Coquette

The Cellphone Wears Prada

As if coveting Prada handbags/wallets or shoes aren't enough, Prada has teamed up with LG to launch a new line of Prada mobile phones. The new phones are based on LG's KE850 model which include a clean interface and touch screen for all the controls. It's really almost like LG's just rebranding the phones with Prada clothing. The hard case holder (see pic here) doesn't seem to look as slick as I had hoped. Perhaps Prada will make more holders in the hopes that you'll end up buying it. Unfortunately the phone won't be available yet in the US. So far, the launch is planned for Spring 2007 in Europe but I'm sure you'll be able to purchase an unlocked model to use here if you wish.

Here's some shots of the interface which is nice and clean, but I'm not sure about the monochrome colors. It's almost like going backwards and getting a black and white TV. What about a camera or video? How about the keyboard interface? As a geek girl, I'm looking forward to investigating this phone more when it does come out.

See more photos at Gizmodo and read more at Engadget.

Sidekick Trilogy

Finally, T-Mobile has announced the Sidekick 3. Getting the Sidekick was the only reason I stayed on T-Mobile's plan as I had a week to go for my contract to end earlier this year. I still have contract freedom these days but I chose to stay with T-Mobile because I seriously love using my Sidekick phone. What time does that next movie start? Just look it up on the the web browser on my Sidekick. Need to ask a quick question to a friend online? Check my Sidekick to see if they are on AIM. Where the hell am I going? Look it up the address on Yahoo maps via my Sidekick. In addition to instant access to email, this phone is truly my mini-computer when I'm out and about. Perfect text messenger.

I can't bear the thought of retiring my Juicy Couture Pink Sidekick just yet and I will never sell it (for those of you still asking). I have a whole clear organizer box full of cell phones, why stop now? I thinking about upgrading if only for the bluetooth functionality. Finally I can then sync up all my updated contacts and calendars with my phone. I love my friend Eric's review of the phone on Phone Scoop because he does a side by side comparison of the Sidekick 2 vs 3 so you can see up close how much thinner it is. But please can there be more colors besides silver? How about Cherry Red?

More on Fashion Phones

Gina Hughes aka The Techie Diva is now part of Yahoo's new Tech Network. Check out her post on Foxy Lady Handsets. The new iTunes phone / Motorola SLVR L7 in pink looks great and its super thin. I like her reviews on the goods and her female take on tech. Go Gina!

What Women Want?

Is the Motorola Pink Razr the ultimate mobile phone that women want? I wanted to find out exactly what women did in fact want. All these pink phones cropped up from the Razr to Hello Kitty, to my own pink Sidekick II (which I love more for its functions, than its cute color. Ok I love the color too.)

I decided to take a small poll with my group of girlfriends - professional, fashionable, and smart --who range in age from their late 20's to early 30's. These women would definitely drop $$ easily for any of our recommendations for cute shoes, cool makeup, or funky jewelry.

What did I find?

80% of the women polled had a no frills phone. In fact, most of them said how crappy their phones were and that they either spent less than 100 bucks or it came with the plan. Average phone was an LG or Samsung.

When asked if the phone brand was important, 50% said yes.

60% said they liked the color pink, the rest either hated it or didn't want pink in the color of a phone.

So what does this say? My thoughts is that mobile phones may be missing the mark in terms of fashion and femininity. Nokia L'Amour collection is the only one that comes to mind and yet you don't really see anyone with it around here in the US. (Probably more so in Europe.) And for the working women, the blackberrys and treos are uber functional but honestly, they are so ugly!

It was announced that D&G is launching a limited edition Razr (via Sharp Byte & The Runway Scoop). Its about 3 grand! Who needs a phone that expensive when you know you'll be dropping it on the hard pavement one day? Let's be realistic here. Fashion for mobile phones needs to go beyond luxe fashion brand names. We need some great functionality and fashionable styles that women will covet beyond just a quick color change.

So I'm curious, what do you gals have to say? What kind of phone do you want (functionality and looks)?

Juicy Couture Pink Sidekick

I've been meaning to get myself a new phone for the year and decided to splurge and get myself a Pink Juicy Couture Sidekick II. I knew it would be useful for work when I need to shuffle around town but it also looked like a fun way to keep me connected. Sure all the celeb it gals have one from Paris Hilton to Jessica Alba so in a way I kinda resisted....until now. I didn't realize HOW MUCH I was going to love it.

I'm not so much a Juicy velour outfit kind of gal but I just like the fact that this phone/pda was just more fun and girly than all the other ones out there. I also don't really talk much on the phone besides "where are you?" or "I'll be home in 20 min" kind of thing. The phone comes with a earbud which I want to get used to using more.

I'm off to Macworld this afternoon to check out if there are any more girly tech goods I can share. So far I heard that Casauri has a booth and is selling goods for 50% off. I want to get a small pink zip pouch to protect my new toy.

Actual photos of my sidekick are here on my flickr.

Sending Out a Fashion SMS

If you are in England and find yourself in a fashion dilemma, all you have to do is send a text message from your cell phone to 81144, the Topshop Style Advisor, and you'll get a picture back of what you are looking for. "I need a perfect black dress" or "What kind of shirt can I wear with these jeans?" Not a bad idea to have a fashion expert on hand at your celly's every beck and call. You can request the store to hold an item (text HOLD), make an appointment with a style advisor (text STYLE), or just ask a question (text ADVICE).

Topshop is one of the leading mass retailers in England and sells hip clothes like H&M. I like to go to the Oxford Circus store when I'm in London for cheap trendy clothes or the essentials (tees and tanks). So far with this service there aren't many requests (a total of 4 which I've pictured above). If you are in London I'm curious for someone to try it out and see what kind of answers they get.

Sigh. If only we had this here in the States. Wouldn't it be cool if you were at Nordstrom's buying some cute shoes and could text message Banana Republic a couple blocks down if they had a dress to go with it? Pretty cool and interesting use of mobile technology.

Read more about it in the British Inquirer article [via picturephoning.com].

More DIY Cellphone Charms

I've posted up a new article on making cellphone charms up on the Make Blog. Its a follow up to my post this past summer here on Coquette.

Kris Nations and I had a lot of fun coming up with the charms. There are 3 you can make yourself, including this cute pink pom-pon/skull charm. Enjoy!

Plus d'Amour

Its nice to know that its not all just pretty pictures with the new Nokia L'Amour cell phones. I've gotten some great feedback from all of you on how much you love this phone from the posting last week. Now, T3 a UK based gadget magazine, has a great hands-on review with lots of photos.

I love the added surprise of the satin pouches with tassels that hold the phone like its own little special bag. (See I wasn't too far off with the Gatsby story.) The interface of the phone when turned on is so strikingly beautiful its hard to believe that interface design on most cell phones these days seem to be an afterthought (think Blackberry 7100 series and those childish clip art icons). Key quote of the review: "Elaborately patterned mirror surfaces, faux leather trim and mock wood finishes are the obvious standout features. But as horrid as these might sound, somehow Nokia has pulled it off, blending these materials with bizarrely elegant expertise." Oh la la! Hurry up and get this phone out to the States!

Thanks to my friend Eric for passing this along. :)

Ohhh L'Amour

If I lived in the 1920's and cell phones existed, I'd probably have one of these Art Deco inspired phones. The Nokia 7370 (again with the numbers) is the real beauty of the L'Amour Collection with its asian inspired engraved flowers and ivory-like shell and buttons. When closed it could almost be a vintage tin to hold hair pins and clips. I can imagine this phone in my beaded drawstring bag as I head over to West Egg to meet Gatsby at his grand party. The phone rings a Duke Ellington tune as I put it up to my short bobbed black hair.....

Well it seems Nokia is definitely on a roll here to get some feminine beauty into technology. I love this next step they took with delicate vintage style. The other 2 phones in the collection are the Nokia 7360 a candy bar style phone, and Nokia 7380, the thin sleek silver lipstick phone. These phones should be available in Q1 of 2006.

For more technical information on the phones, visit Phone Scoop and Engadget.

The New X2000 VZ P999999....

I really don't know what's up with all the numbers that mobile phones seem to have in their names as if having it a few digits off differentiates it. Why can't they make it easy like the way Stila names her lipsticks after famous celebs like Sofia (as in Coppola) and Natalie (as in Portman).

Ok I digress, but I am of course happy to hear a day later after switching back to my Sony Ericsson P900
n P900 that they have announced the launch of the P990. But I'm just not into the name. I typed in P990 into google and the first link that came out was a gun. Scared the bejesus out of me. Do marketing people over at Sony Ericsson know this? I really think we need more fun names like "cherry" or "peach" seems better, no? Calling them number after number is just plain lazy. Still aside from the bad name, the phone seems pretty powerful and pretty awesome. But don't get too excited....it's nowhere near here yet. The phone will be launching first in Europe in Q1 2006 o if you are planning any trips to London you can check them out and maybe buy one. But remember that special services the phones have probably won't be available here in the States because we are still unfortunately dependent on our mobile carriers. I actually bought my P900 back in London 2 years ago as an unlocked phone because it was unavailable here. It's a lot pricier but worth it sometimes when you want to have the latest and greatest. (Don't forget you're never limited to the phone your mobile carrier carries. You can always buy unlocked phones. I often browse the goods at Expansys UK.)

The coolest thing about the phone is the built in keyboard that is now part of the phone and not in the awkward flap where it was at in the P910a. Also the new phone will have a instant email capability much like the popular Blackberry. That could be a real winner.

For more pictures and information check out Engadget and Phone Scoop.