Armani-Samsung phone makes its Philippine debut

THE GIORGIO Armani-Samsung phone has finally arrived in the Philippines. Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. recently unveiled the P26,000-designer phone along with two of its latest GSM phones, the 5-megapixel camera phone SGH-G800 and the dual-sim slider phone SGH-D880. A mobile phone designed to "go with well with your Armani suit," the Giorgio Armani-Samsung phone (SGH-P520) is a full touch screen device with 3.2 megapixel camera. Designed by Mr. Armani himself, Samsung P520’s features weigh heavily on the aesthetics. With a size comparable to a credit card, it measures 10 milimeters thick and weighs only 85 grams. The phone’s waptic user interface features Armani-designed icons and has a sleek black border and finish. When it comes to functionality, Samsung P520 offers GSM/GPRS, EDGE technology, Bluetooth wireless with A2DP Stereo support, USB connectivity, miroSD memory expansion, web browser, e-mail and a document viewer enabling access to Word, Excel, Powerpoint and pdf files. It also has music player that supports various types of music formats and a full Internet browser. The rise of couture mobile phones is a trend that’s been observed over the past three years. Driven by the consumers’ demand for individuality, mobile phone makers are teaming up with fashion houses as well as with luxury car makers to produce mobile handsets that create a statement. Samsung is not a stranger to this idea. The Seoul-based consumer electronics giant is known for its line of ultra-slim mobile devices designed specifically for style-conscious mobile phone users. In 2006, it teamed up with Danish audio systems maker Bang & Olufsen to produce the luxury mobile phone Serenata, a music mobile pone that sports a piano black casing and a circular keypad. — Mira B. Gloria, BusinessWorld