Sony Ericsson's £530 Pureness is 'iconic' not ironic
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Sep 15th 2009 7:57AM
posted Sep 15th 2009 7:57AM
[Via Techradar and Pocket-lint]
posted Sep 15th 2009 7:57AM
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1. Hold device to sun.
2. Tada! Brightest screen available on a device!
3. Seek medical help.
Who cares about the screen? Anyone whose taken apart an LCD could just take away the backlighting/diffusion layers and have the exact same thing as this. That's all they've done. Some noob designer thought it was so cool and hi-tech and only the 'boring' designers care about 'usability'.
@monkfishbandana: IIRC, the opacity of the screen is variable as per ambient light conditions.
My question is how it will be visible, ever. It's already hard to see in the photos, what about in real life?
I've got an idea, lets put a tiny screen on a phone with no backlight or reflector and trim it with some square shit design elements
and call it art. Thay have both dumb and ugly covered.....
I very much preferred the phone from Echelon Conspiracy. This phone is like a step backward in time (while paying through your ass for it). The more phones SE pumps out, the more I think that the W800i was their last good phone.
They make good £50-£120 pound phones. Anything higher than that and it starts to unravel.
For 50 Bucks i will Buy!
You should consider changing your name to iHaveMyiPhoneUpMyAss.
I guess you could use it as a viewfinder for a camera but....you can't save shit.
When this phone is released I'm gonna get one through eBay. But I wonder, how does it work in dark areas? Particularly at night?
It's got a 'backlight' or something. Obviously not really 'back', but something which makes it glow. Check out the vids on Youtube.
It probably works like a Palm Vx backlight. It lights up the text, not the display.
You should save your money.
@Thomas Ricker (author) - I think you've missed the point: Harrods is more of a niche retailer than Selfridges, so I think their shoppers are probably just as likely to apply...
I cant tell whether that was an unclear attempt at London based irony, or whether the author genuinely doesn't realise that Harrods is way more nichey than Selfridges... Harrods is where Beefeaters shop for weekend wear...
Who cares about the screen? Anyone whose taken apart an LCD could just take away the backlighting/diffusion layers and have the exact same thing as this. That's all they've done. Clearly some noob designer thought it was so cool and hi-tech and only the 'boring' designers care about 'usability'.
Does Sony Ericsson not like money?
hahahahaha
In all seriousness, these devices build BRAND IMAGE. Read link itself says it's not mass-market. The fact that this device is seen in 'exclusive' places raises the status of the Sony Ericsson brand.
The fact that very few will be sold will likely do the same thing.
I could swap my iPhone for this one and a PSPgo
- Gaming experience++
- Basic phone funtionality no change
- Baterylife++
- Mobile internetz-- :(
That's a "no" I guess
... You take a long time to say nothing.
cost+++++ when you factor in purchase price for this (what, $800US?) plus PSPgo, plus games, plus...
... but you do save on that data plan!
Transparent KB, transparent screen... Whats next? Transparent body?
Guess so. Imagine: 5 years later you will have a totally transparent phone which is so transparent that it's basically impossible to find.
The Emperor: See my cloth...nah, my new transparent phone? Ain't it cool?
Everyone else: *bows* Yes your majesty, uber cool indeed!
Harrods is for ze touristas who want to see the Diana & Dodi memorial
Selfridges is cool - expecially our local Brum one > http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Birmingham_Selfridges_building.jpg
this phone is a POS - heading for the £50 mark sooner than the Z00ne
I love the idea, but the contrast ratio on that screen looks really low. Maybe it just doesn't photograph well, but I would have a hard time reading anything on a screen that dim.
Please explain how the iPhone is "much cheaper". You can't even buy an unlocked iPhone in the UK.
The great thing about the crappy screen on my macbook is that I can't see the idiotic comments at all, unless I tilt the whole machine.
Maybe if they've added some neat Augmented Reality to it (you know, looking through the transparent screen), it would be something.
Somehow I think I would choose OLED instead of that screen
And why can't manufacturers adapt an LCD without the backing and diffusion layers to get a true see through HUD for a vehicle? Cant LCD be intergrated into glass? say a windshield? idea maybe?
Who would buy a phone without screen for $872. Even in perfect conditions the screen is unreadable, what about direct in sunny weather? I would pay no more than 50 euros for it.
This is truly a wonderful device that does not put form over function, although it is delightful to look at. Hopefully the children of the world will be able to own one soon.
You just don't get it do you. Your precious iPhone is not cheaper. It's one of the most expensive phone out on the market. You've just been tricked into thinking it is cheap. How easy it is to completely pull the wool over sheep's eyes.
PoisonWolf:
How do you think he got iClap?
WHOS RESPONSIBLE THIS?!
Looks really cool, but what the world needs is a stylish, affordable featurephone.. not a stylish, ovepriced featurephone.
Problem is it doesn't even look like it's a feature phone, by they way they describe it. It's more like they had a whole bunch of leftover logic boards from the old T230s and didn't know what to do with them and end up creating this.
Going rate for a new unlocked 16GB 3GS is just a tad over £530 (maybe £550?).
However that is not to say that this phone is not a triumph of showyoffness over function and a complete rip off that will be bought by people with more money than sense.
don't LCD screen like this suffer from rot? I remember old transparent calculators and watch games rotting with LCDs like this.
You know I'm so busy these days being on the phone all the time, I have no time to check my ears. With this see through phone, I can finally let my wife check my ears to see if there's anything in there without me having to get off the phone.
A story about SE but Engadget had to include the iPhone! Please remember Engadget, the iPhone is not exclusive and much more expensive!
don't care i'll still try to get myself one of these.I'm sick and tired to see everybody with the same iphone, googlephone,nokiaphone....don't use the camera (i've got a mini canon), don't use the mp3 player (got a ipod), don't need mobile internet (my facebook addiction is not that developed) and I don't play mini games on my phone (i've got a pc and a puppy to play with) so i think all is said
Dear Sony Ericsson,
£530 sounds like a bargain.
This should enhance my chance with the ladies and raise my status amongst people who find interest in others phones and use this as a rough gauge of success. I'm assured they still lurk out there.
However, given the financial crunch, I offer you $50.
Regards,
Tight-arse text-and-talker
It doesn't matter how great the device, seems S/E isn't capable of marketing things properly. Look at the Xperia X1.
Just what I wanted to say: don't compare mere prices, compare functionality you will get for the price in either case.
Yes, yes, of course. Easy to pull the wool over the sheep's eyes. Mind you, I'd never buy myself an iPhone. Give me N900 anytime. :P
*goes away murmuring* at least they don't call for everyone to hate iPhone like they do and go spend the same amount of money on this SE phone which is just as horribly overpriced as beautifully designed. *murmurs* *wipes dust of his old PalmOS PDA*
No wonder they are loosing money! Making so many crappy phones one after another.
Atleast other companies tries to evolve while SEMC is stuck in their old ways of thinking.
Sony.
Get Ericsson off your phone company!
Seriously.
I know Sony would make way better phones all by themselves.