25th 2008 12:17PM]

As opposed to chrome rings surround CERTAIN devices. Which are Soooooo hip-and-now, and not 1980s at all.

[RX3115 @ Sep 25th 2008 1:54PM]

and so your saying the iphone isnt just a large screen and nothing else

[8r13n @ Sep 25th 2008 11:30AM]

...Oh, and the iPhone is STILL a LOT better looking than this POS.

[Ike Turner @ Sep 25th 2008 11:32AM]

Where the pussy at?

[Dvaid @ Sep 25th 2008 11:36AM]

I read once on Lebedevs blog that he hates touchscreens.

[Ike Turner @ Sep 25th 2008 11:45AM]

But he loves MONEY!

[Ben @ Sep 26th 2008 8:45AM]

If you think about it - his first device - the much-delayed and ridiculously-priced keyboard - is technically just a big collection of screens that you touch.

[ahdok @ Sep 25th 2008 11:47AM]

Now THAT's a phone I actually want.