I've always admired the physical designs of Japanese phones. They're unlike the phones that are sold in Singapore (usually 'forwarded' from the US), holding the same boring look:
- Black/Dark brown/Silver/(rarely)White
- Rectangular design with rounded corners
- One odd looking button at the bottom that probably serves as a stress(making) ball
The brands that our market provides can be counted with both of my hands: Apple, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Nokia. There may be more, but I usually filter them out of my vision because their physical designs just don't catch my eye!
I wish phones had more variety like this and promoted artistically like what you're seeing below:
Cue the Touch Wood SH-08C, a concept model available at NTT Docomo, sold at a limited amount of 15,000 sets. It's made with the Shimantou Hinoki carved into the shape of a bean. The website even has a disclaimer indicating that the colors of each phone may vary by a little, showing that the phones are made of actual wood with little human interferance to the natural 'waves' of the wood.
It is wear and tear durable, water resistant, worm resistant and fungal resistant. Here's a quick list of the features available:
- "Feel the Forest" theme by moretrees
- Easy to use design where you can customise your buttons
- QWERTY soft keyboard
- Calling buttons and the lock button
- 5.3MP camera
- 3.4" AQUOS AVS screen
- Eco mode to save battery life
- Pedometer
- Noise cancellation
The first thought I had when I saw this phone was "Why did they design it like a kidney? Did some Yakuza sponsor for it?" Still, it'd be a fresh experience if it were to appear in Singapore, even though it probably would be stuffed into one corner of the store.
Really, it wouldn't be too much to ask for phones in more colors, would it?
Drooling at the thought of LG ice cream and Google Ice Cream, from the Biased blog, peace out.
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