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TAG Heuer's Racer smartphone wants to be as ostentatious and flashy as your supercar (video)
Previous endeavors in the stratospheric and ultra-high end phone market have resulted in fanciful hardware made out of exotic materials, often marred by perplexingly outdated innards. If you believe TAG Heuer's latest marketing hyperbole, that's set to change with its upcoming Racer smartphone. Just like its bespoke contemporaries, there's a flashy (and arguably gaudy) carbon fibre and titanium exterior, but underneath that veil is a "high speed" processor and the "latest Android software." So, quad-core silicon and Ice Cream Sandwich, right? Two and a half minutes of flamboyant renders await alongside some very brief PR after the break.
Gresso's Grand Premiere: an Avantgarde phone with a behind-the-times OS and a $50,000 price tag
Whenever Gresso's not crafting expensive new threads for iDevices, the company makes its own featurephones from the finest materials mother nature has to offer. The new Grand Premiere is the latest from the company's Avantgarde collection and carries on this incongruous tradition. Its frame and keys are made from more than five ounces of 18-carat gold, with numbers and letters laser-etched on its sapphire crystal skin. We don't know the internals of the 12mm-thin candybar, but we do know it's running Symbian S40 and is probably packing anemic hardware like other Gressos we've seen -- you're paying for exclusivity and the shiny stuff, not benchmarking abilities, after all. Only 30 Grand Premiere's will be made at $50,000 pop, so all you conspicuous consumers with money to burn better move fast. Wouldn't want to be the only luddite at the yacht club without luxury handset, would you?
Vertu Signature Precious is awash in sea of sapphire...and regret (video)
It may not feature GPS, an accelerometer, or even a camera, but if you've run out of disposable items to encrust with jewels, then Vertu's Precious -- the latest revision to its aging Signature lineup -- may be the mobile phone for you. While its basic array of quadband GSM, 2100 / 850 MHz 3G, Bluetooth and WiFi may seem a touch modest, varieties come slathered in platinum, three types of gold (yellow, white and red), leather, ceramic, and enough jewels to make Her Majesty blush. Its face, known as the "sea of sapphire," is mostly obscured (save for the OLED display), but you high rollers can take comfort knowing it spent more than two weeks in a 2000°C oven to appease your discerning taste. Also hidden are 4.75 carats of ruby bearings, which are said to give the keys a frictionless, satisfying click. The ring tones are exclusive compositions by Dario Marianelli and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra -- though we were bigger fans before they sold out. For a quick glimpse of how the Precious comes together gem by gem, just follow the break. There's no word on pricing or availability, but if you're considering putting up your first born as collateral, you might want to reconsider this cringe-worthy creation. [Thanks, Radi]
Nokia Oro passes FCC, cleared for a gaudy stateside landing
The odds that you'll have a North American spotting of Nokia's audacious 18-karat gold Oro just became more likely. That's because the handset recently appeared before the FCC and was certified for frequencies utilized by AT&T, Bell, Telus, Rogers, T-Mobile, Wind and Mobilicity. That's not to suggest any of the carriers are taking a bet with this one, but it leaves a good opportunity for someone to flaunt their excess while using their network of choice. The stark photography certainly doesn't embellish the bling that we'd seen in earlier press shots, but don't kid yourself -- anything lavished with gold is likely to scream "Mug me" on busy street corners. Lest we reiterate, the phone is nothing more than a gilded C7 and it's selling for under a Benjamin on contract as the Nokia Astound. If you're genuinely wanting to attract attention in the US, running Symbian is thoroughly sufficient.
Nokia Oro is covered with 18ct gold on the outside, tinged with Symbian regret inside
Nokia has just unveiled a strange new beast of a smartphone. Internally, it's your good old C7 -- 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, 720p video recording, 8 megapixel camera, a pentaband radio, and Symbian as your zombie OS -- but externally it's taken on a lick of gold paint and a rear cover made of real leather. The price for a phone built quite so luxuriously is said to be upwards of €800 ($1,126) before taxes and subsidies and launch is expected in Q3 in select countries across Europe and Asia. Russia in particular is called out as a successful market for such "premium" phones, with Nokia's Gabriel Speratti, General Manager for its operations in the country, explaining that: "We have a large number of users who are looking for products with a build quality and superior materials that attest to their success and social standing. In some areas, possession of such premium products is the passport to being taken seriously." We have to agree, owning a phone like this will certainly have an effect on your social life, we're just not so sure it'll be a positive one.
MF Doom Sneaker Speakers are perfect for the supervillain rapper who has everything (video)
Back in March, Nash Money showed off a pair of Nike Air Force 1s that he had turned into desktop speakers -- pretty rad, but hardly flashy enough for a supervillain / rapper. The professional sneaker customizer has significantly stepped up his game after being commissioned by Sneaker Freaker Magazine, creating two pairs of speakers from some giant suede Pumas. Nash consulted MF Doom for the project, and the masked emcee offered up suggestions like "sci-fi and laser guns," "modern architecture and geometry," and "mad exclamation marks." The finished Sneaker Speaker Doomsday Edition (how timely is that?) Models have mic inputs and red, green, and blue lights with eight effects, like speed control and a dim function. They've got plenty of power and can only be fired up by someone with the key -- in this case Doom and the magazine, both of whom walked away with a pair. That is, as much as someone with high-end speaker components in their shoes can walk away with anything. Click the source link for more pics or check a "making of" video after the break.
Got $8 million? Buy an iPad 2 inlaid with gold, diamonds and a dinosaur bone
The iPad is no stranger to the bling culture. But in case you have a few extra million tucked beneath the mattress, Stewart Hughes is offering an iPad 2 that is encased in solid gold, diamonds, some of the oldest rock found in the world and a dinosaur bone. The back is covered with 24-carat gold, with an Apple logo fashioned out of 53 diamonds. The front frame is made of 75 million-year-old Ammolite rock with shavings from a Tyrannosaurus rex. The home button is made of a single-cut flawless diamond with 12 smaller diamonds surrounding it. You can get all of this for the low, low price of £5 million, which these days comes up to a little under $8.17 million USD sans matching Smart Cover -- that you'll have to get from Apple on your own. [via MacStories]
Blingiest bling booths make your Apple gear gaudy to the max
The companies making these rhinestone or Swarovski-encrusted iPad and iPhone cases are numerous. But if you're in the mood to wrap your Apple gear in shiny, sharp little crystals or plastic "gems" then there is no shortage of gaudy garbage vendors at CES -- or on the internet. Here's a little gallery of just a couple of outfits we spotted while walking around. Am I crazy for thinking this stuff is suitable for Snooki and her fans only? I mean, one of the packages states "Bling My Thing." You have to be kidding. %Gallery-113387%
Gresso classies up the iPad with 18k gold logo and ancient wood case
We'll openly admit we never knew what African Blackwood was until Gresso started applying the stuff to its line of extremely luxurious cellphone mods, but now we can't imagine a new product from the Russian company without the 200-year old timber making an appearance. And sure enough, the Gresso iPad's rear is composed almost entirely of Dalbergia melanoxylon, broken up only by the insertion of an 18-karat gold Apple logo. Strangely, in spite of its extravagant constituent materials, this design is a very restrained, dare we say, classy, affair. It goes on sale on New Year's Eve at an unannounced price, but you know what they say: if you have to ask or you have to work for a living, you probably can't afford it.
Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video)
Hey, you know that Kinect thing that Microsoft recently launched and hasn't been heard of since? Well, it's such a boring and useless creation that somebody had to try and spruce it up. Enter DS Styles, with a bag of 5,000 Swarovski crystals and the courage to use them. The result of that coupling has been the (quite literally) unmissable concoction you see above -- a Kinect that will blind you first, then record your clumsy reaction for posterity second. And it only costs $632, what a steal!
Pioneer blings out HDJ-1000 headphones, turns them into a $209 Limited Edition
The thing with headphones, and sound equipment in general, is that if you get the design right the first time, you don't leave yourself much room for significant upgrades down the line. Pioneer seems to have fallen into that trap with its HDJ-1000 set of cans, which are today getting rehashed in a pair of new shades: the extrovert gold number above and an understated all-black look. Pioneer hasn't left the innards completely unretouched, however, as it has nipped and tucked a few bits to allow better low-range reproduction and a more comfortable fit overall. Neither sounds likely to justify the price bump to $209, but those golden highlights sure look appealing from where we're sitting.
Gresso's Las Vegas Jackpot phone costs a million dollars, seriously
When you make it your business to deliver outlandish new looks for mobile telephony, it can sometimes be a challenge to just outdo your last effort. So Gresso's decided the only way forward is to collect all the fine materials it had lying around -- black diamonds, pure gold, diamond-cut sapphire crystals, and 200-year old African Blackwood -- sprinkle them atop an otherwise nondescript featurephone, and slap on the spectacular price tag of $1,000,000. Only three Jackpots are being made, while there'll be a Las Vegas handset without the black diamonds and sapphires for the more mundanely rich among us, priced at $20,000. Oh Gresso, just one tip: next time, try to align your earpiece to your fancy designs, we hear wealthy folks appreciate some attention to detail.
MB&F HM4 Thunderbolt considers legible time 'a fringe benefit' (video)
This isn't just a watch, it's a horological machine. The HM4 Thunderbolt, recently unveiled by designer Maximilian Busser, represents an intriguing mixture of high-grade materials, precision engineering, and outlandishly macho design. The case is composed of titanium and sapphire -- which collectively take over 200 hours of machining and finishing to achieve the desired aerodynamic look -- while ensconced within it are over 300 parts composing a "transcendental" engine. We can't say we're not attracted by the bullet-shaped dials offering us our time with a side order of superfly, but then the $158,000 price tag ensures that we won't be able to do something foolish like buying one for ourselves. See the HM4 on video after the break.
Queen dons Swarovski-encrusted 3D glasses, shows us how bling is done
It's a tough life being a monarch nowadays. The halcyon times of extravagant debauchery and debauched extravagance are all but over, having been replaced by expectations of stoicism and perfectly measured hand waving. Trying to subvert this trend of royals boring us to tears, Britain's Queen has come out with a pair of Q-emblazoned 3D glasses that frankly redefine the way we look upon bling. Articulated with some good old Swarovski crystals, the spectacular spectacles were thought up by her majesty's dresser, Angela Kelly, and were brought out during a state visit to Toronto's Pinewood Studios. Now the only question left is which gangster rapper will try to outdo Queenie from the block?
EQ2 handing out free armbands in celebration
Everybody likes free stuff, right? There's always something irresistible about a little freebie, something that makes people do crazy, crazy things to snag it. Well, in the case of EverQuest 2, all you have to do is log on sometime during May 12-14 to claim your very own Rose Quartz Inlaid Gold Armbands. Whew, that's a mouthful! The armband is a cosmetic item only that fits in the shoulder slot, and cannot be traded. It normally sells on the Station Marketplace, but SOE has waved the cost for a few days in celebration of Sentinel's Fate's success. You can grab yours by typing /marketplace in EverQuest 2, or by clicking on the Marketplace tab. Some players have wondered if the armbands were beholden to that one look. As one forum poster asked, "Do they come in any other color than pink?" The response was quick: "Yes, they also come in light red."
