Xperia Pureness unboxed, performs for the camera (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Oct 30th 2009 3:33PM
posted Oct 30th 2009 3:33PM
As you are no doubt well aware, the launch date for the Xperia Pureness is looming. If you've been dying for a closer look, you're in luck: the fashion icons over at MobileBurn have got their hands on one and have been kind enough to make us a short film of the reveal. At first blush, the phone doesn't look any less impressive than it did in the shots and video we've seen before. There doesn't appear to be any hint of a keypad before the thing when shut off, although that obviously changes once it's powered on. As far as that transparent glass display goes, we can tell from here that it's not likely to be visible in direct (or even some indirect) sunlight -- but since you're a jet-setting nightclub habitue' who hasn't been outside in the daylight in four years that probably shouldn't bother you much. The UI is pretty much standard for an SE feature phone, and the battery is not removable. The price? Looks like it will run you a healthy £530 (about $875). Still interested? Peep the video in action after the break.
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$875?! Why?
FASHION
Cause it's unlocked?
...and premium?
More like 940 dollars.
Maybe someone at SE had one of those Flashlight/magnifying glass things and just thought..."now, how can i make this even less useful?"
Lmao that guy sounded really shocked for some reason.
Because it's an Apple product! ... oh wait ...
And they thought Apple was price gouging people...
EXCLUSIVITY
Well.. It does come with bluetooth earplugs! yes, those are bt earplugs, and he should have known!!
An ugly impractical piece of trash. Sorry Sony Ericcson, you're going in the wrong direction.
E-ink phone, lulz.
Multitasking.
@ nuck
Well apple makes luxury and power devices.
This is just plain crap. It is very bad designing, making the screen transparent.
It is like inventing the invisible car. Oh that's soo coooool, crash! you die.
so you can tell your friends you have a transparent phone
first you need to buy such friends
To some it doesn't mean at all, but to an aspiring droid app-developer it could mean a lot, in particular for the software compatibility he/she will be using.
Its not a piece of cake to create an app's from scratch just because the device don't have a "multi-touch" functionality,. If moto-corp says that their droid creation have one.. then its a good news after-all :D
The future of android 2.0: http://bit.ly/android-2-0-worlds-fastest-mobile-operating-system
A phone in which you can bearly read your text messages in a sunny day (if at all) is worth £530?
Good stuff =/
But I'd love to read like a bear! "RRR WHERE RRRR U?"
designed as one of those "art" instead of a consumer phone.
Just like I won't pay millions of dollars for a painting, but some people will.
Cool design, but I will pass
I thought the objective of art was to be seen (if visual).
The screen cant be seen :
Well, some art can be considered not being seen visually. Try to think of electromagnetic waves that's not in the optical spectrum. You can detect it's existence but can't use your bare eyes to see. I guess that's the vibe of Pureness. Can't be seen with naked eyes.
good for night clubs.....or strip clubs....
tell that reviewer to go to a dark room.
So you can text and look at the strippers at the same time!
Wasn't it supposed to be a low price phone?? Guess the hype around the internet added about $600... Now I'm not getting one.
It is a Sony.....that's why it is overpriced....but like they say in the car business, "There is an ass for every seat."
Did they make it for Paris Hilton?
I think its even to ugly for her...
dolce & gabanna razr... I'm happy for you.. and i'm gonna let you finish but the xperia pureness is the dumbest phone idea of all time... that will ever be..
I can't even finish this joke without getting mad.
Who at sony thought this was a GOOD idea.. did they even test this thing?!? I can't POSSIBLY buy a game console from a company stupid enough to have anything to do with this phone... remotely. Xbox eff tee dub.... wait... they're pretty stupid too with the whole red ring of death...
There was a story on "the onion" i'm starting to think is more accurate as Sony releases more and more products.... The title went something like...
"sony releases peice of crap that doesn't work".... title modified for younger readers.
I'll just say this since everyone on this board seems to have a pretty big misconception. These are Sony ERICSSON phones. Not Sony phones. Sony Ericsson is a 50-50 joint venture between Sony of Japan and Ericsson of Sweden. Sony Ericsson is its own company, that makes its own decisions. To my knowledge, Sony has not say on day to day activities at Sony Ericsson, and does not approve any phones. They do contribute funds to the company however.
Everyone on Engaget refers to these phones as Sony phones, which is only 50% true ;)
@Hashmere: True, but I always write Ericsson wrong, so I prefer to say SE or Sony. :P
its kinda cool....but how practical would it be for normal daily use??
absolutely none. just like how a Ferrari isnt good for getting groceries and picking up the kids from soccer practice. The problem with this phone is that unlike a Ferrari, this this is ugly as hell
i would rather buy an X3 or HD2 unlocked....for that price!!
What an utterly pointless phone. It does not run Android. It is hard to use in sunlight. It is very expensive. I hope they did not have a large production run of this thing. I wonder what their marketing department was thinking?
Of course, all phones were pointless before Android. I don't know why Bell even bothered.
i must say it looks like a pretty nice small phone
without considering the price, i really like the buttons, and the layout
it seems simple and easy to use
Like the idea, and the phone seems good for about $200
Wow. I haven't seen a product so self-involved in a long time. It's like they took a concept sketch and decided, come hell or high water, they were not going to change anything about it, even when the display didn't really work, and the menu system was hokey, and the volume keys kept getting pushed accidentally (because that is going to happen), etc. Yep, this phone will certainly make a strong statement about you that everyone else will see at least a block away.
1999 called, it wants it's "Futuristic Phone" back.
why does SE insist on putting out crap like this... they should get on the Android band wagon while they still can
OK.. i get the whole fashion statement, but ridiculous price, even though its unlocked!, and stupid form factor if you really cant see anything on that screen. What a waste of time and money on SE's part. There is no way they are gonna come gain ground in the market if they focus on shitty stuff like this..
Er, unlocked phones tend to be more expensive than subsidised ones...
Not that I'm defending this piece of ass.
I want to watch video on that
SE always seems to have great ideas and innovative designs... but they lack in usability... Their cell phones are difficult to use and lacks functionality..
Interesting idea, but I say "meh" overall. It sort of looks cool for a second, until you turn the screen on. Then the slight coolness is totally lost in the ridiculousness and pure lack of usability...
It's not art, it's vintage antiqueness... old featureless phone, now with View-Master technology...
Jumping the shark, anybody?
No non smart phone should cost more than $75.
I thought that the fact that Ericsson would put some sense on Sony when they're a joint venture...
$875 and the battery is not replaceable? What a waste!
Have you seen the price of a MacBook Air?
The world doesn't revolve around Apple Inc.
You can take apart a macbook air. It may void the warranty but it can be done.
There are people for whom:
$150 for a shirt is not unreasonable
$15K for a watch is not unreasonable
$150K for a car is not unreasonable
For such individuals, $1K for a phone is not an issue.
For this phone to be available to them does not mean that there are fewer phones available to the rest of us.
You are very wrong here.
people that have this money in the first place, would never spend it on something as shit as this. It is a poor liability, not an asset.
Hard earned cash is something that's hard to give away.
Unless this was made for somebody's wife?
but it doesn't look like a girls phone.
The Emperor's new phone.
I'd snap this up in an instant if I had the money. An SE bluetooth watch too, to complete the look.
Can't even see the screen. Worthless phone. Rather spend a little more and get the HTC HD2
I live in America.
If I choose iPhone 3g for $49 over $875 Sony what would I be called ?
iPhone fanboy?
Smart consumer?
Cheap?
Bandwagoner?
In this case?
Sane.
Your comparing the subsidized price vs the unsubsidized price, FYI. I'm not defending this phone though. It's a piece of shit.
"Pureness"? Really? I mean, it's one thing to invent product names that aren't words, but it's dumb to choose a product name that sounds like you made an error. It may technically be an alternative form, but isn't the most accepted usage "purity" for the noun form of "pure?"
Another useless bit of kit from Sony, these guys need to take a good hard look at why they're losing money. It's like one step forward, ten steps back.
pretty cool phone i must say. if i had money, i would buy as a second phone.......
my friend got $1200 basic nokia phone that he has been using for at least 5-6 years because its almost a timeless solid design.....
me...i am into smart phones....
"...but since you're a jet-setting nightclub habitue'..."
"habitue'?"
How about habitué?
Sorry for being a stickler but when did an apostrophe become a substitute for an accent. It burns me to no end. ALT+130 on your keypad.
The apostrophe-for-accent has been a convention for a long time. Sorry it doesn't comport with your idea of the world... I'll get a memo out.
However, I was about to try your ALT-130 trick... then I noticed I have no numeric keypad. Nor ALT key. Hmm. Try "Option-E e"!
Seriously, it's the Joke of the century Sony!
A pathetic excuse of a gimmick !
Terrible !!!
could we sue them for getting our eyes hurt?
For that money I'd want an OLED transparent screen, and ebony keys not plastic, and good job on accepting the new mini-usb standard there sony, and while I mention it, they should have fancied up that charger too if you go for fashion, having a standard same-as-every-person charger doesn't cut it.
Oh and before you complain, if they designed it before the new mini-USB standard they should have put a converter in the box from their proprietary connector to mini-USB, they can always add another $200 surcharge for it..
This is shit, wtf? Who authorized this phone? No one, icluding me, will by this? or?
So basically if you buy this you can go show all your friends and say "Look, I'm better than you, I bought this $1,000 phone and can't even see the screen! How cool am I?"
Well, I guess 8 years ago that would have been a cool phone. Maybe the guys at SE should check their calendars...
No thanks. Can't read anything with bright light. No color screen. No flexible OLED. Piece of JUNK!
I remember my alarm clock back before 1995 was transparent LCD. Dude it's a freaking polarizer! I can't see any reason that cost $800 as a fashion that's like in the 1990s. Boring. SE you have wasted money just to develop and manufacture the device. It's destroying the environment to manufacture such piece of sh!t.
Is it April Fool's already?!?! I thought it was Halloween! Please confirm... :- /
Normally I like SE phones, but boy are they off the mark. Most handset by them are hard to read in direct sunlight, but the pureness - pure "CRAP" if you ask me. Thought Xperia was to be the Flagship range????? No camera, not even hint of smart phone features
See trhu keypads yes, see thru screens - leave that for the moment to sci-fi films :o)
What's the point of this phone if you can't even see the screen unless the background is dark?! I like nice gadgetry, but at least have practicality behind it.
WOW ! What a wonderful phone, the year 2001 gonna be awesome for Hi-tech .... Oh wait....
I'm sorry to say this, but it is indeed one of the crappiest and stupid phone design ever. I have no idea why they even called it a fashion phone. There are better looking fashion phones out there. Releasing this product is just beyond me and doesn't make sense at all. I'm giving this a FACEPALM! Epic Fail!