Sorry, we missed this yesterday, but luxury electronics-maker Bang & Olufsen launched its first North American mobile phone, Serene, which was co-developed by Samsung. I know it’s not new new, and the set of functions on the $1,300 plus mobile isn’t anything more than standard (camera, SMS, MMS, e-mail, calendar, WAP and Bluetooth). However, its design is fairly unique including the placement of the mic and speaker which are flipped, so that behind the circular keypad (the center of which is a scroll wheel) is a larger-than-average speaker promising “the best sound quality in the mobile telephone market.” Plus, while the look might not be for everyone, especially since it pretty well resembles a woman’s compact, it is a beautiful design and appears to achieve the company’s goals of simplicity and convenience.
Bang & Olufsen Serene [Product site]