Designer Cell Phones

Designers have been tapping into the cell phone industry for quite some time now, it’s going to be even bigger now. Nowadays function is not the only thing we look for, we demand more stylish handsets. According to WWD, the mobile phone industry is the biggest consumer electronics market in the world, with more than one billion cell phones produced each year, and industry experts predict that by 2011 more than 200 million mobile phones a year will come from nontraditional brands, including fashion ones. Be prepared to see a roster of designers releasing handsets in the near future. Which designer phone would you buy?

During the past few months, an expanding smorgasbord of fashion brands has unveiled cell phone ventures, including Giorgio Armani, Versus, Mandarina Duck, Ted Baker and Levi’s, which will launch its embossed-metal handset in the U.S. and Asian markets this spring. The LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned Swiss luxury timepiece giant Tag Heuer also revealed its entry into the arena — a first for a timepiece maker — with its release planned for the second quarter of 2008.

Elsewhere, channeling style and function, ModeLabs has used embossed stainless steel for Levi’s first cell phone, which comes with an attachable chain belt. Consumers will also be able to log on to the Levi’s Web site to have their name engraved on the phone, which will retail for around $600.

According to sources, Dior and Swarovski are also said to be preparing cell phones for 2008, along with two luxury jewelers whose names could not immediately be learned.